Posted on 09/21/2014 4:56:03 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Quite a story. Such bravery and heroism in this war.
Except for the evening of evening of March 11, 1945, when the fleet was there. That day, the Japanese launched Operation Tan No. 2, which was a kamikaze mission by 24 long range twin-engine bombers, each carrying a 1700 pound bomb. Launched from an airfield on southern Kyushu, Ulithi was at the limit of their one-way range. The plan was to attack and cripple the American fleet at anchor.
For various reasons, of the 24 planes launched, only 2 made it to Ulithi, and achieved complete surprise. One crashed on the island, causing no damage. However, the other one struck USS Randolph, CV-15, on her aft flight/hangar deck. The ship was sufficiently damaged that she missed the operations against airfields on the home islands, which were preparatory to the invasion of Okinawa.
So Ulithi wasn't completely safe.
People should notice that resistance is stiffening and not just because of the logistics problems. The forts around Metz are occupied. Metz is in territory the Germans regard as German. It has been going back and forth since the Middle Ages, but from 1871 to 1919 it was in the German Empire and Hitler made it part of Germany again. So, the Germans are now fighting for home and hearth and naturally will stiffen along a much shorter front.
This is one of those times when knowing the future is depressing!
My mother in law grew up on a farm in Nebraska and still remembers what a depressing Christmas 1944 was. Everyone was thinking about the soldiers in the Ardennes and especially at Bastogne.
I’ve seen my great-aunt’s diary from the same period. They were depressed in Missouri, too!
If my memory serves, it was Christmas Eve 1944 that my grandparents got the dreaded telegram from the War Department informing them that their son was missing in action in the Philippine Islands.
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