Spam Goes to War: Just the Numbers, Please

 From the World War II Encyclopedia   "Spam"

As America entered World War II, Spam luncheon meat (SPiced hAM) --  first introduced in 1937 -- played a crucial role overseas.  With Allied  forces fighting to liberate Europe, Hormel Foods provided  15 million cans of food to troops each week.

Spam immediately became an important part  of a soldier's diet and earned much praise for feeding starving  British and Soviet armies as well as civilians.  It needed no refrigeration and could be served cold or cooked in any number of ways.

It also became popular with British and American homefronts since all "real" meats were rationed.  Spam was not rationed.

World War II generated  a huge boost for Hormel Food sales.  Between 1939 and 1942, its net sales  doubled to almost $120 million and annual pork processing reached an all-time high  of 1.6 million head, mostly because of Uncle Sam.

By 1944, 90% of all of Hormel canned goods were going to military forces or military aid programs.  The following April of 1945, more than 100 million pounds of Spam luncheon meat had been shipped abroad.

--SpamGen

Spam Goes to War, the Pacific, Hawaii and Even Korea-- Part 2: A 'Wartime Delicacy'

The writer of the article, Jim Willard, said his first acquaintance with Spam came during World War II.  he was still a child and meat was rationed, but not Spam.  As such, his mom included it in her meal planning.

He recalled her frying it, after which he covered it lots and lots of catsup.    He confessed that not only did catsup go on his Spam, but also on a lot of other things such as scrambled eggs, bread and butter sandwiches, etc..

The war put Spam on a lot of maps.  In the Pacific Theater, Spam was introduced to Guam, Okinawa, the Philippines and Hawaii, where it was a huge hit.

It remains especially popular in our 50th state.  Hawaii residents have the highest per capita consumption of Spam of all states.  Both McDonald's and Burger King outlets on the islands serve Spam (with catsup available).

The Lend-Lease Act also brought the stuff to the United Kingdom.  British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once referred to it as a "wartime delicacy."  Jim said he'd had British food before  and can understand why she felt that way.

And, what's more, the Korean War brought the 'delicacy" you-know-where.

--GreSpam

Spam Went Around the World in World War II

From the May 22, 2021, Reporter Herald  "Trivially speaking:  Spam went around the world in World War II" by Jim Willard.

Hormel Foods Corp. introduced Spam on July 5, 1937.  Its basic ingredients are pork with ham added, salt, water, modified potato starch, sugar and sodium nitrate (acting as a preservative).

Spam was supposed to increase the popularity of pork shoulder which is not a very popular pork cut.

Would Spam have become as successful and accepted  without the advent of World War II?  Who knows, but during the war some 150 million pounds of the stuff was purchased by the military.

And, of course, military personnel quickly came up with their own names for the stuff like:

Meatloaf without basic training

Ham that didn't pass its physical

Special Army Meat

The Spam brand name was coined by Ken Daigneu (the brother of a company executive) who won $100 in the naming contest.  Supposed it is a contraction for SPiced hAM.

Talk About Your Being In the Right Place At the Tight Time.  --GreSpam

Soviet Women at War-- Part 4: The Soviet Army's 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment at Stalingrad

Yet, for all the attention and honors given to female snipers and air crews, the group of  women who stood out the most were the anti-aircraft crews at the early stages of the Battle of Stalingrad, a major turning point of the war.

The Soviet Army's 1077th  Anti-Aircraft Regiment was composed entirely of women aged 16 to 25.  On their own initiative, they turned  their guns against the rapidly advancing German 16th Panzer Division, the leading group of the invading 6th Army.

Destroying enormous amounts of German equipment and killing numerous Panzer  grenadiers, they blunted the German advance, allowing Soviet  reinforcements to regroup and be deployed.

Their efforts were so significant that even the Germans described them as "tenacious fighting women."  No single action in the defense of  Stalingrad  has been regarded as more important  in attaining the crushing defeat administered to the Germans at Stalingrad.

Every May, Russians honor  their World War II  triumph on what they call Victory Day.  Marching proudly in Red square among the ranks of dwindling  veterans are women warriors who helped make the victory possible.

--GreGen

Women in the Soviet Air Force-- Part 3: Beware the Nachthexen!!

There were three separate units of women in the Soviet Air Force.  One was staffed by women pilots,  a second was of navigators and a third of ground personnel.  

The 588th Bomber Squadron was staffed entirely by women and led by the intrepid  Maria Roskova..  They flew older wooden planes which necessarily were slower than other aircraft.  As a consequence, they flew only at night to avoid easy detection.  This also contributed to their fame.

The pilots would often cut their motors so the Germans wouldn't hear them.  Then, after a quick dive, they would release their bombs.  Once dropped, they would reengage their engines and leave the area.

Sometimes the bombs would jam and one of the two women crew members would have to climb out on the wing and hand-release them. 

One in every ten of these bomber crews received the Hero of the Soviet Union medal.

The Germans were so vexed by them that they  nicknamed the Soviet Union  Nachthexen (Night Witches).

The crews flew more than 30,000 missions, each member averaging more than  250 apiece.  Some nights they flew more than one mission.

Stuff I Definitely Didn't Know.  --GreGen

Soviet Women Did More Than Just Support War Effort-- Part 2: Snipers & the 'Terror of East Prussia'

In all, some 11,000 Germans were killed by Soviet snipers during the war.  A high percentage of them were gunned down by women.

One of the most famous of them was Roza Shanina who was an excellent university student, as were most women snipers.  She enlisted in the Soviet Army at age  18 and over the course of two years, killed 59 Germans.  On one occasion, she led a group of Russian soldiers who, in hand-to-hand combat, wiped out a larger group of Germans.

The Canadian press  dubbed her the "Terror of East Prussia" for her success rate at killing Germans on the German homeland.

She died at age 20, succumbing to grievous wounds sustained while saving the life of a comrade.

--GreGen

Soviet Women Did More Than Just Support the War Effort-- Part 1

From May 19, 2021, SaltWire, Cape Breton "Cape Breton columnist  pays tribute to forgotten Second World War contribution of Russian women" by David Delaney.

I sure did not know anything about this.  But, wow!!

This column was about the frontline  fighting Soviet women during the Second World War, or as the USSR called it, the Great Patriotic War.

In both the Red Army and the Soviet Air Force, women served in the infantry and artillery units, drove the vaunted T-34 tanks, flew as fighter and bomber pilots and engaged in the lonely  and dangerous roles of snipers.

Also, 46% of all frontline doctors in the Soviet military were women.

One area in which the women stood out in was that of snipers where 2,484 served.  An analysis of their role said that women were more "patient,  methodical and cunning" than their male counterparts.

I Had No Idea They Played Such a Frontline Role in the War.  --GreGen

Pearl Harbor Could Have Been Worse

From the June 28, 2018, ListVerse "10 coincidences that helped shape US history" by Christopher Dale.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941,  was a huge disaster for the United States.  The stats:  2,403 Americans killed, nearly 1,200 wounded, over 325 planes destroyed or damaged and 18 ships (including eight battleships)  severely damaged or destroyed.

Amazingly, this damage would have been even worse except by the incredible luck that out three aircraft carriers which were supposed to be there were out of harbor that day.

The USS Lexington had left Pearl Harbor on December 5 to transport a bomber division to Midway Island, while the USS Saratoga had recently completed  a lengthy retrofit on the mainland and was days away from returning to Pearl Harbor.

Most fortunate of all, the USS Enterprise had been delivering a Marine  fighter squadron to Wake Island.  The carrier had been scheduled to return to Pearl Harbor on December 6, but bad weather delayed its arrival until the following afternoon, December 7.  As a result, the ship missed the attack by just hours.

Considering how vital air power is in modern warfare, the uphill battle to retake the Pacific Ocean from the Japanese would have been much more difficult without these carriers.

A Stroke of Good Luck?  --GreGen

USS San Francisco-- Part 4: The Sinking of the USS Juneau (CL-52)

As I said at the conclusion of the last post, the transfer of the USS Juneau's medical crew to the USS San Francisco at this time was very fortunate for them.

By 1100,  the Juneau had taken a torpedo  in her port side from the Japanese submarine I-26, striking in the vicinity of the bridge.  "The entire ship seemed to explode  in one mighty column of brown and white smoke and flame which rose  easily a thousand feet into the air.  The Juneau literally  disintegrated."

The San Francisco was hit by several large fragments from the Juneau.  One man was hit, both his legs were broken.

Nothing of the Juneau was seen in the water after the smoke lifted.  The surviving ships were ordered  to keep going and not to look for survivors.  Unfortunately, some 100 Juneau survivors (out of 697 aboard) were forced to wait eight days for rescue while floating on the ocean, undergoing  intense shark attacks.  Only ten survived.

This was also the ship on which the five Sullivan brothers served.  All five died.

The San Francisco then sailed to temporary repairs and then to San Francisco for a major repair and overhaul.

She went on to fight in the rest of the war in the Pacific Theater.

--GreGen

Follow Up on USS San Francisco (CA-47)-- Part 3: Aftermath of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

Seventy-seven sailors, including Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan and Captain Cassin Young, had been killed.  Captain Young, like his ship, was a veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack.  Only, he hadn't been on the San Francisco, but on the USS Vestal, which was next to the Arizona when it blew up. he received a Medal of Honor for his actions that day.

Another 105 had been wounded.  Seven were missing, but three were eventually rescued.

The ship had taken 45 hits.  Structural damage was severe, but not fatal.  No hits had been received below the waterline.  Twenty-two fires had been started, but extinguished.

At 0400, the San Francisco, all of her compasses out of commission, joined the Helena and Juneau and followed them through the Sealark Channel to sail to Espiritu  Santo for initial repairs.

At about 1000, the medical crew of the USS Juneau transferred to the San Francisco to assist the injured there.

That was very fortunate for them.

--GreGen

A Follow-Up on USS San Francisco-- Part 2: Took a Licking

About 0200, the San Francisco engaged the Japanese battleship Kirishima, cruiser Nagara and a destroyer which crossed her bow and went down the port side  Many of the Frisco's guns were put out of commission.

The Japanese ships concentrated their fire on the battered San Francisco.  A direct hit on the navigation bridge killed or badly wounded all the officers except for communications  officer Lt. Cmdr.  Bruce McCandless.  

Command of the ship fell to Lt. Cmdr.  Herbert E. Schonland, but he felt his own efforts  were needed to keep the ship "afloat and right-side up" so he ordered McCandless to remain in charge.  Steering and engine control was lost, shifted elsewhere, but that too was lost.

It was transferred elsewhere, but that was also lost.  All communications were down.  The ship was taking a battering.

Soon afterwards, fortunately, the enemy ceased firing and the San Francisco did as well and withdrew eastward along the  north coast of Guadalcanal.

--GreGen

A Follow-Up on the USS San Francisco (CA-47)-- Part 1: Engagement

The last three posts I wrote about Richard Jongarden's experience on board this heavy cruiser with a lot of the story being about its battle with a Japanese off Guadalcanal on November 12-13, 1942.  

Here is some more information on it.

From Wikipedia.

On 12 November, the task force the San Francisco was with was unloading when it was attacked by 21 Japanese planes.  The ship was almost hit by a torpedo, but the plane that dropped it crashed into the "Frisco"  Fifteen men were killed, 29 wounded and one missing.    Control aft was destroyed and much damage done.

Some of the wounded were transferred to the USS President Jackson, but then a Japanese fleet arrived on the scene.  The San Francisco and heavy cruiser Portland, light cruisers Helena, Juneau and Atlanta and eight destroyers entered the Lengo Channel to fight it.

It was then 0125 November 13, and the San Francisco opened fire in the pitch dark on the Japanese ships, targeting on two Japanese cruisers.  Unfortunately, a mistake was made and also the fire hit the USS Atlanta, killing Admiral Scott and most of the bridge crew.  (Later the green dye the San Francisco used to distinguish its shells was found on the Atlanta's superstructure.)

--GreGen

Last Man from USS San Francisco Dies-- Part 3: Richard Jongordon

The USS San Francisco took 45  major hits in the action, but the crew was able to save it.  For the valor displayed, the ship received the Presidential  Unit Citation and was sent to Mare Island for repairs.

The ship returned to action on late February 1943, but the badly damaged bridge was left behind for scrap.

The Frisco (as her crew called her)  saw further action in the landings at Okinawa and Iwo Jima.  It was preparing for the attack on Japan when peace came.

For its role in the war, the Frisco received  17 Battle Stars, making it one of the most decorated warships of World War II.

Chief Johnny Jongordon was involved in all seventeen of them.  he left the Navy in 1947 and returned to his original name of Richard Johnson.  When he joined the business world, he soon found there were a lot of Richard Johnsons and changed his name legally to Jongordon.

He was involved in many businesses after the war.

--GreGen

Last Man from USS San Francisco Dies, Richard Jongordon-- Part 2: At Pearl Harbor, Battle of Coral Sea and Guadalcanal

Richard Gordon Johnson (he later changed his name to Richard Jongordon) was born December 6, 1922, in Wheaton, Minnesota, and grew up on a farm and worked any job he could find to help support his family during the Great Depression.  At age 17, he dropped out of high school and joined the Navy after his mother signed a signature waiver.

Because he was a farm kid who had also worked at a butcher shop, he was made a mess specialist and organized and distributed three meals a day on board the USS San Francisco.  He turned 19 on December 6, 1941 while his ship was at Pearl Harbor.  And, we know what happened the next day.

His ship was being overhauled and had essentially no weapons that day, but fortunately the enemy planes ignored it and went after the ships afloat.

Since it wasn't damaged, the guns and work on the ship was quickly done and on December 14, the ship sailed out for war.  It was at the Battle of the Coral Sea and in many operations in the long battle for Guadalcanal.

His main duty was getting the meals out to the crew, but when battle stations were called, he acted as a medic, making sure the wounded were cared for.

The sea battle that took place November 12-13, 1942, off Guadalcanal was the worst the ship was ever in.  The communications and electrical systems were knocked out on the ship, and Jongordon had to look for the wounded in the darkness.  At one point, he found himself in the water up to his waist.  The crew stacked mattresses up against the shell and secured them with tables from the mess hall to slow the rush of water.

--GreGen

Last Man from USS San Francisco Dies-- Part 1: Richard Jongordon

From March 13, 2021, Military.com "World War II veteran, believed to be last survivor of those who served in battle aboard the USS San Francisco, dies at 98" by Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle.

Every Memorial Day  weekend, a crowd gathers  at Land's End, San Francisco to stand in a ceremony beside the  gray, shell-pocked bridge  of the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, which served valiantly in the desperate Battle of Guadalcanal.  (It was also at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked.)

Chief  Petty Officer  Richard Jongordon stood at the ceremony with his comrades to the last man, and the last man turned out to be him.

Among the 1200 men who so valiantly fought on the "Frisco" in the great sea battle of November 12-13, 1941, against a vastly superior Japanese fleet, he was considered to be the last survivor and was definitely the last of the fifty or so people who regularly attended the ceremony.

Jongordon died March 6 of natural causes.

He was proud of his service during the war, but even more proud of his accomplishment of saving the wing bridge of his old ship which he and other shipmates found in a Mare Island  scrap yard waiting to be scrapped.  They saved it.

Today, it is part of a park memorial at Land's End and it has the names of  100 sailors and seven Marines who died aboard the ship in combat.

--GreGen

Funeral Date Set for USS Oklahoma Unknown: Fireman 2nd Class Martin D. Young

From the May 7, 2021, Evansville Ind. TriState Homepage

Lewisport, Kentucky.  A funeral date has been set for Navy Fireman 2nd Class Martin D. Young, of Hawesville, Ky., who was killed on the USS Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.  He was 21 when he died.  And now, he is returning home.

The USS Oklahoma was moored by Ford Island on that date and 429 of her crew died, including Mr. Young.

His body was accounted for on  August 19, 2019.

Volunteers are asked to put up flags on May 13.    Visitation will be at the Gibson and Son Funeral  Home on May 15 from 10 am to noon.  After the funeral service, the community is encouraged to line the  route to the cemetery in Lewisport.

--GreGen

Pearl Harbor Veteran Honored with Street Sign in Scranton, Pa.

From the May 8, 2021, PaHomePage site by Madonna Mantione.

The legacy of Walter Pasiak will live on in a local  Scranton neighborhood on a sign  near the Breck Street home where he lived.  He was the last-known Pearl Harbor survivor from  Lackawanna County.

What was Rosin Court is now "Master Sergeant  Walter A. Pasiak  Lame."  A ceremony was held with many family members, dignitaries and the Marine Corps.

Among his many awards from the war are a Bronze Star, Silver Star and a Purple Heart.

He lost his life in January to COVID-19 and would have been 99 years old today.

--GreGen

Memorial Day Burial Planned for USS West Virginia Sailor Killed at Pearl Harbor

From May 7, 2021 14 NBC News by Jill Lyman.

Navy Fireman 3rd Class  Welborn Ashby of Centertown, Kentucky, was aboard the USS West Virginia when it was sunk at Pearl Harbor.  His remains were finally identified in November  2019.  He will finally come home to Centertown, Ky., for burial this Memorial Day.

Mr. Ashby was born in Centertown on October 19, 1917, and nicknamed "Tiddly" because of his fondness of play tiddlywinks.  He graduated from Centertown High School in 1936 and enlisted in the Navy in 1940.

He was the first World War II  casualty from Ohio County, Kentucky.

The Centertown American Legion and Route 96 through town are named for him.

Visitation and a service will be held at Bevil Brothers  Funeral Home in Beaver Dam on May 31 from 10 am to 2 pm.

Welcome Home "Tiddly."  --GreGen

'Merrill's Marauders' Receive Congressional Medal-- Part 2

Setting out in February 1944, the unit (code-named "Galahad") marched some 750 miles over the Himalayan foothills through dense jungle, contending with the enemy, hunger and rampant disease.  

Despite lacking heavy weapons support, the Marauders engaged in five major battles and 32 smaller actions over five months, spending much  of that time in continual combat.

Although vastly outnumbered, they inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese 18th Division and on May 17, 1944, captured Myitkyina airfield, the key transport supply hub in northern Burma.  Only 200 Marauders completed the protracted mission, the survivors having lost an average of 35 pounds.

The unit disbanded that August.

In 1944 the Army awarded the Marauders a Distinguished Unit Citation, and every member received a Bronze Star.  Dozens of Marauders  have received other awards, including a Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and individual Congressional Gold Medals.

In 1962, writer-director Samuel Fuller, himself a World War II veteran, paid homage to the unit with the historical epic "Merrill's Marauders", starring Jeff Chandler in his final role.

Well Deserved.  --GreGen

'Merrill's Marauders' Receive Congressional Gold Medal-- Part 1

From the January 2021 Military History magazine.

In October 2020, President Donald J. Trump approved the Congressional Gold Medal for the U.S. Army's 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) the storied World War II jungle fighters better known as "Merrill's Marauders."

Time correspondent James Shepley bestowed that nickname in honor of unit leader Brigadier General Frank Merrill.

Eight of the original Marauders are still living.

The elite unit originated in late 1943, when Lt. General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, then commander of U.S. forces in China, Burma and India, conceived a long-range penetration mission into Japanese-occupied Burma to disrupt enemy supply and communication lines while a larger Allied force fought to reopen the Burma Road into China.

Some 3,000 U.S. servicemen volunteered for the Marauders.

--GreGen

US WW II Flag Flies Gallantly Over Historic Sites-- Part 3: The History of LST-466

 The flag was most recently flown over the U.S. Capitol thanks to the efforts of Maryland Congressman Andy Harris.

"The flag has definitely taken on a life of its own," says Parker, who hopes to take it to Europe and have it flown over a battlefield cemetery.  This would be the next-to-last time it flies.  He hopes to fly it the last time in the South Pacific where the LST-466 operated.

Construction on the LST-466 began in October 12, 1942, in Vancouver, Washington, and the 328-foot vessel was launched  November 18 of the same year.  Commissioning came on March 1, 1943, and the ship was sent to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater as part of LST  Flotilla Seven.

LST vessels beached their bows during amphibious landings, opening large bow doors to disembark armored vehicles and men.  During the war, the LST-466 was awarded seven Battle Stars during the American advance across the Pacific.

The elder Parker grew up in east New Market, Maryland.  His first wartime duty was as a navigation officer on a ship.  Before the end of the war, he was given command of the LST-329 and was headed from New Orleans to the Pacific through the Guld of Mexico when it had a collision with atugboat hauling barges and had to return to New Orleans where the ship was when the Japanese surrendered.

--GreGen

US Flag Flies Gallantly Flies Over Historic Sites-- Part 2: USS Arizona and USS Missouri

Harry T. Parker, his son, began wondering what he was going to do with this old 48-star flag that at least one of his father's ships had flown.    Since that ship was historic, he started thinking about other historic sites it might fly over.

He wrote a letter to the White House asking if it could fly there and President Obama was very encouraging.

Since 2015, that flag has flown over more than twenty historical sites, including Fort McHenry in Baltimore, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,  and the USS Wisconsin during a sailor's reenlistment. It has also flown over the only operable LST remaining in the world, the LST-325 (home ported in Evansville, Indiana).

The LST-466's ensign was notably flown over the submerged wreck of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor on the 75th anniversary of the infamous December 7, 1941, attack.  And even more historical, it was flown at 7:45 am, the exact time the attack began in 1941.

In addition, the flag flew over the USS Missouri, where the Japanese signed the papers officially ending World War II on September 2, 1945, that same day.  That was bookending the war for the United States.

--GreGen

World War II Ship's Flag Proudly Flies Over Historic Sites-- Part 1

From the April 30, 2021, Dorchester (Md) Star "World War II  battle flag gallantly streams over important sites" by Mike Detmer.

During the war, this flag flew over  an LST during the war.  LST means Landing Ship Tank and they were extremely important in amphibious operations landing tanks, vehicles, artillery and personnel.

The flag was owned by  East Market native Harry E. Parker, Jr. who was executive officer (second highest ranking officer) on an LST in the Pacific Theater of the war.  The now aged and torn flag flew from the ship's mast.

Parker served on the LST-466 and two other ships (one that he commanded) during the war.

His son, Harry T. Parker, also a Navy veteran, found the flag when prepping his father's home for sale.  With the flag, he  found a letter his father had drafted to send to the Navy Department in 1949, listing and seeking information about the three ships on which he had served.   One of the ship's names was obscured by damage, but the LST-466 and LST-329's names were visible.

--GreGen