On the road
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Profiles Spring-Summer 2014 HFDFW
Jack enlisted into the Navy on August 9, 1943. After basic
training he was sent to the South Pacific and began serving on the U.S.S.
Wrangell, AE-12 which an ammunition ship.
During his service on the Wrangell, Jack’s ship was tasked
with loading ammunition on other ships, sometimes at sea while underway.
Jack saw the raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi off Iwo
Jima. No doubt the Wrangell experience the massive suicide attacks on U.S.Navy
ships anchored off that strategic island that was the scene of horrific
fighting between Marines and fanatical Japanese.
In August, 1945, the Wrangell was anchored in Leyte Gulf
when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Jack said that he observed the
pyrotechnics caused by the massive blast hundreds of miles away.
Jack was discharged from the Navy on February 8, 1946 with
the rank of Pharmacist Mate 2nd Class.
Profiles Spring-Summer 2014 HFDFW
James enlisted into the U.S. Coast Guard at the age of 18.
This was June 2, 1942. After training James was transferred to the southwest
Pacific on the ship LST (Landing Ship Tank) 66.
While serving on LST-66 James saw duty in campaigns such as Cape
Gloucester and New Britain between December 1943 and February 1944. Later James
and LST-66 took part in action in the Admiralty Islands during March and April,
1944.
LST-66 was on duty during operations in eastern and western
New Guinea. Between October 1944 and January 1945 James and the crew of LST-66
participated in the landing of troops at Leyte and Luzon, Philippines.
LST-66 was in further action towards the end of the war, including
Mindanao in March, 1945 and Borneo in July, 1945.
James was discharged from the Coast Guard on October 5, 1945
with the rank of Electrician Mate 2nd Class.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Profiles Spring-Summer 2014 HFDFW
Hugh joined the National Guard on January 17, 1940 at the
age of 22. He was transferred to the 5th Army at Camp Bowie located
in Brownwood, Texas. It was here that he volunteered for the regular Army. Soon
he was assigned to the famed 36th Infantry Division, known as the
Texas Division. The 36th was activated on November 25, 1940. It
arrived overseas on April 2, 1943 and saw 400 days of combat.
Hugh had been trained as a medic and was part of the 131st
Field Artillery Regiment of the 36th Infantry Division.
It was in the 131st that Hugh began his odyssey that
took him to Europe, Africa, Italy, France, Germany and Austria.
One of his most tragic experiences was when his unit marched
into a small German village where a castle was situated on a hill. Upon
entering the castle, Hugh’s unit found that everyone in the castle had taken
cyanide, including children.
After this discovery, Hugh’s unit marched a short distance
and found a Nazi prison camp set up as an extermination camp. Here were piles
of dead Jewish prisoners and emancipated survivors who were starving. The
soldiers cut the barbed wire to release the prisoners and began distributing
food. Later, Hugh and the other soldiers found some German civilians in a
nearby village. They were marched back to the camp and told to bury the Jewish
prisoners.
Hugh was awarded the Purple Heart and Good Conduct medals. He
also received the Silver and Bronze Stars. Among his other awards was the
Presidential Unit Emblem, the American defense and American Campaign medals. Others
include the European, African, Middle Eastern campaign medals and many others.
Hugh was discharged on August 13, 1945 with the rank of
Medical Technician 3rd Class.
Profiles Spring-Summer 2014 HFDFW
Bobbie was drafted at the age of 18 towards the end of WWII.
He reported for duty on May 16, 1945.
Bobbie was trained as a clerk typist and finally as a maintainer
of records on a troop transporter. Since he was in the Army’s transportation core,
Bobbie had the distinction of being a soldier assigned to a ship!
His most memorable experience was in October, 1945. He was
in Japan and went to Hiroshima, the site of the dropping of the first atomic
bomb in August, 1945. He saw the devastation firsthand that happened to the
city and its people.
Bobbie was awarded the American Theater, Asiatic-Pacific and
the WWII Victory medals.
Profiles Spring-Summer 2014 HFDFW
Israel was drafted and reported for duty on October 27, 1942
at the age of 22. Soon he was being trained a medic and surgical technician for
the U.S.Army Air Forces.
Israel was sent overseas and was assigned to the 391st
Bomb Squadron, 9th Tactical Air Force based in England. The 9th
AAF flew mainly medium bombers such as the B-26 Marauder and the B-25 Mitchell.
The 9th also flew fighters such as the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51
Mustang.
During his time with the 391st, Israel assisted
in all kinds of medical practices such as assisting in the surgical theater,
taking blood, and giving shots to the ground and air crewman of the 9th
AAF.
Israel’s most memorable duties was when he had to be on
standby for takeoffs and landings, many times with aircraft coming back badly
shot up with wounded on board and had to be rushed to surgery.
Later as the war progressed, Israel left England was
stationed in Normandy France and Belgium.
He was discharged from the USAAF’s on November 4, 1945.
Profiles Spring-Summer 2014 HFDFW
Perry enlisted into the U.S.Navy on May 15, 1945. He was
soon assigned to the Naval Air Station at Alameda, California. At this time the
war was winding down so Perry’s job was to help decommission the base and with
getting sailors discharged and back into civilian life. During this time he was
promoted to Yeoman 3rd Class. He was discharged in August 1946 and
headed back home to Texas.
In 1947 Perry joined the ROTC in college and after 6 weeks
training at Ft. Hood, Texas was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He
began work as a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve at Ft. Hood. Perry
was honorably discharged in 1952.
In 1954 Perry heard that there were openings with the 136th
Tactical Hospital based at Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas. He was commissioned
a 1st. Lieutenant and became a pharmacy and medical supply officer. He
stayed with the unit and the Air Force Reserve for twenty years and retired
with the rank of Major in 1987. His most memorable experience was constantly
being on standby during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
Perry’s awards included the Good Conduct and American Campaign
medals. He also received the Air Force Reserve Meritorious, American Defense
and the U.S.Navy Service Commemorative medals. Other awards include the
Honorable Service Commemorative, the U.S.Armed Forces Retired Service and the
Cold War Commemorative medals.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Profiles Spring-Summer 2014 HFDFW
Lloyd enlisted into the U.S. Army Air Forces and was
inducted at Oklahoma City Oklahoma on September 24, 1946. After basic training in
San Antonio, Texas he was soon on his way to Japan for occupation duty with
American and Allied Forces.
During his time in Japan, headquartered at Shiroi Air Force
Base, Lloyd was assigned to the 5th AAF, 8062nd Air
Strike command. He was an auto repairman for the AAF and as such traveled all
over the country picking up and repairing vehicles. There was one instance
where he was on a ground maneuver at Mount Fujiyama when heavy snows aborted
the mission at the famous landmark.
Lloyd is justifiably proud of his service in the Army Air
Forces. He wants to dedicate the trip to the World War II Memorial in
Washington D.C. to his older brother Homer William Dillon, who at age 20, was
killed on December 14, 1944 by Japanese fire at Leyte, Philippine Islands.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Profiles Fall 2013 Spring 2014 HFDFW
Kenneth was drafted into the U.S.Army and reported for duty
on February 22, 1943 at the age of 21.
After basic training, Kenneth was sent overseas to the
European Theater of operations. He was a member of the 740th Tank
Battalion and was later transferred to the 3rd Army under General
George S. Patton.
Kenneth saw action in many battles and skirmishes with the Wehrmacht.
Notably he was present and took part in the Battle of the Bulge.
One of Kenneth’s most memorable experiences was when the3rd
Army began liberating Nazi extermination camps, particularly “Camp Ohrdruf,”
which was part of the larger Buchenwald Concentration camp.
Kenneth was discharged from the military on January 26,
1946. He had been awarded the Distinguished Unit Badge, WWII Victory Medal,
American campaign Medal, European-African-Middle eastern Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze
Service Stars.
Monday, October 21, 2013
November 2013 Dallas Police Shield
We saw last month how in 1972, the DPD was reeling from a
series of shootings where there were recently three Dallas Police Officers killed
and two wounded. It was an epidemic nationwide where lawlessness on many levels
seemed to be tearing America apart.
In June 1972 a delegation of North Texas representatives
went to Austin to meet with Texas Governor Preston Smith. Among those making
the journey to the capital were Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Ted Holland, City Mgr.
Scott McDonald, City Att. Alex Bickley and Police Chief Frank Dyson. Several
other cities were also represented including the mayors of University Park,
Denton, Garland, Mesquite and Councilman Bill Bowles of Arlington.
Chief Dyson said the delegation will urge Smith to add to
the agenda of the special session bills increasing the punishments for defendants
convicted on assaults on police officers. The group also asked Smith to include
a bill authorizing the use of wiretaps to obtain evidence on organized crime
figures and a bill making oral confessions admissible evidence in trails.
Another high-priority item would authorize properly trained
fire department ambulance attendants to render medical treatment beyond first-aid.
In the meantime there was a group of Dallas police wives who
charged that Governor Preston Smith and the Dallas police administration had
been un-sympathetic to their attempts to make their husbands jobs safer and to
get stronger laws dealing with assaults on police. About 40 women meeting at
the DPA club said they have not received the kind of answers they believe will
strengthen their attempts. Another of the group’s goals was to ask the
department for all cars to have 2 man squads instead of 1 man and better
training for rookies.
On June 8, 1972 the DMN reported that Asst. Police Chief Don
Steele had written to Police Chief Frank Dyson recommending that police
officers replace civilian dispatchers in the DPD. The department had replaced
officers with civilians in November, 1970 to free up officers for the streets.
Steele said in an interview that he was not seeking to abolish the civilian
dispatch program altogether. “We do not intend to take away their jobs or
transfer them,” said Steele.
Steele said that the drop-out rate in civilian dispatchers
was abnormally high. Of the 85 civilians hired in November, 1970, 52 had
dropped out because of the pressures of the job. In addition, some of the
drop-outs, due to the training received by the department, qualified them for
employment as police officers in smaller departments, said Steele. While he
declined to say that the program was a failure, Steele said that “until we get
a better evaluation on the kind of mix (civilian and police dispatchers)
selection, we possibly need a better selection process because many left
because they could not handle to pressure and work load of being a dispatcher.
Steele also said that he acknowledges that there is some
validity to the complaints by field officers that civilian dispatchers lack the
expertise to handle the job. He also said that there had been a number of
instances where the civilians had been complimented.
A six member task force assigned by Chief Dyson in May to
explore possible internal weaknesses that might be contributing to the recent
wave of assaults on Dallas police is reported to be looking into the two year
old experiment in using civilian dispatchers.
On June 18, 1972 there was a story where Lt. George Butler
was retiring. He had been with the department for 36 years and had held almost every
job in the police department. It was said that he had pursued racketeers, espionage agents and
criminals. He also rubbed elbows with politicians, millionaires and the average
man. In his 36th year with the DPD, Butler still had lunch
occasionally with billionaire H.L. Hunt.
Butler joined the DPD in 1936. During WWII, Butler worked
with various government agencies combating sabotage, espionage, un-American
activities, internal security and other matters of subversion.
He had been honored by the city of New Orleans for his work
in combating organized crime and had received an award from the N.Y.P.D. for
his nationwide work on pornography. Many of the people Butler knew were gangsters
including Herbert Noble, Benny Binnion, and Paul Jones that were well known to
the veteran officer.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Profiles Fall 2013 Spring 2014 HFDFW
Cranford enlisted into the U.S. Army Air Forces on October
8, 1943 at the age of 18.
After basic training, Cranford was sent to flight training.
Cranford says that he made all A’s and AA’s!
Cranford saw duty in the Western Flying Training Command at
airbases located in California, Texas and Nebraska. He became a flight
instructor and trained students in aircraft such as the AT-11 and the famous
AT-6 Texan.
After the war Cranford, in which he attained the rank of 1st.
Lieutenant, remained in the reserves as a flight instructor. His best memory is
flying the P-51 Mustang, arguably the hottest fighter that came out of WWII.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Hogwash November 2013
With the recent introduction of the new version of the
Indian brand, and the subsequent right hook by Harley-Davidson in introducing
the new Rushmore Project bikes two weeks later, it might be a good time to look
at a time when the two American motorcycle manufacturers might have been
merged.
According to Jean Davidson, the author of 2001’s “Growing up
Harley-Davidson” and the new “Harley-Davidson Family Memories” this
grand-daughter of one of the founders of H-D, Walter Davidson, wrote that the
rivalry between these two great companies was not as severe as it was
publicized to be by the companies PR people.
Jean writes about for instance about her mother Emma. Emma was
known around Milwaukee in the early part of the 20th century as a
trendsetter by some, risqué by other tongue wagging Milwaukeeite’s. She was one
of the first women of that city to wear nail polish apparently, and it was the
talk of many in the high society parties’ of the time.
In the 1930’s Indian and Harley were the only two major
American motorcycle manufacturers still standing. The Depression was hard on
both these old line companies, with H-D generally thought to have come out on
top financially by the start of World War II.
The founders of Harley-Davidson considered healthy competition to be a
good thing. The streets and the racetracks around the country were packed with
riders from both giants of the bike industry constantly trying to prove which
motorcycle was the best.
Jean writes that during the 1930’s there were secret
meetings held between HD and Indian in Chicago where the two supposed rivals
would set prices for their comparative bikes (illegal now) and share some technical
ideas. According to Jean’s book, HD did not want Indian to go out of business.
It may have been that the founders of HD did not want it to look like the
American motorcycle industry was on its way to extinction. If Indian went under
during this most trying time (financially) that the country had experienced, it
might appear that HD would be next, with their products not selling, and the
whole American motorcycle industry about to go under. There were surely riders out
there that would not want to be stuck with a bike whose brand had a questionable
future.
In the book it talks about the fact that founder Arthur
Davidson was a good friend of George Hendee, one of the founders of Indian. He
and Hendee even traded prized Guernsey cows, which both raised on their farms.
An interesting story in the book is how Arthur Davidson talked
his brothers and William Harley into agreeing for him to go directly to Indian,
which was struggling to stay alive during the Depression, and see if HD could
do anything to help Indian out of its financial woes. Arthur did this in 1935
in New York City. Hendee was only a figurehead at Indian at this time and was
in poor health. Upon meeting, Arthur realized his old friend was not himself
and that his health was apparently worse than was thought. Hendee only wanted
to talk of the glory days of Indian, and the rivalry between the two companies.
He also wanted to talk about Guernsey cows, which Arthur Davidson dutifully sat
and listened to those stories as well. Arthur returned to Milwaukee to give his
colleagues the bad news. It’s not known what specific assistance that HD was
prepared to give Indian. You might wonder if maybe joint dealerships, combining
production facilities or even a buyout was in the offing. I guess we will never
know.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Profiles Fall 2013 Spring 2014 HFDFW
James enlisted into the U.S. Army Air Corps (later Air
Forces) in February, 1943. He was 19 years old.
After basic training, James was sent to armorer’s school,
and that is the specialty that James carried with him to the South Pacific.
James was assigned to the 547th Night Fighter
Squadron which was part of the 5th Army Air Forces. During this
time, the 547th used a variant of the famous P-38 Lightning for
photo-reconnaissance work. Later, the squadron received the purpose built night
fighter, the P-61 Black Widow.
The 547th saw duty in New Guinea and well as the Philippines.
One of James’s most memorable experiences was when the Japanese military delegation
to the surrender ceremonies in Manila, Philippines stopped at his air base for refueling
in August, 1945.
James was discharged with the rank of Corporal on December
24, 1945.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Profiles Fall 2013 Spring 2014 HFDFW
Frank enlisted into the U.S. Army Air Corp (later Air Forces)
on December 12, 1942 at the age of 18.
After basic training, Frank was sent to gunnery and radio operator’s
school. Soon Frank found himself transferred to the South Pacific.
Frank was assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance
squadron flying photo reconnaissance B-24 Liberators. He also trained in aircraft
such as the At-6, BT-12, B-26 and the famous B-17.
While flying in the south Pacific, Frank’s unit reported on
enemy shipping, the various ships sizes and shot thousands of photographs of
the enemy. The group also sometimes flew into tropical storms and Typhoon’s
mapping wind velocity, direction, etc.
Frank was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant on
February 10, 1947. He had been awarded the WWII Victory Medal, the Good Conduct
medal and the Army of Occupation medal.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Profiles Fall 2013 Spring 2014 HFDFW
John enlisted into the U.S. Army on September 2, 1938 at the
very young age of 16. John was to remain in the Army until his discharge on
July 12, 1945.
After basic training John was assigned to the famous 1st
Cavalry Division. At the start of WWII the division actually had horses. It was
with profound sadness that the division was ordered to give up their mounts and
become mobilized. The horses were sold at auction to farmers and ranchers
around the El Paso Texas area. For many years after the war, these horses could
still be found with the branding iron markings of the 1st Cav.
The 1st Cavalry Division was sent overseas and
began training in Australia. Thereafter the division was involved in fighting
the Japanese in such areas as New Guinea particularly Los Negros and Manus and the
Admiralty Islands in the southwest Pacific.
Perhaps the largest invasion the division took part in was
the liberation of the Philippine Islands in the fall of 1944. The division
participated in the landings on the islands of Leyte and Luzon. John was on the
first wave in the landing on Leyte with the 271st Field Artillery
Regiment. John also fought the Japanese in the mountains east of Manila, Philippine’s.
John was discharged from the Army in the summer of 1945 with
the rank of Technical sergeant 4. He was awarded the Bronze star with Oak Leaf
cluster.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Profiles Fall 2013 Spring 2014 HFDFW
Fred was drafted into the U.S.Army at the age of 18. He
reported for duty during the month of January, 1944.
After basic training Fred was sent overseas with the 69th
Infantry Division known as the “Fighting 69th.” The 69th
was activated on May 15, 1943 and was first sent overseas to the European
Theater in December, 1944.
The 69th was involved in 86 days of combat and
saw action in the Rhineland and Central Europe. Fred says that the 69th
was the first American division to meet the advancing Russian army at the Elbe
River. He also was there when the 69th captured the city of Leipzig
from the German army.
Fred was discharged from the U.S. Army in May, 1946 with the
rank of Technical Sergeant 5 (T-5) and had been awarded the Bronze Star.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
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