Folks Of Interest 12-7-1941

My Dad was a WWII Navy combat vet. Left High School early and served on the USS Archernar. Hit by a Kamakazi at the start of the Battle of Okinawa on April 2, 1945.

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My Dad served in WWII in Italy. That's all I really know. He wouldn't talk about it. The only story he would tell was about basic training. Upon completion of basic training, as he was a coal miner, they let him out to mine copper in Washington state. One day, while driving a vertical shaft in a mountain, a faulty blasting charge ended up blowing him down the shaft. Stove him up pretty good. (His words.) He said to hell with it and headed home to Terre Haute, Indiana. According to him the MPs were waiting on the porch for him. He had to go through basic training a second time!
Dad has been gone more than 30 years now. Damn, I miss him. He was one of those kind, the salt of the earth.

 

Thanks to all who served.....

 

Before my grandfather passed away roughly ten years ago. My mom and I sat down with him and he talked about his time in the Navy fighting in the Pacific. He like many others stepped up and came running head first after that day. He never liked talking about it and he would always got upset when I asked, but I have always been so fascinated with WWII, pre-war/prohibition/depression and what occurred in post war America. I pay my respect every year and eventually I will get to go to Pearl Harbor and the beaches of Normandy.


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On that fateful morning Dec.7th 1941, I was just 9 years old,--But as the radio crackled the latest news, we all stopped in our tracks & put our ears close to the broadcasting stations, not believing what we were hearing.
That was 77 years ago. As I attend my weekly meetings of Band of brothers here in Bend,Oregon, where we still have quite a few WWII vets, also Korean vets, Veit Nam vets & later vets, we are sadly losing the older ones each month.

 

Never forget!!

 

There are an estimated 558,000 WWII veterans left, and an average of 372 pass away each day. It won't be long before there are none left. If you know one, talk to them soon, or it may be too late.

I had a Great Uncle in the US Army that was killed in 1945 in France just after the war was over. Another Great Uncle who served with the Merchant Marines died in the 90's. Had one Uncle who served in the Pacific with the Navy who died in the early 2000's. Neither would talk about their war experiences.

Other than another Uncle that served stateside during Korea, nobody else in my family has been in the military. My Dad was 4F, and the draft had stopped before I became old enough.

 

I want to write a quick story that got me into history as a kid. It was this that also got my love affair with pre war gow jobs, the cars the boys built before all hell broke out, and many never got to drive again. I will quote the veteran as he told me the story. I was about 8-10 yrs old and stayed home from school as I was sick. My mom took me to the pharmacy at Shoprite in Fair Lawn NJ where I grew up. We were standing in line and I asked my mom "What day is it" and all of a sudden this old man turns to me and said " It's December 7th, the day the Japs attacked America" WOW... What was this I thought? I could see in his eyes that this meant the world to him, to be 100% honest I feel his soul some how touched mine and I was never the same. From that day on I read as many books on WWII, talked to my grandparents about the war, listened to all the old veterans who would tell their story's to me. As I grew older I got into cars from my dad, but the cars that just did something for me were always built with that pre-war look so when I started turning wrenches I wanted to recreate that look in honor of all the men who had served and paid the ultimate sacrifice and never returned to their beloved cars. When ever I am eating out and if I see a veteran with their hat on I make it a point to buy them their meal. Then when I do I walk over and thank them for their service, I can't tell how many time I've made them cry or waiters and waitress. Its the least thing I can do for them to show how grateful I am.

Thank You all that have served!!

 

Yep!

 

What is it with today’s youth? I always get drunk on this day, got several points of my life come together on this day. But I was just talking to my 20/30 year old bar tender.... absolutely no knowledge of WWII.... what the fuck? No knowledge of the Civil War, or the Korean War. You got to be kidding me..... absolutely no knowledge of these wars?
What is wrong with the youth of today? .......


Bones

 

Their education. When in High School I had a WWII Army Air Corps Veteran as a history teacher. He had lived what he was teaching and got me more into history than every other subject.

 

Yep, the education system has went downhill. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.

 

My Dad was a student at USC when Pearl Harbor was attacked he enlisted in the Army Air Corp a few days later, he was a waist gunner on a B-29. HRP

 

My art teacher in HS father was also a B29 gunner.
HRP I have no doubt your father was a B29 gunner. Here is some info about his job...
The pressurized B29 did not have an exposed waist position like a 17 or 24 rather they had gunner stations that were sighted through port holes. The guns were analog computer controlled. The control and targeting were a lot like the directors of a navy ship.


In Korea this system was somewhat effective against piston engined aircraft but was wholly inadequate against jet aircraft like the Mig 15. The 29's real successor, the B52 only has a tail gun.

 

My Dad and his B-17!!

 

He was on the other side of the World, stationed in England. As in the Movie Memphis Belle, had to complete 25 missions before coming home.

 

HRP-----Don't think the B-29's were in service when Pearl was bombed,---He probably was on a B-17 "Flying Fortress".

 

My brother in law was a pilot on a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, he flew 57 missions in the Pacific theater, in the 5th AAF. When he returned home in 1943 he gave me his sweat stained hat & I was thrilled at 11 years old!

 

Dec. 7th, 1941. News of Pearl Harbor struck my grandfather, uncles & aunts hard.
Dad enlisted in the Navy...he was an acredited swimmer in college, became a 'Frog Man', U.D.T. member. He and team partners got capsized on a sailboat (secret mission) and had to swim 8 miles in. Three swam, one drowned, other died from exhaustion, Dad survived...they were taken inland by a company of Aussies. Dad had huge respect for our Aussie allies, said there were none more apt to 'step forward', no matter what the odds.
He returned to the States, was assigned to Parachute training, broke his leg during first jump...
Sadly. in 1954 he was killed in a construction accident. I was 12.
Previous to that, he and his best friend Bill told me of Carrier duty, Boatswain's chair transfer from the Wasp to the Hornet...he made many friends on those ships.
In 1949, he took me to N.A.S. Moffet Field for a Model Airplane contest, sponsored by the Navy in those days. Hundreds of entrants, all homebuilt models, the huge blimp hangar ('Dirigible') was filled wall to wall with long tables for the boys to prepare planes for the 3 day flying event!
I was surprised, as some Navy men would salute my Dad, addressing him as 'Chief'.
Dad had never made 'Chief, so that was like...'respect'? Never knew. My Mom wondered about that, too.
High point was the presence of the Navy team, "the Blue Angels". Their NEW airplanes, F8F Bearcats, were lined up 50 feet behind a rope, their team assisting 2 officers signing autographs...their Flight commander walked up to the rope and grabbed Dad's hand, "Joe! You ol' sonofabitch, how the hell are you?"
They had been on the Wasp together, great friends. Imagine! I was deeply impressed.
I was 7.
Godspeed, Dad. I'll never forget Pearl.

 

Things sure have changed on the HAMB. I was banned once for posting "Remember Pearl Harbor"

 

Never "Hoppen"

 

There's a great 6 hr show on the Smithsonian channel... The Pacific War in Color.... It's all new footage....

 

On the contrary, Pearl Harbor was a brilliant act of military strategy by the enemy and Should serve a a reminder to always study your enemy never underestimate them. It just sucks when you are at the receiving end of the attack. At least that is the opinion of one combat veteran and sailor.


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Had japan flew back to their carriers and refueled and reloaded and launched a second attack, we would all be speaking japanese, now.



Bones

 

My Dad, Capt. Charles Overmyer graduated in May of 1941. Joined the Army in December 1941. Basic in Indiana, Pilot training in Texas, Advanced training in Arizona and Multi engine training in California. He and his complete squadron flew to England in early 1942. Engaged in the invasion of North Africa, invasion of Sicily, invasion of Italy, invasion of France, 6 missions over D-Day, invasion of Germany, shot down once(but he and his whole crew made it back to England, thanks to friendly help) Awarded the Air Metal, Distinguished Flying Cross, 7 Silver Stars and 3 bronze stars. He passed in 1978 and NEVER talked about the war. A proud, honest Patriot that loved our country. Man, I still miss him!

 

My Dads next oldest brother Ronnie Joined the RAF ,at that time period the life expectancy of a British daylight bomber crew was three months . He was sent to Florida to learn to fly bombers, my Dad still has all his letters . I have read most of them , one that struck me was him talking about life in Florida and how the American planes Torqued in the opposite direction of the British planes on take off.He spoke of the warm Florida weather and enjoying a cold coke and a Hershey bar at the beach. Capt. Ronald Rodgers Only survived two months of combat . Was shot down over Belgium in 1942. Still have the telegram the RAF sent to my Grandmother and his medals. Also a really cool picture of my Dad sitting behind Ronnie on his Vincent.

 

They could have taken San Francisco and we would have still beat them.

It may have taken longer but the end result would have been the same.
When asked by the High Command if a mainland invasion of the United States was even possible....Yamamoto allegedly said....

Japan's plan was to hurt the United States, then seize vast of amounts of Pacific territory thus bringing the United States to the bargaining table for a negotiated peace.

Yamamoto said he could run wild for 6 months after the Pearl Harbor attack but he could not guarantee anything after that. Within 4 month of Pearl Harbor, Japan was bombed by land based American bombers ( albeit B25s off the USS Hornet). 6 months after Pearl Harbor Japan lost 6 aircraft carriers....2 at Coral Sea and 4 in a matter of hours at Midway. Nearly 6 months to the day....Japan had lost the heart of her naval offensive capability. She was on the defensive after June 1942.

Most of the US Asiatic Fleet and an entire United States Army were sacrificed in the Java Sea and the Philippines to save Australia.

This was all accomplished with the remnants of the Old Navy. The New Navy (the greatest the world has ever seen and may ever see) would take it back. 3 years and 8 months later, new US battleships and carriers were off the home islands...blasting away.

Japan lost the War on 12-7-41.

 

This changed everything....

It took farm and city boys from across the nation and made mechanics out of them. My grandfather served with the 20th Air Force USAAF in Guam.
After the War he married my grandmother in 48, became a mechanic....opened a garage....tuned a bootlegger's fleet of 49-51 Ford cars... and owned a car( 2) and raced in Birmingham and surrounding short tracks.

One result of the War was that great automotive post war boom.