Freedom’s Voice The Monthly Newsletter of the Military History Center 112 N. Main ST Broken Arrow, OK 74012 http://www.okmhc.org/

“Promoting Patriotism through the Preservation of Military History”

Volume 7, Number 7 July 2020

Independence Day

Victory at Yorktown

John Trumbull’s painting of the British surrender at Yorktown

General George Washington, commander of the Continen- The MHC Receives ODL Grant tal Army, along with more than 7,000 French soldiers, com- st pelled the surrender of the British, commanded by Charles, 1 The Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL) has awarded a PPE Marquis Cornwallis, at the village of Yorktown, Virginia, on Oc- grant to the MHC to help purchase personal protective equipment tober 19, 1781. Lord Cornwallis was so despondent that he and supplies to help keep staff and visitors safer during the Covid-19 refused to participate in the surrender. He sent pandemic. The MHC is one of sixty-four Oklahoma institutions to Charles O’Hara to do the dirty work. O’Hara attempted to sur- receive a grant from the ODL courtesy of the Federal CARES Act and render to the French commander, the Comte de Rochambeau, the Institution of Museum and Library Services. The ODL distribut- ed a total of $60,000 to address the Covid-19 concerns of public who informed O’Hara that General Washington was command- libraries, tribal libraries, tribal cultural centers, museums and histor- er of the army. Because O’Hara was not commander of the ical sites in the state. British forces, Washington refused his sword and directed him The MHC will use the funds to provide Covid-19 related safety to Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who had surrendered and health items. “Our mission is to serve our community, and we Charleston to the British in 1780. In the painting, Lincoln is on want to continue that mission in the safest way we can,” said MHC the white horse with O’Hara walking at his side leading the Brit- President, Tom Mancino. ish and German soldiers to where they were to stack their arms. General Washington is on his horse in the background.

World War II Veteran Oscar Nipps, Jr. Graduates with BA Class of 2020

Oscar Nipps, Jr. (Junior) should have graduated from Broken Arrow High School in 1943, but his family had moved to Cali- fornia, and on December 7 of that year, he was drafted into the Army. The next year, he was fighting with the 5th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division on Leyte in the Phil- ippine Islands. In January 1945 through the end of the war, he was on Luzon, where he participated in the liberation of Santo Tomas civilian internment camp and the Battle of Manila. Jun- ior is a holder of a Bronze Star and other decorations. After the war, Junior returned to Broken Arrow but was too busy getting on with his life, marrying and raising a family to think of getting his high school diploma. When MHC docent Brad Heath learned of Junior’s story, he decided something should be done about getting a diploma for Junior. Brad con- tacted his friend, David Alexander, Broken Arrow High School’s Broken Arrow Mayor Craig Thurmond shares his thoughts on head football coach, who took the idea to Superintendent Dr. Junior’s achievements and his graduation. Janet Dunlop. “This diploma is a token of appreciation for all he did for our country and our community,” she said. “Mr. Nipps is officially part of the Broken Arrow Public Schools fami- ly, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to celebrate him.” So, it came to pass that on graduation night, June 30, 2020, in Broken Arrow High School Memorial Stadium, ninety-four-year-old Oscar Nipps, Jr. received his long-deferred high school diploma. Junior has been a presence at the Military History Center for several years, where he is the official greeter. He has also been featured in a number of stories in this newsletter. Earlier in the day on June 30, he was recognized by the Broken Arrow City Council, and the MHC hosted a pre-graduation party for him.

MHC docent, Brad Heath, shares his story about bringing Junior’s story to the attention of the Broken Arrow school system.

State Representative Ross Ford of Broken presents Junior with a Certificate of Recognition from the Oklahoma Legislature.

MAJ Jack O’Connor (USAF, Rtd.) presents Junior with a $25 gift certificate, courtesy of Charleston’s Restaurant in Broken Arrow. Additionally, Junior will receive a commendation signed by Governor Kevin Stitt for obtaining his diploma from Broken Arrow High School at age ninety-four.

Junior with Dr. Dunlop to his left and other Broken Arrow school officials.

Congratulations to Tech5 Oscar Nipps, Jr., 5th Cavalry Reg- iment, 1st Cavalry Division, World War II combat veteran and graduate of Broken Arrow High School, Class of 2020. Junior in his graduation robe with Dr. Dunlop The first link below is a short YouTube video about Junior created by Broken Arrow High School at the MHC. The second link is a 2017 interview with Junior by Joe L. Todd, an oral historian with the Oklahoma Historical Society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2snJxFnubo

https://www.examiner- enterprise.com/lifestyle/20171204/broken-arrow-man- served-in-philippines

Dr. Dunlop presents Junior with his diploma. (Graduation photos courtesy of Brad Heath)

The Navy’s Blue Angels over Mount Rushmore – July 3

This Month’s Featured Artifact

The American Heritage Girls and Trail Life Boys visited the MHC on June 23.

The MHC Needs Your Support

Because of the Covid-19 shutdown, the MHC has been closed, and we have not been able to hold any fundraising events. Museum fees and fundraising are our primary sources of operating revenue, and without them, we are feeling the pinch. We are asking for your financial support to help us continue our ongoing mission of promoting patriotism and recognizing the sacrifices made by our veterans, past

This month’s featured artifact is a nautical telescope used by the U.S. and present, to keep America free. We believe the MHC Navy ca. 1900. It’s a primitive range finder. It has an upper spotting provides a valuable service to the local community, espe- scope, and the circular disc on the side measures trajectory degrees. cially to veterans and students, by “Promoting Patriotism Keith Browne donated this artifact. through the Preservation of Military History”. For more information, please contact the Military His- tory Center at (918) 794-2712 to learn how you can be a financial supporter, or click on the link below to go to the MHC website at www.okmhc.org/donate/. Monetary donations are tax deductible, subject to IRS regulations.

Museum Hours and Admission Fee The MHC Salutes Veterans

Tuesday thru Friday: 10:00-4:00 Saturday: 10:00-2:00

Closed Sunday and Monday and on major Federal holidays United States Korean War Service Ribbon Adults – $5.00 Members and children under 18 – Free

For more information, call (918) 794-2712

United Nations Korean War Service Ribbon www.okmhc.org

Korean War: June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953

Korean War – Retreat to the Naktong River ever few and ill prepared, ground troops had to be sent to Ko- rea as soon as possible. When President Truman committed the United States to On June 30, GEN MacArthur ordered Eighth Army Com- th war in , he not only had not consulted with Congress, he mander, LTG Walton Walker, to order the 24 Infantry Division had not inquired of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) the readiness to Korea. Eighth Army formalized the order the next day. The of the armed forces. If he had, he might have had second first contingent would be a battalion of two rifle companies thoughts. The mighty war machine of World War II had been reinforced with two 4.2-inch heavy mortar platoons and one reduced to near nothingness. Truman was intent on balancing platoon of 75-mm recoilless rifles. The force was styled Task the federal budget without a tax increase. His principal target Force Smith, commanded by LTC Charles B. “Brad” Smith, st st th for cost reductions was the military. Budgets had been consist- commander of 1 BN, 21 Infantry Regiment of the 24 Divi- ently and drastically slashed every year from 1946. It was ini- sion. It was intended to try to slow down the NKPA. Walker th tially hoped that the mere fact of United Nations, primarily told MG William F. Dean, commander of the 24 ID, that he United States, intervention would be enough to cause the needed to buy time for Eighth Army to get the other occupa- North Koreans to withdraw back above the 38th Parallel. When tion divisions up to combat strength with men, weapons and th that didn’t happen, it was hoped that air power could handle matériel. The 24 ID would follow Task Force Smith to Korea as the situation. Within days, General Douglas MacArthur, who soon as possible. Smith cobbled together 440 men from the st had been appointed UN commander for Korea, informed the 21 Regiment of which only 406 actually made it to Korea. No JCS that air power couldn’t come close to stopping the North one expected Task Force Smith to accomplish much as it obvi- Korean Peoples Army (NKPA) and drive them out of South Ko- ously didn’t have the men or weapons to stop T-34 tanks or to rea. It would require ground forces, lots of them. do much damage to the NKPA infantry. Theirs was essentially a The first units that would be sent into the Korean war zone suicide mission. were those nearest Korea, those on occupation duty in Japan: the 7th, 24th, 25th infantry divisions and the 1st Cavalry Division, which had been dismounted before World War II and was ef- fectively an infantry division. The problem with these divisions was they were severely under strength as were all U.S. divisions other than the 82nd Airborne. The normal triangular formations then used by the American Army were severely under strength. There were only two companies of riflemen per battalion ra- ther than the prescribed three and two battalions per regiment rather than three and two regiments rather than three per divi- sion. The , armor and engineer battalions were in a like condition. Moreover, the occupation divisions had never trained for combat, were short of vehicles of all types, short of weapons and ammunition of all kinds and short of all other accouterments of war. Only a few of the NCOs and officers had Troops of Task Force Smith arriving in Taejon – July 2 any combat experience. Many of the field grade officers, even those who had seen combat, were now too old to be com- Task Force Smith took positions north of on the road manding battalions or regiments in war. The men in the ranks to about twenty-six miles south of that city. The first were barely trained and often had little or no knowledge of engagement between the Americans and the NKPA occurred their weapons and were physically soft from the easy living of on July 5. The oncoming NKPA tanks essentially ignored Task occupation duty. Moreover, the Republic of Korea (ROK) army Force Smith as the rockets from their 2.36-inch rocket launch- was in worse shape and had no weapons heavier than a few old ers (bazooka) as well as the 105-mm howitzers simply bounced 75-mm howitzers. The United States had refused to fully arm off the heavily armored tanks even when fired at pointblank the ROK army because it feared would initiate a range. The howitzer crews didn’t have armor piercing ammuni- war with the North. He was just as committed to reunification tion. In the meantime, Task Force Smith was forced to fall back as Kim Il-sung. Nevertheless, this is all that MacArthur initially in the face of overwhelming enemy numbers. had with which to confront the well-trained and well-armed MG Dean had set up his command post at Taejon, an im- NKPA. The NKPA was a powerful, ideologically committed army portant transportation juncture in central . Five that had been trained since 1945 by Soviet advisors and was roads came in and out of the town including one to Pusan that equipped with up-to-date weapons including the heavily ar- enabled reasonable resupply. The remainder of the 24th ID was mored, formidable T-34 tank and plenty of artillery. About a now entering Korea and as ROK and U.S. forces were being third of the 75,000 NKPA soldiers that entered South Korea forced south and southeast, Dean hoped to make a stand at were hardened veterans, who had served in the communist the Kum River, north of Taejon. That fell apart as the NKPA Chinese army during World War II and the Chinese civil war. flanked the position and in doing so overran the 63rd Field Artil- Notwithstanding the poor condition of the army in Japan, lery BN. Loss of the Kum River position and subsequent loses something had to be done to slow the onrushing NKPA. How- of other positions forced Dean to withdraw from Taejon south- east toward the Naktong River. As he was exiting Taejon on July 20, his driver took a wrong Oklahoma MIA Comes Home turn and the NKPA blocked the way to the proper road. They ended up in a dead-end situation and had to abandon their vehicle. They set out on foot across the hills. A few days later, as Dean was going to fill his and two other men’s canteens, he tripped, rolled down a steep hill and was knocked unconscious. When he recovered and went back up the hill, the two men were gone. Dean wandered around for the next thirty-six days trying to locate any American unit. He was captured on August 25, about thirty-five miles south of Taejon, when two Korean peasants led him into a trap set up by North Korean soldiers. In the end the 24th ID did its job of buying time for LTG Walker to set up a defensive perimeter at the Naktong River, which came to be called the Pusan Perimeter, and to get the Eighth Army into Korea.

Sources: MSGT James Lee Quong

Appleman, Roy E., South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu, Center of James Lee Quong was born at Fort Worth, , on Octo- Military History, , Washington, DC, 1961 ber 13, 1920. Quong adopted his step-father’s name. (We Halberstam, David, The Coldest Winter, America and the Korean War, don’t know his birth surname.) His family moved to Norman, Hyperion, New York, 2007 Oklahoma, when he was a boy. Quong joined the Oklahoma National Guard at age sixteen and briefly attended the Univer-

sity of Oklahoma. He was a sheet metal worker when he en- OK Hero Killed in Battle of Kum River listed in the Army in Oklahoma City on January 28, 1946. He was stationed in Japan, when the Korean War began. One of the soldiers killed, when the NKPA overran the 63rd On December 2, 1950, MSGT Quong was serving with Co. D, Field Artillery Battalion south of the Kum River was SGT Keith 1st BN, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division east of Belvin Rigney. He was born January 25, 1919, at Stroud, Okla- Chosin Reservoir. The overwhelming attack by Chinese Com- homa, and raised in Muskogee. He graduated from Muskogee munist Forces (CCF) surrounded his and the other units operat- Central High School, where he was a standout football and bas- ing on the east side of the reservoir. Their breakout failed when ketball player. He attended Oklahoma University on a football the CCF blocked the only escape route available, and the task scholarship. Rigney enlisted in the Army in 1940. He served in force was essentially destroyed. On December 31, 1953, MSGT Third Army in World War II from April 9, 1942, to September Quong was declared dead as of December 2, 1950. 25, 1945. He was awarded the Soldier's Medal for heroism MSGT James Lee Quong’s remains were among those in while serving with Third Army, Citation for Valor, National De- fifty-five boxes of remains returned on July 27, 2018, following fense Service Medal, European Theater Medal, Purple Heart the summit between President Trump and North Korean lead- and World War II Victory Medal. For his Korean War service, er, Kim Jong-un. His remains were identified on June 18, 2020. SGT Rigney was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star with Val- No funeral information has been announced. or Device, Purple Heart, United States Korean War Service

Medal and United Nations Korean War Service Medal. (We could not find a photo of SGT Rigney.) SGT Keith Blevin Rigney was laid to rest in Memorial Park Cemetery in Muskogee. He is one of the five heroes honored by Tulsa’s American Legion, Post No. 1 as the name of the Post. ( Source: https://centennial.legion.org/oklahoma/post1?p=about)

Basic training graduation ceremony – BTRY A, 1st Battalion, 19th Field Crest of the 63rd Field Artillery Battalion Artillery Regiment, 434th Field Artillery Brigade, The Hawaiian language motto translates to January 24, 2020 “Born to Battle”. Maggie Bond Receives 2020 Diana Award oration held on August 12 of that year. Since then, she has sung at every MHC public event.

Maggie Bond Maggie singing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” at the 2019 The Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Award was estab- End of World War II Commemoration in Broken Arrow’s Veterans Park. lished in 1999 by a board chaired by the then Chancellor, Gor- don Brown, who felt that the award would reflect the personal Everyone at the MHC congratulates Maggie for all her work interest of Diana, Princess of Wales, in supporting the out- and achievements that merited this prestigious award. We are standing achievements of young people. The Award is the most proud of her association with the MHC and wish her the utmost prestigious accolade a young person aged nine to twenty-five success as she continues her mission: The Solution to Inclusion. can receive for their social action or humanitarian work. The charity’s mission “is to foster, develop and inspire positive change in the lives of young people”. The Award statement from the Diana Award website: “Maggie is dedicated to serving others and especially commit- ted to helping give a voice and fostering inclusive opportunities for the disabled community. Through her project, “The Solution to Inclusion”, she has raised awareness of issues faced by peo- ple living with disabilities and champions inclusion in schools, communities and companies. This is a personal cause for Mag- gie, whose brothers live with autism, and one that has motivat- ed her to overcome her own personal challenges. Her tireless work spans a long list of organizations from Best Buddies Inter- national to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, in addition to an estimated $25,000 in personal fundraising”. Dennis Hoch, the MHC’s lead docent, nominated Maggie for the award based on her work as described in the above state- ment. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 awards ceremony was a virtual event. Maggie was one of the 200 or so awardees from all over the world. Margaret “Maggie” Bond is a native of Broken Arrow and a 2014 graduate of Broken Arrow High School. She is also a grad- uate of Oklahoma City University, where she studied for a F-16 (Viper) Fighting Falcon of the Oklahoma Air National Guard’s Bachelor of Arts in Music Vocal Performance and holds a 138th Fighter Wing refueling over downtown Tulsa at night. Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in economics.

Maggie is a past Miss Tulsa, Miss Broken Arrow, Miss Bricktown (Oklahoma City) and second runner-up in the 2019 Miss Okla- homa Pageant. She has an operatic voice; thus, the talent por- Because of the upsurge in Covid-19 cases in the state, the tion of her pageants has been singing. MHC Board of Directors has decided to cancel the 2020 Maggie has been associated with the MHC since 2017, Trivia Event, which had been scheduled for August 13. when she first performed at the End of World War II Commem- Seventy-five Years Ago, This Month

First nuclear explosion, a plutonium implosion device, was detonated After delivering components of the atomic bomb, “Little Boy”, to Tini- on the USAAF Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, now part of an, USS Indianapolis sailed on to the Philippines. The Japanese sub- White Sands Missile Range, in New Mexico – July 16. marine, I-58, torpedoed her on July 30. Indianapolis sank in twelve

minutes with the loss of an estimated 300 lives. 890 survivors of the sinking languished on life rafts until August 2, when they were acci- dently discovered by an American aircraft. Only 317 of the crew sur- vived. Second to USS Arizona, Indianapolis was greatest naval disaster in U.S. history.

Local Sailor Goes Down with Indianapolis

U.S. and British naval aircraft sank a Japanese aircraft carrier, three battleships, five cruisers and several smaller ships at Kure and in the Inland Sea, Japan – July 24-28.

Seaman First Class George Robert Smith died on July 30, 1945, when Indianapolis was torpedoed and sunk. We could find no personal in-

formation about him other than he was born ca. 1925, probably in British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Harry S. Truman, Tulsa, and his marriage to Helen Roberta Jones in Tulsa on May 25, and Soviet General Secretary Josef Stalin met at Potsdam, a suburb of 1945. She was living in Broken Arrow at the time of her husband’s , for the final leadership conference of World War II – July 17 to death. S1 George Robert Smith’s name is engraved on the Tablets of August 2. The leaders agreed on the Potsdam Declaration stating the the Missing in Manila American Cemetery. He will be forever MIA. terms for the Japanese surrender. Oklahoma’s Fallen Heroes of the Iraq and Wars

PVT Jerod Rhoton Dennis SPC Jonathan Paul Barnes

Jerod Rhoton Dennis was born at Antlers, Oklahoma, on Jonathan Paul Barnes was born at Muskogee, Oklahoma, on October 18, 1983. He graduated from Antlers High School and January 19, 1982. He attended school in Coweta, Oklahoma, went immediately into the Army. After basic training, he but was home schooled after the sixth grade. He enlisted in entered airborne school and received his paratrooper wings in the Army at Joplin, Missouri, and completed basic training at 2002. Dennis was assigned to Co. B, 3rd Battalion, 504th , . Barnes was assigned to HHC, 1st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On April 23, 2003, PVT Dennis “was part of a quick reaction On July 26, 2003, Barnes and another soldier were killed by force that was moving to reinforce American soldiers in contact a grenade thrown from a window of a civilian hospital northeast of the Shkin Firebase along the Afghanistan-Pakistan they were guarding. SPC Jonathan Paul Barnes was buried in border. His actions under overwhelming direct enemy fire were New Bethel Cemetery at Anderson, Missouri. instrumental in the survival of an American casualty and his fellow soldiers.” (Quoted from PFC Dennis’s Citation, awarded posthumously on June 19, 2003.) Dennis was killed in the firefight. PVT Dennis was posthumously promoted to Private First Class. He was nineteen years old.

Fellow paratroopers carry PFC Dennis to his final resting place in Sugar Creek Cemetery at Soper (Choctaw County), Oklahoma. Jerod Rhoton Dennis, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, was honored with a 21-gun salute by the Choctaw Nation Color Guard, followed by Taps. Mr. Crest of the 67th Armored Regiment Arthur Ketcheshawno sang the Choctaw “Warrior Song” in his honor. “Death Dealers” – Motto of 1st Battalion

“Little Boy”

“Little Boy”, a gun-type uranium bomb, was the first of two atomic bombs dropped on Japan, in the bomb pit on Tinian Island, before being loaded into Enola Gay's bomb bay.

Freedom is not free.

Freedom’s Voice is the voice of MVA, Inc. dba Military History Center, a 501(C)3 private foundation, as a service to its members and supporters. Contents may be reproduced only when in the best interest of the Military History Center. Please direct comments or suggestions to the Editor at [email protected]. Ken Cook, Editor