I was up late last night watching American Experience on PBS. It was called "Victory in the Pacific" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pacific/index.html It was very intersting and help me understand the state of mind of soldiers/Americans during 1944 and 1945. You should check it out if you guys get a chance. They speak to Soldiers from both sides that survived and civilians as well. The first uses of Napalm and what let to the Atomic Bomb. There was a lot of bad stuff going on. There was intense hatred toward the Japanese, which was understandable because of Pearl Harbor. I guess I never just really payed attention. I was very intersting to hear the eye witness accounts from the pilots and the soldiers from both sides. They even have one of the Kamakazi pilots give his accounts. His plane malfunctioned and he survived. I hope Ryan doesn't mind me posting this here. I feel I has to do a lot with what we have now as far as our hobby. A lot of those soldiers came home to build Hot Rods. They had to find some way to forget the horrors they had just been through.
Remember you were watching TV.........the editor/producer let you see what he wanted you to see. Talk to a WWII vet if he wants to talk about it.
The American mindset, morals, values, intentions, and vision were so different for that war and that era. My affection for WWII, particular aviation, influences a lot of how I think about cars and hot rodding in general.
I would really enjoy seeing how industries converted production lines for household products into war time items. We won WWII because we could outproduce the enemy. Local cities like Bridgeport, Ct. must have been humming 24/7 back then.
Rods and scooters are a good outlet. PTSS, they called it Shell Shocked back then is real and not easy to deal with.
Upgrade, refit, and keep going. We still have a huge advantage in labor, raw materials, and skilled workers, and technology over most other countries (espcially the ones that are being bad). If worst came to worst. I'm a bit biased though, My customer is the government . Back on topic with the off topic, those shows are really great, I like the old footage and the first hand accounts. I saw one on the Sherman tank and how though inferior to the tiger it was the better tank because they usually attacked 5 to 1.
When we were restoring a 1947 Ford Pickup we did some research. From what I've read regarding FORD Pickup trucks the last ford pickups produced were in early 1942. The plant was then re-fitted to produce B24 bombers. Information from the 1944 -1945 period indicate they were producing one B24 per HOUR off the ***embly line. The factory was then re-fitted back to truck production in late '45 and the trucks started to be produced again. Although the design did date back to pre-war. That's why you don't see any 1943, 44, 45 Ford Pickups. I don't remember which plant it was. In '48 Ford began producing the re-designed truck which is the beginning of the "F" series.
My dad's 1942 Chevy Aerosedan was one of the last before they started doing the black-out models -- his still had chrome. It's unfortunate that the chrome and that wasn't in that great of shape after all the years. He left it off when he sledded it back in the late 80's/early 90's. (Now he's pulling a reverse barn-job on it . . . go figure!)
My Father was a Marine Lieutenant in 1944, slated to lead a 2nd Division recon platoon (i.e., first corpses on the beach...) in the planned 1946 ***ault on Sasebo, to be the first stage of the attacks on Japan proper. The second ***ault on the biggest Island was scheduled for 1947. No one considered it likely that he would be alive in 1948. Previous Marine ***aults had repeatedly destroyed the main divisions as they traveled from Tarawa (more than 50% DEAD in the ***aults) to Okinawa, and each battle had killed or maimed half a division. I have never heard a WWII Marine mention the atomic bomb without the phrase "Thank God!". I read recently the 400,000 Purple Hearts were stockpiled for the invasion of Japan, and that no more have ever been made--our military is still using up the supply of Hearts made for 1946-47. The shock-PTSD of the participants played out in funny ways... One of my Father's friends first job at age eighteen was driving a Coast Guard ***ault barge in the first wave at Tarawa. He was pretty nearly certain that no one he landed was alive by the time he raised the ramp and pulled off the beach... He spent most of his life after roaming Europe collecting master's degrees, and didn't have a real job or place till he started teaching in his seventies.
Japan was a brutal and even savage enemy to all of Asia back then--Koreans and Chinese still hate them today because of the way Japan fought and conquered. Look up the "Nankin M***acre." When they attacked us, we replied by...attacking Germany and Italy. After we beat the Italians and cleaned the Germans out of Africa, the middle east and Europe, we then went after Japan. Hmmmm... And remember, this was AFTER sacrificing all those who would later go on The Batan Death March. We just wrote them off. Germany was also the most waring of the European countries, with a long history of aggression. Today, 60 years later, Germany and Japan are our allies, get along well with everyone, and are upstanding members of the world community. But only AFTER being completely and totally beaten into unconditional surrender, which including firebombing cities and civilians on a regular basis. 10,000 died in one night when we firebombed japan. Anybody else see the parrallels to today? Brad
Yeah Brad, I've been watching more and more history shows about WWII. It's amazing the sacrifices from that war, and Vietnam, and Korea, and how much loss there was. But the buzz terms today, insurgents, etc. very similar to today. I'm not gonna get political here, but some people could do well to remeber just what it takes to win a war, I think we are still in Japan and Germany, right?!?
Right! Not to mention Korea. And what happened when we left Viet Nam? 1.7 million died in Cambodia under Pol Pot-a direct result of the vacuum left by our absence in the region.
kick the civilian media out of the warzone and let the guys doing the fighting for our side do what they have to do to win and survive, its their necks on the lines and sometimes things will not be pleasant in how the job needs to get done in order for that to happen, for me one allied soldier now or then is worth more than the entire nation they are fighting
Korea: the first war we didn't fight to win--we were forbidden to by the UN and our president at the time, and we're suffering for that mistake today. Viet Nam: the second war we didn't fight to win. A little more on-topic, Buick built engines for the big bombers back then. If you check on ebay, you'll find a lot of magazine ads by Buick celebrating their bomber and engine production. I spent time working in a Whirlpool factory in Evansville, Indiana a few years ago. In WWII, the factory produced Mustangs. It's right next to the runway of their airport. Pretty cool. I've got some gas rationing stamps from my grandma's place from WWII. Can you imagine gas rationing to win a war today? Not just the one we're in now, but any war? The media would go insane. I'm taking a welding cl***, and I keep thinking about the Sherman tanks: they had large D-rings welded to the top sides of the hull--two front, two on the rear--that they used to set the heavy one-piece cast steel body or welded steel plate body down onto the ch***is tub. And then they used those same STICK WELDED d-rings to lift the entire completed tank onto cargo ships to transport them. Amazing! And I can barely run a simple bead that won't break if I hit it with a hammer. Do you know how much a Sherman tank weighs?! And Rosy The Riveter was there gluing it together with an Arc welder! AND IT HELD! -Brad
Operation Paper Clip. OSS/CIA merge. The world was used by the 'bloodliner's' to divide and conquer the people.
If you get the military channel there is a really cool show called tank build or restore or something like that. It is a tank restoration show, this week was showing a couple of british restoring a Comet tank, pretty rare tank I guess. Cool show, show'd them trying to take the thing apart and having a hell of a time with the rusty bits. They were removing the armor, I'll tell ya 1" think steel plate is IMPRESSIVE. I was told by some old timers that the chrome in my 51 was bad because of the Korean war, apparently Nickel was in short supply and so the chroming process for p***enger cars didn't have as much in it. Which is why a lot of early 50's cars have more stainless and, ****py chrome. I don't know if it's true or not but I like the story
I cant recommend this book highly enough http://www.amazon.com/Old-Breed-At-Peleliu-Okinawa/dp/0195067142/sr=8-1/qid=1170965152/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-5299891-1752768?ie=UTF8&s=books This book will send chills down your spine. During a homily our Priest said we nuked Japan out of vengeance .I couldnt call BS on him so I gave him a copy of the book. In the Pacific, no quarter given, none asked for. You can hear an interview with E.B. here .. http://www.studsterkel.org/gwar.php
Very interesting Bruce. Thanks for sharing!! The Whirlpool plant in Evansville built P-47s, not Mustangs. That is true about the chrome during Korea. I don't know that I fully believe in reincarnation or not, but I have been told I am an "old soul" before by completely different people. I wonder sometimes... I am so drawn to that whole era. I have studied, collected, reenacted, and emersed myself in that era ever since my Dad took me to my first air show... could I have lived during that time too? Who knows. My wife has another theory... obsession. hahahaha!
funny thing is, the bomb saved far more japanese that it killed. i think they had two million troops on the island, and were training every old man, child and woman to attack the most advanced and heavily armed military the world had ever seen with BAMBOO SPEARS and SATCHEL CHARGES. japanese attempts to surrender consistently involved the same ***holes that started the war staying in power. they worried about their own people overthrowing them because of the bloodshed and even had a coup attempt to stop the emperor from surrendering. we disliked the japanese after pearl harbor, and there was racism without a question, but they had similar racial views about us and the rest of asia. to them, chinese were as subhuman as we were. killing prisoners, torture, mutilation, intentional infection with flesh eating diseases, plague and anthrax, vivisections with no anesthesia, cannibalism on us (voluntary in some cases; sometimes we literally had them cut off so badly that that was the last resort) and things like hole-sawing pieces of live americans' skulls out and poking their brains with needles, that's the kinda stuff that led to hate. They also intended to use bubonic plague bombs floated across the ocean in the jet stream to infect our country. several balloons with incendiary weapons actually made it across, killed one or two people, but weren't successful in setting the whole pacific NW on fire. "D-Days In the Pacific" is my favorite pacific theater book. It and Ambrose's "Citizen Soldiers" put the war together pretty well. Korea was a bit different and had different ramifications. to be fair, it was our first war where we had more to worry about than the enemy in front of us. it could be argued that if MacArthur had followed Truman's orders, china wouldn't have entered the war and things may have been very different. nuclear threats to ourselves and allies also factored heavily in korea, giving reason for holding back, whether that decision be right or wrong given current knowledge. hindsight's a *****. the aftermath of WWI caused WWII and to my knowledge, every single crisis between 1918 and today can be traced to WWI. communism, islam, balkans, all of it. it's funny how guys like us seem to be pretty well united in most things. today, so many people have no sense of history. i guess it isn't surprising that traditional hotrodders like us are an exception to that.
"With the Old Breed" is a great book, I read it years ago. I'd also recommend "Goodbye Darkness" by William Manchester. Two books I read recently were "Flyboys" by Bradley and "First Heroes" by Nelson. "First Heroes" is about the Doolittle Raid and covers what happened to the crews afterwards, amazing story. My Dad spent WW2 as an instructor in the Army, mainly armor and heavy vehicles. He'd volunteer for combat but they said they needed him stateside to teach. In early 1945 he was told he was going to command a platoon in a new armored division that was being formed for the invasion of Japan. After talking to some veteran tankers he started making a "tankers knife" from an old blade from a power hacksaw. The vets told him that in combat, if you have to come out the hatch, you should have a big *** knife in one hand and a .45 in the other. He was almost done with it when they dropped the bomb. Dad's 88 now, still has the unfinished knife is his desk drawer. I'm a big fan of Paul Tibbets.
Code-Name Downfall : The Secret Plan to Invade Japan - and Why Truman Dropped the Bomb is the book to have on our (and the Japanese) plans for the final struggle expected before those bombs fell. Expectations of casualties for both sides were catastrophic and fighting was expected into 1947. The Japanese were expected to fight even harder than they did for the outer islands, and there were still big Japanese armies in China almost untouched by the war in 1945... The US and Imperial armies freed up by the German collapse were busily refitting and figuring out travel plans to the Pacific. The chant heard around Marine units was "Golden Gate in '48".
Thanks for the tips. Check out "Helmet for my pillow" First hand account from a Marine at Guadalc****. Strongly recommend it.
I am 56 (Vietnam generation) my Dad is 84 (WWII generation) when my Dads generation liberated the Jewish people from German concentration camps and saw first hand the atrocities perpetrated on them, saw how grateful those people were to be set free from such tyranny. Those two generations, those two nations of people were forever to be linked as friends, allies and partners in freedom..thats why we are in the Middle East today, because of that bond (yeah, we get 20% of our oil from there) Don't be mistaken where Iranian missles will be pointed, what kind of threats will fly..as previously posted, if we pull out clean every Iraqi that so much as shook hands with an American will be executed by a Muslim extremist...
My father talked about WWII 'till the day he died. My uncle talks about it every day. Maybe it's because the WWII soldiers were yanked out of high school to go fight, and were on the battlefields when they should have been on the football fields. If you go to any American Military Cemetary in Europe, you'll be amazed at the ages of the fallen. Teenagers.
The Jalopy Journal
