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A flag and the Marine who saved it
A flag and the Marine who saved it
07/02/2003 By BRIAN ANDERSON / Dallas Web Staff A few threads are frayed and a few crudely mended holes are evident, but just as the patriotic saying goes ? these colors didn't run. Cpl. Otto Erler's tattered American flag, part of the vast collection of artifacts at the Dallas Historical Society, had a long and dangerous journey to reach Texas, much like the Marine from Dallas for whom it served as a constant companion. Together, they sailed the treacherous waters of the Pacific, survived the cruelty of the Japanese POW camps in World War II and buried dozens of brothers in arms. Melanie Sanford, visiting curator of textiles for the Dallas Historical Society, says the 45-star flag is in good condition, considering what it's been through. "For the history of it, it's in pretty good condition," said Melanie Sanford, visiting curator of textiles for the Dallas Historical Society, as she gently unfolded the flag recently at the Hall of State in Fair Park. With white cotton gloves, she turned each corner with a careful eye for detail. She recounted the common ailments that often plague the aging banners of time gone by. "With the wool, you have dye bleed, lots of tears, a lot of old repairs," she said, scanning the cloth for potentially fatal imperfections. The flag's fly end, typically battered by flapping in the breeze, was intact. The seams were strong and the colors true. "Once we get the conservation under way, we can make a nice display of it," Ms. Sanford smiled. Displaying the U.S. flag was a crime punishable by death inside Japan's POW camps, though some Americans risked all to harbor patriotic symbols ? their only comfort against disease, hunger and torture. "You see teeny tiny flags that were kept by the soldiers, but never anything this large," said Alan Olson, collections director for the historical society, as he watched Ms. Sanford's inspection. "It's got wear and tear, but it's an interesting item nonetheless." The Second Alamo The smoke had yet to clear from the skies over Pearl Harbor when the Japanese descended on the Philippine Islands, where a contingent of Filipino and American servicemen were standing guard. Outnumbered and outgunned, the defending forces held on for almost five months, slowing the Japanese advance in the Pacific and buying precious time for U.S. forces to rally for the war. Marine Cpl. Otto Erler (standing) and his brother, Cpl. George Erler of the Army Air Forces, pose with the tattered 45-star flag in this October 1945 Dallas Morning News photo. In March 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was ordered to leave the collapsing defenses in the Philippines for the safety of Australia, but his troops fought on until the brutal conditions forced the surrender of American forces on the Bataan Peninsula in April. A month later, in what some would come to call "The Second Alamo," the last of the defenders were ordered to surrender the tiny island fortress of Corregidor following a relentless Japanese assault. "The last three weeks, they couldn't send any food out to us. We just hung on to what we had," said Jack McDowell, 84, of Los Angeles, who was a Marine sergeant assigned to defend the beaches. "We knew they were coming, and they did. There wasn't much of us left when they finally got on the island." It was during that final stand on Corregidor that Cpl. Otto Erler of Dallas was knocked unconscious by the concussion of an artillery shell beside his foxhole. He awoke to find his position overrun and the U.S. flag ripped from the sky by enemy hands. An unexpected find Cpl. Erler wasn't looking for keepsakes when he briefly slipped away from a group of captive Marines in Japanese-occupied Manila in October 1942. After five months' imprisonment, dysentery was ravaging the U.S. troops. Toilet paper was the prize for which he was searching. But as the tall, lanky Texan crept through the abandoned offices adjacent to Pier No. 7, he made an unexpected find in a dusty corner of a dark closet. "There were dozens of American flags there," Cpl. Erler, the son of a Dallas police officer, said in an October 1945 interview with The Dallas Morning News. "Why they had been there and why they had been overlooked, ? I don't know, but I grabbed one." With only 45 stars, Cpl. Erler's flag predates the states of Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii. Mr. Olson of the Dallas Historical Society said the flag was likely a relic of the Spanish-American War, left behind from the days in which Gen. Douglas MacArthur's father, Arthur MacArthur, commanded troops in the Philippines. Risking possible death, Cpl. Erler smuggled Old Glory aboard the dingy transport ship where he and his fellow prisoners of war would spend the next 36 days traveling from Manila Bay to POW camps on the mainland. Burial at sea The stowaway flag remained a secret until a well-liked Marine named Campbell "Ding" Loverux, a professional boxer in his civilian life, died at sea. Bill "Johnny" Johnson, 83, of San Antonio remembers learning of his friend's death as word spread through the cramped hold of the ship. "We were packed in like sardines," Mr. Johnson said. "You couldn't even lie down. You had to sit up and draw your legs up." The fallen Marine's body was taken topside, where common practice was for the Japanese crew to toss the remains overboard. But the Corregidor defenders argued that nothing less than an honorable military burial at sea would do, and Cpl. Erler stepped forward to offer his flag. To everyone's surprise, the ship's captain approved the request. "I wondered at the time where they procured the flag ? where it came from," Mr. Johnson said, recalling how he arrived for the memorial service to find the colors draped over his deceased friend. After a few solemn words, Mr. Johnson and three other Marines hoisted the canvas body bag to the ship's railing, and Ding Loverux became the first of more than 25 U.S. servicemen to find peace beneath Otto Erler's 45 stars. "They had the body on a board," Mr. Johnson said. "We just lifted it up and let him slide off from under the flag and into the sea." Patriotism punished Through the typhoons of the stormy Pacific and the torpedoes of an Allied submarine attack, the POW ship sailed on, eventually delivering its human cargo to Fusan, Korea. A cramped train then carried most of the prisoners to an abandoned Russian Army camp at Mukden, Manchuria. Personal items were rare among the imprisoned ranks. Items not confiscated during frequent searches were often traded to other captives for food. Still, Cpl. Erler's flag somehow avoided detection. "Most of us didn't know he had it," Mr. McDowell said. "He had been hiding it under the barracks." But during an impromptu holiday celebration fueled by smuggled alcohol, Otto Erler's bravery finally got the best of him. "Out came this flag," Mr. McDowell said. "Everyone surrounded him and everyone who could got a hand on it." Wrapped in the red, white and blue, Cpl. Erler paraded through the camp in defiance to bewildered Japanese guards. The POWs sang and performed skits in a rare display of revelry. "We knew we were going to have to pay for this," Mr. McDowell said. "I think that cost us half a ration for about a month, and we were happy Otto didn't get killed. I think (the guards) were totally shocked." The Marines were adamant when they reluctantly handed over their beloved flag ? it was to be handled with care, treated with respect and returned when they left the camp. The incident earned Cpl. Erler a place among 100 other captives, including Mr. Johnson, bound for forced labor in Japan's lead mines. The May 1944 work detail was intended as punishment for those POWs who rebuked Japanese authority or participated in acts of sabotage against the prison camp's operations. "We were people who caused them trouble," Mr. Johnson explained. But as the POWs prepared to depart for Japan, Otto Erler made yet another gutsy move for Old Glory ? he asked that his flag be returned. "They evidently were so surprised that they figured if he was brave enough to do that, let him have it," Mr. McDowell said. "They had it folded and presented to him." Fifteen months later, an emaciated Cpl. Erler volunteered his flag for one last act of duty after almost 3 1/2 years of captivity. The war was over. The guards were gone. The Stars and Stripes replaced the rising sun above the last POW camp that would ever hold Cpl. Erler and his fellow Marines. "It means everything," Mr. McDowell said of the tattered flag. "It stands for everything we did ? all the tough times we had and the times we faced death, especially on Corregidor." Family pride Otto Erler and his flag returned to Dallas and a hero's welcome in October 1945. "I've seen sights tourists pay thousands of dollars to see ? from Mount Fujiyama to the great palaces of the Far East," Cpl Erler told the Dallas Times-Herald. "And the greatest of them all is that turning horse on the Magnolia Building." Bill Strouse, 64, of Bedford was only 8 when the newly liberated Cpl. Erler returned home. "I always called him uncle, but he was actually a cousin," Mr. Strouse said. "He was always around, especially in the early days after the war. Unlike a lot of folks who went through that, he would actually talk about it." As a child, Mr. Strouse spent hours listening to tales from his family's own war hero, though many more years passed before he would learn the whole truth of Otto Erler's plight as a POW. "At that time, I didn't know the full story," Mr. Strouse said. "He never really mentioned the flag." It wasn't until Mr. Strouse joined the military himself, serving in both the Army and the Texas Air National Guard, that "Uncle Otto" began to share the more difficult details of his experiences. Only then, Mr. Strouse said, could he fully appreciate his relative's sacrifice and his commitment to the cherished flag. Likewise, the experience of combat with the U.S. Army in Vietnam and a later stint with the Marines gave Bud Erler, Otto Erler's nephew, a new level of understanding. "World War II was a terrible nightmare," said Mr. Erler, 46, of Loogootee, Ind. "Vietnam was just a skirmish compared to that." But now, Mr. Erler knows firsthand the terror his uncle must have felt while surrounded in a foxhole on Corregidor. "Otto was definitely a very blessed man. I think his would make a good story for a lot of Americans," he said. "We can get through life without giving up." Otto Erler died quietly in his sleep in 1967 after 46 hard-lived years, but Bud Erler and Bill Strouse have remained committed to his memory, visiting those who served alongside Cpl. Erler and preserving the tale of the flag for future generations. Bud Erler faithfully wears a flag pendant as a reminder of his uncle. "It says this is my family. This is where I come from," he said. "(The flag) was a piece of America he held on to and he didn't give up." For Mr. Strouse, a dream came true when he recently arranged to view Otto Erler's flag at the Dallas Historical Society, where it was donated upon the end of World War II. "It was just fantastic. It was hard to believe it. I had heard so much about it," he said. "The flag, as a symbol, means a heck of a lot to me, as it does anyone in the military." Former POW Mr. McDowell couldn't agree more. "It meant a great deal to us ? to our spirit. Spirit was what we lived on," he said. "It was one of a kind ? Otto and his flag." E-mail briananderson@dallasnews.com Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews....48e3ed9b.html Sempers, Roger
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IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY HUSBAND SSgt. Roger A. One Proud Marine 1961-1977 68/69 http://www.geocities.com/thedrifter001/ |
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