Posted on Dec 16, 2015
Did you know For some in WWII, war meant defending against invasion?
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Did you know For some in WWII, war meant defending against invasion?
RP Members some great history about WWII - enjoy!
“We were called to a defense duty in Alaska and did it well. Even though there were no fatalities in the unit, no credit was given to them for the casualties — civilians as well as soldiers — that were prevented by preparing the Alaskan front for the invasion of the Japanese forces,” he said. “When the Japanese got ‘cold feet’ and fled to a warmer climate, the Florida boys got cold feet but stood their ground.”
http://www.stripes.com/military-life/military-history/for-some-in-wwii-war-meant-defending-against-invasion-1.384030
A 10-inch blanket of snow covered Fort Richardson, Alaska, when Oscar “Buck” Buchanan first arrived in October 1942.
“To some of us Florida boys, this was an experience,” Buchanan wrote in an account detailing his service during World War II that he mailed to The News Herald. “The train was late [to pick us up] and we were told it was due to moose, who would use the tracks for walking through a tunnel made of snow and couldn’t get off the tracks.”
This is where Buchanan, a private in the National Guard, spent most of World War II with the Company D, Second Battalion, 106th Engineers.
Two years earlier, Buchanan, then 22, left West Bay with his friend Alex Hinote to enlist.
“Our trucks, with a lot of equipment, were loaded onto a train and preceded us to Fort Dix, and sent directly to England. We followed later on Pullman cars — our first train ride — and were scheduled to follow our equipment to England on the Queen Mary,” Buchanan wrote. “While waiting for the boat, another decision was made for us to be sent to Alaska.”
The Japanese had occupied the Aleutian Islands, which fan out toward Asia from the southwestern tip of Alaska, and the U.S. government was worried about the possibility of a mainland invasion from the north.
So Buchanan was sent in the opposite direction of his things.
RP Members some great history about WWII - enjoy!
“We were called to a defense duty in Alaska and did it well. Even though there were no fatalities in the unit, no credit was given to them for the casualties — civilians as well as soldiers — that were prevented by preparing the Alaskan front for the invasion of the Japanese forces,” he said. “When the Japanese got ‘cold feet’ and fled to a warmer climate, the Florida boys got cold feet but stood their ground.”
http://www.stripes.com/military-life/military-history/for-some-in-wwii-war-meant-defending-against-invasion-1.384030
A 10-inch blanket of snow covered Fort Richardson, Alaska, when Oscar “Buck” Buchanan first arrived in October 1942.
“To some of us Florida boys, this was an experience,” Buchanan wrote in an account detailing his service during World War II that he mailed to The News Herald. “The train was late [to pick us up] and we were told it was due to moose, who would use the tracks for walking through a tunnel made of snow and couldn’t get off the tracks.”
This is where Buchanan, a private in the National Guard, spent most of World War II with the Company D, Second Battalion, 106th Engineers.
Two years earlier, Buchanan, then 22, left West Bay with his friend Alex Hinote to enlist.
“Our trucks, with a lot of equipment, were loaded onto a train and preceded us to Fort Dix, and sent directly to England. We followed later on Pullman cars — our first train ride — and were scheduled to follow our equipment to England on the Queen Mary,” Buchanan wrote. “While waiting for the boat, another decision was made for us to be sent to Alaska.”
The Japanese had occupied the Aleutian Islands, which fan out toward Asia from the southwestern tip of Alaska, and the U.S. government was worried about the possibility of a mainland invasion from the north.
So Buchanan was sent in the opposite direction of his things.
WWII World War Two
Military History
Defense
Edited 8 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 10
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Yes Sir, check out this if you're interested.
http://www.beachconnection.net/news/battruss061912_510.php
http://www.beachconnection.net/news/battruss061912_510.php
Where a Japanese Sub Fired on Oregon: Battery Russell and Fort Stevens
Where a Japanese Sub Fired on Oregon: Battery Russell and Fort Stevens - WWII History: That incident turned out to be of mammoth historical significance, almost the only time the continental U.S. was fired upon by a foreign power
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LTC Stephen C.
The Japanese also used hydrogen balloons with bombs or fire producing elements that made it over the coast of the U.S. (utilizing the jet stream), one of which was actually responsible for the deaths of six civilians. SrA Daniel Hunter COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen F.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon
Fire balloon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A fire balloon (風船爆弾, fūsen bakudan?, lit. "balloon bomb"), or Fu-Go (ふ号[兵器], fugō [heiki]?, lit. "Code Fu [Weapon]"), was a weapon launched by Japan during World War II. A hydrogen balloon with a load varying from a 15kg (33lb) antipersonnel bomb to one 12-kilogram (26lb) incendiary bomb and four 5kg (11lb) incendiary devices attached, it was designed as a cheap weapon intended to make use of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean and drop...
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SrA Daniel Hunter
LTC Stephen C. - Yes Sir, the civilians went messing with one that didn't ignite, and then it did.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
SrA Daniel Hunter I understand that, but it is important to me to recognize you - thanks
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Yes. We sent units to repulse the Japanese in the Aleutians. We fought submarines on all three coasts (though mostly in the Gulf and the Atlantic), we looked for infiltrators on the Mexican and Canadian borders and Japanese floating bombs in the Pacific Northwest. Many who were involved in these actions were citizens as there were too few military members available.
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Yes COL Mikel J. Burroughs I was aware that many people and many military personnel were "coast watchers" besides the members for the Coast Guard who watched for landings, submarines, and espionage.
They used binoculars, patrol boats, private airplanes to assist those stationed near significant areas such as airfields, refineries, ship builders and ports which manned anti-aircraft weapons such as those in the picture above.
They used binoculars, patrol boats, private airplanes to assist those stationed near significant areas such as airfields, refineries, ship builders and ports which manned anti-aircraft weapons such as those in the picture above.
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