Terrible, being so desperate that you actually wish to die . Maybe his girlfriend had just sent him a letter telling him it was over, or maybe he saw he saw his best buddie die. We"ll never know.

Another question: They must have been a minority, but were there some kind of hero wanna be trying to chase a medal and take considerable risks to try to get one?

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Hello Mike,

If the Mk33 was Shaw's fire control system it worked well enough, my thoughts at the time would have been a sharp gunnery officer and a well trained crew. I didn't see the shore emplacements up close, but those weapons were silenced by shaw's fire. The remainder of us went ashore with the main body of the force later in the day, we were under jap air attack for a time, a few Navy ships were damaged, one or two smaller craft were sunk. Shortly after the landings, I was sent to Cape Gloucester before the week was over.

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All the Best
Jack

Hello Skipper,

To answer your question, I did not know of anyone who was personally looking to make a name for himself, if there were such notions, they would have worn off very quickly, staying alive was more the rule of thumb.

You ask of extremes, so I tell you what I know. There were some which had become kill crazed, most combat units had them, these were normal, average men who followed orders, fellows who would take risks to settle personal matters with the japs, word would go around about how many they had got that day, the response at the time was "well done". I'm hesitating in giving a full response to this topic out of respect to all involved, including the readers of this thread.

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All the Best
Jack

Hi Jack, no need to explain the details here, I perfectly understand. I can only get as close to what the state of mind was at the time being someone who wasn't there, but I figure was the line was. I know what the Japanese did to the Dutch women and children in the Dutch Indies and they weren't especially tender with pow's either, or in combat, so It was to be expected that some had personnal matters to settle.

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Yes, Skipper. The Japanese didn't exactly have a sterling record in the territories they captured. Many of them did a lot of unspeakable things and pay back would be a natural human response, I think.

Sir, something intrigued me when I read the thread on Japanese propaganda broadcasts in the Pacific.
It was mentioned that these broadcasts did little to lower morale and that troops, sailors and airmen actually found them funny.

Sir, what did you think of these broadcasts? Was there any memorable broadcasts or "announcements" that always come to your mind when you recall this topic?

Hello Falcon,

Yes, quite a few of the programs were very entertaining, there were several different voices, one of which was quite alluring. They played all the big band numbers, and gave all the war news that was fit to print in Nippon.

The fellas would tune in to for the music, and to listen to the sound of a woman's voice, which can get your attention more than might be imagined after spending a lot of time on those Islands.

The intelligence on factual information they had regarding unit numbers, locations, activities, convoy destinations, and even names of personnel could be alarming, but they would mix truth with the absurd, and that's what made it quite comical.

The battleship South Dakota had been sunk (again) for the fourth, or fifth time, John we intercepted a letter from your lovely wife Betty, who is leaving you for another man. Imperial forces have made landings in the everglades, and have established a large base in Southern America. Lay down your arms, give yourself up and you will be treated well.

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All the Best
Jack

Luckily it was absurd, otherwise it would have been quite affecting. It must have been diverting in away.

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Thanks for the insight, sir. Since we're talking about radio broadcasts, what did you feel or think when hearing about news from the European theater? Did any of your fellows think that they would be better off they facing Germans instead of Japanese?

Jack, how often where you able to listen to such broadcasts?

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"When war does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." -General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
"The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed."-Karl von Clausewitz

Mr. Jack.

I just noticed the picture in your profile. Is that I new one or have I just been missing it?

Tell us about it.

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Best Regards,
JW

Jack,

I have only read the first page so far but it is fascinating.

I am an old Australian codger born in 1939, so my interest in all things military started very young as it dominated our lives down here.

I have quite a few uncles and other rellies who seemd to mostly serve in the RAN, but my father in law was in the 2nd AIF, first in Tobruk, then Syria, then back home to have a go at the japs at Milne Bay. He caught malaria there, and as he was about 8 years over his stated age, they sent him home to serve out the war in a base ordnance depot.

Without reading all the posts yet, did you serve with the Australians much? It seems possible you may have been in the Buna/Gona area?

TTYL



John.


PS,

Thanks for the helping hand.

Jack,


I have just finished reading 17 pages of the most fascinating information I have even encountered in many Forums over about 10 years.

As with most older Australians we all appreciate just what the USA did in the SWPA in the darkest days of WW2.

THANK YOU!

You mentioned various places in Qld.

Did you go to the Canungra Jungle Training School? Otr train on the Atherton Tableland near Cairns and Ravenshoe"?

Most of the North African vets went straight up there for intense training before heading north. I remember my father in law say there were 70,000 Australians up there with him in mid 1942.

About 1943, there were 300,000 men north of the Tropic of Capricorn.



"Yes, we once bought some waterfront property over there in '53 with harbor view of the Sydney Bridge,"


That property could well be worth $5 MILLION now!

John.

Hello,

My pleasure to meet you John, yes, I was at Buna, we got there on foot from Port Morsesby over the Owen Stanley range in Dec. '42.

I served with quite a few Aussies, my wife's brother was at Tobruk with the AIF. I've been in and out of Milne Bay numerous times, that's where I learned never to play cards with Aussies.

I have a pinned thread called "Hello to All!", in the new member introduction section, we trained in Alice Springs in '42 after Darwin, in '43 OCS training was in Northern Queensland with a commando course up in the rain Forrest around Daintree, I'll think of the name in a bit.

Take care,

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All the Best
Jack

Jeff,

That photo was e-mailed to me by my niece, she said she took it from a group shot and enlarged it, I could have told more by the looking over the group. I don't remember where or when that was taken, but it looks to be navy warship or transport, clean khakis, looking well fed, and judging by the top knot, must have been standing in line waiting for a haircut.

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All the Best
Jack

Mike,

Those Tokyo Rose type broadcasts would be playing in most rear areas, communication tents, aboard ship, anywhere there was a receiver. I'd hear them from time to time.

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All the Best
Jack

What was the occasion for the last time you fired a weapon at the enemy?

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Best Regards,
JW

Falcon,

We would hear or read news of the war elsewhere, fellas who had brothers, family, or friends serving would get news from letters.
We had our situation, they had theirs, we were at war, if for some strange reason we had encountered German troops on one of those Islands we would have attacked.

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All the Best
Jack

Jeff,

Philippines, Jan. '45.

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All the Best
Jack

Jack,


"I have a pinned thread called "Hello to All!", in the new member introduction section, we trained in Alice Springs in '42 after Darwin, in '43 OCS training was in Northern Queensland with a commando course up in the rain Forrest around Daintree, I'll think of the name in a bit."


I am quite familiar with Alice Springs It is now a 'city' of 25,000 people and a major tourist destination for us old codgers ("grey nomads"). In WW2 the civilian population was about 2,000 I believe.

My wife's father was rejected by the Army for physical reasons, so he joined the 'Allied Works Council', serving in the Civil Construction Corps. He helped construct the 'road' from Darwin to Alice Springs. 1,500 kms of single lane sealed road. Parts of which you can still see parallel to the fancy new highway (all 2 lanes of it) we have up there.

I have a mate who drove convoys from Alice to Darwin and back, 3 days up, 2 days to unload, repair, and maintain, and 3 days back. He did that for 3 years without a days 'leave'.

We called in to a small town 80km south of Darwin called 'Batchelor'. It was the airstrip where MacArthur landed in March 1942. Darwin was being bombed that day.
Army thinking sometime is hard to follow, and you must have been there very early in the Pacific War, as desert warfare quickly became very unlikely, certainly by late 1942. We also 'free-camped' on a strip called 'Fenton Field', it was a USAAF B-24 base in 1942/3. The dispersal bays are still there and teh strip is still in near perfect condition. A jap 'Betty' put a bomb on the runway, and the repair job is still visible.

The Daintree River is now one of the most cherished World Heritage Areas in Australia. Mossman, Cape Tribulation and Cooktown are the most prominant names. You would have gone to Cairns to get to that area, it is now about 90,000 people. Cooktown was for awhile the USN headquarters for the area, and that building is now a museum. The whole area is a very popular Grey Nomad destination.

Keep posting, this thread is UNIQUE!

Best wishes,


John.

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"I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". - Voltaire.

Hello John,

We traveled those red dirt roads around Darwin quite a bit, my time with the 147th we spent 21 days creating 24 camps, most were empty barrels and boxes, foot paths simulated by dragging logs and chains behind a vehicle, old canvas tarps over stacked brush to give the illusion from the air of a large ground force.

We were at the airfield in review fashion as the General's party arrived, I remember the day very clearly, if you ever meet anyone who was on the ground that day, ask them what was cargo that was unloaded from the third B17 that fine day in 1942.

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All the Best
Jack