David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:42pm
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Milit
Milit?r-Verdienstkreuz (Cross for Military Merit) Awarded to officers, in peace time, for distinguished service through zeal and perseverance, in war time for valour and fine leadership. The cross, in white enamel with red enamel borders, was originally instituted on 21 October 1849 by Emperor Franz Joseph I and in 1860 the "Kriegsdekoration" (War Decoration), a gilded laurel wreath appearing between the arms of the cross, was added for distinction in action. On 23 September 1914 the decoration was reorganized into three classes :
1st Class becoming a breast pin cross (only for general officers
commanding at least an army corps),
2nd Class a neck badge
3rd Class a breast badge.
On 13 December 1916 crossed gilt swords to be attached on the ribbon were instituted while from 1 August 1917 onwards, subsequent awards of the 3rd Class could be identified by trapeze shaped, gilt bars. The obverse medaillon of the cross bears the word "VER / DIENST" (Merit), the reverse is in plain white enamel.
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:43pm
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Tapferkeits Medaille
Tapferkeits Medaille (Bravery Medal) Awarded to non-commissioned officers and other ranks for a deed of bravery in war. This medal was instituted on 19 July 1789 in 3 classes : the Gold Medal, the Large Silver Medal (also called 1st Class Silver Medal) and the Small Silver Medal (2nd Class Silver Medal). On 14 February 1915 a Bronze Medal (50% bronze, 50% gunmetal) was added. During the 1st World War two types of the "Tapferkeits- Medaille" were issued : a first type bearing, on the obverse, the bust of Emperor Franz Joseph I with the text "FRANZ JOSEPH I V.G.G. KAISER V. OESTERREICH" (Franz Joseph I, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria) and on the reverse, within a laurel wreath with crossed flags at the bottom, the words "DER / TAPFERKEIT" (For Bravery, in German) and a second type, issued after Franz Joseph's death in November 1916, bearing, on the obverse, the bust of Emperor Karl with the text "CAROLVaS D.G. IMP. AVST. REX BOH. ETC. ET REX APOST. HVNG." (Karl, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia etc. and Apostolic King of Hungary). The reverse is similar to the first type but for the word "FORTITVDINI" (For Bravery, in Latin). On 29 November 1915 bars, trapeze form and in rustless iron, were installed for subsequent awards of the same class. An order of 15 September 1917 made officers also eligible, under special conditions, for the Gold or Silver Classes and in those cases a gilt or silver "K" was affixed to the ribbon. By mid March 1918 the Vienna Mint had struck, during the war, some 950,000 bronze, 384,000 small silver 2nd Class, 143,000 large silver and 3,700 gold medals.
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:47pm
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The Turkish War Medal
The Turkish War Medal of 1915. This medal is referred to by a number of informal names. Commonwealth nations often call it the "Gallipoli Star" even though it was not a campaign medal specifically for that battle. Another informal name is the "Iron Crescent," as it functioned similarly to Prussia's Iron Cross. The medal was given from 1915 until the end of the war, for acts of bravery or merit in action. Recipients of the Imtiaz and Liyakat medal were automatically eligible for this medal. The medal is a star-shaped pin back badge of white metal (not iron), with a raised crescent around the bottom center, and the "Toughra" or monogram of the Sultan in the center. The flat surfaces of the badge were finished in a thin opaque red enamel. The War Medal was worn pinned to the tunic in a manner similar to the Iron Cross, and not suspended from a ribbon. There was a ribbon (red with white side stripes) which was worn in the second button hole (like the Iron Cross 2nd Class) when the star itself was not worn.
Because the medal was frequently awarded to German and Austrian personnel who served with the Turkish forces during WW1, many unofficial variants were made in Germany and elsewhere, of varying quality, but usually of higher quality than the originals. This difference in quality had led some early authors to speculate that there were two classes of the War Medal -- poor quality copies for enlisted men, nicer copies for officers. In fact there was only one class.
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:48pm
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The Osmanie Order
The Osmanie Order, Order of the Ottoman Empire, was founded in 1861. Although not the highest ranking Ottoman order, it was the highest one that most officers of the Great War were likely to see. This Order was also bestowed on British officers (before the Ottoman diplomatic shift towards Germany) for service to the Ottoman empire in Egypt and the Sudan. It consisted of a seven-pointed star in silver with green enamel, and silver rays between the points. The center medallion was red enameled gilt or gold, with a raised crescent around the bottom, and an ornate calligraphic inscription. The badge was suspended by a device in the form of a crescent and star, and used a ribbon of bright green with red border stripes. Military awards of this order bore a pair of crossed sabers superimposed over the star shaped portion of the badge. The Order came in four classes.
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:49pm
Rating: 10
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The Order of Medjid
The Order of Medjid, founded in 1852, was the lowest ranking Ottoman order, but nonetheless was considered prestigious. It was frequently awarded to German officers who served in Turkey during WW1. The Order was also bestowed on British subjects well prior to the war for service in Egypt and in the Crimean War. The badge consisted of a silver seven-pointed star, with small crescents and stars between the rays. In the center was a gold (or gilt) medallion with the Sultan's "Toughra," surrounded by a red-enameled gold ring with the words "Zeal, Devotion, Loyalty" in arabic script. The badge is suspended by a red-enameled crescent and star device, on a red ribbon with green borders. The Order came in five classes.
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David
Thu October 7, 2004 12:49pm
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The Turkish Army Pilot's
The Turkish Army Pilot's badge was fashioned after German and Austrian qualification badges of the period. Established in 1914 by a French Officer, the Turkish Air Force came under the command of a German officer, Erich Sarno, after the outbreak of hostilities, and grew steadily during the war years thanks to an influx of German planes and pilots, as well as concerted efforts to train Ottoman pilots and observers. There was also a Navy Pilot and Observer's badge, of a slightly different design.
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Unregistered
Wed July 20, 2005 5:36am
Rating: 10
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Staff Sgt. Jorge Luis Pe
1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and was a tank commander and master gunner by training and the ranking noncommissioned officer in his platoon.
Fallbrook, California
Sgt. Pe?a was killed July 16, 2005 near the town of Mosul when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee, military officials said.
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David
Mon July 25, 2005 11:50am
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The American Expeditionar
The American Expeditionary (AEF) Forces Memorial, located on Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets, NW in Washington DC, commemorates the two million American military personnel and the Commander in Chief, General John J. Pershing who made up the AEF of World War I.
It consists of a stone plaza fifty-two feet by seventy-five feet, an 8-foot statue of General Pershing on a stone pedestal, a stone bench facing the statue and two ten-foot high walls, one along the south side of the memorial area and one along the east. The south wall contains two battle maps with appropriate inscriptions. Inscribed on the reverse side of the east wall is General Pershing's tribute to the officers and men of the AEF:
"IN THEIR DEVOTION, THEIR VALOR,
AND IN THE LOYAL FULFILLMENT OF THEIR OBLIGATIONS,
THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF
THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES
HAVE LEFT A HERITAGE OF WHOM THOSE WHO FOLLOW
MAY EVER BE PROUD."
The AEF Memorial was established by the American Battle Monuments Commission, but is now administered by the National Park Service.
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David
Mon July 25, 2005 11:58am
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World War II Memorial
National WWII Memorial
Visiting the Memorial
The memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004 and was dedicated one month later on May 29. It is located on 17th Street, between Constitution and Independence Avenues, and is flanked by the Washington Monument to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west. The memorial is now operated by the National Park Service and is open to visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Authorization
President Clinton signed Public Law 103-32 on May 25, 1993, authorizing the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to establish a World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., or its environs. It will be the first national memorial dedicated to all who served during World War II and acknowledging the commitment and achievement of the entire nation.
The law also authorized the president to appoint a Memorial Advisory Board to offer advice to the ABMC on site selection and design of the memorial, as well as to perform its primary duty of promoting and encouraging private donations for the building of the memorial. The board was appointed in September 1994, and works under the chairmanship of Pete Wheeler, commissioner of veterans affairs of the state of Georgia.
Purpose
The memorial will honor the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S. during World War II, the more than 400,000 who died, and the millions who supported the war effort from home. Symbolic of the defining event of the 20th Century, the memorial will be a monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people to the common defense of the nation and to the broader causes of peace and freedom from tyranny throughout the world. It will inspire future generations of Americans, deepening their appreciation of what the World War II generation accomplished in securing freedom and democracy. Above all, the memorial will stand as an important symbol of American national unity, a timeless reminder of the moral strength and awesome power that can flow when a free people are at once united and bonded together in a common and just cause.
Site
The first step in establishing the memorial was the selection of an appropriate site. Congress provided legislative authority for siting the memorial in the prime area of the national capital, known as Area I, which includes the National Mall. The National Park Service, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission approved selection of the Rainbow Pool site at the east end of the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. President Clinton dedicated the memorial site during a formal ceremony on Veterans Day 1995.
Design
ABMC engaged the General Services Administration?s (GSA) Public Buildings Service to act as its agent to manage the memorial project. The design submitted by Friedrich St. Florian, an architect based in Providence, R.I., was selected as one of six semi-finalists in an open, national competition. Leo A Daly, an international architecture firm, assembled the winning team with St. Florian as the design architect. The team also includes George E. Hartman of Hartman-Cox Architects, Oehme van Sweden & Associates, sculptor Ray Kaskey, and stone carver and letterer Nick Benson. St. Florian?s memorial design concept was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission in the summer of 1998. The commissions approved the preliminary design in 1999, the final architectural design and several ancillary elements in 2000, granite selections in 2001, and sculpture and inscriptions in 2002 and 2003.
Fundraising Campaign
The memorial is funded primarily by private contributions. The fund-raising campaign was led by National Chairman Senator Bob Dole and National Co-Chairman Frederick W. Smith.
Senator Dole, a World War II veteran seriously wounded on the battlefield and twice decorated with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, was the Republican nominee for president in 1996 and the longest-serving Republican Leader in the U.S. Senate.
Frederick W. Smith is chairman, president and chief executive officer of FedEx Corporation, a $17 billion global transportation and logistics holding company. He is a graduate of Yale and a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, and serves on the boards of various transport, industry and civic organizations.
The memorial received more than $195 million in cash and pledges. This total includes $16 million provided by the federal government.
Timeline
Construction began in September 2001, and the memorial opened to the public on April 29, 2004. The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.
ABMC
The American Battle Monuments Commission is an independent, executive branch agency with 11 commissioners and a secretary appointed by the president. The ABMC administers, operates and maintains 24 permanent U.S. military cemeteries and 25 memorial structures in 15 countries around the world, including three memorials in the United States. The commission is also responsible for the establishment of other memorials in the U.S. as directed by Congress.
Chronology
In 1993, the Congress passed legislation authorizing the building of a National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., or its immediate environs. The authorizing legislation was signed into law by the President on May 25, 1993. The responsibility for designing and constructing the memorial was given to the American Battle Monuments Commission, an independent federal agency created by law in 1923. The memorial will honor all who served in the American armed services during World War II and the entire nation's contribution to the war effort. The following summary highlights key events in the history of the project.
1987 - 1993
Dec 10, '87 - Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) introduces legislation to authorize establishing a memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs. Similar legislation was introduced in 1989, 1991 and 1993.
May 25, '93 - President Clinton signs Public Law 103-32 authorizing the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a World War II Memorial in the District or its environs.
1994
Sep 30 - The President appoints a 12-member Memorial Advisory Board (MAB), as authorized in Public Law 103-32, to advise the ABMC in site selection and design, and to promote donations to support memorial construction.
Oct 6-7 - The House and Senate pass Joint Resolution 227 approving location of the World War II Memorial in the Capital?s monumental core area because of its lasting historic significance to the nation. The President signed the resolution into law on October 25th.
1995
Jan 20 - ABMC and MAB hold their first joint site selection session attended by representatives of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the National Capital Memorial Commission (NCMC), the National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Seven potential sites are visited:
Capitol Reflecting Pool area (between 3rd Street and the Reflecting Pool)
Tidal Basin (northeast side, east of the Tidal Basin parking lot and west of the 14th Street Bridge access road)
West Potomac Park (between Ohio Drive and the northern shore of the Potomac River, northwest of the FDR Memorial site)
Constitution Gardens (east end, between Constitution Avenue and the Rainbow Pool)
Washington Monument grounds (at Constitution Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets, west of the Museum of American History)
Freedom Plaza (on Pennsylvania Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets)
Henderson Hall, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery (Henderson Hall was dropped from consideration because of its unavailability).
Mar 2 - The ABMC and MAB unanimously select the Constitution Gardens site as the most appropriate one out of the six alternatives.
May 9 & Jun 20 - The NCMC holds public hearings on the site for the World War II Memorial with consideration given to both the Constitution Gardens site and the Capitol Reflecting Pool site on Third Street.
Jul 27 - The CFA concludes after a public hearing that the Constitution Gardens site would not be commensurate with the historical significance of World War II, and requests that further consideration be given to the Capitol Reflecting Pool and Freedom Plaza along with a new alternative, the traffic circle on Columbia Island on the Lincoln Memorial-Arlington Cemetery axis. The Rainbow Pool is discussed as a possible alternative site.
Aug 6 - The ABMC proposes to the chairmen of the CFA, NCPC and NPS that the Rainbow Pool site with space on both sides of the pool be studied as a replacement for the Constitution Gardens site.
Sep 19 - In a public meeting, the CFA unanimously approves the Rainbow Pool site with the understanding that design guidelines be developed in consultation with them.
Oct 5 - During a public meeting, the NCPC approves the Rainbow Pool site on the condition that the Mall?s east-west vista formed by the elm trees bordering the Reflecting Pool would be preserved.
Nov 11 - The President dedicates the memorial site in a formal ceremony that concludes the 50th Anniversary of World War II commemorations. A plaque marks the site as the future location of the World War II Memorial.
1996
Apr 19 - The ABMC and General Services Administration (GSA), acting as agent for the ABMC, announce a two-stage open design competition for the memorial that closed on Aug 12th.
Aug 15-16 - Four hundred and four entries are reviewed by a distinguished Evaluation Board that selects six competition finalists. The second stage competition closes on Oct 25th.
Oct 29 - A Design Jury composed of distinguished architects, landscape architects, architectural critics and WWII veterans review the designs of the six finalists.
Oct 30-31 - The Evaluation Board evaluates finalist design submissions and interviews the six design teams. Both the Design Jury and the Evaluation Board, independently of each other, recommend unanimously that the Leo A. Daly team with Friedrich St. Florian as design architect be selected. ABMC approves the recommendation on Nov 20th.
1997
Jan 17 - The President announces St. Florian?s winning memorial design during a White House ceremony.
Mar 19 - Senator Bob Dole is named National Chairman of the memorial campaign.
Jul 24 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves many elements of the design concept, but voices strong concern over the mass and scale and the interior space of the concept as presented. The CFA requests that the design be given further study and resubmitted at a later date, but unanimously reaffirms the Rainbow Pool site.
Jul 31 - In a public hearing, the NCPC reaffirms its approval of the Rainbow Pool site, but requests design modifications and an analysis of various environmental considerations prior to the commission's further action on a revised design concept.
Aug 19 - ABMC announces that Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Federal Express Corporation, will team with Senator Dole as National Co-Chairman of the World War II Memorial Campaign.
1998
Apr 7 - ABMC approves the recommendation of its Site and Design Committee that St. Florian?s revised design concept be forwarded to the CFA, the NCPC and the District of Columbia?s Historic Preservation Office for their action.
May 21 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves the revised design concept.
Jul 9 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves the revised design concept.
1999
Apr 21 - ABMC approves the recommendation of its Site and Design Committee that St. Florian?s preliminary design be forwarded to the CFA and NCPC for their action.
May 20 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves the memorial?s preliminary design.
Jun 3 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves the memorial's preliminary design.
2000
Jul 20 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves the memorial?s final architectural design.
Sep 21 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves the memorial?s final architectural design.
Nov 11 - A groundbreaking ceremony attended by 15,000 people is held at the memorial?s Rainbow Pool site.
Nov 16 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves several ancillary elements of the memorial: an information pavilion, a comfort station, an access road and a contemplative area.
Dec 14 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves several ancillary elements of the memorial: an information pavilion, a comfort station, an access road and a contemplative area.
2001
Jan 23 - Construction permit issued by the National Park Service.
Mar 9 - Construction, which was to begin in March, is delayed indefinitely pending resolution of a lawsuit filed by a small opposition group in Washington, D.C., and a procedural issue involving the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), one of the agencies required by law to approve the memorial.
May 21-22 - The House and Senate pass legislation directing that the memorial be constructed expeditiously at the dedicated Rainbow Pool site on the National Mall in a manner consistent with previous approvals and permits. President Bush signed the legislation into law (Public Law 107-11) on Memorial Day, May 28th.
Jun 7 - The General Services Administration, acting as agent for the American Battle Monuments Commission, awards a $56 million construction contract to the joint venture of Tompkins Builders and Grunley-Walsh Construction.
Jun 21 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves the granite selections for the memorial.
Jul 3 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves the granite selections for the memorial.
Aug 27 - Tompkins/Grunley-Walsh begin site preparation work at the memorial's Rainbow Pool site on the National Mall. Construction begins one week later.
2002
Mar 21 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves designs for flagpoles and announcement piers at the ceremonial entrance, and artistic enhancements to the field of gold stars. A proposed announcement stone design was not approved.
Apr 4 - In a public hearing, the NCPC approves designs for flagpoles and announcement piers at the ceremonial entrance and an announcement stone at the east memorial plaza, and artistic enhancements to the field of gold stars.
Jul 18 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves concepts for 24 bas-relief sculpture panels, and requests that the announcement stone be designed for the ceremonial entrance of the memorial rather than the proposed location on the plaza.
Oct 17 ? In a public hearing, the CFA approves the redesigned announcement stone at the ceremonial entrance, and endorses the thematic content of proposed inscriptions but recommends minor adjustments in their presentation.
Nov 21 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves inscriptions for the memorial.
2003
Apr 22 - In a public hearing, the CFA approves inscriptions for the memorial.
2004
Apr 29 - The National World War II Memorial opens to the public.
May 29 - The National World War II Memorial is formally dedicated in a ceremony that draws 150,000 people.
Nov 1 - The memorial becomes part of the National Park System when it is transferred from the American Battle Monuments Commission to the National Park Service, which assumes responsibility for its operations and maintenance.
National World War II Memorial Inscriptions
The following inscriptions are inscribed in the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The inscriptions are presented by location.
Announcement Stone
HERE IN THE PRESENCE OF WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN,
ONE THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY FATHER AND THE OTHER THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY PRESERVER OF OUR NATION, WE HONOR
THOSE TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICANS WHO TOOK UP THE STRUGGLE
DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND MADE THE SACRIFICES TO
PERPETUATE THE GIFT OUR FOREFATHERS ENTRUSTED TO US:
A NATION CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
Flagpoles
AMERICANS CAME TO LIBERATE, NOT TO CONQUER,
TO RESTORE FREEDOM AND TO END TYRANNY
Eastern Corners
PEARL HARBOR
DECEMBER 7, 1941, A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY?NO
MATTER HOW LONG IT MAY TAKE US TO OVERCOME THIS
PREMEDITATED INVASION, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, IN THEIR
RIGHTEOUS MIGHT, WILL WIN THROUGH TO ABSOLUTE VICTORY.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
THEY HAVE GIVEN THEIR SONS TO THE MILITARY SERVICES. THEY
HAVE STOKED THE FURNACES AND HURRIED THE FACTORY WHEELS.
THEY HAVE MADE THE PLANES AND WELDED THE TANKS,
RIVETED THE SHIPS AND ROLLED THE SHELLS.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
WOMEN WHO STEPPED UP WERE MEASURED AS CITIZENS OF THE NATION,
NOT AS WOMEN?THIS WAS A PEOPLE?S WAR, AND EVERYONE WAS IN IT.
Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby
THEY FOUGHT TOGETHER AS BROTHERS-IN-ARMS.
THEY DIED TOGETHER AND NOW THEY SLEEP SIDE BY SIDE.
TO THEM WE HAVE A SOLEMN OBLIGATION.
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
Southern Walls
BATTLE OF MIDWAY JUNE 4-7, 1942
THEY HAD NO RIGHT TO WIN. YET THEY DID, AND IN DOING SO THEY CHANGED
THE COURSE OF A WAR?EVEN AGAINST THE GREATEST OF ODDS, THERE IS
SOMETHING IN THE HUMAN SPIRIT ? A MAGIC BLEND OF SKILL, FAITH AND
VALOR ? THAT CAN LIFT MEN FROM CERTAIN DEFEAT TO INCREDIBLE VICTORY.
Walter Lord, Author
THE WAR?S END
TODAY THE GUNS ARE SILENT. A GREAT TRAGEDY HAS ENDED. A GREAT
VICTORY HAS BEEN WON. THE SKIES NO LONGER RAIN DEATH ? THE SEAS
BEAR ONLY COMMERCE ? MEN EVERYWHERE WALK UPRIGHT IN THE
SUNLIGHT. THE ENTIRE WORLD IS QUIETLY AT PEACE.
General Douglas MacArthur
Northern Walls
WE ARE DETERMINED THAT BEFORE THE SUN SETS ON THIS TERRIBLE STRUGGLE
OUR FLAG WILL BE RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AS A SYMBOL OF
FREEDOM ON THE ONE HAND AND OF OVERWHELMING FORCE ON THE OTHER.
General George C. Marshall
D-DAY JUNE 6, 1944
YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK UPON THE GREAT CRUSADE TOWARD
WHICH WE HAVE STRIVEN THESE MANY MONTHS. THE EYES OF
THE WORLD ARE UPON YOU?I HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE IN YOUR
COURAGE, DEVOTION TO DUTY AND SKILL IN BATTLE.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Western Corners
OUR DEBT TO THE HEROIC MEN AND VALIANT WOMEN IN THE SERVICE
OF OUR COUNTRY CAN NEVER BE REPAID. THEY HAVE EARNED OUR
UNDYING GRATITUDE. AMERICA WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR SACRIFICES.
President Harry S Truman
THE HEROISM OF OUR OWN TROOPS?WAS MATCHED BY THAT
OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE NATIONS THAT FOUGHT BY OUR
SIDE?THEY ABSORBED THE BLOWS?AND THEY SHARED TO THE
FULL IN THE ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENEMY.
President Harry S Truman
Southern Fountain Copings
CHINA * BURMA * INDIA SOUTHWEST PACIFIC CENTRAL PACIFIC NORTH PACIFIC
PEARL HARBOR * WAKE ISLAND * BATAAN CORREGIDOR * CORAL SEA *
MIDWAY * GUADALCANAL * NEW GUINEA * BUNA * TARAWA *
KWAJALEIN * ATTU * SAIPAN TINIAN GUAM * PHILIPPINE SEA * PELELIU *
LEYTE GULF * LUZON * MANILA * IWO JIMA * OKINAWA * JAPAN
Northern Fountain Copings
NORTH AFRICA SOUTHERN EUROPE WESTERN EUROPE CENTRAL EUROPE
BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC * MURMANSK RUN * TUNISIA *
SICILY SALERNO ANZIO ROME PO VALLEY * NORMANDY *
ST.LO * AIR WAR IN EUROPE * ALSACE * RHINELAND *
HUERTGEN FOREST * BATTLE OF THE BULGE *
REMAGEN BRIDGE * GERMANY
Southern and Northern Arches
1941 ? 1945 VICTORY ON LAND VICTORY AT SEA VICTORY IN THE AIR
Freedom Wall ? Field of Gold Stars
HERE WE MARK THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
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David
Wed August 3, 2005 12:37pm
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Group of 7th Cavalry offi
Group of 7th Cavalry officers and ladies at Fort Lincoln, 1873. General Custer is third from left; Mrs. Custer is the first lady from the left on the lower step.
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David
Wed August 3, 2005 12:41pm
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Lt. Charles A. Varnum
Lt. Charles A. Varnum had charge of Custer's Indian scouts. he died in 1934, the last surviving officer of Reno's command.
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David
Wed August 3, 2005 12:46pm
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Keogh's marker
In the summer of 1877, one year after the battle, Captain Keogh's reconstituted Company I returned to the battlefield to reclaim the bodies of the officers and rebury those of the enlisted men. Keogh's marker stands on the spot where he fell.
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David
Thu August 4, 2005 11:31pm
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Letter of Maj. Nathaniel
Letter of Maj. Nathaniel Buckmaster, determining what officer swore Capt. Abraham Lincoln into the U. S. service.
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David
Tue August 9, 2005 12:03pm
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USS Lexington CV 2 14 Dec
USS Lexington CV 2 14 Dec 1927 8 May 1942
Leaving San Diego, California, 14 October 1941.
displacement: 41,000 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 105? feet
draft: 32 feet
speed: 34? knots
complement: 2,122 crew
armament: 8 eight-inch and 12 five-inch guns
aircraft: 81
class: Lexington
The fourth Lexington (CV 2) was originally designated CC 1; laid down as a battle cruiser 8 January 1921 by Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass.; authorized to be completed as an aircraft carrier 1 July 1922; launched 3 October 1925; sponsored by Mrs. Theodore Douglas Robinson, wife of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned 14 December 1927, Capt. Albert W. Marshall in command.
After fitting out and shakedown, Lexington joined the battle fleet at San Pedro, Calif., 7 April 1928. Based there, she operated on the west coast with Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet, in flight training, tactical exercises, and battle problems . Each year she participated in fleet maneuvers in the Hawaiians, in the Caribbean, off the Panama Canal Zone, and in the eastern Pacific.
On 16 January 1930, Lexington completed a 30-day period in which she furnished electricity to the city of Tacoma, Wash., in an emergency arising from a failure of the city's power supply. The electricity from the carrier totaled more than 4.25 million kilowatt-hours.
In the fall of 1941 she sailed with the battle force to the Hawaiians for tactical exercises.
On 7 December 1941 Lexington was at sea with Task Force 12 (TF 12) carrying marine aircraft from Pearl Harbor to reinforce Midway when word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was received. She immediately launched searchplanes to hunt for the Japanese fleet , and at mid-morning headed south to rendezvous with USS Indianapolis (CA 35) and USS Enterprise (CV 6) task forces to conduct a search southwest of Oahu until returning Pearl Harbor 18 December.
Lexington sailed next day to raid Japanese forces on Jaluit to relieve pressure on Wake; these orders were canceled 20 December, and she was directed to cover the USS Saratoga force in reinforcing Wake. When the island fell 23 December, the two carrier forces were recalled to Pearl Harbor, arriving 27 December.
Lexington patrolled to block enemy raids In the Oahu-Johnston-Palmyra triangle until 11 January 1942, when she sailed from Pearl Harbor as flagship for Vice Adm. Wilson Brown commanding TF 11. On 16 February, the force headed for an attack on Rabaul, New Britain, scheduled for 21 February. While approaching the day previous, Lexington was attacked by two waves of enemy aircraft, nine planes to a wave. The carrier's own combat air patrol and antiaircraft fire splashed 17 of the attackers. During a single sortie Lt. E. H (Butch) O'Hare won the Medal of Honor by downing five planes.
Her offensive patrols in the Coral Sea continued until 6 March, when she rendezvoused with USS Yorktown's TF 17 for a thoroughly successful surprise attack flown over the Owen Stanley mountains of New Guinea to inflict heavy damage on shipping and installations at Salamaua and Lae 10 March. She now returned to Pearl Harbor, arriving 26 March 1942. Lexington's task force sortied from Pearl Harbor 15 April, rejoining TF 17 on 1 May. As Japanese fleet concentrations threatening the Coral Sea were observed, Lexington and USS Yorktown (CV 5) moved into the sea to search for the enemy's force covering a projected troop movement. The Japanese must now be blocked in their southward expansion, or sea communication with Australia and New Zealand would be cut, and the dominions threatened with invasion.
On 7 May 1942 search planes reported contact with an enemy carrier task force, and Lexington's air group flew an eminently successful mission against it, sinking light carrier Shoho. Later that day, 12 bombers and 15 torpedo planes from still-unlocated heavy carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku were intercepted by fighter groups from Lexington and Yorktown, who splashed nine enemy aircraft.
On the morning of the 8th, a Lexington plane located the Shokaku group. A strike was immediately launched from the American carriers, and the Japanese ship was heavily damaged.
The enemy penetrated to the American carriers at 1100, and 20 minutes later Lexington was struck by a torpedo to port. Seconds later, a second torpedo hit to port directly abreast the bridge. At the same time, she took three bomb hits from enemy dive bombers, producing a seven degree list to port and several raging fires. By 1300 her skilled damage control parties had brought the fires under control and returned the ship to even keel. Making 25 knots, she was ready to recover her air group. Then suddenly Lexington was shaken by a tremendous explosion, caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors below, and again fire raged out of control.
At 1558 Capt. Frederick C. Sherman, fearing for the safety of men working below, secured salvage operations, and ordered all hands to the flight deck. At 1707, he ordered, "abandon ship!", and the orderly disembarkation began, men going over the side into the warm water, almost immediately to be picked up by nearby cruisers and destroyers. Admiral Fitch and his staff transferred to cruiser USS Minneapolis (CA 36); Captain Sherman and his executive officer, Cmdr. M. T. Seligman insured all their men were safe, then were the last to leave their ship.
Lexington blazed on, flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air. The destroyer USS Phelps (DD 360) closed to 1500 yards and fired two torpedoes into her hull. With one last heavy explosion, Lexington sank at 1956 on 8 May 1942 at 15? 20' S., 155? 30' E. She was part of the price that was paid to halt the Japanese overseas empire and safeguard Australia and New Zealand, but perhaps an equally great contribution had been her pioneer role in developing the naval aviators and the techniques which played so vital a role in ultimate victory in the Pacific.
Lexington received two battle stars for World War II service.
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David
Tue August 9, 2005 12:09pm
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USS Saratoga CV 3 16 Nov
USS Saratoga CV 3 16 Nov 1927 26 Jul 1946
Landing planes on 6 June 1935.
displacement: 33,000 tons
length: 888 feet
beam: 106 feet
draft: 24 feet 1? inches
speed: 33.91 knots
complement: 2,111 crew
armament: 8 eight-inch and 12 five-inch guns, and 4 six-pounders
aircraft: 81
class: Lexington
The fifth Saratoga (CV 3) was laid down on 25 September 1920 as Battle Cruiser #3 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; ordered converted to an aircraft carrier and reclassified CV-3 on 1 July 1922 in accordance with the Washington Treaty limiting naval armaments. The ship was launched on 7 April 1925, sponsored by Mrs. Curtis D. Wilbur, wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned on 16 November 1927, Capt. Harry E. Yarnell in command.
Saratoga, the first fast carrier in the United States Navy, quickly proved the value of her type. She sailed from Philadelphia on 6 January 1928 for shakedown, and, on 11 January, her air officer, the future World War II hero, Marc A. Mitscher, landed the first aircraft on board. In an experiment on 27 January, the rigid airship Los Angeles (ZR-3) moored to Saratoga's stern and took on fuel and stores. The same day Saratoga sailed for the Pacific via the Panama Canal. She was diverted briefly between 14 and 16 February to carry Marines to Corinto, Nicaragua, and finally joined the Battle Fleet at San Pedro, Calif., on 21 February. The rest of the year was spent in training and final machinery shakedown.
On 15 January 1929, Saratoga sailed from San Diego with the Battle Fleet to participate in her first fleet exercise, Fleet Problem IX. In a daring move Saratoga was detached from the fleet with only a single cruiser as escort to make a wide sweep to the south and "attack" the Panama Canal, which was defended by the Scouting Fleet and Saratoga's sister ship, USS Lexington (CV 2). She successfully launched her strike [340] on 26 January, and despite being "sunk" three times later in the day, proved the versatility of a fast task force centered around a carrier. The idea was incorporated into fleet doctrine and reused the following year in Fleet Problem X in the Caribbean. This time, however, Saratoga and carrier, USS Langley (CV 1), were "disabled" by a surprise attack from Lexington, showing how quickly air power could swing the balance in a naval action.
Following the fleet concentration in the Caribbean Saratoga took part in the Presidential Review at Norfolk in May and returned to San Pedro on 21 June 1930.
During the remaining decade before World War II Saratoga exercised in the San Diego-San Pedro area, except for the annual fleet problems and regular overhauls at the Bremerton Navy Yard. In the fleet problems, Saratoga continued to assist in the development of fast carrier tactics, and her importance was recognized by the fact that she was always a high priority target for the opposing forces. The fleet problem for 1932 was planned for Hawaii, and, by coincidence occurred during the peak of the furor following the "Manchurian incident" in which Japan started on the road to World War II. Saratoga exercised in the Hawaii area from 31 January to 19 March and returned to Hawaii for fleet exercises the following year between 23 January and 28 February 1933. On the return trip to the west coast, she launched a successful air "attack" on the Long Beach area.
Exercises in 1934 took Saratoga to the Caribbean and the Atlantic for an extended period, from 9 April to 9 November, and were followed by equally extensive operations with the United States Fleet in the Pacific the following year. Between 27 April and 6 June 1936, she participated in a fleet problem in the Canal Zone, and she then returned with the fleet to Hawaii for exercises from 16 April to 28 May 1937. On 15 March 1938, Saratoga sailed from San Diego for Fleet Problem XIX, again conducted off Hawaii. During the second phase of the problem, Saratoga launched a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor from a point 100 miles off Oahu, setting a pattern that the Japanese copied in December 1941. During the return to the west coast, Saratoga and Lexington followed this feat with "strikes" on Mare Island and Alameda. Saratoga was under overhaul during the 1939 fleet concentration, but, between 2 April and 21 June 1940, she participated in Fleet Problem XXI, the last to be held due to the deepening world crisis.
Between 14 and 29 October 1940, Saratoga transported a draft of military personnel from San Pedro to Hawaii, and, on 6 January 1941, she entered the Bremerton Navy Yard for a long deferred modernization, including widening her flight deck forward and fitting a blister on her starboard side and additional small antiaircraft guns. Departing Bremerton on 28 April 1941, the carrier participated in a landing force exercise in May and made two trips to Hawaii between June and October as the diplomatic crisis with Japan came to a head.
When the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Saratoga was just entering San Diego after an interim drydocking at Bremerton. She hurriedly got underway the following day as the nucleus of a third carrier force [Lexington and USS Enterprise (CV 6) were already at sea], carrying Marine aircraft intended to reinforce the vulnerable garrison on Wake Island. Presence of these aircraft on board made Saratoga the logical choice for the actual relief effort. She reached Pearl Harbor on 15 December and stopped only long enough to fuel. She then rendezvoused with USS Tangier (AV-8), which had relief troops and supplies on board, while Lexington and Enterprise provided distant cover for the operation. However, the Saratoga force was delayed by the low speed of its oiler and by a decision to refuel destroyers on 21 December. After receiving reports of Japanese carrier aircraft over the island and Japanese landings on it, the relief force was recalled on 22 December. Wake fell the next day.
Saratoga continued operations in the Hawaiian Island region, but on 11 January 1942, when heading towards a rendezvous with Enterprise, 500 miles southwest of Oahu, she was hit without warning by a deep-running torpedo fired by the Japanese submarine, I-16. Although six men were killed and three firerooms were flooded, the carrier reached Oahu under her own power. There, her 8-inch guns, useless against aircraft, were removed for installation in shore defenses, and the carrier proceeded to the Bremerton Navy Yard for permanent repairs and installation of a modern anti-aircraft battery.
Saratoga departed Puget Sound on 22 May for San Diego. She arrived there on 25 May and was training her air group when intelligence was received of an impending Japanese assault on Midway. Due to the need to load planes and stores and to collect escorts, the carrier was unable to sail until 1 June and arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 6th after the Battle of Midway had ended. She departed Pearl Harbor on 7 June after fueling; and, on 11 June, transferred 34 aircraft to USS Hornet (CV 8) and Enterprise to replenish their depleted air groups. The three carriers then turned north to counter Japanese activity reported in the Aleutians, but the operation was canceled and Saratoga returned to Pearl Harbor on 13 June.
Between 22 and 29 June 1942, Saratoga ferried Marine and Army aircraft to the garrison on Midway. On 7 July, she sailed for the southwest Pacific; and, from 28 to 30 July, she provided air cover for landing rehearsals in the Fiji Islands in preparation for landings on Guadalcanal. As flagship of Real Admiral F. J. Fletcher, Saratoga opened the Guadalcanal assault early on 7 August when she turned into the wind to launch aircraft. She provided air cover for the landings for the next two days. On the first day, a Japanese air attack was repelled before it reached the carriers, but since further attacks were expected, the carrier force withdrew on the afternoon of 8 August towards a fueling rendezvous. As a result, it was too far away to retaliate after four Allied cruisers were sunk that night in the Battle of Savo Island. The carrier force continued to operate east of the Solomons, protecting the sea lanes to the beachhead and awaiting a Japanese naval counterattack.
The counterattack began to materialize when a Japanese transport force was detected on 23 August 1942, and Saratoga launched a strike against it. The aircraft were unable to find the enemy, however, and spent the night on Guadalcanal. As they were returning on board the next day, the first contact report on enemy carriers was received. Two hours later, Saratoga launched a strike which sent Japanese carrier Ryujo to the bottom. Later in the afternoon, as an enemy strike from other carriers was detected, Saratoga hastily launched the aircraft on her deck, and these found and damaged the Japanese seaplane tender Chitose. Meanwhile, due to cloud cover, Saratoga escaped detection by the Japanese aircraft, which concentrated their attack on, and damaged, Enterprise. The American force fought back fiercely and weakened enemy air strength so severely that the Japanese recalled their transports before they reached Guadalcanal.
After landing her returning aircraft at night on 24 August, Saratoga refueled on the 25th and resumed her patrols east of the Solomons. A week later, a destroyer reported torpedo wakes heading toward the carrier, but the 888-foot flattop could not turn quickly enough. A minute later, a torpedo from I-26 slammed into the blister on her starboard side. The torpedo killed no one and only flooded one fireroom, but the impact caused short circuits which damaged Saratoga's turbo-electric propulsion system and left her dead in the water. The cruiser USS Minneapolis (CA 36) took the carrier under tow while she flew her aircraft off to shore bases. By early afternoon, Saratoga's engineers had improvised a circuit out of the burned wreckage of her main control board and had given her a speed of 10 knots. After repairs at Tongatabu from 6 to 12 September, Saratoga arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 September for permanent repairs.
Saratoga sailed from Pearl Harbor on 10 November 1942 and proceeded, via Fiji, to Noumea which she reached on 5 December. She operated in the vicinity of Noumea for the next twelve months, providing air cover for minor operations and protecting American forces in the eastern Solomons. Between 17 May and 31 July 1943, she was reinforced by the British carrier, HMS Victorious, and, on 20 October, she was joined by USS Princeton (CVL 23). As troops stormed ashore on Bougainville on 1 November, Saratoga's aircraft neutralized nearby Japanese airfields on Buka. Then, on 5 November, in response to reports of Japanese cruisers concentrating at Rabaul to counterattack the Allied landing forces, Saratoga conducted perhaps her most brilliant strike of the war. Her aircraft penetrated the heavily defended port and disabled most of the Japanese cruisers, ending the surface threat to Bougainville. Saratoga, herself, escaped unscathed and returned to raid Rabaul again on 11 November.
Saratoga and Princeton were then designated the Relief Carrier Group for the offensive in the Gilberts, and, after striking Nauru on 19 November, they rendezvoused on 23 November 1943 with the transports carrying garrison troops to Makin and Tarawa. The carriers provided air cover until the transports reached their destinations, and then maintained air patrols over Tarawa. By this time, Saratoga had steamed over a year without repairs, and she was detached on 30 November to return to the United States. She underwent overhaul at San Francisco from 9 December 1943 to 3 January 1944, and had her antiaircraft battery augmented for the last time, receiving 60 40-millimeter guns in place of 36 20-millimeter guns.
The carrier arrived at Pearl Harbor on 7 January 1944, and, after a brief period of training, sailed from Pearl Harbor on 19 January with light carriers, USS Langley (CV 27) and USS Princeton (CVL 23), to support the drive in the Marshalls. Her aircraft struck Wotje and Taroa for three days, from 29 to 31 January, and then pounded Engebi, the main island at Eniwetok, the 3d to the 6th and from the 10th to the 12th of February. Her planes delivered final blows to Japanese defenses on the 16th, the day before the landings, and provided close air support and CAP over the island until 28 February.
Saratoga then took leave of the main theaters of the Pacific war for almost a year, to carry out important but less spectacular assignments elsewhere. Her first task was to help the British initiate their carrier offensive in the Far East. On 4 March 1944, Saratoga departed Majuro with an escort of three destroyers, and sailed via Espiritu Santo; Hobart, Tasmania; and Fremantle, Australia, to join the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. She rendezvoused at sea on 27 March with the British force, composed of carrier, HMS Illustrious, and four battleships with escorts, and arrived with them at Trincomalee, Ceylon, on 31 March. On 12 April, the French battleship, Richelieu, arrived, adding to the international flavor of the force. During the next two days, the carriers conducted intensive training at sea during which Saratoga's fliers tried to impart some of their experience to the British pilots. On 16 April, the Eastern Fleet, with Saratoga, sailed from Trincomalee, and, on the 19th, the aircraft from the two carriers struck the port of Sabang, off the northwest tip of Sumatra. The Japanese were caught by surprise by the new offensive, and much damage was done to port facilities and oil reserves. The raid was so successful that Saratoga delayed her departure in order to carry out a second. Sailing again from Ceylon on 6 May, the force struck at Soerabaja, Java, on 17 May with equally successful results. Saratoga was detached the following day, and passed down the columns of the Eastern Fleet as the Allied ships rendered honors to and cheered each other.
Saratoga arrived at Bremerton, Wash., on 10 June 1944 and was under repair there through the summer. On 24 September, she arrived at Pearl Harbor and commenced her second special assignment, training night fighter squadrons. Saratoga had experimented with night flying as early as 1931, and many carriers had been forced to land returning aircraft at night during the war; but, only in August 1944, did a carrier, USS Independence (CVL 22), receive an air group specially equipped to operate at night. At the same time, Carrier Division 11, composed of Saratoga and USS Ranger (CV-4), was commissioned at Pearl Harbor to train night pilots and develop night flying doctrine. Saratoga continued this important training duty for almost four months, but as early as October, her division commander was warned that "while employed primarily for training, Saratoga is of great value for combat and is to be kept potentially available for combat duty." The call came in January 1945. Light carriers like Independence had proved too small for safe night operations, and Saratoga was rushed out of Pearl Harbor on 29 January 1945 to form a night fighter task group with Enterprise for the Iwo Jima operation.
Saratoga arrived at Ulithi on 7 February and sailed three days later, with Enterprise and four other carrier task groups. After landing rehearsals with Marines at Tinian on 12 February, the carrier force carried out diversionary strikes on the Japanese home islands on the night of 16 and 17 February before the landings on Iwo Jima. Saratoga was assigned to provide fighter cover while the remaining carriers launched the strikes on Japan, but, in the process, her fighters raided two Japanese airfields. The force fueled on 18 and 19 February; and, on 21 February 1945, Saratoga was detached with an escort of three destroyers to join the amphibious forces and carry out night patrols over Iwo Jima and night heckler missions over nearby Chi-chi Jima. However, as she approached her operating area at 1700 on the 21st, an air attack developed, and taking advantage of low cloud cover and Saratoga's insufficient escort, six Japanese planes scored five hits on the carrier in three minutes. Saratoga's flight deck forward was wrecked, her starboard side was holed twice and large fires were started in her hangar deck, while she lost 123 of her crew dead or missing. Another attack at 1900 scored an additional bomb hit. By 2015, the fires were under control and the carrier was able to recover aircraft, but she was ordered to Eniwetok and then to the west coast for repairs, and arrived at Bremerton on 16 March.
On 22 May, Saratoga departed Puget Sound fully repaired, and she resumed training pilots at Pearl Harbor on 3 June. She ceased training duty on 6 September, after the Japanese surrender, and sailed from Hawaii on 9 September transporting 3,712 returning naval veterans home to the United States under Operation Magic Carpet. By the end of her Magic Carpet service, Saratoga had brought home 29,204 Pacific war veterans, more than any other individual ship. At the time, she also held the record for the greatest number of aircraft landed on a carrier, with a lifetime total of 98,549 landings in 17 years.
With the arrival of large numbers of Essex-class carriers, Saratoga was surplus to postwar requirements, and she was assigned to Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll to test the effect of the atomic bomb on naval vessels. She survived the first blast, an air burst on 1 July, with only minor damage, but was mortally wounded by the second on 25 July, an underwater blast which was detonated under a landing craft 500 yards from the carrier. Salvage efforts were prevented by radioactivity, and seven and one-half hours after the blast, with her funnel collapsed across her deck, Saratoga slipped beneath the surface of the lagoon. She was struck from the Navy list on 15 August 1946.
Saratoga received seven battle stars for her World War II service.
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