18 May 1945

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

18 May, 1945      0820

Leipzig, Germany

Dearest sweetheart –

Now we can say where we are – and it’s the old story of the Army taking a little time to make up its mind. I’m in a hurry this morning, darling, although irrelevant or not – this is as good a place as any to tell you I love you and only you. Oh yes. I’m in a hurry to get started for Halle – and a place just north of it – Kothen – to do some more physicals. If I grab that bunch today – I’ll have only a handful more to do. It’s quite a job – doing a battalion.

I got a swell letter yesterday of the 6th of May – and the events of the next two days were still not evident to you when you wrote the letter. Here – we had an inkling. But inkling or no – I love you very very hard – and as I see it from here – that’s the important thing – particularly since I suspect you love me too. Time to go, dear. Love to the folks – and all my deepest andsincerest love is yours –

Greg

17 May 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

17 May, 1945      0830

Germany

My dearest sweetheart –

This month, too, is slipping right along and soon we’ll have June. We’re still handling ex-prisoners of war, Allied, and still wondering what the next step will be and where. No doubt – some troops are already being processed and must be getting ready for the ride home. We happen to be a long long way from the ports – although I don’t believe that will make much difference. When they’re ready for us – off we’ll go.

I stayed close to battalion all day yesterday, dear, although I haven’t quite finished those physicals. I have one battery left to do – but they’re spread out so far – it’s almost a hopeless task rounding them up. I’ll wait a while longer. I think they’ll be coming in soon.

It warmed up nicely in the afternoon and we spent it swimming. Directly across the street from the factory we occupy – is a small park with a man-made swimming pool – about 40 yards by 20. It was built by the factory for its employees. We had it drained, cleaned, refilled and chlorinated and it’s wonderful. We have large rubber rafts in it (airplane gasoline tanks which were manufactured in a nearby plant) and the boys are having a swell time having Indian-style canoe fights. All in all – if we have to stick around awhile – it might as well be in this spot as any other.

I was re-reading a few of your letters from March, darling, and I came across one telling me about the Freeman boy. You made a very thoughtful suggestion and I’m sorry I overlooked it until now – about sending him something. I’d like very much for you to – if you would, dear. As far as I know he’s still at the Valley Forge Gen. Hosp. Phoenixville, Pa – and he’s Sgt. Myer Freeman – or T4 M. Freeman. Don’t send him a book because the hospital libraries are chock full of the best in reading material. And while I think of it – it’s getting closer to Father’s Day. Will you start thinking about it dear and let’s get something for Dad A and B in both our names and will you let me know what all of it costs – and this time – I don’t want any of this 50-50 stuff. I agreed to that once before because you suggested it, dear – but I’d much rather that you just tell me how much you laid out and I’ll send you a check. And get them both something nice, huh?

I’ve been waiting for mail from you eagerly. Any day now I should get a letter showing your reaction to VE day and I’m anxious to read what you had to say.

I’ve got to run along and see the Colonel. He hasn’t been feeling well and I put him to bed – over-fatigue. So I’ll close now, sweetheart. If in the past week I haven’t made clear to you how much I love you and how much freer I feel in telling you that – now that one big phase of the war is over – it hasn’t been because I haven’t tried, sweetheart. But I do love you and so strongly, I’m sure you must feel it too.

Love to the folks, darling, and remember that I love you more than anything or anyone and that I want to be

Always yours alone

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Christ with the Adulteress

From the web site of Lund University in Sweden came this extract from an article with the title "Creating and Exposing Forgeries Using Chemistry".

When the allied troops finally found Göring’s art collection in an Austrian salt mine on 17 May 1945, they found a minor sensation. Among the 6,750 works of art was a hitherto unknown work by the master of the Dutch Golden Age, Johannes Vermeer. Vermeer never received recognition during his lifetime, 1632–1675, butduring the latter part of the 19th century, his works were rediscovered and sold for sky-high prices.

Vermeer’s style is characterized by different light effects as well as frequent use of the sky blue colour ultramarine. Ultramarine means “beyond the seas” and the raw material for the pigment, the mineral lazurite or lapis lazuli, is a blue semi-precious stone which in the 17th century was mainly mined in Afghanistan. In 1822, the German chemist Gmelin discovered a method for producing synthetic ultramarine and soon even poor artists could paint in bright shades of blue. In Vermeer’s day, however, ultramarine was very expensive and his generous use of the color became a signature that is found in paintings including “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, the subject of Tracy Chevalier’s novel of the same name.

So, in 1945 a new, unknown Vermeer had been found. The allied forces managed to trace the person who had sold the work to Göring, a banker called Alois Miedl. The tracks led from there to the immensely rich Dutch artist and art dealer Hans van Meegeren. On 29 May 1945, van Meegeren was accused of having plundered and sold Dutch cultural property to the enemy – a charge that could lead to the death penalty. The Vermeer painting had been sold for the tidy sum of 1,650,000 guilders, an astounding amount, today equivalent to somewhere between SEK 50 and 100 million.

After three days in jail, van Meegeren called the investigators and explained that it was not a question of treason. The painting was a forgery and he had painted it himself. In addition, van Meegeren admitted that he had painted and sold a further five Vermeers, all of which had been affirmed as authentic by a number of experts. The experts protested and refused to accept that van Meegeren had fooled them; to prove his innocence – or rather his guilt – van Meegeren offered to show them how he had done it by painting another fake Vermeer – this time in front of the investigators. It must have been a fascinating demonstration. In order to forge a painting, considerable chemical knowledge is required, and to expose it, even more sophisticated methods are needed.

van Meergeren at trial

“It was a Vermeer canvas, Viktor observed, or rather a skillful Vermeer forgery. According to the marshal of the realm, who talked unceasingly, it was entitled ‘Christ and the Adulteress’. He explained that he had bought it from a Dutch art dealer.” - Extract from Kunzelmann & Kunzelmann, Carl-Johan Vallgren, 2009.

van Meegeren was, however, a master of forgery. He began by purchasing a canvas from the same period, in this case the 17th century, and carefully removed the old painting. It is after this that the chemistry comes in.

Chemical methods make it quite simple to expose when a forger has used a modern pigment. For example, Vermeer only had access to white lead, whereas titanium white and zinc white were not discovered until the 19th century. van Meegeren, however, was extremely thorough and only used those pigments to which Vermeer would have had access – as well as ultramarine, these included white lead, indigo and the red mercury mineral cinnabar. In order to avoid being exposed, he even used paintbrushes made of badger hairs, as Vermeer did. Now only the really difficult part was left – getting the painting to age. When oil paint dries, a large number of chemical processes occur. Unlike watercolors, the components of oils do not evaporate when the paint dries; on the contrary, the oil used in oil paint contains many double compounds that slowly react with the oxygen in the air and initially the oil film becomes heavier as oxygen is bonded in. Oxidation also polymerizes the chains of fat and once the process is complete, the canvas has been transformed into one complete cross-linked mass.

An old method used to expose a forgery was to rub the painting with alcohol. In a 17th century painting, all the chains of fat were cross-linked, while color came off newer works. In order to achieve the right surface on the forgeries, van Meegeren had invented a method where he treated the surface with resol, a phenol formaldehyde resin, and then baked the painting in an oven at 120°C to cross-link the polymers.

When a painting ages, a thin network of cracks develops, known as craquelure, and to imitate this he bent and pried the painting over a steel groove until a fine web of cracks had formed. Finally, in order to recreate a proper 300 year layer of grime, he brushed the surface with India ink, which is a mixture of soot and water, and then carefully washed off the excess.

The result was perfect! The public rejoiced that a Dutchman had succeeded in fooling Göring and in October 1947 van Meegeren was voted the second most popular person in Holland. A few months later, however, he died following a series of heart attacks and the story could have ended there. The six forged works had been studied by a Belgian chemist, Dr Paul Coremans, who confirmed that they were all most likely forgeries. A few years later, however, the owner of some of the fake paintings, Daniel George van Beuningen, sued Coremans, demanding £500,000 in compensation for the fall in value of the paintings. It was not until a decade later that another chemist, Dr Bernard Keisch, was finally able to solve the problem.

Natural lead ore contains small quantities of radium-226, which has a half-life of 1,600 years and decomposes to chemicals including lead-210, which has a half-life of 22 years. Both Vermeer and van Meegeren used the pigment white lead, lead (II) hydroxide carbonate. When the pigment is produced, most of the radium is cleaned away, while both lead-210 and the stable lead-206 remain. There is therefore significantly more lead-210 than radium-226 in the pigment white lead to start with. If 99 % of the radium has been cleaned away, it takes around 150 years for the balance between radium-226 and lead-210 to become even again. In the case of the Vermeer forgeries, the levels of lead-210 were far higher than radium-226, which proved that the paintings were modern.

Today a range of chemical methods are used to expose forgeries and chemistry has made it extremely difficult to get away with art forgery. van Meegeren’s forged paintings continue to fascinate, however, and ironically they have become so valuable that forgeries appear every year!

16 May 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

16 May, 1945      0825

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

It was late afternoon – 18 months ago today – that we boarded our ship and got ready for sailing – the next day. We had taken a train from Camp Shanks, and then the ferry. When we got to the piers – we saw no evidence of a convoy, but the Aquitania was being loaded. Despite all the secrecy supposedly connected with the transport of troops, there was actually a band there – playing music as we marched the 200 yards or so from the ferry – to the loading spot. The Red Cross was there with coffee and donuts – but few of us could take the time or trouble for that – we were loaded down so with horseshoe pack, aid kits – in case of the medics, gas masks etc. For most of us – it was a question of getting on that damn boat and unloading some of our stuff. And although we joked a bit, etc. – we weren’t a happy lot. We knew we’d sail the next day – unescorted – and make a dash across. Not only that – but we knew we were going away for a long time. I know I wrote you a sort of serial letter during the trip, dear. I wonder how I sounded in that letter. I know how I felt.

And now – well that’s all gone by and I’m looking forward to that homeward trip as I’ve looked forward to nothing before this. I just can’t wait to get going – and yet – the more we stay here – the more the war in Japan develops and that’s O.K. with me. I took part in the initial stages of one major assault landing – and that’s enough for me.

Say that was a coincidence – meeting that volunteer whose brother-in-law is Joe Auerbach. Gosh – I hadn’t thought about him in 5 or 6 years. He was a helluva nice kid and went to the Law School after getting his A.B. That’s when I lost track of him. I ran into him a couple of times – but not when he was married. And Leonard Kane (né Cohen) was at School with us. We did sell mags together one summer in Conn. and had one swell time. He didn’t go to Graduate school – but into business – and I lost track of him for several years – until one day when I was a student and having a couple of months of medicine at the B.I. – I ran into him – as a patient. He had developed diabetes and associated thyrotoxicosis (toxic goiter) and was pretty sick. But he snapped out of it. I haven’t seen him since. I didn’t know any of the others you mentioned. It’s funny how you lose contact with old friends. In my case – it was due to med. school. And you lose your medical school friends when you go away to intern. Sometime after the war – I’ll have to pick up some loose threads.

And by the way, sweetheart, a thousand apologies for not remembering to ask you about your smoking. Do you mean to say you haven’t smoked since February? It’s hard to believe – hard to believe. But I think it’s an excellent idea – and honestly they say – or as the French put it – on dit – that you have healthier babies if you don’t smoke. Now I really don’t know much about such things, sweetheart, but I’m sure willing to help you give it a try; meaning by that, darling – that I love you deeply and that I find myself more and more thinking of you only in the most intimate of ways. Hang on – dear – hang on!

Well – I hate to stop right there – but what else is there to do. See you later, sweetheart, take care of yourself, love to the folks – and

All my deepest love to you

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about the Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill


Battle of Sugar Loaf Hill, 16-17 May 1945

From Today's History Lesson came this description of the battle for Sugar Loaf Hill on the island of Okinawa, Japan. The report, written by Joel Mundt is titled "Sugar Loaf Hill: Mighty Sweet Name, Mighty Bitter Taste".

Sugar Loaf Hill. A casual glance at the name might take your mind to one of those special squares on a Candy-Land board. You know, those special cards you draw where you move forward or backward a bunch of spaces – the Molasses Swamp or the Dew-Drop Inn or whatever - that add a little excitement to the game. It sounds sweet and happy, like a vacation destination for Strawberry Shortcake or a place where My Little Pony can prance and play. Sugar Loaf Hill exudes all that is cotton-candy nice and right with the world.

That’s what you might think. The real-life Sugar Loaf Hill is none of those things.

As the Battle of Okinawa (the final battle fought by the U.S. in World War II) worked through its second month, the Sixth Marine Division was tasked with moving down the west side of the island to sever Japanese lines and then move eastward behind the heights of Shuri. On top stood the bombed-out, shelled-out ruins of Shuri Castle, the visible part of elaborate network of tunnels and pillboxes that comprised General Mitsuru Ushijima’s main defensive fortifications on the island.

In front of the Sixth Marines stood three small hills, though “hill” is kind of a strong word as none of them was much more than 50 feet high. “But“, as Bill Sloan writes in The Ultimate Battle, “the identities bestowed on them by the Sixth Division Marines who repeatedly tried, failed, and tried again to take them would become synonyms for the most horrific struggle in the division’s history…Among those who survived the three hills, they are inevitably remembered at Horseshoe, Half Moon, and Sugar Loaf.”

For twelve (mostly rainy) days, the Marines fought the Japanese over this seemingly insignificant hillock, no more than three football fields in size. On eleven different occasions, the hill was assaulted. Men sprang into action, clamoring up the hill, only to be shelled and shot at with such accuracy and ferocity that they were forced to retreat. It became apparent that all three of these small hills would have to be taken together due to the covering fire each hill provided the others.

16 May 1945 proved to be an especially trying day, as four times the Sixth Marines reached the summit…and four times were driven back. Bob Sherer, a First Lieutenant, spoke to everyone’s struggle.

The frustrating thing about those hills was that they just looked like barren little humps covered with tree stumps left by Navy gunfire. There was no outward indication of all the caves and tunnels inside.

The morning of May 18, 1945 provided the breakthrough. The First Marines were able to take Wana Ridge, which housed Japanese 75mm guns used to shell Sugar Loaf. This allowed tanks to be brought in, encircle the hill, and provide suppression along with artillery while Marines worked to dynamite and seal the caves. General Ushijima’s efforts to reinforce Sugar Loaf failed under intense American artillery, and the Sixth Marines stood atop Sugar Loaf Hill… never to relinquish it.

Sugar Loaf Hill, 18 May 1945

But the cost had been tremendous. Over nearly two weeks, regiments had been reduced to company strength, and companies to platoons. Many platoons were wiped out to a man. More than 1,600 Marines died in the fight for this 50-foot-high strongpoint, with another 7,400 wounded.

The fight for Sugar Loaf Hill would come to epitomize the brutal battle of attrition that was the experience not only in the fight for Okinawa, but in many far-flung island battles of the Pacific campaign.

15 May 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

15 May, 1945      0800

Germany

My dearest, only sweetheart –

I don’t know how to go about telling you how much I love you. You’ll just have to lean back, close your eyes – and imagine how much you’d like to be loved. And when you get that picture in your mind, just add 115% more – and you might get a rough idea. The fact is, sweetheart, I love you more than I’ve ever been able to tell you before and you’re going to be in for some very concentrated loving – once I catch up with you.

Things are looking pretty good these days – but it really is difficult to sift anything concrete out of the hundreds of rumors. It seems as if they’ll allow more time at home than we expected at first. On the basis of points alone – I don’t have very much – compared with the married officers – although points – for officers – is not all important. I have 34 for months in service, 18 for mos. overseas, and 15 for 3 battle stars – or 67 in all. But I don’t know how that compares with some of the other MC’s around here. Somewhere in the 80’s is the critical level for discharge – but hell – I don’t expect to be discharged; all I want is a job in the States. And that reminds me – I got two super-sweet letters from you yesterday – 3 and 4 May and in one of them you were particularly cute in your mention of a strong connection and pulling of strings. I don’t want to go into it more than that – because it’s not good stuff to write about – but I laughed at your almost unwillingness to mention it because I might take it wrong. I know you were remembering how I blew my top several mos. ago. Well – sweetheart – at that time I wanted to see this through – and I have. Now I’d like to go back to the States and marry you. I don’t expect to get out of the Army yet – but I would very much like to stay in the U.S. Wherever I might be stationed – camp or hospital – anywhere – you could be with me – and we’d be happy. Now I guess I’ve made myself clear, dear. As soon as I get home – we can talk more about it. I feel I’ve been with this outfit long enough and done my share of aid work. I happened to be at the Corps Surgeon’s office yesterday and talked with a friend of mine. As he put it – the trouble is – I’ve always gotten along with my C.O. The fellows who seem to get the breaks are the ones who get in trouble and get transferred out. Well – we’ll see, dear. I haven’t got the longest record – by any means – but I’ve had enough months in the Army, overseas and in combat to have some fairly decent talking points.

I enjoyed your reactions to that package with the medical stuff in it. Both cases were good when I sent them out – but it doesn’t matter, dear. I wanted them for souvenirs. The white sphygmomanometer is pretty and I’ll use that on my office desk – I think. And you can tell Mom B. that they were used by Germans – and that’s why I enjoyed taking them.

There’s still some packages out – although I’m darned if I know what. And by the way, dear – in the last several weeks – I’ve sent a whole mess of snapshots. You haven’t mentioned receiving any – although you may be getting some by now. I’ll be interested in hearing.

And now, sweetheart, I’ve some work to do – so excuse me, huh? Love to the folks – and remember that you have and will always have

All my deepest love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about How U-235 Came to New Hampshire on U-234


German U-Boat U-234 surrendering on 14 May 1945 at sea

From the web site of the Wright Museum of WWII History in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, came this:

As the German U-boat entered Portsmouth Harbor with a cargo of a half ton of Nazi-produced uranium [U-235], it eventually became clear that the world would never be the same again. In the short term, this development probably hastened the end of WWII. In time, the capture of U-234 would help propel the U.S. into the space age.

On 15 May 1945, when the U-Boat officially surrendered, V-E Day was only a week old. With Germany knocked out of the greatest global conflict in world history, Japan remained a viable and dangerous foe. Kamikazes continued to rain their suicidal fury upon American warships, and resistance seemed to stiffen as U.S. forces closed in on the Japanese mainland.

Just prior to the Nazi’s unconditional surrender to Allied forces, a German U-Boat departed for Japan with the mission of delivering valuable military secrets to its Axis ally to help prolong the Pacific war. Aboard the 295-foot-long Unterseeboot were German scientists who were among the world’s leaders in nuclear and rocket power technologies. The submarine’s cargo included two disassembled Me-262 jet fighters and 560 kilograms of uranium—an amount even greater than that created by the Manhattan Project and enough to make eight crude atomic bombs.

With the end of hostilities in the European Theater, the Allies sent radio transmissions to all German submarines, instructing them to turn themselves in. U-234 was captured by the USS Sutton, which was trolling the North Atlantic on antisubmarine warfare patrol. Four days later, the U-boat was turned over to the Coast Guard’s cutter, the Argo, which escorted it to Portsmouth where the crew formally surrendered.

While the matter may never be fully resolved, there is considerable debate about the actual intended use of the nuclear material. Many have speculated that it suggests that the German nuclear program was much more advanced than Allied intelligence had previously suspected. Some have speculated that the uranium might have accompanied Japanese Kamikazes on suicide attacks on major U.S. cities. On the other hand, some scholars suggest that the uranium would have been more likely used in the production of an experimental jet fuel, a theory supported by the disassembled aircraft.

Conventional wisdom holds that the captured uranium was sent to Oak Ridge, Tenn., where it was used in the production of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Indeed, the classified nature of much of the information surrounding the U-234’s capture makes it difficult to determine the exact fate of the uranium oxide. New research confirms that at least a portion of the nuclear raw material was shipped to Oak Ridge but suggests that it would have arrived too late to be used in the weapons used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

While the uranium’s seizure was significant, of greater long-term value were the individuals captured along with the craft. Among them were German civilian scientists who were bound for Japan to help the Axis ally in the development of cutting-edge aviation technologies to be used against their common enemy. These scientists would remain in America and make significant contributions to efforts relating to the development of stealth technologies, jet powered aircraft, and eventually guided missiles.

U-234 was carrying twelve passengers, including a German general, four German naval officers, civilian engineers and scientists, and two Japanese naval officers. On learning that the U-boat was to surrender, the two Japanese passengers committed suicide by taking an overdose of a barbiturate sleeping pill and were buried at sea. News of the U-234's surrender with her high-ranking German passengers made it a major news event. Reporters swarmed over the Navy Yard and went to sea in a small boat for a look at the submarine. The fact that she had a half ton of uranium oxide on board was covered up and remained classified for the duration of the Cold War; a classified US intelligence summary of 19 May merely listed U-234's cargo as including "a/c [aircraft], drawings, arms, medical supplies, instruments, lead, mercury, caffeine, steels, optical glass and brass."

14 May 1945

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

14 May, 1945      0930

Germany

Dearest sweetheart –

After writing you the city we’re in – I find we’re not allowed to do that – tsk! tsk! – so I’ll have to omit it from my heading. But we’re still here, dear. I’m late today and I’ve got lots to do – thus the V-mail.

The weather stays fine and we’re looking for a place to go swimming – if we have the time. Went for a walk with the dentist yesterday evening – where were you, darling! Gee – it’s nice boy and girl strolling time. Well – soon maybe we’ll be able to do that and I’ll be able to say nice things, sweetheart – among which will be the following: I love you, I want you, I missed you so, Did you miss me? When will you marry me? etc. All for now – dear – Regards – and

All my love

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Occupation Zones in Germany

An article in TIME magazine (Vol. XLV, No. 20) published on 14 May 1945 begins to address the setting up of occupation zones for the British, French, United States and Soviet governments. The article was titled, "Victory in Europe: Housekeeping in Hell". Here is that article...

A flaming stake had been driven through Germany's heart, and by the laws of sorcery this should quiet the beast. In outward appearance Germany, once the most highly integrated nation of the Old World, was a quartered corpse. Perhaps 50% of Germany's proud cities were wrecked. Moreover, the machine shop of Europe was shut down. The Ruhr had received 150 tons of bombs per square mile. (Battered London averaged only twelve.)

But it was not easy to estimate the degree of Germany's physical destruction. The long arm of Allied bombing and the progress of the Armies had destroyed much of Germany's productive apparatus, notably the railroad system, had left much else spectacularly untouched. Quite possibly both the appearance of Germany's destruction and the appearance of her survival were deceptive. But soon for the health of her democratic neighbors, Germany must be restored to some sort of controlled existence in which her collieries and mills could produce, her crops grow and be distributed. The problem before the Allies seemed, in its complexity, greater even than the problem of striking Germany down.

First Steps. Any day now the victorious powers would set up the Allied Control Commission in Berlin, and Germany would formally come under the rule of foreigners for the first time since 1806. But, planned as it was, this first stage revealed the confusion that lay ahead. Instead of being a cohesive unit, the Control Commission would be a loosely organized coalition, and the administration of Germany's four different zones might each be conducted according to four different ideas. The zones were agreed upon in principle at Yalta, but the precise boundaries had not been revealed, and in one instance (the French zone) there was some doubt as to whether they had been determined.

The Russians supposedly were to have eastern Germany, the British the northwest, the Americans the southwest, and the French an area somewhere between the British and the Americans.

The Housekeepers. The U.S. occupation team for Germany will at the outset be headed by General Eisenhower as chief of the American section (with Field Marshal Harold R. L. G. Alexander as his probable opposite number for Britain); Major General Lucius Clay as his deputy and administrative chief of staff; the State Department's Robert Murphy as political adviser (with sharp-eyed Ivone Kirkpatrick his counterpart for Britain, and purge-trial prosecutor Andrei Vishinsky for the Russians); and Lieutenant General Leonard T. Gerow as commander of the U.S. Fifteenth (occupation) Army. While these top four will probably stay in Berlin, American administrative headquarters will be located within the U.S. zone, probably at Frankfurt.

The American zone may possibly be less of a problem than others. It was formerly almost self-sufficient in food, and the Nazi disease was never as deeply rooted there as in north Germany. Nevertheless, stern measures have been laid out. The latest plan for its control, "revised directive 1067," laid on President Truman's desk only ten days before war's end, followed closely the Morgenthau or "goat pasture" plan. Southern Germany would largely revert to agrarian economy. All industry capable of producing armaments (a broad definition) would be destroyed or transferred, the remainder controlled by the occupation forces. The educational system would be overhauled.

Said FEA's Leo Crowley, who had a part in drafting "revised directive 1067": "We are going to have a tremendous policing job and we will be busy at it for years. I predict that some people will get mighty tired of it, and there will be a campaign to get us out of Germany."

Some indications of preparations for this cleansing of the Augean stables:

Although a formula for trying war criminals had yet to be announced, the U.S. named its chief counsel for the international tribunal that would handle the cases: Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, who opposes judicial proceedings to execute military or political policy, favors trial and punishment by military agencies set up for the express purpose.

Psychological Warfare Division of SHAEF announced that it was ready to move into Germany, take over radio stations, presses, publications, cinema studios, recording facilities, and operate them under military control, thus beginning the re-education of Germany. The Germans would be given news from outside, but would have no medium of expression.

Biggest problem of the Reparations Commission, now being organized in Moscow: balancing the demands of each Ally for the products produced in zones controlled by others; e.g., the Russian zone formerly supplied food surpluses which Britain, France and the U.S. may need in their zones to feed the starving people of other countries. In almost every undertaking there would be conflict of purpose. The Americans from the start had opposed censorship of foreign correspondents operating in postwar Germany. The British had reservations but finally agreed to the American policy. What the Russians will do remained a secret; at week's end they still had not allowed Allied newsmen in Berlin. This was a minor conflict, but more important issues would follow. How well the Allies would work together in postwar Germany was one of the big questions of the peace.

13 May 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

13 May, 1945      0930

Leipzig, Germany

Dearest, darling, Wilma –

I’m off to a late start today and it isn’t because I slept late either. As a matter of fact – I’ve been sleeping very poorly lately – and I don’t know exactly why. I’m tired enough. I get to bed usually about 2300 hours and sleep until about 0500-0530 and not too soundly either. It must be an excitatory reflex that keeps me keyed up – and the more I think about it, the more I’m inclined to believe that you are the reflex, darling.

Well – it sure has been hot here and everyone’s lazy. But I’ve had to hop around on this physical survey I’m doing. It wouldn’t be so bad – but we have perhaps 20 men in one city, 40 in another etc – all over the map. And they’re too busy to come to me, so I have to go to them. I’ve wanted to take a good look around this city but haven’t had time as yet. There are some beautiful buildings here – most of them connected with the University.

Oh, before I forget it, dear. You mentioned that package with a variety of items in it – glasses, ash trays etc. You didn’t mention a little copper box – which is what I was especially interested in, dear. If you’ll look closely – you’ll note that it is 200 years old. It’s really a very pretty thing.

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Copper Box and Inscription: GHW 1745

I have your letter here in which you tell me Mother A had heard from me in Paris and that Sunny Rodman’s mother heard that I looked fine. Well – I’m glad he’s a diplomat, dear – because I must have looked pretty rough at the time. For one thing – all we had for clothes was combat stuff, and secondly, we had had a long hard ride by truck and train. Anyway – as long as my mother got the right impression, I’m satisfied. Yes, Paris is a place in which to get rooked. As I’ve probably written you already, dear – the attitude was much different this time than when I was there in August. You could have the city for a dime or nothing. Now they’re out for blood. Buying gifts is a problem involving lend-lease proportions. I managed to get some perfume for Mother A, B. and Ruth and a kerchief for you and Eleanor – all of which I hope has arrived by now. But if I hadn’t had some extra money with me – I couldn’t have paid for a thing except entertainment. If you buy a sandwich (I didn’t) – it costs 600 francs – $12.00! Just imagine that, dear – and everything else is proportionately priced. We had come from Germany where we had hundreds of bottles of wine – for nothing – and we had to pay 700 fr for 1 bottle. Yes, dear – ‘rooking’ is the word. Brussels was a bit better – but not much.

Well – it’s getting to be late morning sweetheart and I’ve got to go. Might travel down by Weimar today and do a few more physicals. But wherever I go, darling, I’ll be thinking hard about you, loving you and dreaming of the not too distant future when I’ll be with you. That’s all I think about now – and it’s so pleasant, too!

Love to the folks, dear – so long and

All my sweetest love –

Greg

P.S. Enclosed is part of a letter from Carolyn Gardner - I had mentioned the reference to you some time ago. Love, G.

* TIDBIT *

about A Crash in New Guinea

NPR Books, a web site of National Public Radio, wrote about Lost in Shangri-La, written by Mitchell Zuckoff, a professor of journalism at Boston University.

      
Lost in Shangri-La          and Mitchell Zuckoff

Here is their review...

The story is set against the unforgiving backdrop of New Guinea's high mountains, dense rain forests and thick clouds. At the time of World War II, much of the island was uncharted — hundreds of planes crashed there, and few were ever found. "New Guinea was sort of a graveyard for planes," Zuckoff explains.

His book is the story of one of the few crashes in New Guinea where survivors lived to tell the tale. The flight began as a sightseeing tour on 13 May 1945, when 24 men and women stationed in New Guinea boarded the Gremlin Special to fly over a hidden valley that had been nicknamed "Shangri-La."

"It's an enormous valley," says Zuckoff. "Forty miles long, 8 miles wide, and inhabited by anywhere near 100,000 to 120,000 tribesmen who were living basically a Stone Age existence."

The plane flew in low between the mountains so that the passengers could see the valley and the native villages and fields. The exact cause of the crash is unknown, but low-lying clouds obstructed the pilot's view and the plane slammed into the side of a mountain. One of the few survivors, John McCollom, was an Army lieutenant.

"The tail of the airplane had been broken off," he recalls, and "the fuselage had been flattened out to the point I could not stand up."

Seeing that the fuselage was on fire, McCollom wasted no time in jumping out of the plane and into the remote valley. "Standing around, I looked at my watch and said, 'This is a heck of place to be, 165 miles from civilization, all by myself on a Sunday afternoon.' "

But McCollom was not alone — four more passengers had also survived, though two of them later died. As a lieutenant, McCollom was the highest-ranking officer to survive; he was also the only passenger not to be injured. Zuckoff says that McCollum quickly took charge and made all the right decisions — even though his twin brother was among the dead.

"He knew his brother's body was burned inside the Gremlin Special right near him and he knew that he had to put that aside and make decisions," says Zuckoff.

McCollom led the two other injured survivors, Cpl. Margaret Hastings of the Women's Army Corp and Sgt. Kenneth Decker, on an arduous trek in search of a clearing, where they would have a better chance of being seen. After a journey through a dense jungle and down a steep, treacherous gulley, they finally reached an open area where they were spotted by rescue planes.

It was then that they first encountered the residents of the valley. Rumor had it that the local tribes were cannibals and headhunters, so McCollom was initially cautious as he approached their leader.

"There was a log running across this little gulley and he walked out on the log and I walked out on the log and we got closer together," McCollom recalls. McCollom instructed the group to smile, and luckily, the tribe leader smiled back. "He finally got real close and I reached out and grabbed his hand ... and he grabbed my hand ... and from then on we were all friends."

While the survivors were making friends with the men and women of the valley, rescue plans were getting under way. Filipino-American paratroopers under the command of Capt. C. Earl Walter Jr. volunteered to parachute into the valley and bring the survivors out — but there was a catch: Once the rescue team was dropped into the valley, there was no way to get them out.

But the paratroopers were determined to help. "They said bahala na was their gung ho motto, which means, 'Come what may,' " says Zuckoff.

By then, the story of the crash and the survivors had caught the attention of the media — journalists were particularly intrigued by the attractive young corporal, Hastings. Reporters joined the flights that showered provisions on the contingent of survivors and rescuers on the ground. And finally one day, documentary filmmaker Alexander McCann parachuted in, emboldened by a few drinks.

"He screws up his courage with a little bit of liquid courage, [and] just dives out the plane. He's swinging like a metronome because he is dead drunk on the way down," says Zuckoff. "He literally lands flat on his back in the valley and he starts filming almost the minute he is sober enough to open his eyes."

There, on the ground with the survivors, McCann was able to document the final rescue. After much consideration, it was decided that the only aircraft that could get in and out of the valley were gliders. At first, it seemed an unlikely choice, says Zuckoff. "Who among us said, 'OK, we have no way out, let's drop gliders into this valley a mile up off the ground?' "

Not ideal, but it was the best solution they had. Multiple gliders were sent down into the valley, and the survivors and paratroopers were strapped into them. The rescue mission then sent tow planes overhead, with hooks on their bellies, to snatch the gliders up into the air and bring the wounded survivors to safety.

Decker, Hastings and McCollom shortly after rescue

It was a remarkable end to a remarkable story. Many years later, Hastings would tell an audience that when you have no choice, you have no fear — you just do what has to be done. That is, in many ways, the very definition of survival.

Click to go to NPR's report as told on All Things Considered.

12 May 1945

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

12 May, 1945      0830

Leipzig, Germany

My dearest sweetheart –

We’re really having some ‘tough’ weather – i.e. tough to take without your being around to take care of the mood, darling. It’s much like what we had in Sherborne – last year this time – but there are many differences. The most important one is that when I long for you now, dear, I’m so much nearer the opportunity of having it fulfilled. Boy – am I glad this past year is behind us!

All the fellows who are engaged – and there are 5 or 6 of us here at Hq. – are discussing the pros and cons of getting married as soon as they get home – and it’s a riot just to listen to the conversation – most of it not becoming repetition. The language is very expressive – is what I mean dear. Up until the other day, darling, when the war ended – I didn’t feel so strongly about marriage as I do now. I believe it was because I tried to fortify myself because the war was dragging out so. When I say I didn’t feel strongly about marriage, darling, don’t get me wrong. I feel strongly about that – the question when? was the thing I wouldn’t pin down in my own mind. I’ve changed and although I don’t know exactly how you feel about it dear – I know I’ll try my best to make you see my side. As I see it – the Army has a definite policy now – and regardless where one is – when he reaches a certain period of time put in – he gets sent back to the U.S., and is reassigned. Whether I’m ready or not – I don’t know. My one argument is that I’m almost 3 yrs. with the same outfit and entitled to a change. However – with my overseas time to my credit – it won’t take long for me to be reassigned from any category whatsoever.

The whole point being that regardless of how much time I have back in the States on this trip back – I know that I should get back soon after. If that is so – I don’t see why we should waste time in getting married – because – all this time we’ve been apart, sweetheart, we might just as well have been married. Too bad I didn’t meet you soon enough to marry you; too bad we didn’t have a child, too – because then – I’d really have a chance to be rotated – because the fact is darling – my one big handicap now is that I’m single and have no dependents.

Well – I’ll be interested in what you have to say, dear. Got two swell letters from you yesterday – 30 Apr, 1 May. I was glad to read about the packages you got – 1 from me and 1 from Dad A. I’m really surprised when I read what I’ve sent you, darling – because once it’s sent – I forget about it. That particular one was sent when we were in the Chateau on the Rhine – across from Bad Godesburg.

And now I’ve got to do some more physicals. Are you interested? – Oh excuse me, darling – but you can see where my mind is. Well – stop blushing, honey! Oh hell – I’ve got to go, dear.

Love to the folks – and

All my everlasting love to you –

Greg

P.S. Just found these pictures – taken by one of the boys. I waited for some enlargements – but they never came thru. Will you give one to Mother A please dear?

Love, G

* TIDBIT *

about the "Point System"

The Adjusted Service Rating (ASR), also known as the “Point System” was initially proposed by General George C. Marshall and was amended by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. Details of the point system were announced to troops and to the public at noon on 10 May 1945 and governed the discharge of more than 1,300,000 soldiers over the following 12 months.

The point values were:

1. One credit for each month of Army service since 16 Sep 1940.

2. One credit for each month served overseas since the same date.

3. Five credits for each bronze service star and for each decoration.

4. Twelve credits for each child under 18 years, up to three children.

The service stars were awarded for participation in each battle or campaign. The list of decorations included:

Army – Distinguished Service Cross, Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Soldiers Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, Purple Heart and Bronze Service Star.

Navy – Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Legion of Merit, Silver Star Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal and Purple Heart Medal. (The mention of Navy decorations does not mean that Navy personnel were included in the plan. They were not. It refers only to Navy and Marine Corps decorations which may have been awarded to Army men.)

Foreign – Awards and decorations of foreign countries accepted and worn under War Department regulations.

Since a Purple Heart decoration was awarded for each wound, five credits were earned for each wound suffered. The Army had announced earlier that any holder of the Medal of Honor was eligible for immediate release.

Enlisted men of the Army ground, air and service forces became eligible for discharge immediately if their total credit score was 85 or more. WACs with total credit scores of 44 points were eligible for immediate discharge. The total credit scores were designated as “interim scores.” Immediately after the scores of all soldiers were compiled, the number of soldiers with each point total in every theater was reported to the War Department and revisions were possible.

Scores were compiled on the basis of points earned as of Saturday, 12 May 1945. Decorations and battle credits awarded after that date, but earned prior thereto, were counted. Children born on or before May 12, whose births were not known to their fathers at the time the scores first were compiled, were counted in revised scores. Service in the Army was computed from the date the soldier reported to his reception center and took his oath. Odd portions of the month of 15 days or more counted as a whole month. The point system for discharges covered men in all parts of the world – not merely those who served in Europe.

"Immediate eligibility for discharge" did not mean "immediate discharge". It was expected to take nearly a year to bring the 1,300,000 eligible men home, although they would be coming home by hundreds of thousands in ensuing months. And any given man – even though he had more than the necessary number of credits for discharge – could be kept in the service if his work was deemed vital to the war against Japan.

Re-deployment regulations, issued on 12 May 1945 had theater commanders assign each of his units to one of the following categories:

(I) units to occupy areas of Europe;
(II) units to be used in the war against Japan;
(III) units to be inactivated within the theater;
(IV) units to be returned to the United States for inactivation.

Category II was broken down into

(A) units to be shipped to the Pacific direct;
(B) units to be shipped to the Pacific by way of the U.S.;
(C) units to be shipped to the U.S. and placed in strategic reserve.

Critical Scores for Medical Officers, received by the end of May 1945, varied with the Corps – for Hygienists and Dietitians the figure was 62 Points, for Physical Therapists, 65, for Nurses, 71, for Medical Administrative Corps Officers, 88, and for Medical Corps Officers, 85 and more (according to Specialty). As a preliminary to redeployment, high score men were to be transferred to Category III and IV units, while units placed in Category II were to be staffed with officers and men whose points were below the critical level. High-score men in Category III units were to be returned to the United States as casuals after disbandment of their organizations. High-score personnel deemed nonessential were to be withdrawn on a continuing basis from all units and returned to the United States as casuals. Where enough low-score officers were not available to staff outgoing units, "essentiality" became the overriding consideration.

Although many difficulties arose owing to the disproportionately large number of high-score men in medical units, the program laid down in May was carried out faithfully until the end of July. By that date, however, the demands for shipping to move men and equipment to the Pacific were so great as to preclude the movement of medical units to the United States for disbandment. Early in August, therefore, it was decided to inactivate Category IV units in the theater. All transfers to the Pacific were abruptly halted with announcement of the Japanese surrender on 14 August, and personnel thereafter were shipped to the United States as rapidly as possible on the basis of point scores alone.

None of this was easy to understand. Lloyd Wagner wrote in "And There Shall Be Wars", printed in 2000:

I tried to explain to the folks at home how the point system worked, since they, as farmers, just thought that since I'd been gone so long, I should be among the first to come home. The point system was a little more complicated, though, as it had been devised by Army intelligence rather than farmer intelligence.The point system ran this way: any outfit which had men with at least 85 points got to send the same amount of men home as outfits who had men with more than 85 points. Though I had 104 points, Army intelligence did not consider that to be any more than 85 points, or to put it another way, they considered 104 to be equal to 85. It was hard to explain that to the folks back home, as I could hardly figure it out myself.