Lost Purple Heart Is Found-- Part 1: Battle of the Atlantic

From the 4-24-13, Jacksonville (NC) Daily News "recently discovered Purple Heart belonged to New Bern man lost in WW II" by Julian March.

Nearly 70 years after Clude Ballenger's ship was sunk in the North Atlantic, a Wilmington mother, Sylvia Jabaley, doing spring cleaning found his Purple Heart medal.  Her husband had found it in 1998 in the belongings left by renters at a house he owned at the corner of Wrightsville Avenue and Audubon Boulevard.

Inscribed on the back was name and rank "Clyde E. Ballenger, boatswain's mate second class USCG."  He did an internet search, but found no family that could be confirmed.

Some 73,000 Americans never returned home from the war.  Clyde Ballenger was one of them.  He was on the USS Leopold when it was sunk 400 miles south of Iceland March 9, 1944.  The Leopold was one of 30 destroyer escorts built in 1943 by the Navy and manned by Coast Guard crews for Atlantic convoy duty.

In the winter of 1944, after two weeks of training off the coast of Maine, the Leopold escorted a 27-ship convoy across the North Atlantic.  On March 9th, they made contact with a German U-boat and the Leopold and USS Joyce attacked.  The submarine managed to dive and then shortly after, the Leopold was hit by a torpedo.

Mighty Cold Water Out there in the North Atlantic.  --GreGen

Bits of War: Missouri Benefits-- Bad Residue

Some New News About an Old War.


1.  MISSOURI BENEFITS--  From the April 26, 2013, Pacific Business News.  With fewer boats going out to the USS Arizona Memorial on Oahu because of the government's sequester, visitors are going more to the nearby battleship USS Missouri, with the second-highest number ever last month, 51,954. The Missouri also reported a 12% increase in January (before the sequester) over the same month in 2012.

The Pacific Aviation Museum also reports an increase. 


2.  BAD RESIDUE--  From the 4-23-13 Seattle (Wash) Post-Intelligencer.  The soil at a base where WWII B-17 bomber gunners were trained is contaminated.  The shooting range had them firing at clay targets that, as it turns out, were made of potentially dangerous chemicals fired in coal tar used to make the targets.

It Just Goes On.  --GreGen

World War II-era Vessel Still Sunk in Mississippi River

From the Dec. 23, 2011, St. Paul (Mn) Pioneer Press.

Unfortunately, I was unable to come up with the ship's name and am not sure if it was a submarine chaser or minelayer.  I'd guess sub chaser because of its size, though.  I also read that it was a minelayer used at D-Day and at one time had log books from the Normandy Invasion.

Anyway, the ship is partly submerged.  Maybe its not even there anymore as I did not read a follow-up on it.

Local governments and agencies are squabbling over who is responsible for the 200 ton ship's cleanup and removal.  It sank some four years earlier in 2007 between Denmark Township and Hastings, Minnesota.

Oil and petroleum has been removed from it, it poses no environmental threat and it is right by the shoreline in shallow water, posing no navigational hazard.

No one knows for sure who the current owner is.  Former owner Richard Lindsay lived on it and supposedly sold it to his friend Doug Lentz.

Cost to remove and get rid of pollutants is anywhere from $70,000 to $140,000, which is the big hold-up.

Let's get It Out of There.  --GreGen

Bits of War: Marines-- Mines and Bombs

1.  MARINES--  There was a good article by Beth Crumley in the Huffington Post on December 22, 2011, "I'll Be Home for Christmas--Marines in WWII."  It was about the Marines at Wake Island who weer attacked on December 8, 1941 and held out for 15 days against incredible odds.


2.  MINES AND BOMBS--  December 22, 2011, UPI "World War II mines still a threat in Germany."

Land mines set out during the war are decaying, becoming unstable and exploding as happened with two that went off spontaneously in the eastern German state of Brandenburg.

Plus, there is the problems with bombs that failed to explode back then.  One that exploded December 14th made a hole 33 feet deep.  Earlier in the month, 45,000 were evacuated in Kolbenz while experts disarmed a 1.8 ton British bomb found in the Rhine River.

Germans will be dealing with these for years to come.

Watch Where You Walk.  --GreGen

The USS Iowa Comes Home

December 2011 AP "USS Iowa nearing final voyage."

It is now in its final mooring near Los Angeles, California, but back in 2011 it was preparing to make the last voyage of a United States battleship.

The last-surviving World War II battleship without a home had been docked in Richmond, California (near San Francisco), is preparing for its final journey to the Port of Los Angeles.  It was to be towed there in March.  The Pacific Battleship center in Los Angeles has raised $8 million to rescue the 68-year-old ship from the Ghost Fleet in Suisun Bay. 

The 800-foot ship was commissioned in 1943 and was used in World War Ii, the Korean War and last sailed in 1990.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "The Iowa is long and lean and power-ful-looking like an old lion."  Its two anchors weigh 30,000 pounds each and it is the only American battleship ever fitted with a bathtub which was installed when the ship carried FDR to Africa on his way to his summit meeting in Iran during World War II with Churchill and Stalin.

In 1989, the middle gun on a turret exploded, killing 47 sailors.

While still in San Francisco, it was open for tours on weekends from 10-4 for a $10 donation.

Sure Glad They Saved It.  Fortunately, Most All of Our Last battleships Are Museums Today.  --GreGen

Aircraft Turret Found in Ohio Woods-- Part 2

The partially buried turret was dug up December 10th.  Dale Burrier said, "The turret housed twin 50-caliber machine guns that would shoot bullets at roughly 600 rounds per minute.  This type was mounted on top of B-17s, right behind the pilot.  It was operated by the flight engineer who was tending the plane."

The turret is six feet tall and 32-inches in diameter "just enough for a fellow to climb into and stand upright."  Burrier figures the turrets value at $3,000 and that it is fairly rare, "Most of them were scrapped after the war, chopped up, melted down and turned into other things."

According to Burrier, there are about twelve B-17s still flying.  Only three have complete original turrets, the rest are reproductions carrying fake guns.

No one knows how it got there.  Possibly it was bought at a second-hand store or Army-Navy Surplus place and used a s a plaything by children who lived in a now-demolished house on the property before the city acquired it.

Post-war uses of B-17s were often fighting forest fires as "fire bombers.  They were also used to rescue crews of stricken aircraft and sinking ships, aerial mapping and topography.

Glad They Saved It.  --GreGen

Aircraft Gun Turret Found in Ohio Woods-- Part 1

From the December 21, 2011, Hudson Hub (Ohio) News "World War II aircraft gun turret found in Aurora headed to museum" by Holly Schoenstein.

The turret was found in the woods at Moebius Nature Center by Aurora resident Paul Yoc and a friend who were jogging through the woods last year..  Last month, they told colleague and aviation history buff Dale Burrier of Newton Falls about it.

The Sperry Corporation manufactured the cast aluminum and steel turret for mounting on aircraft during the war.  They were used on heavy and medium bombers like B-17s and B-24s.  They were mounted above and behind the pilots for protection from attack from above.

This particular turret was in bad shape after all its time in the woods.  The City of Aurora owns the nature center and will donate it to the Military Aviation Preservation Society in North Canton.

Digging Turrets.  --GreGen

German Dornier 17 Bomber to Be Raised From English Channel

From the May 3, 2013,  Indeendent "Second World War Dornier bomber to be raised from watery grave in the Channel" by Rob Williams.

The effort to raise this plane, the only surviving one of its kind, was announced today.  It was spotted by divers in 2008 at 50 feet deep in a chalk bed with a small debris field around it in the Goodwin Sands off the Kent Coast.

The bombers were called the Luftwaffe's "Flying Pencil" because of its narrow fuselage.  Reports say it is in remarkable condition.

Inspection of it shows it is DO17Z Werke number 1,160.  The undercarriage tires are still inflated and propeller damage from the water crash is evident.

It is expected to take three weeks to lift and is funded by a grant from the National Heritage Fund and its historical value stems from it being one of the main German bombers used during the Battle of Britain.

This is one mighty strange-looking aircraft.  I wonder how it carried the bombs?

Here's Hoping All Goes Well.  --GreGen

New York City's Fort Hamilton

Likewise, I hadn't heard of this fort either when I did today's first blog entry.  Wiki here I go again.

The cornerstone was laid in 1825 and the fort was completed in 1831.During both world wars it served as major embarkation and separation centers.  It is estimated that some 3 million troops headed for Europe were processed there.

Most if its parade ground and brick barracks were destroyed in 1959 when the Verrazano Bridge was built.

Its Battery AMTB 18 at Norton Point was built as a defense against fast enemy torpedo boats and aircraft and it also had a coastal gun battery mounting four 3"M1902MI guns.  The guns were transferred to Fort Wadsworth 29 Nov 1942.

Nothing remains of the fort.

Now, You Know.  --GreGen

Las Vegas' Rancho Drive and Its World War II Connection

Yesterday, I posted about this major road in Las Vegas, Nevada, which was built during World War II with a specific reason.

You can find the account in my May 3rd RoadDog's RoadLog Blog.

GreGen

New York City's Fort Wadsworth

From Wikipedia.

Willard Seidenfield mentioned Fort Wadsworth, which I had never heard of, so Wiki there I go.

Fort Wadsworth is located at The Narrows, which divides New York Bay into upper and lower.  The fort was closed in 1994 and at that time was the longest-continually-manned military installation in the United States.

It was named in 1864 in honor of Union General James Wadsworth who had been killed at the Battle of the Wilderness in Virgina that year.  The fort also included the Civil War-era Battery Weed and Fort Thompkins, built on the bluff above it.  Both of these installations were built around 1850.  The site is located by the Verrazano Bridge.

During World War II, several batteries were built at the fort and many anti-aircraft positions added.  The Coast Artillery had operational control and there was also underwater mine defenses as well.  Four three-inch guns were also added and used in conjunction with Battery Turnbull.  And, at one point, some Italian prisoners were housed there.

After the war, it became a radar control center for a missile system.

So, That's the Fort.  --GreGen

Watching the Ships Go to War-- Part 2

Continued from April 30th entry.

In the park across the street from the railroad, Willard Steinield saw a wooden structure with steps going up and a platform on top which had an anti-aircraft gun and a machine gun.  He always thought the thing was so rickety that if a German plane flew too close it would fall down of its own accord.

His home was close to where the Hudson River flowed into the Atlantic Ocean.

One morning at Fort Hamilton (Fort Wadsworth was across from it), he "aw two destroyers steaming back and forth across the entrance to the harbor like metallic sentinels.  That evening I visited at Shore Road alongside the Hudson River.  You could not have any cameras or binoculars in this area.

I counted 60 merchant ships strung haphazardly across the harbor.  I remember marveling how the ferry boat from Brooklyn to Staten Island would thread its way among them.

The next morning there wasn't a single ship in the harbor.  They had all left in the night as part of a convoy headed for England.

We used to get warnings in school to keep our windows open when they would try out the big guns at Fort Hamilton.  They were afraid that the concussion would break windows."

A Great Account of Life On the Homefront  --GreGen

Five Things About the Doolittle Raiders-- Part 3

4.  The raid caused strategic scrambling by the Japanese.  Very little real damage was done to Japan during the raid.  But it did cause the Japanese to pull back its fleet from the Indian Ocean to protect the home islands.  It also contributed to Japanese Admiral Yamamoto's decision to attack Midway Island which became a major American victory and turned the tide of the War in the Pacific.

It was great for American morale and a blow to that of Japan.


5.  China suffered the most from the raid.  Chinese civilians and American missionary John Birch helped rescue and hide the raiders.  In retaliation for helping the Americans, Japanese forces massacred approximately 250,000 Chinese civilians in eastern China as part of its Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign.

A Gallant Effort.  --GreGen

Five Things About the Doolittle Raiders-- Part 2

3.  James Doolittle considered the raid a failure because he lost all 16 of his planes due to ditching or crash landing.  He was sure he'd be court-martialled when he returned.  Rather than that, he received the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor.

Five of his men were captured by the Soviets (supposedly allies), but managed to escape in Iran.

Eight were captured by the Japanese.  Of those, three were executed and one died of starvation.

The other four were finally freed by US troops in August 1945, including one who is still alive, Lt.Col. Robert Hite

Four are still alive as of this date, but one was too ill to attend the 71st Reunion.

GreGen

Five Things About Doolittle's Raiders-- Part 1

From the April 21, 2013, Air Force Times "What Airmen should know about the Doolittle Raiders."

1.  They had short takeoff training for their B-25 bombers on a 500-ft airstrip at Eglin Field (now Eglin AFB.  This was how much room they would have to take off from a Navy aircraft carrier's deck (the Hornet)  This was the first time an Army bomber had ever taken off from a carrier.

And, the first plane (Doolittle's) to take off had less runway than the latter ones.


2.  They did not spend time on landings.  As it was, they had to take off some ten hours and 170 miles farther out than planned when they were spotted by a Japanese patrol boat.  Doolittle went ahead anyway, knowing that this additional distance meant there was no way they had enough fuel to reach unoccupied China.

Mighty Brave Lads.  --GreGen

Doolittle Raiders Visit Pensacola-- Part 2

The Doolittle Raiders had their 71st reunion last week at Eglin Air Force Base in nearby Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  They don't plan on having a 72nd one because, according to Richard Cole, "It's getting harder for some of us to travel.  But, we'll keep in touch on the telephone."

Only three of the remaining four showed up for this one.

The Raiders sign autographs for $5 apiece and commemorative posters for $30.  The proceeds from this go to the General James H. Doolittle Scholarship Fund which provides a $5,000 college scholarship to high achievers.  These Raiders are still doing good for their country.

Sheridan Liu traveled from his home in Los Angeles for the event.  His father, Tung-Sheng Liu, was part of the Chinese resistance to the Japanese occupation of his country.  "My father spoke English.  He was introduced to the Raiders and was kind of recruited by them as an interpreter to help get them to safety.  He traveled with the Raiders for about two weeks helping to get them out of Japanese-occupied territory."

Among the Best of the Best.  --GreGen

Two Kitsap Pearl Harbor Survivors Die-- Part 2

Don Greem was a shipfitter on the USS Pyro, an ammunition ship in West Loch Depot, about a half mile from Battleship Row.  He was 19-years-old and manned a gun and began firing.

A Japanese dive bomber released a bomb that landed on the dock, just twelve feet from his ship.  It penetrated the concrete and exploded underneath, jarring the Pyro (some name for a ship) but didn't set off the ammunition the ship had. 

The Pyro suffered no damage and is credited with damaging one enemy plane.

That Was a VERY CLOSE Call.  --GreGen

Two Kitsap, Washington Area Pearl Harbor Survivors Die-- Part 1

From the February 27, 2013, Kitsap (Wash) Sun by Ed Friedrich.

GERHARD JENSCH, 93, died February 21st.
DON GREEN, 90, died Monday

JOSEPH STENSTROM, 92, died December 20, 2012.

There are now only eight Pearl Harbor survivors still living in Kitsap County.

Gerhard Jensch was a Gunners Mate on the USS California, which had 105 deaths that day, manning a 5-inch anti-aircraft gun.  He abandoned ship and swam to Ford Island.  :"I was halfway there, swimming and I noticed these little pinpoints of water, water spouts.  The fighter planes, they were strafing us."

He wasn't hit, got to shore and took shelter among some pipes, but the Navy believed he had died in the attack and notified his parents.  An obituary appeared on the front page of his hometown newspaper in Saginaw, Michigan.

The Navy found out he was alive and sent a telegram to his parents a few days later.

Oops!  Sorry!  --GreGen

Doolittle Raiders Visit Pensacola-- Part 1

From the April 21, 2013, Pensacola (Fla) News Journal."Doolittle Raiders: Surviving WWII aviators greet fans at Naval Aviation Museum" by R. Johnson.

Two of the remaining four Doolittle Raiders were at the museum: Richard Cole, 97 and David Thatcher, 91.

Elizabeth Pelon waited in line for half an hour just to shake their hands.  She recalled the April1942 news flash and thought, "Hey, maybe we can win this war.

Cole said that the highlight of the attack for him was when he had to bail out of the plane, "The best thing was when my parachute opened."  I guess so.

Mighty Special People.  --GreGen

Another Pearl Harbor Survivor Dies

From the March 19, 2013, Ludington (Michigan) Daily News "Pearl Harbor survivor Leo Petrosky dies Saturday"

Leo Petrosky, 91, was born in Pennsylvania in 1922 and his family moved to Detroit four years later.  He joined the Navy on his 18th birthday in 1940.

He was on the flagship of the U.S. Pacific fleet, the USS Pennsylvania and worked on the ship's plane catapults.

Sorry to See Them Go.  --GreGen