Medal of Honor Monday: Willibald C. Bianchi

Willibald Charles Bianchi

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy on 3 February 1942, near Bagac, Province of Bataan, Philippine Islands.  When the rifle platoon of another company was ordered to wipe out 2 strong enemy machine gun nests, 1st Lt. Bianchi voluntarily and of his own initiative, advanced with the platoon leading part of the men.  When wounded early in the action by 2 bullets through the left hand, he did not stop for first aid but discarded his rifle and began firing a pistol.  He located a machine gun nest and personally silenced it with grenades.  When wounded the second time by 2 machine gun bullets through the chest muscles, 1st Lt. Bianchi climbed to the top of an American tank, manned its antiaircraft machine gun, and fired into strongly held enemy position until knocked completely off the tank by a third severe wound."

From 1st Lieutenant Willibald C. Bianchi's Medal of Honor citation, awarded in 1946.
  
Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,

Brian

Enemy Elite Friday: Masanobu Tsuji

Masanobu Tsuji

Tsuji was responsible for the successful Malayan Invasion and for the defensive actions at Guadalcanal where we won the favor of the Emperor.  While he was never indicted for war crimes, subsequent investigations have revealed that he was involved in or contributed to the execution of various war crimes throughout the war including the massacre of Chinese civilians in Singapore, the mistreatment and executions of prisoners of war during the Bataan Death March, the executions of captured government officials of the Philippines, and other war crimes in China.  Masanobu Tsuji was regarded as the most notorious Japanese war criminal to escape trial after the war.  After Japan's surrender in September 1945, Tsuji went into hiding in Thailand for fear of being tried on war crimes charges.  When it was clear he would not be, he returned to Japan and wrote of his years in hiding in what became a best seller.  His memoirs made him famous and he later became a member of the Diet.  In April 1961, he traveled to Laos and was never heard from again.  Presumably a casualty of the Laotian Civil War, he was declared dead on July 20, 1968.  Another example of a Japanese war criminal that dodged justice for their crimes against humanityin the Pacific Theature. 

A truly evil man who escaped justice,
Brian

Honored Allies Wednesday: Abdul Hafiz (India)

Abdul Hafiz

On April 6, 1944 near Imphal, Burma, Jemadar Abdul Hafiz of the 5th Indian Division was ordered to attack an entrenched enemy position that could only be approached via an open steep slope and then ragged cliff.  Hafiz lead the charge up to the enemy position under intense machine gun fire and grenade attack.  Upon reaching the crest of the position, Hafiz sustained a light wound to his leg but without hesitation he reached out and man-handled an enemy machine gun skyward preventing its fire from hitting his men as another man killed its crew.  He then retrieved a Bren from a fallen comrade and proceeded to advance against the enemy while wounded and under heavy enemy machine gun fire.  His bravery rallied his men and inspired them to an all out charge against the enemy position.  During his advance, Hafiz took a mortal wound to the chest and died while manning his Bren against the retreating Japanese troops.  For his bravery and leadership, Abdul Hafiz was awarded the Victoria Cross in July, 1944. 

Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,
Brian

Medal of Honor Monday: Arthur O. Beyer

Arthur Otto Beyer

"He displayed conspicuous gallantry in action.  His platoon, in which he was a tank-destroyer gunner, was held up by antitank, machine gun, and rifle fire from enemy troops dug in along a ridge about 200 yards to the front.  Noting a machine gun position in this defense line, he fired upon it with his 76-mm gun killing 1 man and silencing the weapon.  He dismounted from his vehicle and, under direct enemy observation, crossed open ground to capture the 2 remaining members of the crew.  Another machine gun, about 250 yards to the left, continued to fire on him.   Through withering fire, he advanced on the position.  Throwing a grenade into the emplacement, he killed 1 crew member and again captured the 2 survivors.  He was subjected to concentrated small-arms fire but, with great bravery, he worked his way a quarter mile along the ridge, attacking hostile soldiers in their foxholes with his carbine and grenades.  When he had completed his self-imposed mission against powerful German forces, he had destroyed 2 machine gun positions, killed 8 of the enemy and captured 18 prisoners, including 2 bazooka teams.  Cpl. Beyer's intrepid action and unflinching determination to close with and destroy the enemy eliminated the German defense line and enabled his task force to gain its objective."

From Corporal Arthur O. Beyer's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on August 30, 1945.

Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,

Brian

U-Boat Found Off the Coast of Texas

Looks like a group of deep-sea explorers while looking for some civilian vessels sunk in the Gulf of Mexico during WWII has found one of the perpetrators of the attacks.  U-166, a  Type IXC submarine, was found at the bottom and shows how close them Nazi bastards were to the American coast.  Your can read more here.

That's what you get for sinking the Robert E. Lee you BASTARDS!
Brian

U-166

Enemy Elite Friday: Hermann W. Göring (Germany)

Hermann Wilhelm Göring

Reichsmarschall Hermann W. Göring was awarded the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross on July 19, 1940 for his leadership of the Luftwaffe during Case Yellow in 1940.  Göring would later loose face with Hitler due to the inability of the Luftwaffe to hold up to what Göring boasted it could achieve.  Göring would later spend the rest of the war collecting war booty and would even be denounced a traitor by Hitler himself in the final days of the war.  Göring meet his demise by his own hands using cyanide the day before he was scheduled to be executed after being found guilty of war crimes during the Nuremberg Trials.  This enemy elite exemplifies the character of men who infiltrated German's political scene post WWI and through brutality and skullduggery would secure their role as head of the state delving the world into chaos and war.

An enemy that was dealt with appropriately for his crimes against humanity,

Brian

Honored Allies Wednesday: Arthur L. Aaron (United Kingdom)

Arthur Louis Aaron

"On the night of 12 August 1943, Flight Sergeant Aaron was captain and pilot of a Stirling aircraft detailed to attack Turin.  When approaching to attack, the bomber received devastating bursts of fire from an enemy fighter.  Three engines were hit, the windscreen shattered, the front and rear turrets put out of action and the elevator control damaged, causing the aircraft to become unstable and difficult to control. The navigator was killed and other members of the crew were wounded.  A bullet struck Flight Sergeant Aaron in the face, breaking his jaw and tearing away part of his face.  He was also wounded in the lung and his right arm was rendered useless.  As he fell forward over the control column, the aircraft dived several thousand feet.  Control was regained by the flight engineer at 3,000 feet.  Unable to speak, Flight Sergeant Aaron urged the bomb aimer by signs to take over the controls.  Course was then set southwards in an endeavour to fly the crippled bomber, with one engine out of action, to Sicily or North Africa.  Flight Sergeant Aaron was assisted to the rear of the aircraft and treated with morphia.   After resting for some time he rallied and, mindful of his responsibility as captain of aircraft, insisted on returning to the pilot's cockpit, where he was lifted into his seat and had his feet placed on the rudder bar.  Twice he made determined attempts to take control and hold the aircraft to its course but his weakness was evident and with difficulty he was persuaded to desist.  Though in great pain and suffering from exhaustion, he continued to help by writing directions with his left hand.  Five hours after leaving the target the petrol began to run low, but soon afterwards the flare path at Bone airfield was sighted.  Flight Sergeant Aaron summoned his failing strength to direct the bomb aimer in the hazardous task of landing the damaged aircraft in the darkness with undercarriage retracted.  Four attempts were made under his direction; at the fifth Flight Sergeant Aaron was so near to collapsing that he had to be restrained by the crew and the landing was completed by the bomb aimer.  Nine hours after landing, Flight Sergeant Aaron died from exhaustion.  Had he been content, when grievously wounded, to lie still and conserve his failing strength, he would probably have recovered, but he saw it as his duty to exert himself to the utmost, if necessary with his last breath, to ensure that his aircraft and crew did not fall into enemy hands.  In appalling conditions he showed the greatest qualities of courage, determination and leadership and, though wounded and dying, he set an example of devotion to duty which has seldom been equalled and never surpassed."

From FSgt. Arthur L. Aaron's Victoria Cross citation, awarded on November 5, 1943.

Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,

Brian

Medal of Honor Monday: Vito R. Bertoldo

Vito R. Bertoldo

"He fought with extreme gallantry while guarding 2 command posts against the assault of powerful infantry and armored forces which had overrun the battalion's main line of resistance.  On the close approach of enemy soldiers, he left the protection of the building he defended and set up his gun in the street, there to remain for almost 12 hours driving back attacks while in full view of his adversaries and completely exposed to 88-mm, machine gun and small-arms fire.  He moved back inside the command post, strapped his machine gun to a table and covered the main approach to the building by firing through a window, remaining steadfast even in the face of 88-mm fire from tanks only 75 yards away.  One shell blasted him across the room, but he returned to his weapon.  When 2 enemy armored personnel carriers led by a tank moved toward his position, he calmly waited for the troops to dismount and then, with the tank firing directly at him, leaned out of the window and mowed down the entire group of more than 20 Germans.  Some time later, removal of the command post to another building was ordered.  M/Sgt. Bertoldo voluntarily remained behind, covering the withdrawal of his comrades and maintaining his stand all night.  In the morning he carried his machine gun to an adjacent building used as the command post of another battalion and began a day-long defense of that position.  He broke up a heavy attack, launched by a self-propelled 88-mm gun covered by a tank and about 15 infantrymen.  Soon afterward another 88-mm weapon moved up to within a few feet of his position and placing the muzzle of its gun almost inside the building fired into the room, knocking him down and seriously wounding others.  An American bazooka team set the German weapon afire, and M/Sgt. Bertoldo went back to his machine gun dazed as he was and killed several of the hostile troops as they attempted to withdraw.  It was decided to evacuate the command post under the cover of darkness, but before the plan could be put into operation the enemy began an intensive assault supported by fire from their tanks and heavy guns.  Disregarding the devastating barrage, he remained at his post and hurled white phosphorus grenades into the advancing enemy troops until they broke and retreated.  A tank less than 50 yards away fired at his stronghold, destroyed the machine gun and blew him across the room again but he once more returned to the bitter fight and with a rifle, single-handedly covered the withdrawal of his fellow soldiers when the post was finally abandoned.  With inspiring bravery and intrepidity M/Sgt. Bertoldo withstood the attack of vastly superior forces for more than 48 hours without rest or relief, time after time escaping death only by the slightest margin while killing at least 40 hostile soldiers and wounding many more during his grim battle against the enemy hordes."

From M/Sgt. Vito R. Bertoldo's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on January 10, 1946.

Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,

Brian

"Action in the North Atlantic"

A merchant marine crew fresh from rescue after their ship is sunk by a Nazi U-Boat, sets sail again across the Atlantic in one of America's new Liberty Ships!  Can the crew survive a convoy to Northern Russia with a Nazi wolf pack at its heels or will they join the countless other seamen at the bottom of the cold Atlantic?!  This is an awesome wartime flick!  Its got great action, acting, script, budget and top notch FX for the day!  It's also pumped full of patriotic fervor and duty to boot!  This is a must for any WWII movie fan and one of my all time favorite war flicks now!  Check out the trailer and go out and buy it!

A great flick!
Brian

Question Finally Answered!

So here you go folks, the actual color of WWII-era German infrared spotlights.

Now go out and spread the word,
Brian

Medal of Honor Monday: Charles J. Berry

Charles Joseph Berry

  

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a member of a machine gun crew, serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines, Fifth Marine Division, in action against Japanese forces during the seizure of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, on 3 March 1945.  Stationed in the front lines, Corporal Berry manned his weapon with alert readiness as he maintained a constant vigil with other members of his gun crew during the hazardous night hours.  When infiltrating Japanese soldiers launched a surprise attack shortly after midnight in an attempt to overrun his position, he engaged in a pitched hand grenade duel, returning the dangerous weapons with prompt and deadly accuracy until an enemy grenade landed in the foxhole.  Determined to save his comrades, he unhesitatingly chose to sacrifice himself and immediately dived on the deadly missile, absorbing the shattering violence of the exploding charge in his own body and protecting the others from serious injury.  Stouthearted and indomitable, Corporal Berry fearlessly yielded his own life that his fellow Marines might carry on the relentless battle against a ruthless enemy and his superb valor and unfaltering devotion to duty in the face of certain death reflect the highest credit upon himself and upon the United States Naval Service.  He gallantly gave his life for his country."

From Corporal Charles J. Berry's Medal of Honor citation, awarded in 1946.

Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,

Brian

 

"Then There Were Three"

A group of GIs from various units on the front line team up to make it back to safety but unbeknownst to all, one of them is a German spy and he has a murderous plan for them all.  Can the Americans find out who the spy is or will the squad fall to his treachery, one by one?  This flick has a decent premise but the budget, actors and production just ruins it.  Couldn't find a trailer but you can watch the whole turd here.

Not a big loss if you miss it,
Brian