08 April 1945

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

8 April, 1945

Paris Sunday Morning

Wilma, darling –

It’s a fine day here today and we’re going to take a regular tour around the city after lunch. Up to now we’ve just been going here and there and seeing what we’ve wanted. Yesterday we went around to do a bit of shopping – but believe me – c’est formidable! In the evening we went to the night club area – in the Montmartre Section – the area is Pigalle and obviously is known to all Americans as pig alley. We got into a club known as the Tabarin – known for its floor show – which was good. But everything in Paris is on the racket basis – and beats London – six different ways.

But the 3 of us are having a swell time and the Army really knows what it’s doing when it makes these trips available. We’re tired and yet relaxed. The change is good. Going to eat now, sweetheart. Will write tomorrow. Love to the folks – and for now –

All my everlasting love –

Greg

Except for the straight-edged pictures,
the following photos were taken by Greg
on 7-8 April 1945 during his Paris leave.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]


Paris - Air View of the Isle of the City - April 1945


Paris - Tower Eiffel - April 1945


Paris - Eiffel Tower - April 1945


Marks on Columns - Result of Brief Fight on Day of Liberation


Paris - Fountain - Place de la Concorde - April 1945


Paris - Cathedral - Notre Dame - April 1945


Paris - Royal Residence - April 1945


Paris - Looking from Louvre Station
Down to Place D'Opera - April 1945


Paris - Folies Bergere - April 1945
"Like everyone else, I had to go see it, too"


Paris - Major Glenn Miller Band at the Olympia - April 1945
"GIs wondering if they'll go in.
Miller missing - but band retains name."


Paris - "Fashion Show (I didn't go in)." - April 1945


Paris - Montmartre - Ticket for Club Tabarin - April 1945

* TIDBIT *

about The Merkers Mine Treasure

The following has been extracted from the National Archives "Prologue Magazine" web site:

Just before noon on April 4, the village of Merkers fell to the 3rd Battalion of the 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division, Third Army. During April 4 and 5, displaced persons in the vicinity interrogated by the Counter Intelligence Corps personnel mentioned rumors of a recent movement of German Reichsbank gold from Berlin to the Wintershal AG's Kaiseroda potassium mine at Merkers.

Early the next morning, two military policemen guarding the road entering Keiselbach from Merkers saw two women approaching and promptly stopped them. While they were being driven back into Merkers, their driver saw the Kaiseroda mine and asked the women what sort of a mine it was. They said it was the mine in which the German gold reserve and valuable artworks had been deposited several weeks before. On 6 April Lieutenant Colonel William A. Russell, the 90th Infantry Division's Civilian Affairs officer, proceeded to the mine and was told that the works of art stored in the mine were cared for by Dr. Paul Ortwin Rave, curator of the German State Museum and assistant director of the National Galleries, both in Berlin. Russell questioned Rave as well as Werner Veick, the head cashier of the Reichsbank's Foreign Notes Department who was also at the mine.  Veick indicated that the gold in the mine constituted the entire reserve of the Reichsbank in Berlin.

With this evidence, Russell requested that the 712th Tank Battalion be ordered to proceed to Merkers to guard the entrances to the mine. Elements of the 90th Division Military Police were also deployed about the entrances, and arrangements were made for generation of power and electricity at the mine so that the shafts could be entered for examination the next morning. When it was learned that there were at least five possible entrances to the mine, the 90th Infantry Division's commanding general called the 357th Infantry Regiment and ordered that its First Battalion proceed to Merkers to relieve the 90th Division Military Police and reinforce the 712th Tank Battalion. Word was passed on to the Corps Commander, Major General Manton S. Eddy, who immediately called Patton and informed him of the capture of the German gold reserves at Merkers. Patton, who had been burned on so many rumors, told him not to mention the capture of the gold until they definitely confirmed it.

Throughout most of the war, the bulk of the German gold reserves had been held at the Reichsbank in Berlin. In 1943, late 1944 and early 1945, as American bombing of Berlin increased and the Allies pushed toward the city, some of the gold reserve and a large quantity of Reichmarks were dispersed from Berlin to branch banks in central and southern Germany. On 3 February 1945, 937 B-17 bombers of the Eighth Air Force dropped nearly twenty-three hundred tons of bombs on Berlin, causing the near demolition of the Reichsbank, including its presses for printing currency. On 11 February most of the gold reserves, including gold brought back from the branch banks to Berlin for shipment to Merkers, currency reserves totaling a billion Reichsmarks bundled in one thousand bags, and a considerable quantity of foreign currency, were transported by rail to Merkers. Once the train reached Merkers, the treasure was unloaded and placed in a special vault area in the mine designated Room No. 8.

The Schutzstaffeln's (SS) Office for Economy and Administration, which operated the concentration camps, also wanted their loot held by the Reichsbank to be sent to Merkers for safekeeping. From 26 August 1942, until 27 January 1945, the SS made seventy-six deliveries to the Reichsbank of property seized from concentration camp victims. Gold jewelry was sold abroad; gold of some fineness was sold either to the Prussian Mint or to Degussa, a large German industrial firm that engaged in the refinement of precious metals. Much of the miscellaneous jewelry was sold through the Berlin Municipal Pawn Shop. By early 1945, much of the loot had been processed, but a significant amount still remained with the Reichsbank. The confiscated property on hand in March 1945 consisted of all kinds of gold and silver items ranging from dental work to cigarette cases, diamonds, gold and silver coins, foreign currencies, and gold and silver bars. The gold and silver bars were placed in 18 bags, and the remainder of the loot was placed in 189 suitcases, trunks, and boxes and, along with other items, were sent by rail to Merkers on 18 March. Additionally, between 20 March and 31 March the Germans transported one-fourth of the major holdings of fourteen of the principal Prussian state museums to Merkers.

At 10 a.m. on 7 April, Russell, the assistant division commander, and two other 90th Infantry Division officers, Signal Corps photographers, Rave, and German mining officials entered the mine. The elevator took them to the bottom of the main shaft twenty-one hundred feet beneath the surface. In the main haulage way, stacked against the walls, they found 550 bags of Reichsmarks. Moving down the tunnel, the Americans found the main vault to be blocked by a brick wall three feet thick, enclosing a portion of the mine at least one hundred feet wide with a large bank-type steel safe door, complete with combination lock and timing mechanism with a heavy steel door set in the middle of it. Attempts to open the steel vault door were unsuccessful and arrangements were made for blasting an entrance in the vault the following morning.

Early on 8 April 1945 Earnest, Russell, a public affairs officer, photographers, reporters, and elements of the 282d Engineer Combat Battalion entered the mine. The engineers, using a half-stick of dynamite, blasted an entrance though the masonry wall. The Americans entered the vault, so-called Room No. 8, which was approximately 75 feet wide by 150 feet long with a 12-foot-high ceiling, well lighted but not ventilated. Tram railway tracks ran down the center of the cavern. On either side of the tracks, stretching to the back of the cavern, were more than seven thousand bags, stacked knee-high, laid out in twenty rows with approximately two and a half feet between rows. All of the bags and containers were marked, and the gold bags were sealed. Baled currency was found stacked along one side of the vault along with gold balances and other Reichsbank equipment. At the back of the cavern, occupying an area twenty by thirty feet, were 18 bags and 189 suitcases, trunks, and boxes. Each container bore a packing slip showing the contents. It was all SS loot.

Merkers Mine - Bags of Gold - April 1945

In order to examine the contents, some of the seals on the bags were broken, and a partial inventory was made. The inventory indicated that there were 8,198 bars of gold bullion; 55 boxes of crated gold bullion; hundreds of bags of gold items; over 1,300 bags of gold Reichsmarks, British gold pounds, and French gold francs; 711 bags of American twenty-dollar gold pieces; hundreds of bags of gold and silver coins; hundreds of bags of foreign currency; 9 bags of valuable coins; 2,380 bags and 1,300 boxes of Reichsmarks (2.76 billion Reichsmarks); 20 silver bars; 40 bags containing silver bars; 63 boxes and 55 bags of silver plate; 1 bag containing six platinum bars; and 110 bags from various countries.

While the treasure was being reviewed on 8 April, in other tunnels Americans found an enormous cache of artworks. Late that day, Captain Robert Posey, a Museum, Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) officer, and Major Perera, G-5, Third Army, arrived to inspect the artworks and the gold and currency. On 8 April Patton learned that in addition to the paper money found the day before, his soldiers had found a significant quantity of gold, and he also learned that the press had found out about the Merkers mine and had published stories about the capture of the gold. Patton called General Omar N. Bradley, commander of the U.S. Twelfth Army Group, and told him that owing to the amount of the seizure and the fact that it had been made public, he believed it was now a political question and requested that Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, be asked to send somebody to take it over.

Merkers Mine - Manet's Wintergarden - April 1945

The person who would take over the Merkers operation was Colonel Bernard D. Bernstein, deputy chief, Financial Branch, G-5 Division of SHAEF. Late on the morning of April 8, Bernstein, at SHAEF headquarters at Versailles, read a front-page story in the Paris edition of the New York Herald Tribune about the discovery of the gold and other treasures at Merkers. On the evening of 10 April, Bernstein drove to Patton's headquarters. Patton told Bernstein that he was very glad Eisenhower was taking responsibility for the gold. Bernstein told him that he wanted to move the Merkers treasure to Frankfurt as quickly as possible and that under the Big Three arrangements at Yalta, the Merkers part of Germany would be taken over by the Russians after the war and that they certainly needed to get the treasure out of the area before the Russians got there. Astounded at what Bernstein told him, not knowing about the postwar arrangements, Patton said he would do everything possible to facilitate Bernstein's mission.

Bernard Bernstein
(30 November 1908 - 6 February 1990)

On the morning, 12 April, Bernstein was at the mine very early to ensure everything was prepared for a visit by Eddy, Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower and members of their staffs. Bernstein met them at the mine entrance, took the generals and several German officials into the mine, and they descended by elevator. As the jittery elevator descended with ever-accelerating speed down the pitch-black shaft, with a German operating the elevator, Bernstein was concerned about their safety. So was Patton. Looking at the single cable, Patton said if the cable snapped "promotions in the United States Army would be considerably stimulated." General Eisenhower said "OK George, that's enough. No more cracks until we are above ground again."

The generals entered Room No. 8 and looked around in awe at the captured gold. They then inspected the SS loot. Eisenhower was moved by the experience. "Crammed into suitcases and trunks and other containers was a great amount of gold and silver plate and ornament obviously looted from private dwellings throughout Europe" he wrote. "All the articles," he noted, "had been flattened by hammer blows, obviously to save storage space, and then merely thrown into the receptacle, apparently pending an opportunity to melt them down into gold or silver bars." Later Patton would write that he saw "a number of suitcases filled with jewelry, such as silver and gold cigarette cases, wrist-watch cases, spoons, forks, vases, gold-filled teeth, false teeth, etc." acquired by "bandit methods." Eisenhower was very interested in learning what was in the mine. Bernstein informed the generals that some of the treasure had come from victims in the concentration camps; how the treasure had come to be shipped there; and estimates as to its value. He also told them he was planning to take an inventory of everything and to move the treasures to Frankfurt. Eisenhower and the other generals concurred with Bernstein's plans.

Eddy, Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower
Inspect a Suitcase of SS Loot
Merkers Mine - April 1945

Bernstein also showed the generals the art treasures, plates the Reichsbank used for the printing of the Reichsmark currency, and the currency itself. While they were looking at the latter, a German official said that they were the last reserves in Germany and were badly needed to pay the German army. "I doubt," Bradley interjected, "the German Army will be meeting payrolls much longer." Near the end of the inspection, Bradley said to Patton, "If these were the old free-booting days when a soldier kept his loot you'd be the richest man in the world." Patton just grinned. With that said, the one-hour inspection concluded, and the party, which had included newspapermen and Signal Corps photographers taking numerous photos of the inspection, returned to the surface.

Bradley, Patton and Eisenhower Inspect Artworks
Merkers Mine - April 1945

Between 14 and 17 April, the findings in the Merkers mine were moved to Frankfurt. On April 18 Bernstein sent a detailed report of the activities that had taken place during the preceding two weeks. He concluded by observing that "the Germans hid their assets in mines and other secret places in Germany, presumably with the intent of maintaining a source of financing of pro-Nazi activity." "Many of these caches," he continued, "have not yet been uncovered and should be ferreted out as soon as operations permit." He observed that it was "necessary that some procedure be established for analyzing and utilizing the property and records found in the Merkers area and those uncovered in the future." "Intelligence reports," he wrote, "indicate that just as the Germans secreted assets and valuable property within Germany, they also made elaborate arrangements for secreting assets in neutral and other nations of the world." "Every step should be taken," he urged, "in Germany to obtain information of the assets secreted both inside and outside Germany so that these assets cannot be used to perpetuate Nazism or contribute to the rebuilding of Nazi influence."

Despite a lack of great interest, Bernstein, with a small reconnaissance party in Jeeps, left Frankfurt on April 19 in search of more loot. During the next two weeks his teams covered nineteen hundred miles, checking Reichsbanks all over American occupied Germany and following up every lead regarding the whereabouts of gold. Of all the places visited by the reconnaissance parties, only three actually yielded recoveries of the so-called Reichsbank gold in the amount of $3 million. During May and June American soldiers found Reichsbank gold valued at about $11 million. Altogether the Americans had recovered 98.6 percent of the $255.96 million worth of gold shown on the closing balances of the Precious Metals Department of the Berlin Reichsbank.

In mid-August experts from the United States Treasury Department and the Bank of England completed the job of weighing and appraising the gold, gold coin, and silver bars that had been captured. The total value of the gold found in Germany was placed at $262,213,000. Also weighed and appraised was $270,469 worth of silver, as well as a ton of platinum. Eight bags of rare gold coins had not been appraised, nor had the SS loot.

During the summer of 1945, Allied currencies found at Merkers and elsewhere by the Americans were returned to various countries, and the process of restituting the artworks found at Merkers and elsewhere in the former German Reich began. The gold found at Merkers was eventually turned over to the Tripartite Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold (TGC) for distribution to countries whose central-bank gold had been stolen by the Nazis. The TGC began the process of getting the gold returned to most countries as quickly as possible. However, cold war factors resulted in some of the gold not being restituted until 1996.

The accomplishments of recovering, moving, and managing the Merkers treasure by Colonel Bernstein and his colleagues may or may not have shortened the war. But they did block the Nazi leaders from further use of their looted gold and property of victims of their persecution. Their actions also ensured that the central banks of Europe would recover at least some of the gold the Nazis had seized and that some funds would be available for restitution to individuals. At an international Nazi Gold conference held in 1997, several countries agreed to relinquish their claims to their share of the remaining 5.5 metric tons (worth about sixty million dollars) still held by the TGC and donate it to a Nazi Persecution Relief Fund to help survivors of the Holocaust. Almost all of the claimant nations similarly agreed to such a policy during the course of 1998. Early in September 1998, in a ceremony held in Paris, the TGC announced its task was completed and went out of business. Thus, the Merkers story ends on a noble, selfless, just, and moral note, as upwards of fifteen countries were willing to forego receiving gold stolen from their nations by the Nazis and allow it to be used as compensation for victims of Nazi persecution.

Two videos about the Merker Mine follow. The first is a British PBS Channel 4 Documentaries exploring the Merkers Mine. The second, silent original U.S. Army footage donated to the Harry S. Truman Library by Col Bernard Bernstein, shows the mine being "liberated" in April of 1945.

07 April 1945

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

7 April, 1945

Paris

Dearest Sweetheart –

This is the 1st time in 2 days I’ve had a chance to write you. We didn’t get in until fairly late last nite – having been on the road – truck and train – for 2 days and one night. I almost believed it wasn’t worth coming back so far – but this is the city. I really didn’t get a chance to see it when I was here in August. It’s beautiful!

I’m writing this from one of the several officers’ ARC clubs that are in the city. We’re sleeping and eating here. I’m here with Major [Ernest L.] Bolick and Mr. [John D.] Sandri of our outfit and this p.m. we’re just going to look around and sight-see. We have 2 days more here – leaving Monday p.m.

I hope you’ll excuse the V-Mail darling, but that’s all that’s available here and besides – the fellows want to get going. All for now, dear, love to the folks and

All my deepest love

Greg

P.S. And I love you from here, too, G.

The following photos were taken by Greg
on 7-8 April 1945 during his Paris leave.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Paris - Our Sightseeing Bus
No - Don't Look for Me. I took it
April 1945


Paris - Enter the Men's Sidewalk Toilet - April 1945


Paris - Exit the Men's Sidewalk Toilet - April 1945


Paris - Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel - April 1945


Paris - Opera House - April 1945


Paris - Lafayette - April 1945


Paris - Joan of Arc - April 1945


Paris - Bicycles with Carriages for Hire - April 1945


Paris - Some GIs Out for a Ride - April 1945


Paris - Greg in a Buggy - April 1945


Paris - Sidewalk Cafe - April 1945


Paris - Cafe de la Paix - Famous Meeting Place
Greg with Major Bolick and Warrant Officer Sandri
"Wasn't Drinking a Thing!"
April 1945


Two Paris Street Scenes - April 1945



Paris - A Hat Shop - April 1945
"Camera didn't quite catch the latest styles."


Paris - The Latest Styles - April 1945

* TIDBIT *

about The Sonderkommando Elbe

Rammjäger Sonderkommando "ELBE" (Ram Fighters, Task Force Elbe) was the name of a World War II Luftwaffe task force assigned to bring down Allied bombers by ramming German aircraft into the bombers. There were 2,000 volunteers out of which 300 inexperienced fighter pilots were selected. Their motto was "Treu, Tapfer, Gehorsam", or "Good, Brave, Obedient."

According to Wikipedia, the intent of this operation was to suspend Allied tactical bombing for four to six weeks while manufacturing a significant number of the Me 262 jet fighters. Sonderkommando literally means "special command", and Elbe is a river that runs through Germany to the North Sea. While the Luftwaffe had a ready supply of airplanes at this point in the war, well-trained pilots and fuel were two components in short supply. Despite the grim 10% chance of survival of such a mission, the unit was not a true "suicide unit" in that the pilots were expected to either attempt to bail out just before colliding with the Allied aircraft, or attempt to bail out after colliding. This is unlike the Japanese Kamikaze attacks, in which Japanese pilots had no chance of survival, as the explosives detonated with the crash of the aircraft itself.

The aircraft of choice for this mission was a Messerschmitt Bf 109 stripped of armor and armament. The chopped-up planes had one machine gun instead of four and were only allotted 60 rounds each, a joke when it came to defensive fighters. To accomplish this mission, pilots would typically aim for one of three sensitive areas on the bombers. The easiest part of an Allied bomber to damage was the tail assembly, with its delicate control surfaces on the elevator and rudder. Another potential target were the engine nacelles, which connected to the highly explosive fuel system. The final target, the cockpit, was also the most gruesome. One of the most famous reports of cockpit ramming was against the Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber, nicknamed "Palace of Dallas", along with another bomber that the German plane careened into after slicing the cockpit of the "Palace of Dallas".

The task force's only mission was flown on 7 April 1945 by a sortie of 180 Bf 109s. While only 15 Allied bombers were attacked in this manner, eight were successfully destroyed. 120 German pilots died. The mission, which caused no halt to the bombings of the United States Army Air Force, was considered such a failure that news of it was squashed.

Hans-Joachim "Hajo" Herrmann (1 August 1913 – 5 November 2010),a leading exponent of the tactical deployment of the so-called Rammjäger Sonderkommando Elbe was captured by the Soviets after the war and held prisoner for 10 years before returning to Germany in 1955. Once back, he studied law and settled in Düsseldorf. Among others, he defended Otto Ernst Remer, the head of the neo-Nazi Socialist Reich Party; and the Holocaust deniers David Irving, and Fred A. Leuchter. In 1959 Herrmann married the German soprano Ingeborg Reichelt, and the couple had two children.

06 April 1945

No letter today. Just this:

* TIDBIT *

about The Divine Wind:
Japanese Kamikazes

From the Japan Powered website comes this information:

Once in 1274 and again in 1275, Kublai Khan, a Mongol emperor, massed a large fleet for the invasion of Japan. The Japanese nation had little to defend itself with, and a Mongol conquest seemed certain. As the fleet massed outside Tokyo Bay gathered to attack, a typhoon came up and either sank all the ships or blew them back to China. They called the second storm, which the Japanese believed was sent by the gods to save their nation, the "Divine Wind." In Japanese, the name is "Kamikaze."

By August of 1944, the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy had very few bases and aircraft carriers, and even fewer planes with which to carry out offensive operations against the American fleet. Certain admirals in the Japanese navy began exploring the use of rather extraordinary "special tactics" they felt would best utilize the dwindling number of aircraft and pilots at their disposal. Vice Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi, Japan's foremost expert on naval aviation and at one time Admiral Isoroko Yamamotoþs close advisor on the subject, formulated a plan wherein Japanese pilots would use planes as manned missiles, the advantage being that the pilots of the suicide planes would be easy to train. They’d only need to learn how to take off, not land. The Vice Admiral believed these suicide bombers would terrify the Allies and boost morale among the Japanese populace. The formal name of the unit that had this mission was the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps.

Oddly enough, the Japanese were not the originators of the term kamikaze as suicide pilots. The pilots were dubbed Shinpu. It was American translators who saw the characters forming the word as being an allusion to the nation-saving storms of the past. This slip in interpretation eventually got back to the Japanese, who adopted it as their own.

The kamikazes were unique in military history. Death in war is inevitable, but Japanese naval doctrine prior to 1944 forbid carrying out a mission unless there was some chance of survival. Adhering to the code of bushido (code of the warrior), all Japanese military men were prepared to die for the Emperor. This stemmed from the Japanese ideal of "The Path of Eternal Duty," the belief that family and individual welfare were not important when compared to the long history of the Empire. Japanese literature is replete with examples of warriors who died a glorious death on behalf of the Emperor.

The kamikazes, however, were the first unit to actually seek death in battle. This concept was repugnant in the West, and there were those on the Japanese Imperial General Staff who objected to this strategy. They felt this step was needless, a waste of men, and an acknowledgement that Japan had lost the war. In spite of this opposition, Ohnishi lobbied strongly for his plan, and it was finally, if reluctantly, accepted.

From PBS's website called American Experience comes this:

On 6 April 1945, the first wave of ten coordinated attacks began to hit the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet off the coast of Okinawa. Ships in the Fifth Fleet had experienced suicide attacks before -- but never on such a scale. The terrifying sight of Japanese pilots diving their planes into ships would become common over the next two and a half months. Aircraft carriers and battleships were supposed to be the main targets, but the ships that suffered the most damage were the destroyers and smaller vessels assigned to protect the fleet from incoming attacks.

Pilots Willing to Die
One such destroyer was the U.S.S. Newcomb. The Newcomb had seen combat before, at the Mariana Islands, Peleliu, Palau and in the Philippines. But it was at Okinawa that she would fight her fiercest battle. On board the destroyer was 21-year-old John Chapman, a First Class Boatswains Mate, and gun captain of a five-inch gun. Facing enemy pilots willing to give their lives to sink his ship struck him as almost incomprehensible.

"It didn't make you feel good. I don't know whether that's 'terrified' or not, but it didn't make you feel too well because of it, knowing that people would do a thing like that. You know, people we had always known weren't like that. They were brave people and so forth, and they fight, but weren't someone to just deliberately take their lives to take yours."

Watching Kamikazes Attack
More than 300 kamikazes departed Southern Kyushu on April 6. Their target was the U.S. Fifth Fleet stationed in support of the battle being waged on Okinawa. As the Japanese pilots approached, they broke off into smaller attack groups. John Chapman was at his gun post at the stern of the U.S.S. Newcomb.

"There was probably 45 planes in the air. Well, it was a scary situation, because you knew that they were going to dive on you. You could be firing on the aircraft, and they'd come right on, just keep coming right on through that. And you'd see pieces flying over the planes and everything else, and they'd just keep right on a-coming."

A Roaring Inferno
The Newcomb shot down four enemy planes. Five others hit the ship. Those on board who were not killed or injured fought desperately not only to put out the raging fires and repair damaged engines, but also to keep firing at an enemy dead set on sinking them. The scene aboard the Newcomb was repeated on many vessels of the fleet that day.

"It was hot. The fires were just raging totally out of control. Between the bridge and the afterdeck house, that's a big percent of the ship. It was nothing but a roaring inferno. The flames were shooting. They said [it] was high as 1,000 feet in the air off the Newcomb."

Overboard
Firefighters battling the raging fires forced John Chapman and an injured friend to jump overboard. There was no space left for them on the stern to remain. Chapman handed his life belt to the injured friend and, once in the water, towed him to the safety of a lifeboat. They were later rescued along with many others in the waters off Okinawa.

Aftermath
Ninety-one sailors were killed or wounded on the U.S.S. Newcomb. Many of those who were injured suffered devastating burns. But despite suffering at the hands of the five kamikazes, the crew of the Newcomb kept their vessel afloat and earned the Navy Unit Commendation and eight battle stars for World War II service. John Chapman would earn a bronze star for his service; years later, his view of his heroism is clear-eyed:

"People try to glorify wars and so forth. There's people that do outstanding things, but there's nothing really glorious about a war. You do wars to protect your country if you have to, and that's the only time you should ever do it."

From the Smithsonian Channel comes this video
about the Kamikaze action at Okinawa:

05 April 1945

No letter today. Just this:

* TIDBIT *

about "Roosevelt and the Saudi Arabian King"

The following is an article published in November of 2010 on the historical documents blog of CrethiPlethi, "a non-profit, non-partisan online news magazine on Middle Eastern affairs produced by the Middle East Affairs Information Center based in the Netherlands, run and produced on a voluntary basis by an editorial team and expanding pool of contributors committed to discussing the Middle East, Israel, the Arab World, Southwest Asia and the (Islamic) Maghreb. The site currently publishes posts both in English and in Dutch."

Before and during World War II, the United States had an interest in friendship with Arab countries because of the US need for oil. During World War II, they also wanted assurance from Saudi Arabia concerning supplies of oil needed for the war in Europe and the Pacific. President Roosevelt also had to deal with the strong support for the Zionist movement in America.

In February 1945, following the Yalta Conference with Stalin and Churchill, President Roosevelt and King Ibn Saud met aboard the U.S.S. Quincy in the Great Bitter Lake of the Suez Canal. During the meeting, instigated by President Roosevelt, he tried to persuade Saud to give support for Jewish immigration to Palestine and hoped that Ibn Saud might be able to offer constructive advice on the Palestine issue. There, Roosevelt and Saud concluded a secret agreement in which the U.S. would provide Saudi Arabia military security — military assistance, training and a military base at Dhahran in Saudi Arabia — in exchange for secure access to supplies of oil.

King Ibn Saud and President Franklin D. Roosevelt
15 February 1945

Regarding Jews, Saud expressed sympathy for their plight, but he argued that a homeland for Jews in Palestine would be unfair to Palestinian Arabs. On the issue of Palestine, Ibn Saud was uncompromising.

President Roosevelt, constrained by the uncompromising attitude of Ibn Saud and impressed by the simple clarity with which Ibn Saud presented the Arab case, gave two undertakings to Ibn Saud; first that he would do nothing to assist the Jews against the Arabs in Palestine and, secondly, that he would never do anything to harm the Arab people. He promised that the United States Government would not make any changes to its policy on Palestine without prior consultation with both the Arabs and the Jews.

These verbal assurances were confirmed in a letter, dated 5 April 1945, in which Roosevelt made it clear that he was committing himself, not as an individual, but as “Chief of the Executive Branch” of the United States Government. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 and his policy was subsequently reversed by his successor, Harry Truman who was a strong supporter of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

With strong support from President Truman — and little from the U.S. State Department — the UN’s partition plan [1947] won a majority in the UN General Assembly. Truman had chosen the interests of Jews rather than give precedence to Saudi oil, and King Saud’s second son, Prince Faisal, in New York for the vote, felt betrayed.

Here is the letter President Roosevelt sent to King Ibn Saud:

GREAT AND GOODFRIEND:

I have received the communication which Your Majesty sent me under date of March 10, 1945, in which you refer to the question of Palestine and to the continuing interest of the Arabs in current developments affecting that country.

I am gratified that Your Majesty took this occasion to bring your views on this question to my attention and I have given the most careful attention to the statements which you make in your letter. I am also mindful of the memorable conversation which we had not so long ago and in the course of which I had an opportunity to obtain so vivid an impression of Your Majesty’s sentiments on this question.

Your Majesty will recall that on previous occasions I communicated to you the attitude of the American Government toward Palestine and made clear our desire that no decision be taken with respect to the basic situation in that country without full consultation with both Arabs and Jews. Your Majesty will also doubtless recall that during our recent conversation I assured you that I would take no action, in my capacity as Chief of the Executive Branch of this Government, which might prove hostile to the Arab people.

It gives me pleasure to renew to Your Majesty the assurances which you have previously received regarding the attitude of my Government and my own, as Chief Executive, with regard to the question of Palestine and to inform you that the policy of this Government in this respect is unchanged.

I desire also at this time to send you my best wishes for Your Majesty’s continued good health and for the welfare of your people.

Your Good Friend,
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

His Majesty
ABDUL AZIZ IBN ABDUR RAHMAN AL FAISAL AL SAUD
King of Saudi Arabia
Riyadh

After the Roosevelt-Ibn Saud meeting on a cruiser in the Suez Canal, Ibn Saud met with the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, February 17th, 1945, in the Grand Hotel du Lac on the shores of the Fayyoun Oasis, fifty miles south of Cairo. Winston Churchill attempted to link the assistance Britain had given to Ibn Saud over the years to the Palestine issue.

King Ibn Saud and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, 17 February 1945

He suggested that Ibn Saud should use his authority and influence to persuade the Arab world to accommodate Zionist aspirations. Churchill made no promises that Britain would temper its support for the Zionists with sensitivity to Arab rights. Ibn Saud found Churchill’s views entirely unacceptable.

With the end of war in Europe in May 1945, Churchill’s government was replaced by a Labour government led by Clement Attlee. The new foreign minister, Ernest Bevin, maintained a strict blockade against “illegal” entry of Jewish refugees from Europe.

04 April 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

4 April, 1945      0850

Germany

Dearest sweetheart –

Well – I feel all pepped up this morning – even so early – and this time it’s from an unusual cause, dear. Last night we got a quota for 1 officer to go to England on 7 Day’s Leave and 3 officers to go to Paris on a 3 day pass. The first name out of the English hat was mine. I didn’t know what to do at first, but I ended up by declining. There are several reasons, too, one of them being the long distance to the coast from here; another is that I’ve seen London – and a good part of England up, down and sideways; and finally, from what we’ve heard – you have to waste a good deal of time at the channel ports until you actually get across – both coming and going.

All in all – it’s about a 3 week affair and I don’t want to be away for that length of time. Well – another officer was chosen. Then came the Paris drawings (sounds like a lottery, doesn’t it?) and sure enough – I was the first out of the hat – and hell – I accepted. I’ve never before been so lucky in winning drawings – and don’t forget – a couple of months ago – I was picked to go to Brussels and turned that down. Anyway, dear, Paris is a 3 day affair – not counting traveling time. It’s a long way back, at that, and all in all – I’ll be away from Battalion about a week. But a pass doesn’t count as time off, while a 7 day’s leave in England – would. There’ll be 3 of us going from Headquarters – which makes it nice, too. We’ll have to get an early night’s sleep tonite and start out very early tomorrow a.m. We drive a certain distance, and somewhere on the other side of the Rhine – we make train connections. My writing will necessarily be spotty, darling, because it will be impossible to write going there and coming back – but I’ll do the best I can – and I know you’ll understand. I’m rather looking forward to getting away from the routine. The last time was about 5 months ago when I went to Verviers. Since then we’ve seen a might lot of action, believe me.

Other than that, dear, there isn’t much news. Yesterday was a quiet day for the most part. I believe I told you about our flag. I went up to see how it was coming out – the Nuns in the village are making it – and they’re doing a swell job. I was amazed to see one Nun working on the stars. She’s embroidering them – or some such thing and we’re going to have a class A flag.

Later in the day I went down to a prisoner of war enclosure that we’re taking care of here. There was a mob of them – and a sad lot, too. They had been out in the rain – and it would have been easy to have felt sorry for them – if you didn’t remember vividly their dirty work in the Belgian bulge. Every American soldier swears when he thinks of it – and when I left the P.W. area – I was sorry only that the weather wasn’t freezing – as it was in Belgium.

I read your letter in which you told me of your visit with Verna and Irv – and staying over. It sounded quite cozy and made me homesick – but in a pleasant way. You told me how you’re always thinking and talking about me – and it really thrills me, sweetheart, to realize that I occupy so much of your thoughts. I’m thrilled particularly – because the reverse is true. I want – as much as you – to be your husband, and I have – in fact – lived the past over in my mind so often and so thoroughly, that often it doesn’t seem as if we were merely engaged. Despite separation, distance et al – I feel tremendously close and accustomed to you in every respect. It’s going to be very easy to step right into the role – darling – wait and see. Above all – we’ve got to hang on in these closing months – and I think they are closing. One of the reasons I didn’t want to go to London is that I was afraid I wouldn’t be around for the kill – and sweetheart – after all this time – it’s worth being around for.

And then dear – perhaps I’ll have that chance to come home and tell you I love you and want you to be mine alone – What a day! Better close now, get some things done, and see what I have to get ready for tomorrow. Until later, then, so long – love to the folks and

All my everlasting love

Greg.

* TIDBIT *

about Prisoner of War Temporary Enclosures

By April of 1945, the Allied Armies had swept across the Rhine, deep into Germany. About 200,000 German prisoners were already taken, and the number increased day by day. The Ruhr pocket brought in an additional 300,000 men, who had to be processed through Allied hands responsible for guarding and processing German POW's in the area around the Rhine river.

The Rhine Meadow Camps (Rheinwiesenlager) was the official name of the Prisoner of War Temporary Enclosures (PWTE). The group of 19 transit camps held about one million German POWs. The camps were founded in April 1945 and remained in existence until September. There was a similar plan for the construction of all the camps. Open farmland close to a village with a railroad line was enclosed with barbed wire and divided into 10 - 20 sub-camps, each housing 5,000 to 10,000 men. Existing field paths were used as streets of the camp and surrounding buildings as the administration, kitchen and hospital. The prisoners of war, forced to surrender their equipment, had to dig holes in the earth by hand.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Map of Rheinwiesenlager Locations

The "Eaglehorse" (2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment) web site once explained the situation:

U.S. Commanders and leaders at all levels were to insure that prisoners were disarmed, interrogated when possible for locally important information and then sent quickly to the rear. Combat troops handed responsibility off for POWs as soon as possible with battalion and division support troops usually shepherding long German columns to the rear. POW camps were the responsibility of the Military Police within Corps and Army rear areas but by the Spring of 1945, their numbers were stretched thin by the sheer volume they faced and under utilized units with no formal training in prisoner administration increasingly were ordered to the POW task.

In central Germany, the number of POWs reached proportions that began to strain the abilities of U.S. forces to adequately process the vast broken army. The Wehrmacht was dissolving and given the choice between surrendering to the Americans or the Russians, the roads and forests became choked with unarmed soldiers in gray fleeing to the west - southwest to reach American custody, hide in the woods or simply make their way home. In the British sectors of responsibility, surrendering Germans were often directed, led or chased towards the boundary with U.S. forces. The numbers of POWs were astounding.

Aerial View of a Prisoner of War Temporary Enclosure

At the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces, to help guard all the prisoners, additional forces were allocated to include the men from most of the U.S. anti - aircraft battalions deployed in Germany. From 30 March until 5 April 1945 this included the 438th AAA Aw Bn (Mob). Open air camps holding tens of thousands of men became the norm, the prisoners had no shelter beyond the tent halves they may have brought with them. There was no running water or sanitary facilities. Logisticians tried to insure that at a minimum, each POW received one C ration per day.

Camp administrators organized captured German medics and doctors to form local POW hospitals overseen by Allied medical personnel. It was said that sufficient medical measures prevented mass death from disease. Nonetheless, credible estimates for German POW deaths in these camps range from about 3,000 to 10,000, in most part occurring from starvation, dehydration and exposure to the weather elements. Thousands more would have died of exposure were it not for the late Spring of 1945 being relatively mild.

03 April 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

3 April, 1945         0920

Germany

Wilma, darling –

It’s quiet here for now, anyway, and maybe I can get a letter off to you without being interrupted. That would be novel. In yesterday’s V-mail I told you a little about our present set-up. It is extremely comfortable, and I had a very pleasant night’s sleep. We have one room downstairs which is sort of a lounge. Perhaps today sometime we’ll be able to sit around and relax. The people here were “kind” enough to leave behind a few bottles of some rather select stuff – including 1929 Vintage Burgundy, 3 or 4 bottles of Vermouth and a variety to other stuff. I’m always writing you about the liquor and wines we find, dear, and you must think that that is all I think about; but that isn’t so, dear. Some of the fellows do make pigs of themselves because it’s all free. Personally I’ll take some wine with my evening meal and perhaps later in the evening if we’re playing Bridge. As a matter of fact it has been difficult not to drink in the past week or so. One of our Captains had a Birthday on the 28th of March; the Colonel and one Major had Birthdays on the 31st; yesterday was another Captain’s Birthday, – and well – they all drank at my Birthday, dear – and I have to reciprocate.

So you do have a couple of closets full of war “relics” – and “relics” is the word? That reminds me, somewhere around January and February I sent our several packages – and to date – you’ve only mentioned one or two. Did you ever get that dagger I sent out? The other day we came across a Nazi health clinic – pretty well stocked. I found a couple of blood pressure machines and a couple of other things. I’ve sent them out. Will you keep an eye out for that package, dear?

Below are two photos of the dagger

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And about Mollie – of course you didn’t do wrong. I’m glad you told me – and I’m glad you felt that you ought to tell me, dear. The fact is – I wasn’t surprised. I had been told she was sick – cancerous – and that was enough.

In one of your last letters you mention Mother B and the fact that she has been ill again. You said you would mention more about it in your next day’s letter – but that one is still missing. Now, darling, from what I gather – she’s been doing a heluva lot of flowing and one way or another I think it’s high time she did something about it. I wish you’d get after her. Has she been to a consultant yet?

1030

Sorry, darling – I was called away. We’ve been thinking that we don’t see enough American flags around. As a matter of fact – the only place you see one is over the building of Military Government – and they are set-up only in the larger cities. We have a flag – but it is silk and will be ruined if we keep it out. So we had the mayor of town in just now and ordered him to have a flag made just like the silk one we have – and it must be completed by this afternoon. It’s a good sized one, too – but what could he say, but ‘yes’? I had to act as interpreter.

Today – or yesterday rather – completed my 33^rd month of Army service and now more than half of my service is overseas. All that ought to count for something when they start figuring things out. Gosh how I want to get home to you, sweetheart! Sure – this is all adventure over here – but damn it – I’ve had enough of this kind. What I’m interested in right now is a little different type of adventure – with you, dear. Oh Boy! Hold me down! We’ll have it, too, darling; no fear about that. It’s just kind of tough waiting it out. But the worst is by and we have a whole life ahead of us. So sit tight, dear – and I’ll be home to love you hard – some one of these days. All for now, love to the folks – and

All my sincerest love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Third Escape of Willie Sutton

From the "Famous Cases & Criminals" portion of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) web site comes this biography of Willie Sutton, who made news on 3 April 1945.

Born on June 30, 1901 in Brooklyn, New York, Willie Sutton was the fourth of five children. He attended school through eighth grade, then left home to secure a job. Sutton’s employment included jobs as a clerk, a driller, and a gardener. His longest continuous employment lasted 18 months. Sutton was married in 1929, but his wife divorced him after he was incarcerated. He remarried in 1933. Before his death, Sutton co-authored “I, Willie Sutton” and “Where the Money Was.”

Willie Sutton acquired two nicknames, “The Actor” and “Slick Willie,” for his ingenuity in executing robberies in various disguises. Fond of expensive clothes, Sutton was described as being an immaculate dresser. Although he was a bank robber, Sutton had the reputation of a gentleman; in fact, people present at his robberies stated he was quite polite. One victim said witnessing one of Sutton’s robberies was like being at the movies, except the usher had a gun. When asked why he robbed banks, Sutton simply replied, “Because that’s where the money is.”

On February 15, 1933, Sutton and a confederate attempted to rob the Corn Exchange Bank and Trust Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sutton, disguised as a mailman, entered the bank early in the morning. The curiosity of a passerby caused the robbery attempt to be abandoned. However, on January 15, 1934 Sutton entered the same bank with two companions through a skylight. When the watchman arrived, they forced him to admit the employees as usual. Each employee was handcuffed and crowded into a small room.

Sutton also executed a Broadway jewelry store robbery in broad daylight, impersonating a postal telegraph messenger. Sutton’s other disguises included a policeman, messenger and maintenance man. He usually arrived at the banks or stores slightly before they opened for the day.

Besides being known as an innovative robber, Sutton recommitted in June 1931 on charges assault and robbery. Sentenced to 30 years, he escaped on December 11, 1932, by scaling the prison wall on two 9-foot sections of ladder that were joined together.

Sutton was apprehended on February 5, 1934 and was sentenced to serve 25 to 50 years in Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the machine gun robbery of the Corn Exchange Bank. On April 3, 1945, Sutton was one of 12 convicts who escaped the institution through a tunnel. Sutton was recaptured the same day by Philadelphia police officers; this had been his fifth escape attempt at this prison.

Here is a drawing of the escape route
followed by photos of the tunnel entrance and exit.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]


   

Sentenced to life imprisonment as a fourth time offender, Sutton was transferred to the Philadelphia County Prison, Homesburg, Pennsylvania. On February 10, 1947, Sutton and other prisoners dressed as prison guards. The men carried two ladders across the prison yard to the wall after dark. When the prison’s searchlights hit him, Sutton yelled, “It’s okay,” and no one stopped him.

On March 20, 1950, Willie “The Actor” Sutton was added to the FBI’s list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Because of his love for expensive clothes, Sutton’s photograph was given to tailors as well as police departments. A 24-year-old tailor’s son recognized Sutton on the New York subway on February 18, 1952 and followed him to a local gas station where Sutton purchased a battery for his car. The man reported the incident to the police who later arrested Sutton.

Sutton did not resist his arrest by New York City police, but denied any robberies or other crimes since his 1947 escape from Philadelphia County Prison. At the time of his arrest, Sutton owed one life sentence plus 105 years. He was further sentenced to an additional 30 years to life in New York State Prison following a jury trial in Queens County Court.

Seventeen years later, the New York State penal authorities decided that Sutton did not have to serve two life sentences and 105 years. Sutton was ill; he had emphysema and was preparing for a major operation on arteries in his legs. On Christmas Eve 1969, 68-year-old Sutton was released from Attica State Prison. Ironically, in 1970, Sutton did a television commercial to promote the New Britain, Connecticut, Bank and Trust Company’s new photo credit card program.

On November 2, 1980, Willie Sutton died in Spring Hill, Florida, at the age of 79.

02 April 1945

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

2 April, 1945      1700

Germany

Dearest sweetheart –

Now, Now – I know dear, but I just can’t help it – honestly. On days like this – V-mail has to fill the bill. O.K.?

And this place – just so you won’t think we don’t have variety – is an inn – a typical German inn – with hunting house, shot-guns, trophies etc. Just as cozy and comfortable spot as you could imagine and situated on the top of a high hill – overlooking the city below. I’ve got a nice room – with a bed. I mooched around and found a closet full of sheets etc. so I’m all ready for a good sleep time, dear. Oh – yes – I made the bed myself.

This may be the Hunting Lodge to which Greg referred.
It became a Protestant student residence called "Vilmarhaus".

   
   
   
   

Tomorrow, darling, perhaps I’ll be able to write a regular letter. On top of everything – we lost another hour last nite – double summer time. And now, dear, I’ll say so long. Remember I love you deeply – where-ever I go. Love to the folks.

All my everlasting love,

Greg

Route of the Question Mark


[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A) Gisselberg to (B) Marburg, Germany (2.5 miles)
30 March to April 2 1945

April 2... Ober-Marsburg. A village on top of a mountain, and it looked as if it had never heard of the war, yet the dance hall where we lived had been turned into a factory for manufacturing submarine parts. T/4 [Cecil W.] ALEXANDER dynamited a stream, and the Motor section had a fish fry. T/5 [George W.] CHEETY dressed up in a German uniform and posed for photographs.

* TIDBIT *

about The Bombing of Nordhausen

Nordhausen was a sub-camp of the concentration camp Dora-Mittelbau. This camp was created by the SS for prisoners too weak or too ill to work in the tunnels of Dora on the fabrication of the German V1 and V2 rockets. Following the Nazi terminology, Nordhausen was a "Vernichtungslager", an extermination camp for ill prisoners. The extermination methods used by the SS were not the same as the ones used in the great extermination camps: there was no gas chamber but, in Nordhausen, the prisoners died by starvation and total lack of medical care. The conditions of life in Nordhausen were so terrible that the few survivors often said that "If Dora was the hell of Buchenwald, Nordhausen was the hell of Dora"...

The SS used the Boelcke Kaserne, a former barracks in Nordhausen city, as a dumping ground for hopeless prisoner cases. The camp of Nordhausen was a huge complex of installations and hangers made of concrete. There were absolutely no sanitary installations and the inmates had to stay in the hangars nights and days, without any food until they died. Even for a man in healthy condition, this could lead very fast to extreme weakness.For prisoners who were already exhausted and ill, these cruel conditions of life meant quick although miserable death.

Because the camp was installed in concrete buildings and hangars, the US Air Force thought that it was a munitions depot of the German Army. On the night of 2 April 1945 the Allies sent 247 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups to attack what were actually barracks, not munitions storage, in two nighttime fire raids. 1,500 sick prisoners were killed when they were forced by the SS to stay in the hangars which were set ablaze by the bombs. 2 Lancasters were lost. As part of the raid, three-quarters of the town of Nordhausen was destroyed and approximately 8,800 people died.