In this fourth year of war the need for food is greater than ever before. I call upon every American to help increase the Nation's food supply ... By growing larger and better victory gardens and seeing them through to the harvest. By preserving our food at home or in a community canning center. By conserving food in every possible way--wasting not an ounce. Our food will make a real contribution to the final victory and the peace. There can be no lasting peace in a hungry world. Harry S. Truman, the President of the United States of America.
Wrap securely. Address correctly. Choose gifts wisely. Mail between Sept. 15-Oct. 15. Christmas cards may be sent any time. U.S. Army and Navy Postal Services
Official Poster Catholic Book Week 1945, Catholic Library Association. Designed by Cecilia Dedoner, St. Mary's College, Xavier, Kansas. Supplement October, 1945, issue of The Catholic School Journal.
"Religious Book Week, an annual nationwide observance sponsoredby the National Conference of Christians and Jews ... The purpose of thi week which includes the anniversary of the public burning of books by the Nazis in Berlin, May 10, 1933, is to stimulate the reading of more books with a spiritual background among American men, women and children and to create wider understanding and cooperation among the various racial and religious groups." (Source: Bangor Daily Commercial, May 5, 1944)
Prologue: There isn't too much difference between a good outfit and usst another one that does its routine job in its own routine way. It isn't the draft board, army selection, or luck; it's just a happy circumstance when certain men are chosen as officers and others for enlisted men--and it's even a happier circumstance when they click into a well geared machine. But an outfit isn't a machine either. It's a group of 600 individual personalities who are thinking 600 different ways towards getting the job done. It's the 600 different ways of thinking that makes an outfit good. It's the American soldier with his self-initiative, imagination, intelligence and ability. It's the American officer with his leadership and knowledge, and it's the American field commander with his patience and restraint--that makes a good outfit. We, the men of the 48th Engineers, want to tell you the story of our outfit--the 48th Engineer Combat Battalion. Signed, The Staff
Preface: This book has been compiled from official and unofficial sources to afford men who have been in combat with the 393rd Infantry a review of the Regiment's action in the European Theater of Operations. With emphasis placed on the unit rather than individual action, the book has omitted stories of personal heroism. Names of men in pictures have been purposely omitted. To each man. who fought with the 393rd Infantry belongs credit for the hard-fought battle. To him belongs also the privilege of relating his deeds. Some five thousand men participated with the regiment in combat--to each this book is the background of his own fight. Effort has been made to show action of every section that comprises an infantry regiment in combat. A sincere endeavor was made to encompass all who played a part in building a fighting team. If you are able to recall some of the joy and hell you experienced with the regiment, the 393d Infantry in Review is a success. Dedicated to our buddies who gave their lives...
Sample paragraph: The 19th, under command of Lt. Col. George W. Busbey (class of West Point, 1924), moved to Saco, Maine, with the mission of patrolling the long and irregular coast of Maine from the Canadian border to New Hampshire. Col. Busbey, former instructor at the Cavalry School, Fort Riley, Kansas, had been executive officer of the 16th Regiment. He was distinguished by a pair of waxed handlebar moustaches which gave him the nickname of "Handlebar Hank" on Tennessee maneuvers, but later, in the 19th, he was generally known among the men as "Uncle George."
Dow Field, formerly called the Bangor Air Base, dates back to February 11, 1941, when construction began on the site of a small municipal airport, established originally as a northern terminus for Northeast Airlines. Most of the construction was completed during the summer and fall of 1941. Numerous buildings for barracks, storage, hangars and hospitals, were erected on what was formerly a low, swampy area. Extensive filling and seeding have produced an attractive area of well-kept lawns and fields, landscaped with thousands of trees typical of the local scene. In 1941 and 1942, Dow Field was used mainly as a training base for bombing and reconnaissance groups, and as a training base for an aviation engineering regiment. One large bombardment group from Dow Field sailed on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary as a troop ship pilots flew their own planes, of course but the large ground echelon went by boat.
Foreword: Between the attractive covers of this, our eleventh edition, we hope that you will find the answer to your war-time vacation problem; for, more than ever before, amidst the grief and turmoil of the times, you will need the health-giving, morale-building benefits of a Maine vacation, this year. More than ever before, Maine Invites You to enjoy the mystery of her forests, the beauty of her lakes and hills, the music of her streams, the sweep of her great rivers, and the majesty of her rock bound coast and sea-girt isles. Here, in a perfect symphony of nature's greatest blessings, you may, for a time, re-create those all-important reservoirs of mental and physical strength upon which every American is making such demands in his effort to be of service to his nation. Of course, vacation habits are different. By necessity, transportation methods and facilities have changed. Vacations must be planned, well in advance, for the complete elimination of interference with the war effort. All of us must adjust our tempo to the pace of a democracy fighting for the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Foreword: This so-called War Diary is an honest attempt to record a brief chapter in the young life of a gallant ship. No effort has been made to glamourize her deeds; no claim has been made that she fought the war single-handed; no single incident or group has been intentionally emphasized or omitted. The Monty was a workhorse from the Solomons, through the Marianas, the Philippines, the Nansei Shoto, and into Japan proper--for thirty-six long months she successfully fulfilled her missions. So for posterity we preserve herewith her experiences, as seen from her decks and from her spotting planes. author unknown
Foreword: This book was prepared for the members of the 411th Engineer Base Shop Battalion, as a pictorial record of its achievements in "The Land Down Under" during the period from 1943 to 1944 in the war against Japan. Although the book deals principally with the construction of power barges, the powerful influence of Australia is strongly felt in the background. During the early stages of the war against Japan, when port facilities in the South-West Pacific Area were practically non-existant, and the problem of supplying troops in forward coastal areas of New Guinea posed a critical problem, the Engineer Amphibian Command was formed at Camp Ed wards, Mass. One of the organizations in this command was the 411th Engineer Base Shop Battalion. Although the members of the 411th were selected for particular technical skills, further specialized training occupied the rest of the year. Some of the men were sent to various schools and industrial plants, principally in New England and the Middle West. In the fall of 1942 Company A was ordered to Caribelle, Florida, for training, and Companies B and C were sent to New Orleans, La., for a period of intensive training at the Higgins plant. By December of 1942 all the companies of the 411th had made the trip to the Pacific coast and were located at Ford Ord, California, awaiting orders to proceed overseas. Company C had the distinction of preceding the remainder of the Battalion to service overseas; but on January 7, 1943, the 411th passed under the Golden Gate aboard the Dutch ship "Tabinta." Irresistably the great ship plunged into the gathering darkness, symbolic of the uncertainty; but confidence which we felt. Now we were told. We were bound for the mysterious Island Continent of Australia, and our new home was to be at Cairns, in the tropical north. Our job was to build the LCV landing barge. Let us see just what happened.
"U.S.S. Missouri. Over this spot on 2 September 1945 the instrument of formal surrender of Japan to the Allied Powers was signed, thus bringing to a close the second World War. The ship at that time was at anchor in Tokyo Bay. Latitude 35° 21' 17" North -- Longitude 139° 45' 36" East"--Cover
The U.S.S. New York, whose career spans a thirty-one year period embracing a volume of tradition which might well be the envy of any ship of the Fleet and whose name has been borne of six vessels of the United States Navy through 170 years of naval history, has the unique distinction of having played a noteworthy role in two world wars.
"... The accomplishments of the Seabees have been one of the outstanding features of the war. In the Pacific, where the distances are great and the expeditious construction of bases is frequently of vital importance, the construction accomplished by the Seabees has been of invaluable assistance. Furthermore, the Seabees have participated in practically every amphibious operation undertaken thus far, landing with the first waves of assault troops to bring equipment ashore and set up temporary bases of operation. In the Solomon Islands campaign the Seabees demonstrated their ability to outbuild the Japs and to repair airfields and build new bases, regardless of conditions of weather. There can be no doubt that the Seabees constitute an invaluable component of our Navy." From the official report by Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operations
From the Introduction: "This booklet is designed to give a general picture of the Second Infantry Division in its operations from the time it reached the Siegfried Line in Germany on October 4, 1944, until it arrived in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, its location on V-E Day, May 8, 1945. A preceding booklet told how the Second, which was activated in France in 1917 and which probably gained more renown in World War I than any other division, opened its campaign in World War II when it came ashore on Omaha Beach in France, D plus 1, June 7. The story described the manner in which the wearers of the Indianhead patch fought their way through Treviers, Cerisy La Foret, and then, in one mighty effort, crushed the powerful Nazi defenses on Hill 192, grassy slope holding up the advance on St. Lo. In the speedy breakthrough South that followed, the Second stepped out in front and pushed through St. Jean des Baisants, Vire, and Tinchebray in victorious but hard fighting. It was next ordered along with two other divisions to take Brest, heavily defended seaport which the Germans had used as a submarine base. After a bitter four-week struggle, in which the Nazis fought desperately to prevent the port from passing into U. S. hands, the garrison formally surrendered to Major General Walter M. Robertson, Division Commander, from Nelson County, Virginia, on September 18, 1944. The division then moved by truck and train across France and Belgium to the Siegfried Line, where this story begins.
The Log Tossing the first sixteen-inch shell to open the European offensive and firing the last big naval bullet in the Pacific campaign--these are the outstanding mileposts in the 39-month fighting career of the U. S. S. Massachusetts. The Japs have capitulated; details for carrying out the formal surrender ceremonies have been arranged for the official end of World War II. The stories that make the war history can now be released and "Big Mamie" has one of her own. It may not be spectacular, but it reveals a ship manned by resolute and efficient officers and men who turned in a workmanlike job and who more than once received "well done" from the Admirals. It wasn't always easy going and the grind was monotonous but ... here's our story. When peace came to the Pacific, Mamie could look back on a long and action-packed career. From the time of commissioning on May 12, 1942, until the end of the war in mid-August, 1945, she had logged over 225,000 nautical miles, her journeyings taking her all the way from Casablanca to Tokyo and the China coast. She had taken part in some thirty-five engagements with the enemy. She had sunk or damaged five ships, including the mighty French battleship, Jean Bart. She had taken part in nine bombardments of enemy territory, three of which were directed at the Japanese home islands. She had destroyed or assisted in the destruction of at least eighteen Japanese aircraft. Her scout Kingfisher planes had rescued seven aviators downed by enemy fire, often performing the rescues within sight and range of Jap guns. Thanks to her fire-power and speed, she had lent invaluable support to the fast carrier task forces as they carried out their mission of crippling Japanese air-power and seizing control of Pacific skies. Our ship has been a workhorse of the Fleet. She was always in there pitching when there was fighting to be done. She went about her tasks without ostentation and with a high degree of competence and skill gained from long hours of practice and of combat.
Two Years of Preparation: The 334th Infantry Regiment was activated 15 October 1942 at Camp Howze, Texas. For a regiment which was later to grind its way through the Siegfried Line, disorganize three of Germany's finest divisions in the Ardennes, and spearhead the Ninth Army's drive across the Roer and into the German heartland, the beginnings were not sensational. In 1942 Selective Service began to look more carefully into the manpower pool, and the Army began to develop a reservoir of Infantry. Many original men of the regiment had been classified 4F by lenient draft boards who subsequently reclassified them when the quotas were made more stringent. In October 1942 the War was nine months old, and while many men were convinced it should be fought, few were volunteering for the Army, and fewer for the Infantry. The Air Forces were called the Air Corps, a place for gentlemen and adventurers, and the Infantry was coolie labor, a tutored mob. The first men to join the regiment had a "raw deal" they told themselves around the beer tables in the PX. First, they didn't like the Army; second, they weren't physically fit; third, their talents were not being used. As the men looked around and listened, they invented a satisfying rumor, compensation for their "raw deal," a rumor that was going to last until we heard the first sounds of Long Toms and 240's outside Gulpen and Waalwiller, Holland: "We're a replacement outfit. The 334th isn't going anywhere. If it does, we're Army of Occupation. Man, they can't send this outfit into combat!"
From the Introduction: Activitated 15 December 1941 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the 649th Engineer Battalion was assigned to the First Army and placed under the technical direction of the Chief of Engineers. In an Army the size of ours the activation of a battalion causes only the slightest ripple on the pool of available manpower. It's just another battalion with a number and that's as far as it goes. But this book isn't about numbers; you can find numbers in an arithmetic book. This is the story of a group of men and we'd like to tell you from whence they came. At its inception, the battalion comprised three companies, viz: Headquarters and Service, including Photomapping; B, the Reproduction company; A, the Survey company ... Though the majority of us came from New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania, all sections of the country are represented in our ranks, and practically all the states. What better beginning can a battalion in this man's army have?
