Reduction in Hemp Plants Ordered; We've Got Too Much Hemp

From the January 16, 2019, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1944, 75 Years Ago.

"Hemp processing plants at Shabbona and Kirkland, as well as the plant  at Polo and two in Wisconsin, will remain the five operating establishments in the government's elaborate  hemp program, following the drastic order of curtailment.

"The five remaining plants will be the only operating units of a  28-plant program in the middle west that was sponsored by the government through the Commercial Credit Corporation, to meet the shortage of hemp fiber as the Japs seized South Pacific areas."

--GreGen

D-Day Flag Comes Home

From the October Naval History magazine.

In a White House ceremony on 18 July 2019, Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G Bunch III accepted a 48-star flag that had flown from Landing Craft, Control (LCC) 60 on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

The 30-by-57-inch flag  shows discoloration and staining from diesel exhaust along with general wear and tear sustained during its wartime use.  A hole in it appears to have come from a German machine-gun bullet.

The LCC 60 worked off Utah Beach and was commanded by Howard Vander Beek, a Dutch-American who kept the flag.

Following a meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Mark Rutte of thye Netherlands, a Dutch art collector, Bert Kreuk donated the flag to the Smithsonian where it is now on view of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's "D-Day, June 6, 1944" 75th anniversary exhibit.

--GreGen

Uruguayan Court Orders Graf Spee Eagle To Be Sold

From the October Naval History magazine.

The giant bronze Nazi eagle from the stern of the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee, sunk by scuttling off the coast of Uruguay after the 1939 Battle of the River Platte, must be sold according to a Uruguay court.

The 800 pound eagle was salvaged in 2006, but for years has been kept out of view in a sealed crate in a Uruguayan naval warehouse.  It has a controversial  artifact on it -- beneath the eagle's talons in a large swastika.  This has brought a lot of feelings.

Options are exhibiting the eagle, auctioning it off or even destroying it.

Personally I would like to have it put on exhibit somewhere as history.

--GreGen

Chicago's U-505-- Part 3: About Its Exhibit, Bill Curtis and Volunteers

Of course, the U-boat itself is the focal point of the exhibit, but there are several interactive displays outside the ship, archival media, around 200 artifacts and videos narrated by former WBBM-TV Channel 2 anchorman Bill Curtis that tell the complete story of the U-505.

To actually go on board the submarine, visitors are required to buy a separate ticket for an on-board tour that lasts around 25 minutes.

Despite all the wealth of information and things to see, visitors to the sub often have additional questions and this is where the ship's volunteers stand in. The MSI has a team of thirty of them who work at the site, including 20 who are veterans.

--GreGen

Chicago's U-505-- Part 2: 75th Anniversary of Its Capture This Year

It was captured off the coast of what was French Morocco  in 1944 by Task Force 22.3, a U.S. Navy anti-submarine group commanded by Chicago native Daniel Gallery on June 4, 1944, two days before D-Day.  This past June marked the 75th anniversary of its capture.

This capture was kept top secret during the war.

The U.S. government donated the U-505 to the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in 1954 and it was displayed outside the museum for 5 years.  Chicago weather and the elements caused much deterioration to the ship and in 2005 it was moved to a specially designed indoor facility.  It is one of only four German U-boats still existing worldwide.  All of them are museum ships and not operational any more.

June 4th was the 75th anniversary of its capture and a commemoration ceremony was held at the ship that included a proclamation by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

--GreGen

A Submarine for All, Chicago's U-505-- Part 1: The First Enemy Ship Captured on the High Seas Since the War of 1812

From the Nov. 8, 2019, Chicago Tribune.

Of the many exhibits in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, the World War II German U-505 (U-boat submarine) continues to be one of its most popular and most intriguing.  This submarine has a very interesting history.

It is the original 252-foot long, 1,120 ton submarine which was part of Germany's over 1,000 sub strong fleet that sank 2,779 Allied ships and almost turned the course of World War II.

It draws visitors not only from the Chicago area, but also from around the country and the world.  It also has a large complement of volunteers.

The U-505 was the first enemy warship commandeered on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since the War of 1812 and was taken off the coast of what then was French Morocco two days before the D-Day invasion.

According to U-boat.net, there are just four U-boats in existence today, including the U-505.

--GreGen

Honor Flights Expanded to Korean and Vietnam Wars

The not-for-profit Honor Flight Program initially started as a way to get World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the WW II Memorial at no charge to them.  It was opened up to Korean War veterans in 2016 and now, this year, to Vietnam War veterans.

I have been writing about this program and Honor Flight Chicago these last two weeks in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

--GreGen

Post-Service Words and Acronyms-- Part 2: Ruptured Duck, MPs and SPs

RUPTURED DUCK

Upon discharge, you were given a lapel pin to note your service.  In my Brooklyn neighborhood, for whatever reason, veterans did not wear the pin.    Consequently, after the war, a cloth ruptured duck was developed, because veterans wearing their armed forces coat or jacket, the only clothing they had, were being arrested by overzealous Army MPs (Military Police) or Navy SPs (Shore Patrol) for being out of uniform.

Hence, the cloth ruptured duck was developed, which could be sewn onto any clothing to note your discharge.  Now, interestingly, the  veteran telling this says he sees an occasional WW II veteran still wearing their ruptured duck.

--GreGen

Post-Service Words and Acronyms-- Part 1: Mustering-Out Money, GI Bill and College and 52-20 Club

These were some terms that came into use more after the war was over.

MUSTERING-OUT MONEY

If you served overseas, after you were mustered out, you received $300.  If your whole service was stateside, you received $200.

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GI BILL AND COLLEGE

For college, you received one year plus the time you served.  If you served for two years, you had there years for college.

However, a college year was less than 12 months.  If you used your GI Bill to purchase college books, that was subtracted from the time you were awarded.  To contend with this, when a course required three books, three of us purchased one book apiece and shared books.

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52-20 CLUB

To help veterans  financially, the government provided $20 for 52 weeks.

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A Big Help Back Then.  --GreGen

WW II Acronyms and Words-- Part 7 : SNAFU, SOS and Zippo

SNAFU

Stands for Situation Normal, All _____ Up.  Meant there was a screw up of some sort and everyone knows this does not happen in the military.

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SOS

Shorthand for "____ On A Shingle."  This was usually a breakfast meal composed of chipped beef in a white sauce on a piece of   white toast.  Said the man giving this information:  "I must confess, I loved SOS because eggs and potatoes were packaged in dehydrated form, and when the cooks aded water --- it did make for a very appetizing meal."

Myself, I really like SOS.

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ZIPPO LIGHTER

The Zippo lighter was constructed so that the wind would not blow out the flame.  Just about everyone who smoked wanted to own a Zippo.  And they had that special smell.

--GreGen

WW II Acronyms and Words-- Part 6: USO, V-12s and P-38s

USO

United Services Organization

Just prior to WW II, President Roosevelt  united several service groups into the USO to boost the morale of military men and women.   The USO provided services like snack bars, clubs, sports  activities and additional  services depending on location.

Bob Hope toured the USOs and did shows with entertainment, skits, monologues, celebrity appearances and singers.

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V-12

The V-12 Navy College Training Program was for Navy and Marine recruits.  The purpose of the program was to provide bachelor's degrees for future officers.  About 125,000 participated in the program at 131 colleges.

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P-38

In World War II, there were two P-38s.

One was a very fats and highly regarded fighter plane.

The other was a small can opener in C- and K-rations.    I always had a P-38 on my dog tags.  Many veterans still have P-38s on their key rings.

--GreGen

WW II Acronyms and Words-- Part 5: Segregated Armed Forces

SEGREGATED ARMED FORCES

The Army was segregated  The soldier giving these said he was in a segregated Army.

The soldiers in the 92nd Infantry Division were Blacks and fought in Italy as part of the 5th Army.  Also serving in Italy were the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all Nisei unit--  Americans of Japanese descent.

Here and there, depending upon the section of the country and the officers, there were integrated units.

In World War I. Blacks served with the French units.

As far as his military career he said that after training at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, the football team was desegregated.  The troop ships going over were segregated with black troops fore and aft.

In 1946, while at Camp Crowder in Joplin, Missouri, I went to a baseball game in Kansas City.  As I sat in the ballpark, I kept thinking something wasn't kosher.  Finally in the 7th inning stretch, I realized I was in a segregated park.

Back home all our teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and New York Yankees all played in integrated parks.

--GreGen

Honoring Our Veterans Today: Attend Your Local Ceremony

Of course, one of the best places you can go is to a local ceremony in your area, probably even your home town, where the local veterans organization will have a ceremony.  This is even more important as we continue losing so many World War II and Korean War veterans to age.

They almost all start at 11 a.m., in honor of the original reason for what became Veterans Day, something called Armistice Day which marked the end of World War I on the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of 11th Month.

This eventually became Veterans Day, honoring all veterans of all wars, and at the time in 1919, we still had many Civil War veterans, both Union and Confederate, as well as Indian Wars, Spanish-American War and Philippines.

I plan on going to our commemoration in Fox Lake, Illinois, to be held at the train station and put on by my American Legion Post 703 and the VFW.  Of course, we have just gotten around 4 inches of snow with more on the way with winter advisory until 2 p.m. and temps dropping significantly.

But, if our veterans stood this sort of weather for much longer than an hour, it's the least we can do for them.

--GreGen

WW II Acronyms and Words-- Part 4: M1s, MOS and TS Ticket

**  M1 GARAND RIFLE

The M1 Rifle was used in both WW II and the Korean War.  Was semiautomatic,  had an eight round clip and weighed 9 1/2 pounds.  Sometimes, if you weren't careful loading a clip, the bolt closed and smashed your thumb.

It was superior to the rifles used by the Germans and Japanese.    Gen. Patton called it  "The Greatest Battle Implement Ever Devised."

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**  MOS

Everyone serving was assigned an MOS  "Military Occupation Specialty."  usually your MOS was listed on your discharge papers.  The person telling these things said his was Radio Operator,  High Speed, Manual.

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**  TS TICKET

The TS Ticket was often invoked when somebody was constantly complaining to the point it became unbearable.  TS  stood for "Tough S---."  You'd tell him to go to the chaplain and get his TS Ticket punched.

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TS, Ya'll.  --GreGen

WW II Acronyms and Names-- Part 3: Kilroy and Maggie's Drawers

KILROY WAS HERE

Kilroy was a humorous image graffitied wherever American service personnel served.  There were many variations, but generally, he was a bald man with a prominent nose peaking over a wall with his fingers clutching the wall.

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MAGGIE'S DRAWERS

Basic to any rifle range.  For safety, there is a process of arranging yourself lying on the ground and holding your rifle and waiting to fire.    The loudspeaker would call, "Ready on the right, ready on the left, ready on the firing line, Maggie's drawers, commence firing."

When the words "Maggie's drawer's was shouted, a long thin pole was waved back and forth with a pair of women's bloomers attached to it.  It was a very sexist  activity and undoubtedly not used today.

I'm not sure this is entirely correct.   I looked it up and read that this was a large red flag that was waved when the shooter missed the target entirely.

***************************************

--GreGen

WW II Acronyms and Names-- Part 2: The Jody Cadence, Dear John, Dog Tags and K-Rats

COUNTING CADENCE/JODY CADENCE

Soldiers march to a cadence.  For example, "Hup, two three four" and  "You left, your left."    Jody cadence was created by black soldiers, "You had a good home when you left, count off."  A Jody cadence can get quite raunchy and marched to a cadence where Jody gets your wife or girlfriend while you're gone.

DEAR JOHN

Dear John was the generic name given for a break-up letter received by a GI.

DOG TAGS

GIs were issued two dig tags to wear around their neck for identification.  Stamped on the dog tag was your name, identification number, blood type and religion:  C for Catholic, P- Protestant and H-  Hebrew (Jewish).  The religious classifications were a holdover from WW I.

K-RATIONS

K-Rats were individually packed combat ration about the size of a box of Cracker Jacks, with a waxed  container.    To open the enclosed can, a P-38 can opener was enclosed, with a few cigarettes, crackers and a small chocolate bar.

So, That's What They Meant.  --GreGen

WW II Acronyms and Names-- Part 1: Talking Regular Army, ASTP and C-Rations

From the November 6, 2019, MV Times  "World War II vet explains acronyms" by Herb Foster.

In case you are reading about the war and come across one of these.


ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES / REGULAR ARMY

If you were drafted, you served in the Army of the United States.  If you enlisted, you were in the U.S. Army (Regular Army).  You could be a captain in the Army of the United States and after teh war you would revert to your prewar Regular Army rank.

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ASTP

The Army Specialized Training Program was organized to develop officers, technicians and specialists.  This operated out of colleges and universities and about 200,000 came from this.

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C-RATIONS

A C-Ration pack for combat troops contained small cans that could contain a main course like franks and beans, plus some cigarettes, canned fruit, chewing gum, chocolate bars, instant coffee and toilet paper.

It might also additionally have some biscuits, processed cheese and a matchbook.

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Pass the C-Rats, Please.  --GreGen

Lost British Submarine HMS Urge Found-- Part 4: A Real Pain to the Italian Navy

On her way to the Mediterranean, the Urge  sank the Italian tanker Franco Martelli and damaged the Italian passenger ship Aquitania  and merchant ship Marigola.  On December 14, the Urge torpedoed and damaged the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto during operations around the First battle of Sitre.  In the same attack, the Italian battleship Littorio narrowly avoided the Urge's torpedoes.

One of the crew of the Urge at this battle was Lt.  Godfrey Place who would later was one of the leaders in Operation Source, the attack on the German battleship Tirpitz.  On 1 April 1942, the Urge torpedoed and sank the Italian  light cruiser Giovanni delle Banda Nere.

The Urge was also one of the first submarines to land commandos by canoe (or folding kayak).  The submarine also had quite a few unsuccessful attacks on Italian ships because of  torpedo gyro problems.  There were other missed opportunities as well.

On April 27, 1942, the Urge was ordered to leave Malta and this is when the ship disappeared until it was found just recently.

--GreGen

Lost British Submarine HMS Urge Found-- Part 3

The wreck's exact location has not been yet disclosed.  It was one of 13 small U-Class British submarines lost in the Mediterranean Sea during the war.

During its previous patrols it had damaged the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto and sank the Italian cruiser Bande Nere.

***********************

From Wikipedia.

Commissioned 12 December 1940  From 1941 to 1942 was part of 10th Submarine Flotilla based in Malta.  Operating in the Mediterranean, the Urge had an intensive 20 patrol career where she damaged or sank a number of mostly Italian warships and took part in several special operations.

She was commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Edward P. Tomkinson.  She was lost with all hands on 27 April 1942 after striking a naval mine off Malta.

It was adopted and partially funded by the people of the Welsh town of Bridgend in 1941.

--GreGen

Unknown Utahn Remains Found and Returned

Robert Hatch is the latest person from Utah whose unknown remains have been found and returned to home.

  Earlier this year the remains of Army Air Forces 2nd Lt.  Lynn W. Hadfield were buried at Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial in Bluffdale.  German anti-aircraft fire hit his A-26B Invader on March 21, 1945, crashing the plane and killing the 26-year-old and his two crew men.

In 2017, Navy Musician 1st Class Elliott Larsen was buried in Monroe, almost 76 years after he  died on the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.

The U.S. Department of Defense identified the remains of Army Air Force 1st Lt. Bryant E. Poulsen, of Salt Lake City in 2015.  He was a 22-year-old and the pilot of one of a dozen B-24s that took off from New Guinea on a mission to attack a Japanese anti-aircraft site at Hansa Bay.

His B-24 was nicknamed "Hot Garters."  Four of his crew parachuted out, but reportedly died while in captivity.

He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

--GreGen

Remains of Robert J. Hatch Will Return to Utah, 76 Years Later

From the Nov. 1, 2019, Salt Lake City Tribune  "Remains of Utah Marine killed in World War II  will return home for burial" by Paighten Harkins.

Robert J. Hatch was just 21 when he was killed alongside 1,000 other service members on the small island of Betio in the Pacific against stubborn Japanese defense.  He made it through three days of fighting before being killed November 22, 1943.

He was buried either alone or in a cemetery on the island.  The military attempted to find his body in 1946, but couldn't.  Three years later, his remains were declared "non-recoverable."

Thanks to advanced technology and a nonprofit group called History Flight, this December, the Woods Cross native's remains are returning to Utah.  The group has been scouring Betio for remains and in March discovered Mr. Hatch's remains in a previously unknown burial trench in the cemetery.

His burial is set for December 14 in Bountiful.

--GreGen

Lost British Submarine HMS Urge Found-- Part 2: It Went Down Fast

"The damage to the bow shows a very violent explosion ... indicating that the ship would have sunk very fast giving no chance to anyone to survive from this tragedy," said Timmy Gambin, who led the search mission.  "Besides the damage on the bow, the wreck is in absolutely fantastic condition.  It is sitting upright on the seabed  still facing the direction to which it had been ordered."

The British Defense Ministry has reviewed the findings and says it is the HMS Urge.

Gambin believes it hit the mine while sailing on the surface shortly after leaving Malta under the cover of darkness.

A ceremony is planned for April to declare the site an official war grave.  He hopes the daughter of the Urge's commander Lt. Commander  E.P. Tompkinson, will be in attendance.

--GreGen

Lost British Submarine HMS Urge Found in the Mediterranean-- Part 1

From the October 31, 2019 Reuters  "Lost WW2 British submarine found off the coast of Malta" Crispian Balmer.

The British submarine HMS Urge had been based with other submarines at the island of Malta during the height of the war and had carried out several missions against Italian warships and commerce when it and the others were ordered to leave Malta and redeploy to Egypt because of relentless German attacks on the island.

The Urge set sail on April 27, 1942 with a crew of 32, 11 other Navy personnel and a journalist.  However, it failed to reach Alexandria by its May 6 rendezvous date and its final fate has been unknown, until now.  Most thought it had hit a mine as the area it had gone through had been heavily mined by the Germans.

A maritime team from the University of Malta has spent two decades surveying local waters at the request of the son of the Urge's commander.

A sonar image revealed a submarine-like shape at a 425 foot depth about two miles off Malta's coast.  Subsequent dives by an unmanned submersible revealed it to be a U-Class submarine with a large chunk of its bow missing.

That's It.  --GreGen

Kenneth Taylor, Pearl Harbor Hero-- Part 5: George Welch and After the War

George Welch flew  more than 300 missions in the Pacific Theater during the war and is credited with shooting down at least 12 Japanese planes.  After the war he became a test pilot and died in 1954 in a test flight of a F-100 Super Sabre fighter jet.

Taylor stayed in the Air Force after the war and retired in 1967 and then was with the Alaska Air National Guard, retiring as a brigadier general in 1971.

His other awards and decorations include the Air Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, tyhe Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, two Bronze Service Stars.

After he left the military, he worked as an aviation insurance underwriter for Lloyd's of London until 1985 and died in 2006.

Taylor's son, Kenneth Taylor Jr., followed in his father's footsteps, serving as a gunship and cargo pilot in the Vietnam War, accumulating more than 6,600 flying hours and 500 combat hours and eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general.

A well deserved honor to be inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame.

--GreGen

Kenneth Taylor, Pearl Harbor Hero-- Part 4: 14 Pilots Got Off Ground That Day, Both Became Flying Aces in the War

Taylor was credited with shooting down two Japanese aircraft that day, but a later search of Japanese records after the war confirmed that he had shot down four.  His wingman, George Welch, also took credit for shooting down four planes.

Taylor said he didn't have time to be scared during that morning's battle.  "I wasn't in the least bit scared and let me tell you why:  I was too young and too stupid to realize that I was in a lot of danger."

Both men were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross of Valor, the second highest award for bravery.  In all, 14 American pilots got off the ground to fight that morning and shot down ten Japanese planes.

Taylor and Welch both became flying aces during the war.  Taylor flew 40 combat missions, including 100 combat hours in a P-40 fighter and was credited with shooting down six Japanese planes.

GreGen