Only Two USS Nevada Crew Members Remain-- Part7: 'Ciest la vie'

Pilots from spotter planes would fly inland, view German targets and radio in the coordinates from grids on maps to direct the ship's cannon fire and call in corrected coordinates when the shells missed the targets.

While the ships fired at and destroyed seawalls and other German targets, with a 51 percent accuracy rate-- including knocking out 90 German tanks overall-- "the USS Nevada was hit not at all" despite being a stationary target, according to Dick Ramsey.

The Nevada left Utah Beach and turned to firing upon Omaha Beach, where landing Allied troops "were getting slaughtered" by German machine gun fire.

After the Allied invasion on D-Day which led to Germany's fall, the Nevada shifter to the Pacific Theater and was at the bloody battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

"For 16 days we fired on Mount Suribachi (on Iwo Jima island), he said.

Ramsey served aboard the Nevada for 34 months during the war.

At the end of the war, Ramsey turned down an offer to re-enlist in the Navy, deciding to return to his old job at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where he worked on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin and later became a lithographer for a newspaper.

"Why me?" he mused on his survival.  "Ah well, as they say in France, 'C'est la vie.' "

--GreGen

WW II Vet Dies En Route to D-Day Commemoration-- Part 2:

Robert Persichitti served as a radioman second class on the USS Eldorado, responsible for communications during the operations at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.  he was on the deck of his ship on February 23, 1945, when he witnessed the famous raising of the U.S. flag by U.S. Marines on Mount Suribachi.

After the war, he taught carpentry in Rochester and frequently visited local schools to share his wartime experiences.

In 2019, at the age of 96, Persichitti returned to Mount Suribachi.  "When I got to the island, I just broke down."

Persichitti recalled seeing severe injuries suffered by Marines as they were brought on board his ship as well as numerous burials at sea.

--GreGen

That Land and Those Waters Are Still Dangerous-- Part 2

Continued from April 13.

In the water surrounding the islands, hundreds of corroding shipwrecks from the war still contain trapped oil supplies that some describe as a ticking time bomb.  A major oil spill from one of these rusting wrecks could be a massive disaster.

Indeed, Savo Sound by Guadalcanal was renamed Iron Bottom Sound because of all of the ships sunk in it.

The Solomon Islanders believe those who fought the war on their land should be doing more to clean up the mess they left behind.

In the words of one local:  "When the war ended US, Japanese and allied forces went home in peace. We still do not have peace, until we are safe in the Solomon Islands."

--GreGen

Pearl Harbor Survivor Jack Holder Dies-- Part 3: Became a Pilot in Pacific and European Theaters

From where he was on Ford Island, he could see the damage wrought by the attack.  He saw the USS Arizona, USS West Virginia,  USS Tennessee, USS Nevada, USS Oklahoma and USS California, battleships all,  on fire and sinking to the bottom of Pearl Harbor.

He survived World War II in tact and as the war progressed, so did Holder's Navy career.  He went into training to fly aircraft and by June 1942, he was behind the stick of a fighter, meeting the Japanese approach to Midway Island where he got his vengeance for the Pearl Harbor attack.

Missions over Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands were next.  Then he trained to fly the B-24 Liberator bomber and was transferred to the European Theater.

For his distinguished Navy service, Holder was awarded two  Distinguished Flying Crosses, six Air Medals,  a Presidential Unit Citation and six commendaton medals before being honorably discharged  in 1948.

After the war, he became a commercial and corporate airline pilot and retired to Arizona where he died February 28, 2023.  He will eventually be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Quite A Life.  --GreGen

Pearl Harbor Survivor Jack Holder Dies at 101 Years Old-- Part 1

From the March 8, 2023, "We Are the Mighty."

Jack Holder joined the U.S. Navy in 1940 at age 18.  Born in Texas to a farm family, he would become a naval aviator and fly more than 100 missions during World War II.  He flew these in both the European and Pacific Theaters of the conflict.  And, he also survived the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In December 7, 1941, he was on Ford's Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor when the attack came. He had to dive into a ditch to survive Japanese strafing.  He remembered praying, "God, please don't let me die  in this ditch."

"The first bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor was about 100 yards from me."  He later "saw guys swimming through burning oil in the water."  After the strafing, he took cover behind sandbags in a machine gun pit, a position he would maintain for the next three days.

--GreGen

North Dakota Soldier Identified 80 Years After KIA: Pfc. Robert Alexander

From the November 3, 2022, KFYR TV "World War II soldier from ND identified 80 years after he was killed in action" by Hope Sisk.

Army Pfc.  Robert Alexander was only 27 when he was killed by Japanese forces in a mass suicide attack on his regiment in the Mariana Islands near Guam in July 1944.

The native of Tolley, North Dakota, could not be identified until June 2022 when the Department of Defense 's accounting agency ussed dental and DNA to determine his remains.

He will soon be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, November 14.

--GreGen

Ise-Class Japanese Battleships: The Ise and Hyuga, Hybrid Battleship/Aircraft Carriers

The front was all battleship.  The back was all aircraft carrier.

From Wikipedia.

These two battleships are of particular interest because they became hybrid ships: half battleship, half carrier.

They were a pair of dreadnaught battleships built for the Japanese Navy during World War I.  Both ships carried supplies for the survivors of the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923.  They were modernized in 1934-1937 with improvements to armor and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style.

Afterwards they played a minor role in the Second Sino-Chinese War.

Despite the expensive and extensive reconstructions, both were considered obsolete by the eve of the Pacific War and neither saw significant action in the early years of the war.  Following the loss of most of Japan's large aircraft carriers in the Battle of Midway, they were rebuilt once again with a flight deck replacing the rear  gun turrets to give them  the ability to operate an air group of float planes.

However, a lack of  aircraft and qualified pilots meant that they never  actually launched aircraft in battle.

Strange Looking Contraptions Indeed.  --GreGen

USS Russell (DD-414)-- Part 3: A Very Busy Destroyer Indeed

Continuing with action in the Pacific.  These were some of the Russell's actions:

1943

Betio, Tarawa

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

1944

Wotje

Kwajalein

Escort work along the New Guinea coast

Wakde

Padaido Islands

Biak

Toem

Noemfoor

Morotai

One Really Busy Tincan.  --GreGen

USS Mobile (CL-63)-- Part 3: Constant Operations

1944

On January29, the Mobile bombarded Wojte Island.  She participated in two carrier strikes.  By her one year anniversary, March 24, the USS Mobile had steamed  over 70,000 miles and participated in 11 operations against the enemy.

From 29 March to 3 April, the task force the Mobile was in struck  Oalaus, Yap and Wolei.  After that it supported Allied landings at at Aitape,  Humboldt Bay and Tanah Merah Bay in New Guinea.

In June, they struck Saipan, Tinian.  Then came the Battle of the Philippine Sea in which three Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk.  All during this time the Mobile performed duty protecting the American carriers.

Later in August, the Mobile and the Cruiser Division made a sweep against Japanese shipping and sank a destroyer and a large cargo vessel.  Next came a bombardment of Chichi Jima.

Later in October came operations preparing for the Philippines operations.

--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

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

U.S. Philippines Veteran Dan Crowley Honored-- Part 1: December 8 Japanese Attacks

From the U.S. Department of Defense, Jan. 6, 2021, "World War II vet, POW who endured 'Hell Ship,' gets CIB, promotion, POW Medal" by C. Todd Lopez.

Army veteran Dan Crowley who fought in the Pacific Theater in the Philippines was honored with the Prisoner of War medal, the Army Combat  Infantryman Badge and was also promoted to sergeant.

A Connecticut native, Crowley joined the Army Air Corps in October 1940 at the age of 18.  he was assigned to an aircraft unit on Nichols Field near Manila in the Philippines, arriving there in March 1941.  he had nine months of peace there until December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

Nichols Field was attacked the next day. All hangars, most of the aircraft and infrastructure there were destroyed. His unit fought in the improvised air defense.

On December 24, Crowley and others sailed across 25 miles of Manila Bay to the Bataan Peninsula in the dark.  The fighting continued on the peninsula.  Crowley and the others from Nichols Field became a part of the  U.S. Army's Provisional Air Corps Infantry Regiment and were joined in the fight against the Japanese by the Philippine Scouts.

They fended off three Japanese amphibious attacks.  After three and a half months, on April 9, 1942, American leaders decided to surrender

--GreGen

101-Year-Old Navy Veteran Al Oesterle recalls the End of the USS Princeton (CVL-23)-- Part 1

From the November 10, 2020, Coloradoan "101-year-old Fort Collins veteran remembers escape from ill-fated World War II carrier" by Kevin Dugan.

This story originally appeared in my November 11 Running the Blockade blog in honor of Veterans Day.  There was so much about this event (which I had never heard of) that I figured to write the rest of the story here.

Al Oesterle left the U.S. Navy in 1965 after a long career in it.   And, he had a near run-in with death that his family didn't learn about until nearly 40 years after it happened.  It was at a reunion of the crew that had served on the USS Princeton (CVL-23), a light aircraft carrier that was lost during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.  His wife, Joan heard that her husband might have been the last man to leave the stricken carrier before it sank.

Mr. Oesterle grew up in Joliet, Illinois and joined the Navy in 1939 at age 20 and attended the University of Illinois Dental School.   He graduated in 1942 and was appointed to the U.S. Navy Dental Corps.  After further training, he was assigned to the USS Princeton in December 1943.

The Princeton was operating in the Pacific Theater.

On October 24, 1944, east of  the Philippine island of Luzon, a lone Japanese dive bomber emerged from the clouds and dropped a bomb on the Princeton,  penetrating the flight deck and exploding  in the hangar bay, where aircraft were being armed and fueled.

--GreGen

DeKalb County Marine Brothers Meet and Catch Up on Home News in the Pacific.

From the August 26, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"From somewhere in the Pacific comes  word that Marine Pfc Lawrence Braser and his brother, Marine Pfc Roy Braser, have seen a lot more of enemy action than they have of each other during the past two years.

"Recently the tide turned and for several days the brothers had an opportunity to swap yarns and catch up on home town news during Lawrence's visit to an undisclosed Pacific spot while enroute to another Pacific base."

Roy Braser died  November 25, 2007 was born July 22, 1922, the son of Ida and Valey Braser.  He was discharged from the Marines in 1945 and went on to become owner and cofounder of  Downtown Shoes in Sycamore, Illinois.

He was preceded in death by his brother Lawrence.  Mr. Braser was buried at Lutheran Cemetery in Hinckley.  Lawrence Braser ( 23 September 1925-26 May 1995) is also buried there.

Quite the Way To Meet Your Brother.  --GreGen

Interstate TDR-1 Delivery on the USS Marcus Island (CVE-77)

Photos of the TDR-1 drones accompany the Wikipedia article so you can get an idea what they looked like.  I found the most interesting one of the escort carrier USS Marcus Island (CVE) with a deck load of the TDR-1s and possibly some TBMs for drone control.

The caption reads:  The U.S. Navy Escort Carrier Marcus Island (CVE-77) in a South Pacific port 17 June 1944.  The airplanes parked on her flight deck from amidships to her stern appear to be  Interstate TDR-1 assault drones.

She is probably delivering elements of Special Task Force Group One (STAG-1), which employed TDR-1s in Solomons area operations during September and October  1944.

Other planes aboard appear to be TBMs (which might have actually been Grumman TDF Avengers which were the originally designated control planes), which were used for drone control.The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 32,  Design 15A.

That Was One Packed Deck.  --GreGen

Interstate TDR-1-- Part 1: Drones the Brainchild of Lt. Delmer S. Fahrney

From Wikipedia.

The Interstate TDR-1 was an early unmanned combat aerial vehicle referred to as an "assault drone" and developed by Interstate Aircraft  and Engineering Corporation  during WW II for use by the Navy

It was capable of being armed with bombs or torpedoes and 2000 were ordered, but only 200 built.  They saw some service in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese, but continuing developmental problems along with the success of more conventional weapons, led to the decision to cancel the building program in October 1944.

The idea to use drones was first put forth by Lt. Delmer S. Fahrney in 1936, but due to limitations in technology at the time, nothing came of it until the early 1940s with the development of the radar altimeter and television made the project more feasible.

Trials were made using converted manned aircraft and the first operational test of a drone against a naval target was conducted in April 1942.  That same month, following trials at Naval Aircraft factory TDN, Interstate Aircraft received a contract  from the Navy for two prototype and 100 production aircraft to a simplified and improved design to be designated TDR-1.

--GreGen

DeKalb's "Secret Airplane"-- Part 2: A Joint Operation Between Wurlitzer and Interstate

The Wurlitzer plant made the parts of the mostly wooden plane/drone while Interstate workers in the factory next door put the aircraft together.  Today, that building is owned by General Electric (as of 2011).  You can still see the large hangar doors today from Peace Road.

Since the project was classified top secret, the 1,400 employees who worked on it believed they were producing a trainer plane or target drone.  They did not know that the planes were designed to carry a 2000-pound bomb to its target while being remotely controlled by a nearby mother plane.

According to Roger Keys, "It was actually known as the first guided missile ever built.  During a two-year period, there were 189 of these planes/drones built in DeKalb.

They were delivered to a remote island base in the South Pacific where they were readied for missions against Japanese targets.  Kind of like a kamikaze with out a live human guidance system.  I saw a picture of an escort aircraft carrier with its deck covered in the drones as they was on their way to be delivered.

--GreGen

Another WW II Veteran's Death: Olison Oliver Wheeler, USN

From the April 22, 2020, Thomasville (Ga.) Times-Enterprise.

Born December 21, 1924, in Alabama.  Volunteered for the Navy in August 1941 and was a gunner on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and fought in nine major actions during the Pacific War, including Coral Sea, Midway, Iwo Jima, Okinawa,  and Philippines.

During the Battle of Midway, considered the turning point of the war in the Pacific, he spent hours in shark-infested waters after the Yorktown was sunk.  Then. he was transferred to the battleship USS West Virginia and served on that vessel for the rest of the war.

He was present at Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered, ending WW II.

After the war, he founded the Fabulous Flamingos, a popular North Florida dance band during the 1960s and 1970s.

Another of the Greatest Generation Gone But Not Forgotten.  --GreGen

Marines Make New IDs for Iwo Jima Flag Raisers-- Part 4: Correcting the Identities

Two amateur historians raised questions about the identities and then a Marine panel found that a flag raiser thought to be Navy Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class John Bradley was actually Pfc. Harold Schultz, of Detroit.   Bradley had helped in an earlier flag-raising on Mt. Suribachi, and his role took on a greater significance after his son, James Bradley, wrote a best-selling book about the flag raisers, "Flags of Our Fathers" that was made into a movie by Clint Eastwood.

The latest identification question was raised by historians Stephen Foley, Dustin Spence and Brent Westemeyer.  Their findings were confirmed by a Marine board and was aided by FBI investigators.  Foley was also one of the historians who noted the previous mistaken identity.

Getting to the Bottom of It.  --GreGen

Marines Correct 2nd ID in Iconic Iwo Jima Photo-- Part 1

From the October 20, 2019, by Scott McFetridge, AP.

The correct identity of a second man in that famous flag raising scene at Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi has been released by the USMC.  One of the men was not Pfc. Rene Cagnon as previously believed, but Cpl. Harold B. Keller.  It also noted, however, that Gagnon  did help obtain the flag.

Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal shot the image during the 1945 battle between American and Japanese forces on Iwo Jima.

"Regardless of who was in the photograph, each and every Marine who set foot on Iwo Jima, or supported the effort from the sea and air around the island is, and always will be, a part of our Corps' cherished history," the Marines said in the statement.

In 2016, the Marines corrected the identity of another man in the photograph after historians raised questions.

--GreGen