Help secure the Medal of Honor for Bataan hero Ed Dyess!
Mar 14, 2018 23:45:23 GMT 8
Karl Welteke, chadhill, and 2 more like this
Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2018 23:45:23 GMT 8
Exactly three weeks from today on Wednesday, April 4, we will mark the 75th anniversary of the start of what the War Department called "The Greatest Story of the War in the Pacific," the only large-scale Allied POW escape of the Pacific War, executed on April 4, 1943 by ten American POWs and 2 Filipino convicts from the Davao Penal Colony, aka. Imperial Japanese Army Prison Camp No. 2, on Mindanao in the occupied Philippines.
Lt. Col. William Edwin Dyess and his comrades, through their escape and the revelations that followed, changed the course of the war. Strategic military operations were altered in the Pacific Theater, while on the homefront, news of the Bataan Death March and other atrocities awoke America from a little-known mid-war complacency slumber. The revelations slashed absenteeism in war industry, skyrocketed stagnant war bond sales, shamed the Japanese before the global community, galvanized the American public for a greater prosecution of the Pacific war and, most notably, fundamentally altered U.S. Government wartime censorship policies, returning the Constitutionally-protected First Amendment right of a free press to the Fourth Estate.
Texas Congressman Jodey Arrington and I will be executing our own daring adventure on April 4: we're using this milestone anniversary to launch the "official" request phase of "The Mission of Honor," a grassroots effort to petition the U.S. Congress, Department of Defense and the White House to reconsider Lt. Col. Dyess' worthy candidacy for the Medal of Honor. Dyess' name was synonymous with the battle for Bataan, the Death March and the story of the escape, so by suitably honoring him with America's highest award for valor, we can honor the thousands of other Philippine POWs, comrades in captivity, that he cared so much about and in the process educate a vast audience about Bataan, Corregidor and the dark, early days of the Pacific War through resulting media coverage of the medal presentation. But we can't do it without your help! We need only a few hundred additional signatures to meet our goal and close the public petition, so I'm posting today in hopes that your John Hancock - and perhaps those of your friends, relatives, fellow history buffs, vets, etc. - can help us complete this part of the mission.
How and where can you lend a hand? Log onto 4-4-43.com and scroll down to the bottom right corner of the webpage and click on "Sign the Medal of Honor Petition" in support of Lt. Col. Dyess. Elsewhere on the site, please take some time to surf around and learn more about the legendary escape and those who participated in it, read some of the VIP endorsements, as well as buy a DVD of 4-4-43, the documentary film based on my book, Escape From Davao. All proceeds of this one-hour film, which features the narrative talents of Vietnam vet and Hollywood actor/technical advisor Dale Dye, go directly to help defray the costs of bringing the Mission of Honor to a successful conclusion, namely facilitating travel to Washington, DC for conferences on Capitol Hill and with U.S. Air Force and DOD personnel in the Pentagon, document reproduction and mailing expenses, etc.
Thank you and salamat!
ABOUT LT. COL. WILLIAM EDWIN DYESS
This vital mission is intended to remedy a seventy-five-year-old injustice: to ensure that one of the greatest, yet least-known American heroes of World War II, Lt. Col. William Edwin Dyess, U.S. Army Air Forces, the namesake of Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas and the 2015 recipient of the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor, is ultimately recognized with the highest military award the United States can bestow, the Medal of Honor.
Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas called the "One-Man Scourge of the Japanese" by the New York Times because of his incomparable individual acts of heroism as a pilot, infantryman, Marine, prisoner of war and guerrilla fighter versus Imperial Japanese forces in the Philippines, deserves the Medal of Honor due to a staggering series of heroic exploits during a sustained period of remarkable, selfless service from December 1941 through December 1943 that is unparalleled in the annals of American military history. Dyess personally led:
1) The earliest charge against Japanese aggression in aerial combat with the U.S. Army Air Forces over Luzon, Philippine Islands in December 1941 and later, in infantry operations during the Battle of the Points on Bataan in January and February 1942;
2) With little regard for his personal safety in the face of concentrated enemy fire, the first American amphibious landing of World War II at Agloloma Bay on Bataan on 8 February 1942; this was a climactic, pivotal action that ultimately helped preserve the viability of the Filipino and American forces on Bataan for two extra months, preventing the Japanese from consolidating victories in the Pacific and threatening Allied bases in Australia and vital supply lines in the Southwest and South Pacific areas of operations;
3) An audacious air raid on the heavily-defended Japanese base at Subic Bay on 2 March 1942 that inflicted such heavy damages that Japanese propaganda announced that it had been accomplished by 54 American bombers;
4) The only successful large-scale Allied POW escape of the Pacific war on 4 April 1943; this escape and the subsequent adventures of Dyess and his 11 comrades was later called "The Greatest Story of the War in the Pacific" by the U.S. War Department.
Dyess reached the rank of lieutenant colonel at the young age of 27.
But the extent of his heroism cannot be measured exclusively by his battlefield bravery. Despite suffering from exhaustion, malnutrition and disease, Dyess flew countless evacuation, reconnaissance and resupply missions from the time period January through April 1942. Near the end of the Battle for Bataan, when food was scarce, the pilot refused to accept special flight rations as ordered by his superiors without first receiving permission from his enlisted personnel. He refused several opportunities to evacuate Bataan before the surrender and instead ordered others to go in his place.
As a prisoner of war, Dyess remained conspicuously in command throughout 361 days of captivity in hellish conditions. He presented himself as a target for abuse during the infamous Bataan Death March to deflect attention from his men as well as sick and wounded comrades. In three squalid prison camps, despite suffering from malnutrition and disease himself, he employed his innate leadership skills and charisma, engaged in morale-building activities and endeavored to secure food and medical supplies in order to improve the living conditions of his fellow prisoners, in the process depriving himself of these essential items.
When Dyess returned to the U.S. following his epic escape, he was not afforded a homecoming of a hero. Instead, while suffering from what had yet to be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder, he was muzzled by the U.S. Government and threatened with the loss of his career and criminal proceedings, compounding feelings of survivor guilt and causing severe emotional distress from his perceived inability to help his comrades in captivity.
In what would be his last, and perhaps greatest mission, Dyess waged a top secret fight against the U.S. Government and wartime censorship restrictions to break the news of Japanese atrocities to the world. But Dyess never lived to know that his collective efforts changed the course of World War II.
During a routine flight over Burbank, California On 22 December 1943, the P-38 Lightning fighter plane he was piloting began experiencing engine trouble. Rather than bail out and let his aircraft careen into a heavily-crowded residential area or war plant, Dyess attempted an emergency landing on an empty street. At the last moment, a lone car appeared, forcing Dyess to pull up and abort the landing. The choice to save the life of the unknown motorist essentially cost Dyess his. Though rapidly losing altitude, he miraculously crashed the plane into a vacant lot and was killed instantly. For this final, remarkable, unselfish act of heroism, Dyess was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but he instead received the Soldiers Medal, symbolic of heroic action committed not in the face of an armed enemy.
Dyess had the tragic misfortune of accomplishing so many heroic deeds as a combatant in a lost, forgotten battle, a fight in which all of his commanding officers (who were needed to recommend him for awards) were killed and in which key records were destroyed to prevent them to falling into enemy hands. As a living reminder of the abandonment of the Philippines by the United States and a messenger whose firsthand testimony of that battle and its hellish aftermath was potentially poisonous to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration and the Allied "Europe First" strategic policy, Dyess was denied the ultimate recognition he deserved by a powerful, vindictive president and Washington officialdom for punitive political reasons.
But now, nearly seventy-five years later, a mission is being undertaken to ensure that the memory of his extraordinary life and military service is enshrined in the national consciousness of America and that his name assumes its rightful place in the special pantheon of American military heroes who have been decorated with our most prestigious award for valor.
In honor of the 26,968 American prisoners of war, as well as the undetermined thousands of Filipino POWs, taken by the Japanese in the Philippines and Dyess' burning passion to aid these heroes, our goal is to secure 26,968 signatures in honor of their sacrifices and support of this mission. It is both a matter and a Mission of Honor.
Lt. Col. William Edwin Dyess and his comrades, through their escape and the revelations that followed, changed the course of the war. Strategic military operations were altered in the Pacific Theater, while on the homefront, news of the Bataan Death March and other atrocities awoke America from a little-known mid-war complacency slumber. The revelations slashed absenteeism in war industry, skyrocketed stagnant war bond sales, shamed the Japanese before the global community, galvanized the American public for a greater prosecution of the Pacific war and, most notably, fundamentally altered U.S. Government wartime censorship policies, returning the Constitutionally-protected First Amendment right of a free press to the Fourth Estate.
Texas Congressman Jodey Arrington and I will be executing our own daring adventure on April 4: we're using this milestone anniversary to launch the "official" request phase of "The Mission of Honor," a grassroots effort to petition the U.S. Congress, Department of Defense and the White House to reconsider Lt. Col. Dyess' worthy candidacy for the Medal of Honor. Dyess' name was synonymous with the battle for Bataan, the Death March and the story of the escape, so by suitably honoring him with America's highest award for valor, we can honor the thousands of other Philippine POWs, comrades in captivity, that he cared so much about and in the process educate a vast audience about Bataan, Corregidor and the dark, early days of the Pacific War through resulting media coverage of the medal presentation. But we can't do it without your help! We need only a few hundred additional signatures to meet our goal and close the public petition, so I'm posting today in hopes that your John Hancock - and perhaps those of your friends, relatives, fellow history buffs, vets, etc. - can help us complete this part of the mission.
How and where can you lend a hand? Log onto 4-4-43.com and scroll down to the bottom right corner of the webpage and click on "Sign the Medal of Honor Petition" in support of Lt. Col. Dyess. Elsewhere on the site, please take some time to surf around and learn more about the legendary escape and those who participated in it, read some of the VIP endorsements, as well as buy a DVD of 4-4-43, the documentary film based on my book, Escape From Davao. All proceeds of this one-hour film, which features the narrative talents of Vietnam vet and Hollywood actor/technical advisor Dale Dye, go directly to help defray the costs of bringing the Mission of Honor to a successful conclusion, namely facilitating travel to Washington, DC for conferences on Capitol Hill and with U.S. Air Force and DOD personnel in the Pentagon, document reproduction and mailing expenses, etc.
Thank you and salamat!
ABOUT LT. COL. WILLIAM EDWIN DYESS
This vital mission is intended to remedy a seventy-five-year-old injustice: to ensure that one of the greatest, yet least-known American heroes of World War II, Lt. Col. William Edwin Dyess, U.S. Army Air Forces, the namesake of Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas and the 2015 recipient of the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor, is ultimately recognized with the highest military award the United States can bestow, the Medal of Honor.
Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas called the "One-Man Scourge of the Japanese" by the New York Times because of his incomparable individual acts of heroism as a pilot, infantryman, Marine, prisoner of war and guerrilla fighter versus Imperial Japanese forces in the Philippines, deserves the Medal of Honor due to a staggering series of heroic exploits during a sustained period of remarkable, selfless service from December 1941 through December 1943 that is unparalleled in the annals of American military history. Dyess personally led:
1) The earliest charge against Japanese aggression in aerial combat with the U.S. Army Air Forces over Luzon, Philippine Islands in December 1941 and later, in infantry operations during the Battle of the Points on Bataan in January and February 1942;
2) With little regard for his personal safety in the face of concentrated enemy fire, the first American amphibious landing of World War II at Agloloma Bay on Bataan on 8 February 1942; this was a climactic, pivotal action that ultimately helped preserve the viability of the Filipino and American forces on Bataan for two extra months, preventing the Japanese from consolidating victories in the Pacific and threatening Allied bases in Australia and vital supply lines in the Southwest and South Pacific areas of operations;
3) An audacious air raid on the heavily-defended Japanese base at Subic Bay on 2 March 1942 that inflicted such heavy damages that Japanese propaganda announced that it had been accomplished by 54 American bombers;
4) The only successful large-scale Allied POW escape of the Pacific war on 4 April 1943; this escape and the subsequent adventures of Dyess and his 11 comrades was later called "The Greatest Story of the War in the Pacific" by the U.S. War Department.
Dyess reached the rank of lieutenant colonel at the young age of 27.
But the extent of his heroism cannot be measured exclusively by his battlefield bravery. Despite suffering from exhaustion, malnutrition and disease, Dyess flew countless evacuation, reconnaissance and resupply missions from the time period January through April 1942. Near the end of the Battle for Bataan, when food was scarce, the pilot refused to accept special flight rations as ordered by his superiors without first receiving permission from his enlisted personnel. He refused several opportunities to evacuate Bataan before the surrender and instead ordered others to go in his place.
As a prisoner of war, Dyess remained conspicuously in command throughout 361 days of captivity in hellish conditions. He presented himself as a target for abuse during the infamous Bataan Death March to deflect attention from his men as well as sick and wounded comrades. In three squalid prison camps, despite suffering from malnutrition and disease himself, he employed his innate leadership skills and charisma, engaged in morale-building activities and endeavored to secure food and medical supplies in order to improve the living conditions of his fellow prisoners, in the process depriving himself of these essential items.
When Dyess returned to the U.S. following his epic escape, he was not afforded a homecoming of a hero. Instead, while suffering from what had yet to be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder, he was muzzled by the U.S. Government and threatened with the loss of his career and criminal proceedings, compounding feelings of survivor guilt and causing severe emotional distress from his perceived inability to help his comrades in captivity.
In what would be his last, and perhaps greatest mission, Dyess waged a top secret fight against the U.S. Government and wartime censorship restrictions to break the news of Japanese atrocities to the world. But Dyess never lived to know that his collective efforts changed the course of World War II.
During a routine flight over Burbank, California On 22 December 1943, the P-38 Lightning fighter plane he was piloting began experiencing engine trouble. Rather than bail out and let his aircraft careen into a heavily-crowded residential area or war plant, Dyess attempted an emergency landing on an empty street. At the last moment, a lone car appeared, forcing Dyess to pull up and abort the landing. The choice to save the life of the unknown motorist essentially cost Dyess his. Though rapidly losing altitude, he miraculously crashed the plane into a vacant lot and was killed instantly. For this final, remarkable, unselfish act of heroism, Dyess was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but he instead received the Soldiers Medal, symbolic of heroic action committed not in the face of an armed enemy.
Dyess had the tragic misfortune of accomplishing so many heroic deeds as a combatant in a lost, forgotten battle, a fight in which all of his commanding officers (who were needed to recommend him for awards) were killed and in which key records were destroyed to prevent them to falling into enemy hands. As a living reminder of the abandonment of the Philippines by the United States and a messenger whose firsthand testimony of that battle and its hellish aftermath was potentially poisonous to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration and the Allied "Europe First" strategic policy, Dyess was denied the ultimate recognition he deserved by a powerful, vindictive president and Washington officialdom for punitive political reasons.
But now, nearly seventy-five years later, a mission is being undertaken to ensure that the memory of his extraordinary life and military service is enshrined in the national consciousness of America and that his name assumes its rightful place in the special pantheon of American military heroes who have been decorated with our most prestigious award for valor.
In honor of the 26,968 American prisoners of war, as well as the undetermined thousands of Filipino POWs, taken by the Japanese in the Philippines and Dyess' burning passion to aid these heroes, our goal is to secure 26,968 signatures in honor of their sacrifices and support of this mission. It is both a matter and a Mission of Honor.