Friday, May 25, 1945. The Clock.

"A Battery, 465 FA Bn) located near Ballette Pass, Luzon, P.I.) in the 25th Div, one of action. Pfc R. Duffy; Pfc T. McDonald; Pfc A. Mullins; Pfc T. Kaskie; Pvt A. Rossetti; Capt H. W. Berberian; T/4 F. Grogorowich; Cpl D. Marcus; Cpl K. Cameron; Pfc J. Sullivan; Pfc E. Colby all of Boston, Mass, load the prepare to fire an 8 in gun. The Japs are located on a ridge about, 500 yds forward this position. 25 May, 1945.  465th Field Artillery Battalion."   This gun appears to be a 155mm "Long Tom", a long range artillery piece.  If this caption is correct, it's a freakish situation in that the gun is so close to the front lines.

The Battle of Odžak between Yugoslav (communist) partisans and the fascist Croatian Armed Forces ended in a Yugoslav partisan victory.  Fighting ended in Europe.

The American armed forces Chiefs of Staff set November 1, 1945 as the start date for the invasion of Japan.

USS Bates (APD-47) burning off Ie Shima, Ryukyu Islands, after being hit by three kamikazee.  May 25, 1945.

MGM released the wartime romance, The Clock.

The plot centers around a whirlwind romance of a soldier on leave and a woman he meets, taking place in 48 hours.  They meet and marry in that time frame.

Suffice it to say, a marriage contracted that rapidly would be risky.

The Post World War Two increase in divorces. . . maybe.*

On this general topic, I rewated The Best Years of Our Lives Friday night.  What struck me in rewatching it was the casual acceptance of divorce in the film.  Perhaps that's stretching it, but two of the central characters are involved, in a way, in a sort of semi illicit love affair, and are portrayed sympathetically.

The other thing that struck me, which has before, is that Cpt. Derry is shown to have nothing beyond a (presumed) high school education. That would be correct for his wartime role, but it would not have occurred very often any time post war, after which college educations became the norm for officers.

Last edition:

Thursday, May 24, 1945. Japanese paratroopers on Okinawa.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Army, Atlanta Georgia, Australian Army, Bernard Law Montgomery, Charles de Gaulle, German Luftwaffe, Imperial Japanese Army, New Guinea, Okinawa, Tokyo Japan, U.S. Air Force, World War Two

Thursday, April 5, 1945. Rebellion of the Georgian Legion.

The Soviet Union renounced the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941.

The Georgian Legion, a German foreign legion, rose up against the Germans on the Dutch island of Texel.  The battle would result in large-scale casualties incurred until the end of the war by both sides.

The uprising is regarded as heroic, but the late war uprising was naive.  It counted on an Allied landing which did not occur, and it presumed favorable post war treatment by the Allies.

Arrested officers.

African American members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club at Freeman Field, Indiana, resulting in the predictable scuffles and arrests although the ultimate punishment was minor.

Gen. MacArthur was appointed control of all Army forces in the Pacific and Adm. Nimitz all naval forces.  The move was made in anticipation of the Invasion of Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso (小磯 國昭), frustrated in his attempts to be involved in military decisions, resigned.

The U-242 sank in St. George's Channel after hitting a mine.

Last edition

Wednesday, April 4, 1945. The Third Army liberates the Ohrdruf Subcamp.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Army, Battle of Buchhof, Battle of Kassel, British Army, Buchenwald, Canadian Army, Conentration Camps, Okinawa, Red Army, The Holocaust, World War Two