Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 356
January 11, 2015
Today in World War II History—January 11, 1940 & 1945
Kaiten Type 1 test launch from Japanese cruiser Kitakami, 28 February 1945 (Imperial Japanese Navy)
75 Years Ago—Jan. 11, 1940: Movie premiere of comedy His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell.
70 Years Ago—Jan. 11, 1945: Japanese subs begin operation Kongo, employing suicide torpedoes (kaiten) at Ulithi Atoll. On Luzon, Filipino guerillas take Aguilar and Santa Barbara, linking with US troops.
January 10, 2015
Today in World War II History—January 10, 1940 & 1945
75 Years Ago—Jan. 10, 1940: A Luftwaffe officer mistakenly lands in Belgium carrying plans for the German invasion of the west scheduled to start January 17; Germans forced to make new plans.
January 9, 2015
Today in World War II History—January 9, 1940 & 1945
US landing barges carrying invasion troops toward Luzon in Lingayen Gulf, 9 Jan 1945. (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—Jan. 9, 1940: Australian Comforts Fund reestablished, for women to send care packages to soldiers.
70 Years Ago—Jan. 9, 1945: US Sixth Army lands at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon in the Philippines; beachhead established as Japanese have withdrawn inland. Seaman Leon LeRoy, returning home to Antioch, CA to comfort his recently widowed mother, and two other servicemen are bumped off their flight by a dog belonging to Col. Elliott Roosevelt, son of the president. Read more about this story: A Dog, the President’s Son, and a Grieving Sailor.
January 8, 2015
Today in World War II History—January 8, 1940 & 1945
British ration book, WWII. (National Archives UK)
75 Years Ago—Jan. 8, 1940: In Britain, ration books are introduced as program expands—each person to receive 4 oz of bacon or ham, 8 oz of butter, and 12 oz of sugar weekly.
70 Years Ago—Jan. 8, 1945: Germans demolish Ruhr floodgates, flooding area west of Köln (Cologne). Japanese execute Filipino resistance leader Col. Pastor Martelino. In Placer County, CA, the home of a recently returned Japanese-American family is attacked (shed burned, shots fired); first of 30 similar incidents on West Coast.
January 7, 2015
Book Beat – Emissary by Thomas Locke
Guest blogger Matthew Sundin
Today I have a special guest blogger – my 16-year-old son, Matthew! As a great lover of the fantasy genre, Matthew seemed like the ideal reader for Thomas Locke’s new novel, Emissary. And he is. He gobbled it up in a day. And now I turn the blog over to Matthew…
Emissary, a Fantasy/Adventure, coming-of-age story by Thomas Locke, follows the adventures of a 21-year-old man named Hyam. After a traumatic youth and his mother’s death, Hyam is sent to visit the mythical and mysterious Ashanta race to deliver grave news. During his time there, he is asked (or forced) to become the emissary for the Ashanta people, to inform their allies and to be there on their behalf. Along his journey he endures trials, recruits allies of his own, struggles with his heritage and discovers a power he can barely even fathom.
The story is well written and very enthralling. The story following Hyam leaves you with a sense of wonder, but has enough realistic properties that it does not become insanity. Though the story is meant for a younger audience, members of an older audience could still find enjoyment in reading this book. Through and through, Emissary is a great story and a good read. I recommend this story to lovers of adventure and fantasy.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell in exchange for my honest review.
Today in World War II History—January 7, 1940 & 1945
Finnish troops inspecting destroyed Soviet vehicles, Finland, 17 Jan 1940. (US Library of Congress)
75 Years Ago—Jan. 7, 1940: Battle of Raate Road ends in Finnish victory; over 10,000 Soviets killed.
70 Years Ago—Jan. 7, 1945: German Navy begins evacuating troops trapped by the Soviet advance along the Baltic in Lithuania. Off Manila Bay, US destroyers Charles Ausburne, Braine, Russell, and Shaw sink Japanese destroyer Hinoki; the last surface naval engagement of the Pacific war.
January 6, 2015
Today in World War II History—January 6, 1940 & 1945
Lt. George H.W. Bush, US Navy pilot
75 Years Ago—Jan. 6, 1940: British declare Germans may not use Norwegian waters. Norway & Sweden forbid Allied troops from crossing their territory to aid Finland.
70 Years Ago—Jan. 6, 1945: Edith Frank, mother of Anne, dies in Auschwitz. Future president Lt. (j.g.) George H.W. Bush marries Barbara Pierce in Rye, NY, just a few weeks after his return from the Pacific.
January 5, 2015
A Dog, the President’s Son, and a Grieving Sailor
Sometimes historical research is dry, but often it brings up fascinating stories. While reading excerpts from 1945 issues of Time Magazine, a story grabbed my attention. It involved Antioch, California—the small (at the time) town I used as the hometown for the heroes in my Wings of Glory series. A bit of time over microfiche copies of the Antioch Ledger pulled the details together.
Like many good stories, this involves an unlikely assortment of characters.
The President’s Son and a Hollywood Actress
Col. Elliott Roosevelt, second son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, served in the US Eighth Air Force based in England as a pilot and a commander of a reconnaissance wing. On December 3, 1944, he married glamorous film star Faye Emerson at the Grand Canyon. This was his third marriage.
A Small-Town Police Chief
In an entirely different world, Al LeRoy served as police chief in Antioch, California, population 7250. With his wife—also named Faye—he raised two stepsons and his son, Leon. At seventeen, Leon joined the US Navy and was assigned as a gunner on a tanker. Chief Al LeRoy was an upstanding member of the community—a World War I veteran and a member of multiple civic organizations. On December 6, 1944 he died of a sudden heart attack at age 44. At sea, his son Leon was unaware of his father’s death.
Brig. Gen. Elliott Roosevelt, 1945
A Dog Named Blaze
Back in England, Colonel Roosevelt bought a 130-pound bull mastiff named Blaze for his bride, and he had it shipped to her Hollywood home.
A Grieving Sailor
In January 1945, Seaman 1/C Leon LeRoy’s ship docked in New York City. There he received a pile of letters—and he finally learned of his father’s death. He received a furlough to go home and visit his mother.
During the war, the transportation system was strained by the competing needs of civilian and military transport. Military travel took priority, but even in the military, priorities were assigned. Seaman LeRoy had “C” priority.
C-47 in flight
Bumped by a Dog
On January 9, 1945, the C-47 transport plane carrying Seaman 1/C Leon LeRoy landed in Memphis, Tennessee. Cargo was loaded carrying an “A” priority label, meaning it was “required by an emergency so acute that precedence should be given over all other traffic.” This crucial cargo was a large crate carrying Blaze the bull mastiff. To make room, Seaman LeRoy was bumped from the flight, along with a Seabee and Army T/Sgt. Dave Aks, home for the first time in thirty-one months to visit his critically ill wife in Riverside, California. LeRoy wouldn’t arrive in Antioch until January 16, leaving him only three days to stay at home.
National Scandal
The Antioch Ledger published the story on January 16, 1945. It was picked up by the UP on January 17, and the story made the January 29 issue of Time Magazine. The public was incensed, and the US Senate formed a committee to investigate the matter. Colonel Roosevelt had been due to receive a promotion to brigadier general on January 17, but this was held up until January 22 during the investigation.
Colonel Roosevelt stated he had never requested top-priority transport for his dog, and his wife hadn’t even known the dog was coming. Fingers were pointed, even to the president’s daughter, Anna, for arranging the transport. In the end, it was most likely a low-level bureaucratic error.
Justice
Seaman LeRoy’s furlough was extended an additional five days to January 27. In a nice twist, Lt. Harriet Ainsworth, a WAVE serving with the Naval Air Transport Service, arranged a priority flight for his return to New York City on January 26. .
Today in World War II History—January 5, 1940 & 1945
Cruiser USS Louisville under kamikaze attack, 6 January 1945 (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—Jan. 5, 1940: In the Battle of Suomussalmi, Finns encircle 18,000 Russians north of Lake Ladoga, Finland. FM radio demonstrated for first time in US.
70 Years Ago—Jan. 5, 1945: As Allied invasion force approaches Lingayen Gulf on Luzon, kamikazes damage US heavy cruiser Louisville, US destroyer Helm, US escort carriers Manila Bay and Savo Island, US destroyer escort Stafford, heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, and destroyer HMAS Arunta (54 killed on all ships).
January 4, 2015
Today in World War II History—January 4, 1940 & 1945
Adm. Lord Louis Mountbatten observing Mandalay from a distance aboard a WC command car, Burma, 13-18 Jan 1945. (Imperial War Museum)
75 Years Ago—Jan. 4, 1940: Britain requisitions all merchant ships for war effort.
70 Years Ago—Jan. 4, 1945: In Burma, British secure Akyab Island; Burma is now secured from Akyab to Mandalay, and north of the Irrawaddy River.
