World War II Chronicles A Quarterly Publication of the World War II Veterans Committee ISSUE XXX, Summer, 2005 VICTORY! Pacific Atlantic World War II Chronicles A Quarterly Publication of the World War II Veterans Committee WWW.WWIIVETS.COM ISSUE XXX, Summer, 2005 Articles -In This Issue- Over the River and Into the Reich by The Final Days 7 Ben McCarty The Allied armies strike into the heart of As 1945 progressed, the outcome of Hitler’s Germany World War II became clear: the Axis powers would fall. The only remain- A Victory in Perspective by ing questions were how long Ger- 16 Geraldine Genzardi many and Japan could hold out, and The story behind the atomic bomb and the at what cost would victory for the final bloody battles in the Pacific that neces- Allies come? The months leading up to the ultimate victory in the Atlantic sitated its use and Pacific theaters of war were as brutal as ever. Germany was implod- ing, and facing a Red Army bent on revenge. Imperial Japan, refusing to The Flying WASPs by surrender, resorted to even more drastic and fanatical tactics in an effort to 23 Adriel Sanders inflict as much suffering as possible before its final defeat. In this issue, the The first female pilots in American military story of the final days of World War II is told by those who will help to history take to the skies carry on the legacy of the Greatest Generation for decades to come... The Last Days of World War II by Features 27 Wolfgang Nitsch The fall of Germany as told from a different 3 The Greatest Generation and the Latest perspective Generation From the Editor Committee Activities 31 World War II Book Club The National Memorial Day Parade A Farewell to Two Friends 4 The successful follow-up to the 2004 Parade 32 Remembering General Andrew J. Goodpaster Salute to World War II Veterans and Captain Lillian K. Keil Available from the World War II Veterans Committee! From Foxhole to Freedom Reduced Price! The World War II European Journal of $10 (Hardcover) Captain H. Dale Helm of Indiana Was $14.95 H. Dale Helm of Indianapolis arrived in France with the 79th Infantry in June of 1944, just after the Normandy D-Day invasion. There he joined in the struggle to wrest the hedgerows and villages of France from the hands of the Germans. Eventually after desperate, unrelieved fighting over a period of five months, he was part of the American forces crossing the Rhine into Germany. To order, send $10 (plus $2 for shipping) for each copy desired to: Edited by Helm himself in 1945 after he returned home, this journal was compiled from the World War II Veterans Committee 1030 15th St., NW Suite 856 over one hundred letters to his wife and new baby—and then set aside. After that, he never Washington, DC 20005 spoke of the war and his experiences again to anyone in his family. The 125 pages of the journal are supplemented by Captain Helm’s wartime snapshots and selections from the Or order with credit card by calling Indiana State Archives collection of World War II materials—ration books and civil defense 202-777-7272 and war bond posters and illustrations. World War II Chronicles - Summer, 2005 - 2 From the Editor The Greatest Generation and the Latest Generation By Tim G.W. Holbert Sixty years ago this summer, with the end of World War II on the the National Memorial Day Parade and our various speaker pro- horizon, Americans began to turn their attention toward rebuilding grams. In November, the Committee will hold its Eighth Annual a world shattered by six years of brutality and destruction unmatched Conference, where veterans from around the country will meet to in all of human history. Nazi Germany had been utterly defeated, share their stories with hundreds of high school and college stu- its surviving leaders rounded up and awaiting their fates that would dents, fellow veterans, and a public grateful for their service sixty soon be decided at Nuremberg. Imperial Japan, determined to fight years ago. World War II Chronicles continues to give voice to the Greatest to the bitter end, was growing ever more desperate, its soldiers and Generation, publishing stories by and about World War II veterans. airmen resorting to suicide attacks on American forces at every turn, on land and at sea. With Okinawa lost, the Japanese military As the veterans who fought and won World War II pass from the began training women, and even children, to defend their home scene, it will be up to these future generations to preserve their islands in the event of the seemingly inevitable American invasion. legacy, and to pass on their stories. Every year, the World War II Some prepared to fight using nothing more than Veterans Committee sponsors an internship pro- sharpened bamboo spears. Both sides knew that gram, bringing college students to its offices to the invasion would leave thousands, perhaps learn about, and from, World War II veterans. hundreds of thousands, of Americans dead. Each intern is assigned the task of researching The number of Japanese killed, military and a topic related to World War II, meeting with civilian, would be astronomical. But instead of and interviewing veterans, then writing a story storming ashore in the face of blistering ma- to be published in World War II Chronicles. As chine-gun and artillery fire reminiscent of has become tradition, the summer issue of Normandy and Iwo Jima, the American forces Chronicles has been turned over to them, these would enter the Japanese homeland relatively future journalists and historians who will be quietly and peacefully. On August 14, 1945, news counted on to tell the stories of World War II arrived in the United States that Japan would The World War II Veterans Committee’s intern veterans in the years to come. This year, the surrender, fully and unconditionally, something class for the summer of 2005, pictured left to Committee welcomed: right: Geraldine Genzardi, Steven Mosley, Ben that only a few weeks earlier had seemed to be McCarty, and Adriel Sanders out of the question. Despite the fierce objection Geraldine Genzardi. Geraldine is a senior at of many in the Japanese military, Emperor Hirohito, persuaded by Alfred University in New York. She is a communications major with the deployment of the atomic bombs against Hiroshima and a minor in political science. She writes for her school’s newspaper, Nagasaki, capitulated to the Allied forces led by the United States. and next semester will serve as News Editor as well as Program The terrible power of the bombs dropped on Japan killed many Director for her campus television station. In the future, she hopes thousands, it is true; but war is hell, and the eventual peaceful occu- to study abroad and become involved in international relations. pation of Japan by the American forces saved hundreds of thou- sands, and perhaps millions, of lives on all sides of the conflict. Steven Mosley. Steven is a sophomore honor student at the Uni- versity of Maryland. He is majoring in journalism and plans to pur- With victory achieved, Americans did what they have done so often sue a career in broadcasting. Steven is an Eagle Scout and remains throughout their history: shown their decency and generosity by active in his community (His article, Uncommon Valor: An African aiding their former enemies and building free, peaceful, and pros- American’s Service on Iwo Jima appeared in the spring, 2005 issue). perous societies. Over the past sixty years, Germany and Japan have become two of the world’s wealthiest nations, and two of America’s Ben McCarty. A senior at the University of Portland, Ben is a strongest allies. This positive spirit was brought to America’s former political science major with minors in communications and theol- enemies by her young soldiers, sailors, and airmen, who despite ogy. He writes for his school’s newspaper, The Beacon, and is Sports having suffered through years of war and depression, still believed Editor. After graduation, Ben plans to pursue a career in journalism in the ideas that made America great, and looked to share these or politics, and dreams of one day writing for Sports Illustrated. ideas with others. This generation would rebuild Germany and Ja- pan, then come home to build families and businesses, have chil- Adriel Sanders. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Adriel is a dren and then grandchildren, and lead America to victory in the senior at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she is a double Cold War. Some went on to further greatness; others retired to quiet major in political science and journalism. Adriel plans on attending lives. All were instrumental in achieving victory in World War II. law school after graduation, and hopes to become a corporate law- yer or lobbyist, and might one day run for Congress. Now they are leaving us. Six decades after the end of World War II, only a fraction of the veterans who brought us victory remain. Yet All four interns did an outstanding job, and if they are any indica- there is still so much to learn from them. The mission of the World tion, the World War II generation has left us one final, great legacy: War II Veterans Committee from its inception has been to preserve children and grandchildren who respect the sacrifices made by those the legacy of the Greatest Generation for future generations. In the who came before them, and are eager to keep the spirit of the past year, we have seen that mission continue with the creation of Greatest Generation alive.