Sorry to big foot TaMara’s post, but I wanted to get this up as quickly as I could.
URGENT: A 96-year-old vet in a NY hospice wishes to connect with a fellow veteran from the Battle of Guadalcanal. Help us spread the word to link this hero up with someone who can swap stories about their experience: https://t.co/96IKkfQbRt #bandofbrothers pic.twitter.com/r4UQSkgQ3E
— American Legion NY (@NY_Legion) April 19, 2018
I’m working my Marine Corps connections, as well as my contacts in the chaplaincy to see if they can do anything, but the farther and wider we can spread this, the more likely it is to get a hit.
Open thread!
LAO
I saw this, this morning and it made me smile, I hope they’re successful.
TaMara (HFG)
Shared with my dad’s Legion FB page.
Adam L Silverman
@TaMara (HFG): Danke!
Washburn
Damn, I can only assume that this gentleman had buddies he fought with there and with whom he used to talk, but now finds himself the last survivor.
I hope he finds someone else to talk to. My uncle, who fought there and suffered malaria for the rest of his life, died over thirty years ago.
Adam L Silverman
@Washburn: I knew one person who fought there. Friend of my grandfather’s. He’s been dead for over 20 years.
RepubAnon
I had a relative who fought there – but he passed away several years ago.
MomSense
Leroy Peasley of Rockland, Maine is a Marine veteran who fought in Guam and Iwo Jima. He served in the 3rd Marine Division. Do you think that would be acceptable? He’s active in the American Legion Post number 1 in Rockland, Maine.
Betty Cracker
We had a neighbor down the road who was a WW2 Pacific vet. He painted a mural of the ship on which he served on his garage door. (No HOA rules in this neck of the woods!) He died a few years back, and his family sold the house. The folks who bought it painted over the mural. Now it’s just a bland brownish color. Makes me sad every time I walk the dog past that house.
Stan
He could also be Army or Navy – not necessarily Marine Corps.
Adam L Silverman
@MomSense: Possibly. Couldn’t hurt to try.
Rand Careaga
My old man was on Guadalcanal with the First Marine Raiders, but pegged out, alas, around this time in 2015, and was too frail to travel for the last couple of years of his life. He would certainly have wanted to chew the fat with this man, provided that, had he served in one of the other branches of the military, he was prepared to acknowledge the supremacy of the martial Marine Corps. Dad was funny that way.
JPL
Adam, It’s a nice bigfoot post.
Adam L Silverman
@Stan: Could be, though the bulk of the forces on Guadalcanal where Marines. I’ve pinged a colleague at the Point, a colleague at USAWC, my former boss who is now the Superintendent at the Merchant Marine Academy in NY, several former teammates who are Marines, two Army chaplains, my former teammate who works at the VA, and one of my senior mentors who runs a veteran’s organization. The only people in uniform I’ve not pinged are the Girl Scouts!
Adam L Silverman
@Rand Careaga: Carlson’s?
WaterGirl
@LAO: It made me cry.
OzarkHillbilly
All of my WWII relatives have moved on. IIRC my Marine Corps uncle fought at Tarawa, unsure about where else.
Elizabelle
Adam, let us know what happens, if they find a visitor for this gentleman. Maybe they will have to Skype.
@MomSense: That’s cool. Maybe this hospice request will get other aged warriors reconnecting. Think of how many people say “yeah, dad/uncle was in WW2, but they never talked about it.”
Elizabelle
@OzarkHillbilly: We have a family friend who fought at Tarawa. Dead for decades now.
Yutsano
My grandfather is still alive and pretty lucid for a 98 year old man. But he fought only in the European theatre. If that’s acceptable then I could volunteer him.
Mary G
I suspended my Facebook paranoia to post this there – I live just north of Camp Pendleton and there are still a few retired Marine officers in the area. Also put it on Next Door board.
Adam L Silverman
@Elizabelle: If I hear anything, I’ll let you know. The reality is we may never know.
Mayim
@Adam L Silverman:
Sent to a couple cousins, who are retired Army, and a high school friemd who is retired Navy. All had positions where tjey might know someone who fits, or contacts who do.
Also sent to another cousin who works for a visiting nurses company not too far from there, just im case, as I know much of her case load is older veterans.
When people complain about the Imternet isolating people, this is the sort of actiom that I point to as a good aspect of modern life.
MomSense
@Adam L Silverman:
I think there is a veteran who served as a nurse there so I sent it to her legion hall as well. We have a lot of super feisty nonagenarian and centenarian veterans in Maine.
Adam L Silverman
@Mary G: Thanks!
raven
@Stan: My old man refused to watch “The Thin Red Line” because “it’s abut the goddamn Army on the Canal”! When I pointed out to him the 23d and 25th ID did, in fact, fight in the interior battles on the island after the 1st Mar Div stood down. He relaxed some but never watched it!
Adam L Silverman
@MomSense: Thanks!
LAO
@WaterGirl: I get that — what touched me was the length the Hospice was willing to go to bring this elderly veteran some comfort.
Rand Careaga
@Adam L Silverman: Edson’s.
raven
I sent it along to my Vietnam outfit in Providence, they do a lot of work with vets in that area.
Adam L Silverman
@Rand Careaga: Okay. I’ve got one of the last surviving Carlson’s bowies. Amazingly it came from an estate sale of a US Army veteran who served during WW II. The estate sale folks, who handled my grandparents’/aunt’s condo estate sale for me, couldn’t sell it. So I bought it to make sure it would wind up with someone who understood what it was and would take care of it.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: Thanks!
Immanentize
@LAO: Left you a law Q at the bottom of the last thread….
raven
@Rand Careaga: My dad was an APD sailor and they worked with the Raiders to the point that they were made “honorary members” of the Raider Association. I wanted to visit the museum when I visited Richmond but they moved it to Quantico.
rikyrah
Hope they find folks for him.
NCSteve
Wow. My dad was at Guadalcanal with the First Marine Division.
If you watched “The Pacific” on HBO, yeah that was his unit, at least until he was wounded on Peleliu and then reppled back into the Fifth Marine Division as cadre.
I was shattered by how much of what I saw on it tracked with, and made sense of, his stories, including the raids by starving Marines on the Army supply depots after the latter landed with their own supplies.)
I hope they find someone for this man to talk to. If Guadalcanal is the part of his World War II experiencing occupying his thoughts now, odds are he’s a Marine.
NCSteve
@raven: Lol! My dad totally would have done that!
Villago Delenda Est
The girl scouts would offer him some cookies, I’m sure!
raven
@NCSteve: Since the series was based on books by Eugene “Sledgehammer” Sledge (With the Old Breed and Peleliu and Okinawa and Robert Leckie’s “A Helmet for my Pillow” (about the Canal) it should have been accurate.
NCSteve
@Rand Careaga: Heh. Marines are funny that way.
How weird is it that at least three people here had fathers with the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal? And here we are now, only able to wonder if any of them knew the others. If your pop was a Raider, likely not.
raven
@NCSteve: Even thought my old man was a squid, he went to his grave with nothing but admiration for the Marine Corps. He was always bitter that the European Theater got an uneven share of material compared to the Pacific and he bitched about how the the Army wasted so much shit. He wouldn’t go to the “D-Day Museum” in New Orleans because “shit, I was in 26 D-Days in the Pacific”. When they rededicated it as the WW2 Museum we met there and participated in the big parade they had for the vets.
raven
@Rand Careaga:
4 Jul 43 Battalion embarked, at Tetere Point, Guadalcanal, BSI., aboard the USS Schley (APD-14), Kilty (APD-15), Crosby (APD-17) and the USS McCallan (DD-488).
5 Jul 43 Assault landing at Rice Anchorage, New Georgia, BSI.
7-l0 Jul 43 Battles of Triri and Enogai Inlet, New Georgia, BSI.
20-2l Jul 43 Battle of Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia, BSI.
28 Jul-28 Aug 43 Patrols, mop-up, and occupation.
29 Aug 43 Battalion embarked at Enogai, New Georgia aboard the USS Talbot (APD-7) and the USS Crosby (APD-17), and sailed, disembarked at Tetere, Guadalcanal, BSI., on 30 Aug 43.
NCSteve
@raven: I realized that. But it was the seeing horrible details, and their context, like the collection of gold teeth from Japanese dead at Peleliu (which my father had said he’d collected a tobacco pouch full of and had stolen from him while he was in hospital) that was shattering.
My dad and my great uncles who were in the ETO all came back with their own individualized scars and psychological issues, but Dad’s were very much of the “never finding anything in my life to equal the intensity of that experience” variety. Just never could really quite settle back down to normal life.
NCSteve
@Elizabelle: Yeah, that’s my great uncles.
Immanentize
@raven: But don’t you think the difference in the coverage was partly due to the fact that the European theater was about fighting white folks who were so like us? The pacific was almost incomprehensible to most people. My Dad was in the Navy getting ready to go to the pacific after VE day. He said he was freaked out. My great-Uncle was captured during the Battle of the Bulge, basically held in a concentration camp, almost starved to death there. His Polish Club drinking buddy was in the Pacific in the Army, Island hopping and never injured and my Uncle always said his friend had it worse.
Pogonip
Hi Adam,
I saw this on Cole’s twitter & sent the Facebook link to all the vets I know. I hope they find someone.
WaterGirl
@LAO: Yeah, I got where you were coming from, too. I just thought it was interesting.
raven
@NCSteve: Sure, Sledge explains it well. “After Guadalcanal we knew you could not surrender”, that gave it a whole different perspective. What killed me was the negative reaction to depictions of Americans doing what they did. “How could you show Americans killing innocent civilians and shit like that. Hello.
Adam L Silverman
@Pogonip: Thanks!
raven
@Immanentize: It all depended. There were more airmen killed in the bombing of Germany that there were Marines killed in the Pacific. After my dad died I talked with one of his buddies and, in the conversation he said “thank god we were not in the Atlantic”. I started reading about the “Battle of the Atlantic” and it turns our 200,000 people were killed there.
raven
@NCSteve: Ever see a necklace of VC ears?
I’ll let you read about the Tiger Force in the Nam.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Force
Immanentize
@raven: The Judge I worked for in Miami was wing bomber commander for daylight raids over Germany — B26 pilot — at 21!! A lot of boys were promoted quickly because, daily openings.
Immanentize
@raven: My Dad was on a destroyer escort. They called his ship “german target practice.” But, no trouble for him thank god for me.
kindness
Yea this is gonna be tough. My Dad signed up at 17 the day after Pearl Harbor. They took him. My uncle signed up 6 months later when he turned 17. They took him (both lied about how old they were). Both are long dead now. Hope this guy finds someone to talk to.
zanamu
Shared with my dad’s post, and also with my daughter who is interning at the local VA hospital. I hope he finds some buddies to talk to
Adam L Silverman
@zanamu: Thanks!
raven
@Immanentize: The Crosby was a WW1 DD that was converted to an APD. “A bucket of bolts” he said!
Rand Careaga
@raven: Gunnery Sergeant Careaga once wrote an account of his war—it’s somewhere in my files, but not conveniently to hand—and I remember that he was in the New Georgia set-to (it may have been there that his landing craft was sunk and he lost his “Boys Anti-tank Rifle.” About twenty years ago we visited the Imperial War Museum together, and he was delighted when a curator fetched out one of these from storage and let him handle it).
He stopped a slug while storming the beach at Guam, surviving only because he rolled to a stop at the base of the pillbox, and the soldier inside was unable to angle his weapon down to finish him off before Dad’s comrades incinerated the foe. One of the Navy surgeons in a hospital ship offshore was James V. McNulty, who was the attending OB/GYN at my delivery eight years later.
Der Alte didn’t speak much of the war when I was growing up, but beginning in his fifties he became very active in Marine associations and activities. And although his politics were right-wing (he was an ardent Nixon man, and would have been perfectly fine with Trump, I fear) he surprised me when, having forfeited my student deferment in advance of the 1971 lottery, I advised him that if the number fell out wrong I was headed for Vancouver, he told me he’d spring for bus fare: “I’ve already fought enough for this family.”
MoxieM
@Immanentize: Mine was in the Pacific, but in the USAAF, and stationed out of Calcutta, Chakulia AF. 45th Bomb Group. Since it would be his 105th birthday coming up, and he’s been gone, and sadly missed for 30 years…. (eta) this outreach is a true kindness.
raven
@Rand Careaga: They had a way of sneaking up on you. My old man was a DuPage County Republican but, when I came home from the Nam and became a protester, he thought that was just fine. I’d like to see your dad’s account sometime.
Jack the Cold Warrior
@raven: My uncle Frank fought in the Infantry in the Philippines after MacArthur’s return; his unit was trapped behind Japanese lines for a time. He never talked about it to us. My Dad was wounded in the Normandy campaign and and married Franks sister, the physical therapist that rehabbed him. We did hear from my Dad the story about his Frank’s twin brother Fred, who spent the war in Army special services showing movies stateside to entertain the troops; the family had gathered at their Mom’s house. Fred came strutting in in uniform wear the Purple Heart and other combat medals he didn’t earn. Frank told Fred to take off the unearned medals else get his teeth punched out.
A legacy of Frank’s service is the Japanese rifle he brought home which was left in a closet at his mom’s, during summer time visits we grandchildren use to take it out and play with it until caught by an adult.
As for “The Pacific”, I found it very intense, especially the chapters about Eugene Sledge. The scene after the war when his dad took him out to hunt birds (which they had done avidly before the war) was especially poignant. As he followed his dad down a trail with their shotguns, Eugene flashed back to combat patrols and collapsed in a PTSD attack. He never hunted again. Eugene eventually became a professor of ornithology.
In another documentary about WWII, Eugene’s wife was interviewed; she related that he often had nightmares the rest of his life.
walden
Can’t help. My uncle was in First Marine Division and was there, but he died about 15 years ago. I don’t know if he ever talked about his experiences with other vets, but what struck me was he never said anything about his combat experiences to any of the family. The only thing he would ever talk about was stories about leave in Australia (or liberty or whatever they called in the Corps) and how grateful he was to the Australians. But nothing else.
I can’t imagine how horrible that combat experience was – but have his copy of the Divisional history.
He enlisted at 17 or 18 immediately on graduating from HS….came back after the war and married one of his HS teachers.
Adam L Silverman
@walden: No worries.
They called it The Green Hell for a reason.
raven
@walden: This is a site dedicated to Sledge. I did an ton of research an him and even found a gy who had him for class in college. Studs Terkel interviewed him for “The Good War” and it’s really good listening.
maya
You might try http://www.1stmarinedivisionassociation.org 1st Marine Division association. Specifically, their Old Breed section. Numerous names & tele#s for contact. If there are any Guadalcanal vets left they would probably know.
Edit: Can’t get link to work, just google 1st Marine Division Association
VeniceRiley
My Sarge dad, an Army Intelligence paratrooper, fought on Guadalcanal. He passed just a couple years ago. Got grenade shrapnel in his head , and a presidential unit medal, a purple heart, and PTSD for his trouble. Too bad, I am sure he, in spite of his dementia, would have loved talking to this guy.
Adam L Silverman
@maya: I can fix it for you.
Greg Walcott
There is a master sergeant Thomas Davis who lives in a a Veteran’s hospital near Alexander City, Alabama who was written up in the local newspaper as a veteran of Guadacanal. I sent your post to the writer of the story and she forwarded it to the nurse at the hospital that had helped her with the interview. Hopefully a connection can be made.
Ruckus
@Adam L Silverman:
Been racking my feeble brain about some way to help, thought that there might be someone still around in the LA area that someone might know through the VA but found no way to contact anyone. I see guys at the clinic and hospital with WWII vet hats on, but fewer and fewer as the days go by. Anyone old enough to have been there is going to be well into their 90s, as is the gentleman you told us about. My dad joined at 25 yrs old at the start of the war and if he was around he’d be over 100 now. The chances are very slim but there seem to be a number of possible connections, such as raven. Not being much of a joiner I’ve stayed away from the groups my dad joined and have only been using the VA for 6 years now.
Adam L Silverman
@maya: And I just emailed the three contacts there with the info.
Adam L Silverman
@Ruckus: I have a former teammate who works for the VA. He’s going to put word out through their channels. I’ve also forwarded this to three Marines I’ve worked with who will work their channels. One of the chaplains I’ve emailed has gotten back to me and he’s pushing it out. And I just emailed it to the three POCs at the 1st Marine DIV organization maya posted the link to.
Adam L Silverman
@Greg Walcott: Thanks. Even if they just set up a facetime or skype session it has to be better than nothing!
Ruckus
@Adam L Silverman:
Good.
A day off today, that I normally work and we have this news, a 98 yr old vet needs to talk to a fellow survivor and Lily. The hits just keep on coming. Of course they always do but still we seem to be in for more than our share these days.
Gelfling 545
Speaking of Veterans, this film facebook.com/burnpitsdocumentary/ is showing in Buffalo on 4/23 at UB Law. My daughter is one of the clinic attorneys representing the Veterans who were affected. I can’t see it because surgery on Friday, She says bring kleenex.
Adam L Silverman
@Gelfling 545: I have 15 to 20 pages of inserts from my brigade’s public health doc in my med file because of those things.
maya
@Adam L Silverman: That should get prompt attention. 1st Mar Div has always been a tight unit. It would be a matter of pride to get ‘er done.
Adam L Silverman
@maya: I have several friends who have served in it. I’m also running down @Greg Walcott:’s lead.
debbie
@Immanentize:
A long-ago boss was a gunner on whichever B was the Flying Fortress at age 18. He wanted to be a pilot but washed out (his words). They switched him from position to position, but he was very grateful he was never placed up at the front of the plane.
maya
@Adam L Silverman: Yeah, that looks to be good prospect. Read all the books on Guadalcanal, including Samuel Eliot Morison’s great overview from a naval point of view. That was a major battle for the Navy too and their casualty rate was higher than the Marines. I’m a 2nd Mar Div vet.
1943 was a long time ago probably not many vets left. I can remember in grammar school (early 1950’s) and that there were still a few Civil War vets left then. Mostly drummer boys in that conflict. Time moves on
Adam L Silverman
@maya: If I hear back from the hospice folks I’ll put up a new post. Thanks again.
Ruckus
@debbie:
The flying fortress is the B-17. I flew in a restored one in 1999 in Oshkosh WI at the EAA shindig. Quite the experience.
maya
@Adam L Silverman: Looking forward to it. We need some good news. Thank you
debbie
@Ruckus:
Thanks. He said it was the coldest he’d ever been in his life.
Gelfling 545
@Adam L Silverman: University of Buffalo Law School has taken on the case through their Civil Rights & Government Transparency clinic.
SWMBO
The Florida Panthers hockey team honored a veteran or active duty service member at each game. Heroes Among Us. Several were from WW2 . Contact their office that arranged these vets and see if they can help.
Adam L Silverman
@Gelfling 545: Okay. Good to know.
Adam L Silverman
@SWMBO: Thanks.
Ruckus
@debbie:
I flew in July and we never got over about 1800 ft. It was cool but not even close to cold. This is the plane I flew in
I can not imagine flying missions in this. Not pressurized they flew up to 35 thousand feet. Yes it would be extremely cold. Passenger jets fly normally between 35-40 thousand feet and it’s like minus 60 deg.
Yarrow
Saw this update in the Twitter feed of the original tweet in the post.
So great that so may Guadalcanal vets reached out but sad that it didn’t work out. May the kindness of all who helped be of comfort to the family at this time.