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Post by JohnEakin on Apr 23, 2024 0:56:45 GMT 8
The gaff that keeps on giving - now he has offended the cannibals:
From FoxNews.com today-
"Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said Monday that he was offended by President Biden's recent comments suggesting his uncle was eaten by cannibals in the Oceanic nation during World War II.
Marape expressed disappointment in a statement Monday that Biden would suggest his nation was rife with cannibals, noting also that Papua New Guinea was unwillingly pulled into the global conflict in the 1940s. Biden's comments suggesting his uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., was eaten in Papua New Guinea, came during a speech to a steelworkers union in Pittsburgh last week.
"President Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such," Marape said in a statement. "World War II was not the doing of my people; however, they were needlessly dragged into a conflict that was not their doing."
"The remains of WWII lie scattered all over PNG, including the plane that carried President Biden’s uncle," he continued. "Perhaps, given President Biden’s comments and the strong reaction from PNG and other parts of the world, it is time for the USA to find as many remains of World War II in PNG as possible, including those of servicemen who lost their lives like Ambrose Finnegan.""
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Post by JohnEakin on Apr 20, 2024 10:22:01 GMT 8
Setting the record straight -
From Fox News today:
"During his visit to a war memorial near his hometown in Pennsylvania, President Biden appeared to imply his uncle was eaten by cannibals after his plane was shot down during World War II.
"He flew single-engine planes, reconnaissance flights over New Guinea. He had volunteered because someone couldn't make it. He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time," President Biden said. "They never recovered his body."
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre acknowledged that President Biden’s maternal uncle, Ambrose Finnegan, who he refers to as "Uncle Bosie," did die in WWII when his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean, but confirmed he was not eaten by cannibals, as Biden seemed to suggest on two separate occasions during his visit on Wednesday."
According to the sole survivor, Uncle Bosey Finnegan wasn't the pilot, he was a courier who was hitchhiking onboard the flight. The aircraft wasn't shot down, they got lost and ran out of fuel.
All those who serve are heroes and those who distort the record dishonor the real heroes.
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Post by JohnEakin on Apr 18, 2024 22:40:52 GMT 8
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Post by JohnEakin on Apr 16, 2024 23:38:25 GMT 8
Thanks, Karl. You already do more than anyone to keep their memories alive.
Here's a chance for someone to make a contribution to this forum and tell the stories of some ordinary heroes. Here's a couple that are all cued up for someone to summarize.
- There are seven files in which the traitor? Sakakida is mentioned. Some of these files are very interesting in themselves and build on several existing forum threads.
- To accompany the Sakakida files, here are sixty-seven files involving prisoners at Fort Santiago including such as General Lim.
- If your interest is Hellships, how about thirty-six files on men who died on the Arisan Maru. There were nine American survivors and they tell some hair-raising tales. Some of the stories are a little more personnel, such as the mother who wrote the President and demanded to know why she was not the designated NOK.
If these projects are to big for you, how about telling the story of someone from your hometown? Have a particular interest such as the BDM or a POW camp? A particular unit or location? The meat is in these files, all you have to do is cook it and share it.
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Post by JohnEakin on Apr 16, 2024 0:09:14 GMT 8
I have a little quandary and could use some help from the members of this forum.
Many of you know the story of my quest to recover the remains of my Cousin, Bud Kelder, who died in the Cabanatuan POW camp. This started in 2009 and has required four trips to Federal Court. We've not only recovered most of Bud's remains (that's another story), but we also have the only complete digital copy of the Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPFs) that is in the public domain. Each one of these more than 540,000 pdf files has a story. Many stories are rather personal and most are routine. Some are nothing less than earthshaking.
I've been overwhelmed by requests from genealogists, data providers, and many other people - some of whom have unknown motives. I couldn't keep up with all the requests even if I tried and I refuse to just dump these files on the internet. So my policy has been to only share these files with legit family members and researchers who I know to be legit and who will handle these files with respect.
I believe a soldier doesn't die until he is forgotten and the stories contained in these files deserve to be told.
If you enjoy WWII history and would like to distill the dry bureaucratic language of these IDPFs into something a little more readable and put the pieces together, I'll upload a set of these files to you to see what you can do with them. I have two groups of these files ready to go. If you'd like to give it a shot, send me a PM and I'll send them to you.
All I ask is that you post the story on this forum (and wherever else you wish) within a reasonable time - say 30 days or less. and you credit "source files supplied by BataanMissing.com." If you don't have a history of posting on this forum, please don't ask. I've identified literally dozens of interesting stories so there's lots more if this experiment works out.
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Post by JohnEakin on Jan 30, 2024 6:40:43 GMT 8
How many red horses did you have?
(A Troop of them - EXO)
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Post by JohnEakin on Oct 17, 2023 9:24:00 GMT 8
Thank you, Karl, for this thread and the update. My Cousin, Bud Kelder, died there and was buried as an Unknown so it has special significance to me. Soon after I started learning about him, I was given a copy of the original burial roster and was floored by the immensity of what happened there and the cruelty involved. I'm proud to say that Bud's remains and those of many dozens of his comrades have been correctly identified and their remains returned to their families.
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Post by JohnEakin on Aug 18, 2023 2:02:08 GMT 8
I'm in total agreement, but I don't have the answer.
I've participated in several forums since even before the internet - remember CompuServe and the dial up bulletin boards? And I've seen some thrive and some fall by the wayside. The successful sites all seem to have a sense of community, though.
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Post by JohnEakin on Dec 18, 2022 10:55:48 GMT 8
Rob,
Welcome to the forum. I'm not real sure what memorial you're looking for. Your Uncle is listed on the tablets of the missing at the Manila American Cemetery. See ABMC.gov. I think that the cemetery personnel will provide a photo of the inscription if you contact them.
Do you have his Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF)? If not, email me at BataanMissing@gmail.com and I'll send it to you.
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Post by JohnEakin on Jun 23, 2022 3:49:10 GMT 8
Not to steal Chad's thunder, but rather than send all this to him to post I'll just cut out the middleman. After I told Chad that I didn't have Wolfe's IDPF, I ran a global search - which takes a while - and found an X file, Manila_Mausoleum_RP_X-1665, which is believed to be Sgt Wolfe. Throughout this file he is variously referred to as either a master sergeant or a lieutenant colonel. However, the only SN listed for him is an enlisted number so I suspect that he was a MSG. A few highlights from the file: Remains recovered from isolated grave on Corregidor, P.I. Found with Lt Col insignia and pocket compass with markings on the back Eng. Dept. USA 1917 Major's insignia and eye glasses, horn-rimmed, dark brown color were also found with the remains. The initial identification was by means of dog tag bearing: CARL S WOLFE, USA on one side and 6116805 on the other side. The remains were recovered by the 8122nd Special Search Team on 6 Nov 47 and were buried in Manila American Cemetery plot L, row 12, grave 75 on 26 Apr 1950. The ID recommendation was disapproved for: Lt/Col Insignia (Wolfe was a M/SGT) Pair of eyeglasses (Wolfe did not wear glasses) Dental comparison is negative and contradictory Discrepancy of 41/4 inches in height Engineer Department compass (Wolfe was a member of the Coast Artillery) The only point of favorable comparison is the recovery of Wolf's I.D. Tag. Records of the Adjutant General's Office indicates that M/Sgt Wolfe was a prisoner on Corregidor Island, P.I. and was declared dead 30 Nov 1944. A letter from Carl B. Lindow, former POW, stated that one of the other prisoners was "M/Sgt Carl S. Wolfe (Corregidor Nov 30, 1944) and he was suffering from beri bari, malnutrition, dysentery." Wolfe was assigned to Hq Btry 59th C.A. I would strongly suggest the OP contact the Army Casualty office and ask them to provide Wolfe's IDPF. Also ask them to determine who is the primary NOK and help them find as many family members as possible to obtain family reference samples (DNA) from. Contact information for Army Casualty is at: www.hrc.army.mil/content/The%20Past%20Conflict%20Repatriations%20Branch%20is%20an%20organization%20under%20the%20Army%20Casualty%20and%20Mortuary%20Affairs%20Operations%20Division%20(CMAOD)I can't send complete files to other than family members, but if Chris will message me with his email address I'll be glad to send it along.
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