75 Years Ago: D-Day

 

"Submerged tanks and overturned boats and burned trucks and shell-shattered jeeps and sad little personal belongings were strewn all over these bitter sands. That plus the bodies of soldiers lying in rows covered with blankets, the toes of their shoes sticking up in a line as though on drill. And other bodies, uncollected, still sprawling grotesquely in the sand or half hidden by the high grass beyond the beach." - Ernie Pyle

Harry W. Brown

Courtesy of The
475th Fighter Group
Historical Foundation

Harry Winston Brown (May 19, 1921 – October 7, 1991) was an Army Air Corps second lieutenant assigned to the 47th Pursuit Squadron at Wheeler Field on the island of Oahu during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. He was one of the five American pilots to score victories that day.
Brown was awarded a Silver Star for his actions, and was the first Texan decorated for valor in the war. By the war's end, he was a flying ace. Continued

Bataan Death March

Bataan Death March
 Memorial featuring Filipino
 and American soldiers,
Las Cruces NM
(Kris Punke/Wikipedia)

(Wikipedia) The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war from Saisaih Point, Bagac, Bataan and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, via San Fernando, Pampanga, where the prisoners were loaded onto trains. The transfer began on April 9, 1942, after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II.
... Differing sources also report widely differing prisoner of war casualties prior to reaching Camp O'Donnell: from 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino deaths and 500 to 650 American deaths during the march. The march was characterized by severe physical abuse and wanton killings, and was later judged by an Allied military commission to be a Japanese war crime.
... The Bataan Death March had a large impact on the U.S. state of New Mexico, given that many of the U.S. soldiers in Bataan were from New Mexico, specifically from the 200th/515th Coast Artillery of the National Guard.
The New Mexico National Guard Bataan Memorial Museum is located in the Armory where the soldiers of the 200th and 515th were processed before their deployment to the Philippines in 1941. Every year, in early spring, the Bataan Memorial Death March, a 26.2-mile march/run is conducted at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Continued

Heroism of the Texas Division

Litter bearers bring back wounded during attempt to span the Rapido
River near Cassino, Italy.” 23 January 1944 (Wikipedia)

(Texas Day by Day) On this day in 1944, the Thirty-sixth Infantry Division, nicknamed the "Texas Division," began its "two-day nightmare," the crossing of the Rapido River in Italy.
General Mark Clark needed pressure on the German defensive line below Rome to prevent the Germans from counterattacking the projected Allied beachhead at Anzio. Further, an Allied breakthrough into the Liri valley would facilitate the march toward Rome. Continued

Bill Mauldin

(Wikipedia) William Henry "Bill" Mauldin (October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was an American editorial cartoonist who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the archetypal characters Willie and Joe, two weary and bedraggled infantry troopers who stoically endure the difficulties and dangers of duty in the field.
... Mauldin was born in Mountain Park, New Mexico. His grandfather had been a civilian cavalry scout in the Apache Wars and his father was an artilleryman in World War I. Continued

Ray Crawford

 

(Wikipedia) Ray Crawford (October 26, 1915 – February 1, 1996) was an American fighter ace, test pilot, race-car driver and businessman.
Born in Roswell, New Mexico, Crawford served as a U.S. Army Air Corps fighter pilot and flew the P-38 Lightning in combat over North Africa in 1943. He was tied as the top-ranking fighter ace of the 97th Fighter Squadron with six enemy aircraft confirmed destroyed and one probably destroyed. Rotated home, he eventually became an early jet pilot.
... He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with fourteen Oak Leaf Clusters before separating from active duty as a Captain in February, 1946. Continued

Ernie Pyle



(Wikipedia) Ernest Taylor Pyle (August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945) was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist.
As a roving correspondent for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, he earned wide acclaim for his accounts of ordinary people in rural America, and later, of ordinary American soldiers during World War II. His syndicated column ran in more than 300 newspapers nationwide. Continued

Bat bomb!

(Wikipedia) Bat bombs were an experimental World War II weapon developed by the United States. The bomb consisted of a bomb-shaped casing with over a thousand compartments, each containing a hibernating Mexican free-tailed bat with a small, timed incendiary bomb attached. Dropped from a bomber at dawn, the casings would deploy a parachute in mid-flight and open to release the bats, which would then roost in eaves and attics in a 20–40 mile radius. The incendiaries would start fires in inaccessible places in the largely wood and paper constructions of the Japanese cities that were the weapon's intended target. Continued

Bataan Death March

Bataan Death March
 Memorial featuring Filipino
 and American soldiers,
Las Cruces NM
(Kris Punke/Wikipedia)

(Wikipedia) The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war from Saisaih Point, Bagac, Bataan and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, via San Fernando, Pampanga, where the prisoners were loaded onto trains. The transfer began on April 9, 1942, after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II.
... Differing sources also report widely differing prisoner of war casualties prior to reaching Camp O'Donnell: from 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino deaths and 500 to 650 American deaths during the march. The march was characterized by severe physical abuse and wanton killings, and was later judged by an Allied military commission to be a Japanese war crime.
... The Bataan Death March had a large impact on the U.S. state of New Mexico, given that many of the U.S. soldiers in Bataan were from New Mexico, specifically from the 200th/515th Coast Artillery of the National Guard. The New Mexico National Guard Bataan Memorial Museum is located in the Armory where the soldiers of the 200th and 515th were processed before their deployment to the Philippines in 1941. Every year, in early spring, the Bataan Memorial Death March, a 26.2-mile march/run is conducted at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Continued

State demolishes piece of history at former Army hospital site

Photo via National Institutes of Health

(Santa Fe New Mexican) The state has begun demolishing the barracks next to the Santa Fe University of Art and Design that were part of the Bruns military hospital during World War II.
... “There’s a lot of history in those old barracks,” Burson said.

He wasn’t exaggerating.

Bruns Army Hospital treated most members of New Mexico’s gallant 200th Coast Artillery Battalion who survived the Bataan Death March. Continued

Heroism of the "Texas Division"

Litter bearers bring back wounded during attempt to span the Rapido
River near Cassino, Italy.” 23 January 1944 (Wikipedia)

(Texas Day by Day) On this day in 1944, the Thirty-sixth Infantry Division, nicknamed the "Texas Division," began its "two-day nightmare," the crossing of the Rapido River in Italy.
General Mark Clark needed pressure on the German defensive line below Rome to prevent the Germans from counterattacking the projected Allied beachhead at Anzio. Further, an Allied breakthrough into the Liri valley would facilitate the march toward Rome. Continued

Veterans Day

(Library of Congress) The Allied powers signed a cease-fire agreement with Germany at Rethondes, France on November 11, 1918, bringing World War I to a close.
Between the wars, November 11 was commemorated as Armistice Day in the United States, Great Britain, and France.
After World War II, the holiday was recognized as a day of tribute to veterans of both world wars. Beginning in 1954, the United States designated November 11 as Veterans Day to honor veterans of all U.S. wars. Continued

Ray Crawford

 

(Wikipedia) Ray Crawford (October 26, 1915 – February 1, 1996) was an American fighter ace, test pilot, race-car driver and businessman.
Born in Roswell, New Mexico, Crawford served as a U.S. Army Air Corps fighter pilot and flew the P-38 Lightning in combat over North Africa in 1943. He was tied as the top-ranking fighter ace of the 97th Fighter Squadron with six enemy aircraft confirmed destroyed and one probably destroyed. Rotated home, he eventually became an early jet pilot.
... He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with fourteen Oak Leaf Clusters before separating from active duty as a Captain in February, 1946. Continued

Antique military vehicle convoy on Route 66 begins Sept. 16

Cartoon by the great Bill Mauldin

(Route 66 News) People along the length of the Mother Road soon will be treated to a unique sight — a convoy of up to 80 vintage military vehicles making that Chicago-to-Santa Monica trip.
The Military Vehicle Preservation Association will begin its 29-day, 2,400-mile journey from the Windy City on Sept. 16 along all the 1926 alignments of Route 66 it can manage.
The organization has embarked on other cross-country trips before, but this is the first on much of Route 66. Vehicles will range from the World War I era to recently released ones from the U.S. military. Continued

The Things You Find on Google Maps

Abandoned airfield, De Baca County, NM (Google Maps)

Such as this abandoned airport, some miles north of Taiban, along Route 252. It was built during World War Two, and was officially known as Fort Sumner Auxiliary Airfield #5. Sumner trained bomber pilots, B-17's and B-24's. I imagine #5 was a bit nerve-wracking for those trainees to land on as it sits out on a finger of the Caprock. Today, it just sits, a weird squiggle on a satellite map.

Albuquerque to mark birthday of correspondent Ernie Pyle

(Albuquerque Journal) Celebrated World War II news correspondent Ernie Pyle lived among the troops fighting on the front lines overseas and told their stories so Americans back home would understand what they were fighting for and would remember the soldiers and their sacrifices.
Pyle, who had an international following, made the ultimate sacrifice himself when he was killed by a Japanese machine gunner on April 18, 1945, as American forces pushed to capture the island of Okinawa. Continued

Harry W. Brown

Courtesy of The
475th Fighter Group
Historical Foundation

Harry Winston Brown (May 19, 1921 – October 7, 1991) was an Army Air Corps second lieutenant assigned to the 47th Pursuit Squadron at Wheeler Field on the island of Oahu during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. He was one of the five American pilots to score victories that day.
Brown was awarded a Silver Star for his actions, and was the first Texan decorated for valor in the war. By the war's end, he was a flying ace. Continued

Bataan Death March

Bataan Death March
 Memorial featuring Filipino
 and American soldiers,
Las Cruces NM
(Kris Punke/Wikipedia)

(Wikipedia) The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war from Saisaih Point, Bagac, Bataan and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, via San Fernando, Pampanga, where the prisoners were loaded onto trains. The transfer began on April 9, 1942, after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II.
... Differing sources also report widely differing prisoner of war casualties prior to reaching Camp O'Donnell: from 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino deaths and 500 to 650 American deaths during the march. The march was characterized by severe physical abuse and wanton killings, and was later judged by an Allied military commission to be a Japanese war crime.
... The Bataan Death March had a large impact on the U.S. state of New Mexico, given that many of the U.S. soldiers in Bataan were from New Mexico, specifically from the 200th/515th Coast Artillery of the National Guard. The New Mexico National Guard Bataan Memorial Museum is located in the Armory where the soldiers of the 200th and 515th were processed before their deployment to the Philippines in 1941. Every year, in early spring, the Bataan Memorial Death March, a 26.2-mile march/run is conducted at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Continued

Quonset Huts

Quonset hut near Lazbuddie, Texas

Quonset huts were used by the military during World War Two. Prefabricated out of corrugated galvanized steel, they served just about any structural need the military could dream up. Over 150,000 were manufactured during the war years and after peace broke out, they were sold off to the public. I don't know how many are still in use on High Plains ranches, but it's probably in the thousands. Variations on the theme are still being manufactured today.

You Must Remember This: Why We Return to ‘Casablanca’ and ‘High Noon’

(NYTimes) ... “Casablanca” arrived just short of a year after the United States declared war on Germany. In it, Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine, whose mantra is “I stick my neck out for nobody,” famously does just that, shrugging off the neutrality that had been American policy until Pearl Harbor, and helping his former flame Ingrid Bergman and the Czech resistance hero Paul Henreid escape the Nazis.
... “High Noon,” on the other hand, is a profile in collective cowardice. The United States was in the grip of the Red Scare, and the marshal, Will Kane (Gary Cooper), can’t find a single good man in the dusty Western town of Hadleyville to help him confront the Miller brothers and their gang, who have sworn to kill him. Coop prevails, naturally, but his triumph fails to dispel the toxic fog of betrayal and disillusion that shrouds the story. Continued