The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Lt. Richard Winters at Brecourt Manor - (6/6/1944)

Captains Courageous

"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory."
-- Gen. George S. Patton Jr.

In his analysis of combat leadership, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower once remarked, "Optimism and pessimism are infectious and they spread more rapidly from the head downward than in any other direction. Optimism has a most extraordinary effect upon all with whom the commander comes in contact." Ike's assessment remains as valid for America's Army in the 21st century as it did in 1944, particularly at the tactical level of war, where battles are won or lost under the calm direction of company and platoon commanders. An officer who best personified Ike's dictum of optimism and courage was Capt. Richard Winters, commanding Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II.

Capt. Richard Winters

Dick Winters' path toward war mirrored that of millions of other American veterans of Tom Brokaw's "greatest generation." Born in Lancaster, Pa., on January 21, 1918, Winters spent his formative years in eastern Pennsylvania. His early heroes were Babe Ruth and Milton S. Hershey, who had founded a school for boys in the town that now bears his name. Graduating from Franklin-Marshall College in June 1941 as a business major, Winters volunteered for military service. His intent was to spend the mandatory one year in the Army, then return to civilian life to pursue a private career. Following his induction in August, he spent his basic combat training at Camp Croft, S.C., where he was stationed when he received word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Winters soon applied for Officer Candidate School and arrived at Fort Benning, where he graduated in July 1942 as a second lieutenant of infantry.

Seeking adventure, he next volunteered for airborne training. In Winters' eyes, the airborne training appeared to be "interesting work." The troopers were "hard, lean, bronzed and tough ...a proud and cocky bunch." Moreover, the physical training was very appealing to Winters. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 177 pounds, he was accustomed to lots of running and outdoor activity. Also, the additional jump pay might help pay off his father's home mortgage.

When the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was formed in August, Winters became one of the original members of Easy Company. Training at Camp Toccoa, Ga., was rugged, but Winters relished the camaraderie and challenges associated with airborne training. Assigned command of Easy's 2nd Platoon, he soon completed his five jumps and received his airborne wings. In mid-April 1943, he had also assumed the duties of company executive officer, a position that he found brought new challenges. Still a first lieutenant, Winters remained with Easy Company when the regiment joined the 101st Airborne Division in June 1943. Three months later, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) deployed to England to prepare for the ensuing invasion of the European continent.

From September 1943 until June 1944, Winters quietly emerged as Easy Company's most dynamic and charismatic junior officer. He later attributed his success to his training and to the relationship that he had developed with the enlisted men. As a teetotaler, he never participated in the social life associated with the officer corps. Winters preferred the life of quiet reflection and organized athletics within Easy. He described himself as a "half-breed," being an officer with the responsibility to train the men, but being an enlisted man at heart. Always weighing on his mind was the tremendous responsibility of preparing his men for combat. In a private letter home, he commented on his personal crusade to improve himself as an officer and to improve Easy Company as Fighters and as men. The net result was a highly motivated company that was poised to inflict maximum punishment on the enemy when the "big day" (D-Day) arrived.

For those soldiers, sailors and airmen who participated in D-Day, June 6 was unlike any day in history. And it was on D-Day that Dick Winters had his rendezvous with destiny. Easy Company's mission, as with the other units within the 101st Airborne Division, was to seize the causeways behind Utah Beach to facilitate the expansion of the beachhead. Jumping from a C-47 Dakota at 150 miles per hour and at 500 feet and less, the Division's drop was scattered across the Cotentin Peninsula. Winters came down near the town of Ste. Mere-Eglise, several kilometers from the intended drop zone. Rallying a couple of troopers, he soon was en route to Ste. Marie-du-Mont, destined to be the Division's headquarters for most of D-Day. En route, Winters stumbled across the battalion staff and 40 men of D Company. By 7:00 a.m., E Company consisted of two light machine guns, one bazooka with no ammunition, one 60 mm mortar, nine riflemen and two officers. No one knew the whereabouts of the company commander, so Winters took command.

Three kilometers from Ste. Marie-du-Mont, the column encountered sustained enemy fire, and Winters was summoned to the front. The battalion commander informed Winters that there was a four-gun battery of German 105 mm cannons, a few hundred meters to the front across an open field opposite a French farmhouse called Brécourt Manor. The battery was set up in a hedgerow and defended by a 50-man German platoon. The guns were firing directly down a causeway leading to Utah Beach. The battalion operations officer directed Winters to take the battery. Taking his company, Winters made a careful reconnaissance and then issued orders for an assault. The attack would consist of a frontal assault led by Winters with covering fire from several directions to pin down the Germans. Winters selected three soldiers for the assault: Pvt.Gerald Lorraine, Pvt. Popeye Wynn and Cpl. Joe Toye. Asked later why he selected these three, Winters recalled, "In combat you look for killers.' Many thought they were killers and wanted to prove it. They are, however, few and far between."

Winters saw the impending attack as a "high risk opportunity." The key was "initiative, an immediate appraisal of situation, the use of terrain to get into the connecting trench and taking one gun at a time." Crawling on their bellies, Winters and his men got close enough and knocked out the first gun. Mowing down the retreating Germans, Winters then placed a machine gun to fire down the trench. He had also noticed that as soon as he got close enough to assault the first gun, the Germans in an adjacent hedgerow temporary lifted their fire so that they would not inflict friendly casualties. That was enough for Winters, who had a "sixth sense" that such a respite shifted the advantage to him.

With the first gun out of action, Winters grabbed two other soldiers and charged the second gun. Throwing hand grenades and firing their rifles, they took the second howitzer. Next to the gun was a case with a map that showed all the German artillery in the Cotentin Peninsula. Winters sent the map back to battalion headquarters and then directed another assault which rapidly captured the third gun. Reinforcements led by an officer from D Company soon arrived. Winters briefly outlined the situation and then watched D Company capture the last gun. With the mission complete, Winters ordered a withdrawal. It was 11:30 a.m., roughly three hours since Winters had received the order to take the battery. In summarizing Easy's action, historian Stephen Ambrose notes that with 12 men, what amounted to a squad, later reinforced by elements of D Company, Winters had destroyed a German battery, killed 15 Germans, wounded many more, and taken 12 prisoners. It would be a gross exaggeration to say that Easy Company saved the day at Utah Beach, but reasonable to say that it had made an important contribution to the success of the invasion.

Winters' action at Brécourt Manor was a textbook infantry assault, frequently studied at the U.S. Military Academy. Ever the self-effacing leader, Winters described the action to combat historian S.L.A. Marshall simply as laying down a base of fire to cover the assault. Left unsaid was his leadership by example. At every turn he had made the correct decision, from selecting the right men for each task, to making an accurate reconnaissance of the enemy position, to leading the maneuver element in person. In his own analysis, Winters credited his training and preparing for D-Day, his "apogee" in command. When the day was finally over, he wrote in his diary that if he survived the war, he would find an isolated farm somewhere and spend the rest of his life in peace.

For Winters' heroic leadership under fire during the attack at Brécourt Manor, Col. Robert Sink, the 506th PIR commander, recommended Winters receive the Medal of Honor, but only one man in the 101st Airborne Division was to be given that medal. Instead, Winters was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, with Silver and Bronze Stars awarded to the men of Easy Company who participated in the assault. Winters also formally received command of Easy when it was determined that the company commander had been killed in the airborne assault. Promotion to captain followed on July 2, but not before Winters led the company in another attack to capture Carentan, a small town at the base of the peninsula. Not until mid-July did the 101st return to England to prepare for contingency operations.

For Dick Winters, command of Easy Company was the culmination of a career that had begun but two short years earlier. He would lead the company with great distinction during Operation Market-Garden in mid-September, and then remain in Holland until late November. Trained for light infantry assault, the American airborne divisions were not designed for sustained infantry combat. Excessive casualties in Normandy and in subsequent operations, however, dictated that both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions remain in combat. For Winters and Easy Company that meant defending a 5-kilometer wide "island" that lay between the Lower Rhine on the north and the Waal River on the south. On October 5, in defense of the "island," Winters again wrote a shining page in the history of Easy. At the time, Easy Company consisted of 130 men and had to cover 3 kilometers along the front. Winters deployed his men with two platoons forward and one in reserve along a dike that ran roughly parallel to his front.

Now a veteran company commander, Winters received word that an enemy company was attempting to penetrate his defenses. Gathering half his reserve platoon, roughly 15 men, he immediately moved forward. Repeatedly halting the patrol to make a personal reconnaissance, Winters brought his men up to a small ditch adjacent to an enemy machine gun nest. The paratroopers wiped out the enemy position and Winters called up the remainder of the platoon. Carefully orchestrating another assault, he then directed that his men attack toward the road, behind which unknown numbers of the enemy were huddling. With two squads providing covering fire, Winters ordered the remaining squad to fix bayonets and to follow him across 200 yards of open ground.

Winters reached the road first, jumped over and saw a German sentry with 100 or so other Germans preparing for an assault. Without hesitation, he emptied two M-1 clips into the enemy. As more Americans arrived, the Germans turned toward the river and fled. By now, Winters had taken cover behind the ditch, but rose to pour a withering fire on the retreating enemy. Other members of Winters' 1st Platoon did the same. Just then another SS Company arrived, but Easy's fire was too intense and the enemy joined the flight. For Easy Company, it was a "duck shoot," with one man firing a total of 57 clips of M-1 ammunition into the enemy.

Col. Sink issued a general order, citing 1st Platoon's "daring attack and skillful maneuver." Four days later, he promoted Winters to executive officer of the 2nd Battalion. Winters' days in command of Easy were at an end, but it had been a glorious close. With only 35 men, he had routed two German companies of 300 men, killed 50, captured 11 and wounded approximately 100 enemy troops -- all at a cost of one dead and 22 wounded Americans. Winters later said this attack was "the highlight of all E Company actions for the entire war, even better than D-Day, because it demonstrated Easy's overall superiority in every phase of infantry tactics: patrol, defense, attack under a base of fire, withdrawal, and above all, superior marksmanship with rifles, machine gun and mortar fire." October 5 was also the last day that Dick Winters fired his weapon in anger.

For Winters, the war would continue. His toughest Fight was at Bastogne, and in March he received command of 2nd Battalion, which he led with distinction until V-E Day. At war's end, his battalion was at Berchtesgaden, but his heart was always with the men of Easy Company. What made Easy so special under Winters? The answer was simple. Shared hardship and stress created a bond that still exists today. The original members of Easy Company still sit together at reunions because they formed the core. To a man, the survivors acknowledge that Capt. Dick Winters was the best combat commander they had during the entire war. Winters shuns such acclaim, noting that "hardship and death bring a family together. Officers aren't family; the family belongs to the men, not the officers."

True to his word, when the war was over, Winters left the Army and found solace far away from the battlefield. A highly successful businessman, he is a frequent lecturer at West Point. His message to the cadets is always the same: Hang tough and take care of your soldiers. Asked by one cadet what his toughest challenge as a commander was, Winters instantly replied, "To be able to think under fire. In peace the toughest challenge is to be fair." As to what aspect of his military service provided him the greatest satisfaction, he answered without hesitation, "Knowing I got the job done; knowing that I kept the respect of my men. The greatest reward you can have as a leader is the look of respect.' The key to a successful combat leader is to earn respect not because of rank, but because you are a man."

The above is an exerpt from "Captains Courageous" by Col. Cole C. Kingseed, USA Ret. published in Army Magazine Jan/2002

The word "Currahee" means Stands Alone but it has also been used a battle cry when a member of the 506th is in need of help. Right now the Battle Cry - CURRAHEE is being called out for us to help Major (retired) Richard D. Winters obtain the Congressional Medal of Honor that he deserves, earned, and was nominated for during World War II.

Major Richard Winters

At the 506th Association's General Meeting held August 16, 2002 at the Holiday Inn Select in Timonium, Maryland the Members in attendance voted unanimously to support an afford to upgrade Major (retired) Winters' Distinguished Service Cross to the Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation's highest award for valor.

His courage, heroic action and leadership on D-Day June 6, 1944, when he was a First Lieutenant in E (Easy) Company, 2nd Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Infantry Division is an example of conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. For his heroic leadership under fire during the attack at Brécourt Manor, Colonel Robert F. Sink, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment Commander, recommended Winters receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, but the time it was a unwritten 101st Airborne Division policy that only one man in the 101st would to be awarded such medal during any one combat campaign. For the Normandy Campaign the Congressional Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole - Commander, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment. Instead, Winters was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, with Silver and Bronze Stars awarded to the men of Easy Company who participated in the assault.

This photo was taken in June of 2000, and shows the front entrance to Brecourt Manor. A young French boy named Michel DeValavielle, was shot by American paratroopers in the archway in a case of mistaken identity on D-Day. Michel was evacuated by boat to England for medical attention, survived, and later became the mayor of St Marie du Mont

The appropriate DA Form 638 - Recommendation for Award have been submitted to U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania soliciting his support in correcting this 58-year injustice to one of his constituents by up-grading Richard D. Winters' Distinguished Service Cross to the Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation's highest award for valor.

You can also help this afford by contacting your U.S. Senator. A list of U.S. Senators can be found at http://www.senate.gov/senators/index.cfm, please call, write, and/or e-mail your Senators Please read the proposed citation for the Congressional Medal of Honor for Major (retired) Richard Winters below and form your own opinion; then contact your Senator.

Major Richard Winters in Holland in 1991

Proposed Citation:

First Lieutenant Richard D. Winters - Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action on 6 June 1944 in the vicinity of Le Gran Chemin, Normandy, France.During the early phases of the airborne assault on D-Day, Lieutenant Winters assumed temporary command of Easy Company, then numbering twelve men, and advanced to destroy a German four-gun battery of 105mm artillery pieces that was placing indirect fire on UTAH Beach.

Lieutenant Winters personally conducted a reconnaissance under direct enemy fire and quickly stabled that quick, violent action was required to destroy the battery and it's 50-man enemy garrison. Organizing his men into support and assault teams, Winters crawled toward the jump-off position. In the process, he noticed one German Soldier and killed him instantly. With the support team engaging one enemy gun. Winters placed himself in the lead of the assault column and charged across the fire swept open field into the hedgerow where they silenced the first gun. As the enemy crew retreated, Winters killed three more Germans and planned to assault the second howitzer. Placing a machine gun to fire down the trench, he gathered two soldiers and prepared to charge down the trench in the direction of the second gun. Crawling forward in the trench he noticed that his path was blocked by an enemy machine gun getting ready to fire. Without hesitation Winters fired and wounded both members of the enemy crew. Leaving three men to hold the first gun, Winters lead his remaining five on a charge directly down the enemy trench throwing grenades ahead of him. Urging his men forward by shouting encouragement and leading the assault team, Winters captured the second gun and discovered a map that depicted all the German artillery and machine gun positions throughout the Cotentin Peninsula. Sending the map back to headquarters, Winters then directed the assault on the third gun, which he quickly captured. With three guns under his direct control, Winters halted only long enough to destroy the barrels of the enemy guns. Still under direct fire, Winters then ordered another platoon to capture the final gun, which they did in short order. With his mission accomplished and now under intense fire from machine guns from the hedgerows adjacent to neighboring Brecourt Manor, Winters finally ordered a withdrawal. As was his custom, Winters was last out, but not before killing another German rifleman.

With what amounted to a squad. Winters and his men had killed 15 German soldiers, wounded many more, and taken 12 prisoners. In all, Winters killed at least five Germans and his whirlwind hand-to-hand assault had resulted in the destruction of the complete battery and the entire fifty-man platoon of the elite German paratroopers defending the battery. Later that afternoon Winters harassed the enemy forces, preventing their return to the fortified position until armored forces from the amphibious forces secured Brecourt Manor.

The superb leadership, conspicuous courage, and consummate devotion to duty demonstrated by Lieutenant Winters were directly responsible for the successful accomplishment of a hazardous mission and served as an inspiration to his men and exemplify the heroic traditions of the military service.

Additional Sources:

www.worldwar2history.info
Currahee.hispeed.com
www.militaryartgallery.com
www.majordickwinters.com
www.users.voicenet.com/~lpadilla
www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mi
www.paratroopers.org
www.atthefront.com
www.101airborneww2.com
www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Waffen

Today's classic warship, USS South Dakota (BB-57)

South Dakota class battleship
displacement. 35,000
length. 680'
beam. 108' 2"
draft. 36' 4"
speed. 27.8 k.
complement. 2,364
armament. 9 16", 16 5", 68 40mm., 76 20mm.

The USS South Dakota (BB-57) was laid down on 5 July 1939 at Camden, N.J., by the New York Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on 7 June 1941; sponsored by Mrs. Harlan J. Bushfield; and commissioned on 20 March 1942, Capt. Thomas L. Gatch in command.

After fitting out at Philadelphia, South Dakota held shakedown training from 3 June to 26 July. She stood out of Philadelphia Navy Yard on 16 August and headed for Panama. The battleship transited the Panama Canal on 21 August and set course for the Tonga Islands, arriving at Nukualofa, Tongatabu, on 4 September. Two days later, she struck an uncharted corral pinnacle in Lahai Passage and suffered extensive damage to her hull. On 12 September, the ship sailed for the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard and repairs.

South Dakota was ready for sea again on 12 October and began training with Task Force (TF) 16 which was built around aircraft carrier Enterprise (CV-6). The task force sortied from Pearl Harbor on 16 October to join TF 17, which was centered on carrier Hornet (CV-8), northeast of Espiritu Santo. The rendezvous was made on the 24th; and the combined force, now operating as TF 61 under Rear Admiral T. C. Kinkaid, was ordered to make a sweep of the Santa Cruz Islands and then move southwest to block any Japanese forces approaching Guadalcanal.

"Catalina" patrol bombers sighted a Japanese carrier force at noon on the 25th, and TF 61 steamed northwest to intercept it. Early the next morning, when all carrier forces were within striking range, a Japanese snooper spotted the American force, triggering the Battle of Santa Cruz. South Dakota and the Enterprise group were approximately 10 miles from the Hornet group when the air battle began.

The first enemy attack was concentrated against Hornet. At 1045, South Dakota was operating near Enterprise to provide protective fire from her numerous antiaircraft guns when their group was attacked by dive bombers. Approximately an hour later, about 40 torpedo planes struck at the two ships. A third aerial assault, made by dive bombers and torpedo planes; came in at 1230. South Dakota sustained a 500-pound bomb hit on top of her number one turret. When the action was broken off that evening, the American forces retired toward Noumea, New Caledonia, with the battleship credited with downing 26 enemy planes.

At 0414 on 30 October, while avoiding a submarine contact, South Dakota and Mahan (DD-364) collided, causing damage to both ships. Mahan's bow was turned to port and crumpled to frame 14, and a fire, soon brought under control, started in her forward hold. Both ships continued to Noumea where Vestal (AR-4) repaired South Dakota's collision and battle damage.

On 11 November, South Dakota, as part of TF 16, sortied from Noumea for Guadalcanal. On 13 November, she joined battleship Washington (BB-56) and destroyers Preston (DD-379), Walke (DD- 418), Benham (DD-397), and Gwin (DD-433) to form TF 64 under command of Rear Admiral W. A. Lee. The next evening at 2330, the force was operating 50 miles southwest of Guadalcanal when Lee learned that an enemy convoy was coming through the passage off Savo sometime between 0030 an d 0230. This was Admiral Kondo's bombardment group consisting of battleship Kirishima; heavy cruisers Takao and Atago; and a destroyer screen.

Admiral Kondo's forces were divided into three sections: the bombardment group; a close screen of cruiser Nagara and six destroyers; and a distant screen of cruiser Sendai and three destroyers in the van of the other forces. A quarter moon assured good visibility. Three ships were visually sighted from the bridge of South Dakota, range 18,100 yards. Washington fired on the leading ship, thought to be a battleship or heavy cruiser; and, a minute later, South Dakota's main battery opened on the ship nearest to her. Both initial salvos started fires on the targets. South Dakota then fired on another target and continued firing until it disappeared from her radar screen. Turret No. 3-firing over her stern and demolishing her own planes in the process-opened on another target and continued firing until the target was thought to sink. Her secondary batteries were firing at eight destroyers close to the shore of Savo Island.

A short lull followed after which radar plot showed four enemy ships, just clear of the left tangent of Savo, approaching from the starboard bow; range 5,800 yards. Searchlights from the second ship in the enemy column illuminated South Dakota. Washington opened with her main battery on the leading, and largest, Japanese ship. South Dakota's secondary batteries put out the lights; and she shifted all batteries to bear on the third ship, believed to be a cruiser, which soon gushed smoke. South Dakota, which had been under fire from at least three of the ships, had taken 42 hits which caused considerable damage. Her radio communications failed; radar plot was demolished; three fire control radars were damaged; there was a fire in her foremast; and she had lost track of Washington. As she was no longer receiving enemy fire and there were no remaining targets, she withdrew; met Washington at a prearranged rendezvous; and proceeded to Noumea. Of the American destroyers , only Gwin returned to port. The other three had been severely damaged early in the engagement. Walke and Preston were sunk. Benham had part of her bow blown off by a torpedo and, while en route to Noumea with the damaged Gwin as her escort, had to be abandoned. Gwin then sank her by gunfire. On the enemy side, hits had been scored on Takao and Atago; Kirishima and destroyer Ayanami, severely damaged by gunfire, were abandoned and scuttled.

Prometheus (AR-3) repaired some of the damage inflicted on South Dakota at Noumea, enabling the battleship to sail on the 25th for Tongatabu and thence for home. South Dakota arrived at New York on 18 December 1942 for an overhaul and the completion of repairs to her battle damage. She was back at sea on 25 February 1943 and, following sea trials, operated with Ranger (CV-4) in the North Atlantic until mid-April.

The battleship next operated with the British Home Fleet, based at Scapa Flow, until 1 August when she returned to Norfolk. On 21 August, South Dakota stood out of Norfolk en route to Efate Island, arriving at Havannah Harbor on 14 September. She moved to Fiji on 7 November and sortied from there four days later with Battleship Divisions (BatDiv) 8 and 9 in support of Task Group (TG) 50.1, the Carrier Interceptor Group, for Operation "Galvanic," the Gilbert Islands assault. The carriers launched at tacks against Jaluit and Mili atolls, Marshall Islands, on 19 November, to neutralize enemy airfields there. The force then provided air support for the amphibious landings on Makin and Tarawa, Gilbert Islands.

South Dakota, with five other battleships, formed another task group on 8 December to bombard Nauru Island. A joint aerial attack and shore bombardment severely damaged enemy shore installations and airfields there. South Dakota retired to Efate on 12 December 1943 for upkeep and rearming. Her next action occurred on 29 January 1944 when the carriers launched attacks against Roi and Namur, Marshall Islands. The next day, the battleship moved in to shell enemy positions on Roi and Namur and then rejoined the carriers as they provided air support for the amphibious landings on Kwajalein, Majuro, Roi, and Namur.

South Dakota departed the Marshall Islands on 12 February with the Truk striking force which launched attacks against that Japanese stronghold on 17 and 18 February. Six days later, she was in the screen for the carriers which launched the first air attacks against the Marianas. The force was under constant enemy air attack, and South Dakota splashed four Japanese planes. She returned to Majuro from 26 February until 22 March when she sailed with the fast carrier forces of the of the 5th Fleet. Air strikes were delivered from 30 March until 1 April against Palau, Yap, Woleai, and Ulithi in the Western Caroline Islands.

South Dakota returned to Majuro on 6 April and sailed the following week, again accompanying the fast carriers. On 21 April, strikes were launched against Hollandia, New Guinea, and the following day against Aitape, Tanahmerah, and Humboldt Bays to support the Army landings. On 29 and 30 April, the carriers, with South Dakota still in the screen, returned to Truk and bombed that base. The next day, the battleship was part of a surface bombardment group that shelled Ponape Island in the Carolines. She returned to Majuro for upkeep from 4 May to 5 June when she got underway with TF 58 to participate in Operation "Forager," the landings on Saipan and Tinian. The carriers began launching attacks on the 11th against enemy installations throughout the islands. On the 13th, South Dakota and six other battleships were detached from the fast carrier groups to bombard Saipan and Tinian, South Dakota shelled the northwest coast of Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, for over six hours with both her primary and secondary batteries.

On the evening of the 15th, 8 to 12 enemy fighters and bombers broke through the combat air patrol and attacked the task group. South Dakota fired at four and splashed one; and the remaining 11 were shot down by fire from other ships. On 19 June, the battleship was again operating with the fast carriers. It was known that a major Japanese force was approaching from the west, and the American capital ships were placed so that they could continue to support the ground forces on Saipan and also intercept this enemy force.

At 1012, a large group of bogies was reported coming in from the west. At 1049, a "Judy" dropped a 500-pound bomb on South Dakota's main deck where it blew a large hole, cut wiring and piping, but inflicted no other serious material damage. However, personnel losses were heavy: 24 killed and 27 wounded. The ship continued to fight throughout the day as air attacks were continuous. This was the first day of the Battle of the Philippine Sea and was called the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" as the Jap anese lost over 300 aircraft. The air battle continued throughout the 20th. When it ended, the badly mauled Japanese fleet no longer posed a threat to the American conquest of the Marianas. The task group returned to Ulithi on 27 June, and South Dakota sailed via Pearl Harbor to the west coast, arriving at Puget Sound on 10 July.

The battleship was overhauled at the navy yard there; and, after sea trials, sailed on 26 August for Pearl Harbor. South Dakota was routed to Ulithi and, upon her arrival, was attached to TG 38.3; one of four task groups of formed Task Force 38, the Fast Carrier Task Force. The task force sortied on 6 October and, four days later, launched air attacks against Okinawa. On the 12th and 13th, attacks were flown against shipping and installations in Formosa. Three of the groups, including South Dakota's, retired and operated east of the Philippine Islands until 24 December. During the operation, carriers of the group flew strikes against targets on Manila and Luzon to support the landings on Mindoro. From 30 December 1944 through 26 January 1945, the fast carriers alternated strikes between Formosa on 3, 4, 9, 15, and 21 January; Luzon on the 6th and 7th; Cape San Jacques and Camranh Bay on the 12th; Hong Kong and Hainan on the 16th; and against Okinawa on 22 January.

South Dakota operated with the fast carriers in their strikes against the Tokyo area on 17 February and against Iwo Jima on the 19th and 20th in support of amphibious landings there. Tokyo again was the target on the 25th, and Okinawa's turn came on 1 March. After rearming at Ulithi, the task groups sailed toward Japan again and pounded targets in the Kobe, Kure, and Kyushu areas on 18 and 19 March. They launched strikes against Okinawa on the 23d; and, on the 24th, the battleship joined a bombardment group which shelled southeastern Okinawa. She rejoined her task group which, after bombing Okinawa, struck enemy airfields in southern Kyushu on the 29th and then, from 31 March through 3 April, again pounded targets on Okinawa. On 7 April, all fast carriers launched attacks against an enemy fleet off southwest Kyushu, sinking Japan's fast super battleship Yamato, two cruisers, and four destroyers.

South Dakota once more participated in shore bombardment on southeastern Okinawa on 19 April in support of an all-out offensive by the XXIV Army Corps against enemy lines.

While rearming from Wrangell (AE-12) on 6 May, a tank of 16-inch high capacity powder exploded, causing a fire and exploding four more tanks. Turret No. 2 magazines were flooded and the fires put out. The ship lost three men killed instantly; eight more died of injuries; and 24 others suffered non-fatal wounds. The ship retired to Guam from 11 to 29 May when she sailed for Leyte, arriving on 1 June.

South Dakota departed Leyte on 1 July, supporting the carriers of TG 38.1 which attacked the Tokyo area on the 10th. On 14 July, as part of a bombardment group, she participated in the shelling of the Kamaishi Steel Works, Kamaishi, Honshu, Japan. This was the first gunfire attack on the Japanese home islands by heavy warships. From 15 through 28 March, South Dakota again supported the carriers as they launched strikes against Honshu and Hokkaido. On the night of 29 and 30 July, she participated in the shore bombardment of Hamamatsu, Honshu, and, on the 9th, again shelled Kamaishi. The battleship supported the carriers in strikes against northern Honshu on 10 August, and in the Tokyo area on the 18th and 15th. The latter was the last strike of the war for, later that day, Japan capitulated.

She anchored in Sagami Wan, Honshu, on 27 August and entered Tokyo Bay on the 29th. South Dakota steamed out of Tokyo Bay on 20 September and proceeded, via Okinawa and Pearl Harbor, to the west coast of the United States. On 29 October, she moved down the coast from San Francisco to San Pedro. She sailed from the west coast on 8 January 1946 for Philadelphia and a yard overhaul. In June, she was attached to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 31 January 1947, she was placed in reserve, out of commission. The battleship remained in that status until she was struck from the Navy list on 1 June 1962. On 25 October 1962, she was sold to Lipsett Division, Luria Bros. and Co., Inc., for scrap.

South Dakota received 13 battle stars for World War II service.

Today is Stonewall Jackson's birthday. So, in remembrance of a very great man and a brilliant general.

1824 January 21
Thomas Jackson was born at Clarksburg, [West] Virginia. He took a middle initial at West Point to differentiate himself from Thomas K. Jackson, who was a student. Gradually the J became Jonathan (after his father).

Parents: Jonathan Jackson (1790-1826) an attorney, and Julia Beckwith Neale (1798-1831). They were married in September 1817 and had four children: Elizabeth (1819-1826); Warren (1821-1841); Thomas (1824-1863), and Laura Ann (1826-1911).

1826 March
Jackson's sister Elizabeth (age 6) and his father died of typhoid fever. Julia Jackson gave birth to Laura the day after her husband died. Widowed at age 28, Julia was left with extensive debts and the family was impoverished.

1830-1841
Julia Jackson remarried. Her new husband, Blake Woodson, disliked his stepchildren and the family had financial difficulties. A short time after the marriage, Thomas and Laura were sent to live with Jackson relatives in Jackson's Mill [West] Virginia; Warren was sent to Neale relatives. Julia Jackson died, as a result of childbirth complications, on Dec. 4, 1831. She left behind the three Jackson siblings and a newborn son (Thomas's half brother), William Wirt Woodson (1831-1875). Jackson and Laura spent the remaining years of childhood with their paternal uncles. Jackson's brother, Warren, died of tuberculosis in 1841.

June 1842 June-1846
Jackson attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. Jackson was not the first choice for his congressional district's appointment, but the top applicant withdrew from the academy after only one day. Jackson graduated in June 1846, standing 17th out of 59 graduates. Jackson began his U.S. Army career as a 2nd Lt., First Artillery Regiment. In 1844, Jackson's beloved sister, Laura, married Jonathan Arnold.

1846-1851
United States Army officer. Served in the Mexican War, 1846-1848; stationed at Carlisle Barracks, PA; Ft. Hamilton, NY; Ft. Meade, FL.

1851- April 1861
In the spring of 1851 Jackson was offered and accepted the appointment to teach at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia; he resigned from the army.

Reported for duty at VMI on August 13, 1851. He taught natural and experimental philosophy (related to modern day physics and including physics, astronomy, acoustics, optics, and other scientific courses).

On August 4, 1853, Jackson married Elinor Junkin (1825-1854), daughter of Dr. George Junkin (President of Washington College) and Julia Miller Junkin. Elinor (Ellie) died in childbirth on October 22, 1854. Their child, a son, was stillborn.

During the summer of 1856 Jackson toured Europe, visiting Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, England and Scotland.

On July 16, 1857, Jackson married for the second time. His wife was Mary Anna Morrison (1831-1915), daughter of Robert Hall Morrison and Mary Graham Morrison. Mary Anna's family resided in North Carolina; her father was the retired President of Davidson College.

Mary Anna gave birth to a daughter, Mary Graham, on April 30, 1858; the baby died less than a month later, on May 25.

In November 1859, Jackson was one of the VMI officers who accompanied a contingent of VMI cadets to Harper's Ferry, where they stood guard at the execution of abolitionist John Brown.

1861-1863
April 21, 1861 - the VMI Corps of Cadets was ordered to Richmond to serve as drillmasters for new army recruits. Jackson was placed in command of the cadets.

April 27, 1861 - Gov. John Letcher ordered Col. Jackson to take command at Harper's Ferry, where he organized the troops that would soon comprise the famous "Stonewall Brigade" (2nd, 4th, 5th, 27th and 33rd Virginia Infantry Regiments; Rockbridge Artillery; all were from the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia).

July 1861 - Promoted to Brigadier General. Battle of 1st Manassas, where he acquired the legendary nickname Stonewall. "Look, there stands Jackson like a stone wall."

October 1861 - Promoted to Major General. Placed in command of the Valley of Virginia (Shenandoah Valley) 1862 May & June - Jackson's brilliant Shenandoah Valley Campaign; victories at Front Royal, Winchester, Cross Keys and Port Republic. Following the successful campaign, Jackson was ordered to join Gen. Lee in the Peninsula (Eastern Virginia).

1862 June-September. Battles of Cedar Mountain, Clark's Mt., 2nd Manassas (July 21), Antietam (September 17).

1862 October - Lee reorganized his army into two corps. Jackson was promoted to Lt. General and given command of the new Second Corps. Jackson was now in charge of half of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

1862 November - Jackson's daughter, Julia Laura, was born.

1862 December 13 - Battle of Fredericksburg

1862 December-1863 March - In quarters at Moss Neck, 10 miles south of Fredericksburg. The estate was owned by the Corbin family, who offered their home as winter headquarters.

1863 April - in camp at Hamilton's Crossing

1863 May 1 - Battle of Chancellorsville begins. 1863 May 2, 9:00 p.m. - While reconnoitering with members of his staff, Jackson was accidentally fired upon by his own troops. The 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment was responsible for the "friendly fire" incident. Jackson was struck by three .57 caliber bullets. He was taken to a field hospital near the battlefield, where his left arm was amputated.

1863 May 4 - Jackson was moved to a field hospital at the home of Thomas and Mary Chandler, near Guiney Station, approximately 30 miles from the battlefield.

1863 May 10 - Jackson died at 3:15 p.m. His last words were "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees."
1863 May 15. Jackson's funeral took place in Lexington, Virginia, the town that was Jackson's home during his years as Professor at VMI.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on January 21:
1338 Charles V (the Wise) king of France (1364-80)
1571 John I Pontanus physicist/historian (Amsterdam)
1735 Johann Gottfried Eckard composer
1743 John Fitch inventor (had a working steamboat years before Fulton)
1792 Tsjalling Hiddes Halbertsma Fries story teller (Rhymes & Tales)
1813 John C Frémont [Pathfinder], map maker/explorer/Governor (AZ)
1815 Horace Wells dentist (pioneered use of medical anesthesia)
1821 John Cabell Breckinridge (D) 14th US Vice Pressident (1857-61)/Major-General (Confederacy)
1824 Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson Lieutenant-General 2nd Corps (ANV, Confederacy)
1829 Oscar II Frederik King of Sweden (1872-1907)/Norway (-1905)/poet
1840 Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake pioneer English woman physician
1855 John M Browning US, weapons manufacturer
1884 Katie Sandwina Germany, legendary woman weight-lifter
1884 Roger Nash Baldwin founder (American Civil Liberties Union)
1897 J Carrol Naish New York City NY, actor (Charlie Chan-Adventures of Charlie Chan)
1905 Christian Dior Normandy France, fashion designer (long-skirted look)
1906 John Putz journalist
1908 Bengt Strömgren Göteborg Sweden, astrophysicist (studied gas cloud)
1912 Konrad Bloch Germany, biochemist (studied cholesterol-Nobel 1964)
1921 Barney Clark 1st to receive a permanent artificial heart
1922 Paul Scofield Hurst England, actor (Man for All Seasons, Train)
1924 Benny Hill Southampton England, comedian (Benny Hill Show)
1924 Telly [Aristotle] Savalas Garden City Long Island NY, actor (Acapulco, Kojak)(Who loves ya baby)
1926 Steve Reeves Glasgow MT, actor (Hercules, Hercules Unchained)
1933 William Wrigley III chewing gum mogul (Wrigleys)
1939 Wolfman Jack [Bob Smith], Brooklyn NY, DJ (Midnight Special)
1940 Jack Nicklaus Columbus OH, golfer (Player of Year 1967,72,73,75,76)
1942 Mac Davis Lubbock TX, singer/actor(Mac Davis Show, North Dallas 40)
1947 Jill Eikenberry New Haven CT, actress (Ann Kelsey-LA Law, Manhattan Project)
1957 Geena (Virginia) Davis Wareham MA, actress (Beetlejuice, The Fly)
1975 Anette Oldenborg Miss Denmark-Universe (1996)

Deaths which occurred on January 21:
0879 Boudouin with the Iron Arm Earl of Flanders, dies
1118 Paschalis II [Raniero], pope (1099-1118), dies
1596 John Ligarius German theologist/prime minister, dies at 66
1665 Pierre de Fermat French mathematician (Fermat theorem), dies at 63
1774 Mustapha III sultan of Turkey (1957-74), dies at 56
1793 Louis XVI French king (1774-93), beheaded by revolutionaries at 38
1883 Jacopo Tomadini composer, dies at 62
1892 John Couch Adams English co-discoverer of Neptune, dies
1924 Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin Russian leader, dies of a stroke at 54
1950 George Orwell [Eric Arthur Blair] author (Animal Farm, 1984), dies from tuberculosis in London at 46
1974 Lewis L Strauss head US Atomic Energy Commission (1953-58), dies at 78
1984 Jackie Wilson US singer (I Get the Sweetest Feeling), dies at 49
1985 Barbara Cowsill rocker (Cowsills), dies of emphysema
1991 Howard "Red" Grange football's galloping ghost, dies at 87
1992 William T "Champion Jack" Dupree US boxer/pianist, dies at 81
1997 Colonel Tom Parker manager (Elvis Presley), dies at 87
2001 Byron De La Beckwith, a white supremacist convicted three decades after the fact for assassinating civil rights leader Medgar Evers, died in Jackson, Miss., at age 80.

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 EGAN JAMES T. JR.---MOUNTAINSIDE NJ.
1967 BAUGH WILLIAM J.---PIQUA OH.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 1998]
1967 CONLEY EUGENE O.---AKRON OH.
1967 HOGAN JERRY FRANKS---TUSCALOOSA AL.
1967 KERNS ARTHUR W.---EL PASO TX.
1967 SPOON DONALD R.---MOUND CITY MO.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1968 COALSTON ECHOL W. JR.---MEMPHIS TN.
1968 ELLIOTT JERRY W.---GREENVILLE MS.
1968 HILL BILLY D.---FALLON NV.
1968 KIMSEY WILLIAM A. JR.---RELIANCE TN.
1968 RAMSAY CHARLES J.---NEWARK NJ.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1973 CHRISTOPHERSEN KEITH A.---SOUTH ST. PAUL MN.
[OVERBOARD CVA61 SEARCH NEG]
1973 PARKER CHARLES L. JR.---SAN DIEGO CA.
[OVERBOARD CVA61 SEARCH NEG]
1973 WIEHR RICHARD D.---MANKATO MN.
[OVERBOARD CAV61 SEARCH NEG]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
1077 German King Heinrich IV petitions Pope Gregory VII for forgiveness
1189 Philip II, Henry II & Richard Lion-Hearted initiate 3rd Crusade
1276 Pierre de Tarantaise elected Pope Innocent V
1324 Zen Buddhist religious debate between Tendai & Shingon
1604 Tsar Ivan IV defeats the False Dmitri, who claims to be the true tsar
1664 Count Miklós of Zrinyi sets out to battle Turkish invasion army
1677 1st medical publication in America (pamphlet on smallpox), Boston
1789 1st American novel, WH Brown's "The Power of Sympathy", is published
1793 Prussia & Russia sign partition treaty (Poland divided)
1799 Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination is introduced
1818 Keats writes his poem "On a Lock of Milton's Hair"
1824 Ashantees defeat British at Accra, West Africa
1827 Freedom Journal, 1st Black paper, begins publishing
1830 Portsmouth (Ohio) blacks forcibly deported
1853 Envelope-folding machine patented by Russell Hawes, Worcester MA
1861 Jefferson Davis of Mississippi & 4 other southern senators resign
1880 1st US sewage disposal system separate from storm drains, Memphis TN
1887 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) forms
1903 "Wizard of Oz" premieres in New York City NY
1903 Harry Houdini escapes police station Halvemaansteeg in Amsterdam
1908 New York City NY regulation makes it illegal for a woman to smoke in public
1913 Aristide Briand forms French government
1915 Kiwanis International founded in Detroit
1919 Sinn Fein proclaims parliament of Free Ireland
1922 1st slalom ski race run, Mürren, Switzerland
1925 Albanian parliament announces itself a republic; Ahmed Zogoe President
1927 1st national opera broadcast from a US opera house (Faust, Chicago)
1935 The Wilderness Society is founded
1941 1st commercial extraction of magnesium from seawater, Freeport TX
1941 1st anti-Jewish measures in Bulgaria
1941 Australia & Britain attack Tobruk Libya
1941 British communist newspaper "Daily Worker" banned
1942 Bronx magistrate rules all pinball machines illegal
1942 Count Basie records "One O'Clock Jump"
1942 Tito's partisans occupy Foca
1944 447 German bombers attack London
1944 649 British bombers attack Magdeburg
1945 British troops land on Ramree, near coast of Burma
1950 New York jury finds former State Department official Alger Hiss guilty of perjury
1951 Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Tampa Women's Golf Open
1952 Nehru's Congress party wins general election in India
1953 John Foster Dulles appointed as Secretary of State
1954 1st gas turbine automobile exhibited (New York City NY)
1954 1st atomic submarine, USS Nautilus, launched on Thames River, christened by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower
1956 "Comedy in Music (Victor Borge)" closes at Golden New York City NY after 849 performances
1958 KMOT TV channel 10 in Minot ND (NBC) begins broadcasting
1961 KIFI TV channel 8 in Idaho Falls ID (NBC) begins broadcasting
1962 Snow falls in San Francisco
1968 US B-52 bombers with nuclear bomb crashes in Greenland
1976 Supersonic Concorde, 1st commercial flights, by Britain & France
1977 President Jimmy Carter pardons almost all Vietnam War draft evaders
1977 Italy legalizes abortion
1978 Bee Gees' "Saturday Night Fever" album goes #1 for 24 weeks
1979 Neptune becomes outermost planet (Pluto moves closer)
1979 Price of gold increases to record $875 troy ounce
1981 Bernhard Goetz is assaulted for 1st time on a New York subway train
1983 Reagan certifies El Salvador human-rights abuses have decreased making country eligible for US military aid
1985 -19ºF (-28ºC), Caesar's Head SC (state record)
1985 -34ºF (-37ºC), Mt Mitchell NC (state record)
1985 Dennis Potvin ties Bobby Orr's career record of 270 NHL goals
1986 100 participate in Nude Olympics race in 38ºF (3ºC), Indiana(No Comment)
1987 Archbishop's envoy Terry Waite disappears in Lebanon
1987 BB King donates his 7,000 record collection to University of Mississippi
1988 US accept immigration of 30,000 US-Vietnamese children
1990 John McEnroe becomes the 1st ever expelled from the Australian Open for throwing a tantrum & swearing at an official
1991 CBS News correspondent Bob Simon captured by Iraqis in Persian Gulf
1994 Lorena Bobbitt found temporarily insane for chopping off spouse's penis
1998 Pope John Paul II visits Cuba

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Dominican Republic : Nuestra Senora de Altagracia Day
China : Chinese New Year-The Year of the Rat-Sexageney begins (1996/4694)
Mexico : Santa Ines' Day
US : Pizza Week (Day 4)
US : National Hugging Day
National Volunteer Blood Donor Month

Religious Observances
Baha'i : World Religion Day (Sultan 3)
Christian : Commemoration of St Meinrad
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Meinrad
Roman Catholic, Anglican : Memorial of St Agnes, virgin/martyr at Rome

Religious History
1525 History's first Anabaptist baptismal service took place in Zurich, Switzerland, when Conrad Grebel (re-)baptized George Blaurock.
1549 Parliament passed the first of four British Acts of Uniformity, this first requiring the exclusive use of the Book of Common Prayer (later called the First Prayer Book of Edward VI) in all public services of the Anglican Church.
1738 English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in his journal: 'I desire to have no greater portion than the prayers of the poor.'
1772 Pioneer Methodist bishop Frances Asbury wrote in his journal: 'Though a stranger in a strange land, God has taken care of me.'
1986 Charismatic Bible Ministries was founded in Oklahoma. A fraternal fellowship of charismatic organizations, CBM held its first major conference in June 1986 in Tulsa.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"They say genes skip generations. Maybe that's why grandparents find their grandchildren so likeable."

Question Of the day...
How do they get the "Keep off the Grass" sign on the grass?

Murphys Law of the day...First Law of Revision)
Information necessitating a change of design will be conveyed to the designer after -- and only after -- the plans are complete.
(Often called the "Now they tell us!" Law.)

Astounding Fact #873,117...
The Dodge brothers Horace and John were Jewish, that's why the first Dodge emblem had a star of David in it.

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