Posted on 04/06/2015 4:14:39 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
The timing of the severance of the Soviet treaty with Japan is interesting. Why would they wait until now to do it? Were they waiting to see of we were certain victors?
Chile put us over the top!
http://forum.armyairforces.com/Remembering-the-Robert-L-Davis-Crew-KIA-on-April-6-1945-m218596.aspx
Remembering the Robert L Davis - Crew: KIA on April 6, 1945
...at 10 AM local time the Robert L Davis crew of the 95th BG made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom in the Sonian Forest (South of Brussels, Belgium) when their B17 42-107204 crashed
Please save a thought and a prayer for these nine brave men.
2nd Lt Robert L Davis
F/O Lawrence (Jack) Morgan
2nd Lt John Coalson
Sgt Dale Kennedy
Sgt Archie Stice
Sgt William Ballou
Sgt Albert Fascenelli
Sgt Frederick Gunnard
Sgt Jacob Brooks
May they always live on in our hearts and memories
See comment 27
http://www.thirdreichruins.com/mainspessart.htm
The Third Reich in Ruins
Some great pictures from ‘45, along with a bunch of modern photos taken at the same locations.
I say a prayer of thanks for these men and their sacrifice. My Uncle Bob (mom’s sister’s husband) flew his 35 over Germany. He lived. Others didn’t.
There are some pics of the Hammelburg POW camp on that page as well.
http://www.spike.com/video-clips/e8xswv/embedded-45-april-6-1945
Embedded ‘45 - April 6, 1945
U.S. Soldiers search for German snipers.
"This is 1st Lt. Elizabeth Babarcik of New Cumberland, Ohio, now stationed on the Western Front. In the service for 19 months, she is one of the thousands who rate very high with GIs for their work." Photograph by Sgt. Reg Kenny.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yank,_The_Army_Weekly,_April_6,_1945_%28Army_Nurse%29.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/1945-04-06a.html
San Francisco Conference Prospective
A CHARTER CONVENTION, NOT PEACE CONFERENCE
By EDWARD R. STETTINIUS, JR., U. S. Secretary of State
Delivered before the Council on Foreign Relations, New York City, April 6, 1945
Some amazing footage of the April 6, 1945 kamikaze attacks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Rl8-t0igA
For those with the time for it, here is the first of a series of six videos filled with official Marine Corps reporting and film on Okinawa.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgF7hx5TBDs
Okinawa
By April 1945 the Mullany was back in action off Okinawa. At 17:45 hour on April 6th, all hell broke loose for the Mullany. A squadron of Japanese Kamikaze planes sited the Mullany and started a low level strafing attack. The first plane, a Nakajima Ki-43 fighter (oscar), was hit by anti-aircraft fire from the Mullany. In flames it crashed into the aft deck housing between the number three and four gun mounts. Before damage control parties could remove any wounded from the twisted metal, depth charges began exploding, and the entire ship from the quarter deck to the fantail was in flames. Forward gunners downed two of the other Kamikaze planes, while the fourth flew off damaged.
With the bulkhead of one of the ammo. magazines hot, and an explosion imminent, Capt. Momm, at 18:29 hour, ordered "Abandon ship!". He knew that if the magazine went the ship would be blown out of the water. The USS Gherardi (DMS-30) stood by to take on survivors, and her rescue assistance team played water on the Mullany. In the next hours the USS Purdy (DD-734) came along side and helped extinguished the deck fires, and rescue survivors. When the expected explosion did not occur Capt. Momm took a skeleton crew back on board at 23:00 hours. Upon inspection it was determined that two boilers, and the starboard engine and screw were operational. The reason the magazine had not exploded was a stroke of luck. When the depth charges ignited they ruptured the fuel tanks, and the fresh, and salt water tanks. This flooded the compartment above the magazine and prevented further damage. Capt. Momm wanted to get underway before daylight, and before a new wave of Kamikaze planes. It was a race against time.
The Mullany, steered by hand, limped off in the dark without radar to guide them. As dawn approached the crew saw the harbor at Kerama Retto, and for the first time saw the horror and the full extent of the damage. Dead, charred bodies, and twisted steel were everywhere. In port shipyard workers, and navy personnel, moseyed down to the docks to take a look. None could believe that she could stay afloat, and still get underway, with all the damage. The Mullany had survived, but 21 of her crew had been killed, 9 were missing, and 36 wounded.
http://www.cbs8.com/story/28732132/uss-bush-commemorates-70th-anniversary
USS Bush commemorates 70th anniversary
(news video)
SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - World War 2 veterans gathered Monday morning to commemorate 70-years since the sinking of the USS Bush. The destroyer was sunk off the coast of Okinawa by kamikaze pilots in 1945.
The group of veterans and their families came from all over the country to reunite for the last time, honoring the memory of their fallen shipmates.
On April 6, 1945, the USS Bush was sunk off the coast of Okinawa by three Japanese kamikaze planes. During the attack, 87 crew members were lost and 42 were injured. In total, 94 sailors lost their lives.
The four surviving shipmates and family members of others gathered for a memorial service at the Naval Training Center Base Chapel.
This will be the last time the World War 2 veterans, who are all in their 90s, will be able to meet. Their duty aboard the USS Bush was courageous and they will never be forgotten.
83rd Infantry Division Radio News
Apr 6 1945
http://83rdinfdivdocs.org/documents/radionews/83rd_Signal_Co_19450406_Germany_Vol_VII_No_23.pdf
Look up the story of the Aaron Ward; I believe she suffered similar damage in a long fight with the kamikazes. The navy started a tactic of using destroyers as radar picket ships, lying outside of the fleet to give early warning of kamikaze attacks. They were also the first ships the kamikaze pilots saw, and were like magnets for them. Aaron Ward was one of those ships.
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