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Post by beirutvet on Apr 10, 2021 22:56:52 GMT 8
Fascinating, tragic and inspiring.....just like all of the saga that is Bataan and Corregidor.
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Post by beirutvet on Apr 7, 2021 8:47:40 GMT 8
EXO
Thank you for this. I am still reading your previous post on Intercept Station C. Looking forward to this one as well.
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Post by beirutvet on Apr 2, 2021 20:59:16 GMT 8
Hi Karl
I am curious about that fishing line that someone had put there and it helped you find what you are looking for. I wonder if that may have been placed there by scrappers as an easy way to get to where they need to go at night while no one can see what they are doing.
Also there at Battery Ramsey doesn't it look like a good portion of the barrel of that gun has been removed? More evidence of scrapping in that area?
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Post by beirutvet on Apr 2, 2021 20:41:35 GMT 8
EXO
Thank you for that. Saudade, indeed.
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Post by beirutvet on Apr 1, 2021 23:08:16 GMT 8
Hi Karl
GREAT THREAD! I am loving this glimpse into this gun's history.
I got a laugh out of the newspaper article "MacArthur the Magnificent". OMG! That sounds like it is straight from his own publicity department.
Looking at the picture coming from Fort Bragg it looks like the cameraman is standing on the gun tube looking down at the men manning the gun, it appears as though there are rather large recoil cylinders on each side of the barrel. First of all, are these in fact recoil cylinders or something else entirely? I could be wrong about this for I am not too familiar with this gun but I do not see these cylinders on any of the other photos.
Could this be an upgraded model of the 155mm or just a picture of another gun that got mistakenly labeled as the 155mm? In the caption it does say that it is the most modern weapon in the world so I am thinking more advanced model than what was in the Philippines.
Could we please get more informed opinions on what I am seeing here to point me in the right direction.
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Post by beirutvet on Mar 30, 2021 3:47:17 GMT 8
Karl
Great post! Loved the video. The concussion when firing that thing must have been an awesome experience.
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Post by beirutvet on Mar 25, 2021 9:40:48 GMT 8
'Bataan and Beyond' by John S. Coleman
This is a rather concise and well written book by someone who was not only there but kept journals to aid in his recollections.
Captain John Coleman was in the Army Air corps attached to the 27th Materiel Squadron. So on the second day of the war, with no aircraft to tend to, he and his men rapidly found themselves pressed into duty as infantry. And he and his men brought to that job the seriousness that war demands. The book does not go into the overall big picture much but what I liked about it is that it gives great detail as to what he personally was seeing before the surrender. He gives sometimes day by day accounts of what his little corner of the war was like. Sometimes minute by minute, defensive line by defensive line accounts are what you can expect here.
On April 8th he and another officer were given instructions to get to Cabcaben and find passage to Corregidor but rapidly advancing Japanese troops and a bad case of malaria kept him from that rendezvous.
This is very much an eye witness account of his war on Bataan and his 3 1/2 years of captivity. Rarely do we see such detail into one soldiers view as to what was his and his alone personal story. Rarely does he give second hand story accounts, for the most part they are all his.
He recounted repeatedly how the men under his command were some of the best he had ever seen. During the fighting on Bataan, although they were starving and sick, he never heard his men complain. He was always marveling how as bleak as those days were, the morale of his men never wavered. When there were dirty and dangerous jobs to be done, and there were many for sure, he always got more volunteers than he needed. Even though he never mentions it, I have a feeling that the reason for all of this was the outstanding leadership he exuded and example he was always setting for the men under his command. He cared deeply for them and as a result they would have followed him to the gates of hell. Unfortunately, that is were the Japanese took them all.
He closed his Epilogue with these words which I very much appreciated. "These almost thirty years have been good years and, although I shall never forget the years spent in Prison camps, time has a way of healing. I was glad to be able to serve my country, still the best in the world, and if called upon I would gladly serve again."
Amen to that, my brother.
***1/2 Recommended
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Post by beirutvet on Mar 24, 2021 2:41:07 GMT 8
Rick
I agree on all accounts.
Very well rounded, not just listing the barbarous treatment but looking at both sides.
And 60 years ago, very courageous during a time when I am sure many wounds were still fresh in the mind.
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Post by beirutvet on Mar 24, 2021 2:37:01 GMT 8
EXO
Very interesting read.
I noticed that he never actually answered that if Manila was to be declared an open city, why were an additional 5,00 troops assigned as reinforcements to that same area?
As has been postulated before, I believe the city was intentionally defended as a message to all Allied forces that this is what you can expect if you invade the homeland. And it will be amidst a population that will be the opposite of Manila, hostile to Americans, not it's own army.
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Post by beirutvet on Mar 23, 2021 11:05:52 GMT 8
Karl
Best news we have heard in a long time. Thank you.
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