Dec 2015

The Veterans Memorial Museum Newsletter

December 2015 The Museum is open Wednesday - Saturday 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. To set up a tour call the Museum at 256-883-3737 during Museum hours.

Museum News 

Buy a General Admission ticket to the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum for a friend. Tickets may be obtained at the Museum office.

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The Museum was pleased to host a U.S. Army Materiel Command senior leader call this evening at the Museum. We are always honored to serve those who serve our republic. The Museum was also pleased to provide a 1941 Willys MB jeep for General Via and his staff to use for a special event at U.S. Army Materiel Command. A section of the Army Command and General Staff College classes were taught at the museum on 13 November and 15 November. Veterans’ Day, Museum had an open house after the parade with a reception honoring all WWII, Korean War and Vietnam veterans. Thurs 28-29 Oct, representatives from the Historic Vehicle Association, 3 from Washington and 1 from Michigan, were at the Museum to study and document the Ford Pilot Model "Pygmy" "Jeep" for inclusion into the National Historic Vehicle Register. The Pygmy is the oldest surviving ancestor of the vehicle that became known as the "Jeep". Page 1

Dec 2015

We are proud to have this historic vehicle as part of the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum Collection!

Upcoming Events The following events are scheduled at the Museum:  Tuesday, Dec. 1, Madison County Military Heritage Commission meets at the Museum. ….  Wednesday,Dec. 2, the North Alabama Coalition of Fraternal and Veterans Organizations meets at the Museum  Monday December 7,, Remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.  Saturday December 12. Wreaths For Veterans Wreath Laying Ceremony, 1100 @ Valhalla Memory Gardens  Thursday December 17. University Place School Museum Tour  Friday, December 25. Museum Closed in Observance of Christmas  Saturday, December 26, Museum Open ……

Museum Artifact

by Rob Robley

Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941 Framed in the Pearl Harbor Diorama is U. S. currency from that period. The Bills are over stamped "HAWAII" on both sides. This was to check on and discourage Japanese nationals from sending "Greenbacks" U.S. Dollars to Japan to support he war effort. As most of you know, all of the Persons of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast were sent to internment camps, in the Mid-West. Hawaii had over 135,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living on most of the Islands as merchants and laborers. Due to distance and cost, it was decided by the Military to keep the Japanese nationals in Hawaii for the duration of the war. Many Japanese nationals however enlisted in the U. S. Army and had distinguished military Careers and held prominent positions in both local and Federal government. One of the most famous organizations that was formed was the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which became the most decorated unit in WW II. Because there was still some ill feelings against the Japanese-Americans many did not receive their awards for bravery until the 1990's When Congress finally awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to these brave men. One hears the term Nisei Used to identify the Japanese Americans during that period. Nisei in Japanese identifies a person of second generation, although some of them were also sensei ( 3rd generation) Japanese Americans. Page 2

Dec 2015

Historical facts

by Rob Robley

Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941 It’s Sunday morning, you are a young sailor, soldier or marine stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hickam Field, Schofield Barracks, Barbers Point Naval Air Station, or Kaneohe Marine Base. Reveille has sounded, you are making your bunk or cot, going to take a shower and heading to the mess or mess hall before going to church (waiting for church call), (most soldiers relied on bugle calls to tell time). Other soldiers and sailors are waiting for transport to town (Honolulu) to go to the Armed Forces YMCA on Beretania Street or to the Maluhea Service Club on Ft. DeRussy near Waikiki Beach to dance and flirt with the local girls. For the sailors at Pearl Harbor it required a ride on the liberty launch to get from their ships to shore. The Marines at Kaneohe had to que for a bus ride from the base on the windward side of the island to the leeward side. The Army Air Corps Soldiers had to bus from Hickam Field or Wheeler Field next to Schofield Barracks. On some “ships of the line” now known as capital ships were just raising or (posting) the colors. At approximately 0755, or 7:55 a.m. two waves aircraft, 363 total were spotted flying through Kolekole pass and Kaneohe Bay in a large formation. Once through the pass, most of the aircraft turned right to attack Pearl Harbor, Barbers Point and Hickam Field. Other aircraft attacked Wheeler Field, Schofield Barracks and Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station. During the attack, many soldiers and sailors fought (fires and the attack its self) in their class uniforms “A” (dress whites or khaki). Many also died in those uniforms. Some 68 Oahu residents died as results of the attack There was a total 2,323 Americans were killed as the results of the attack. Many (sailors and marines) are still entombed in the battleship Arizona, (Now a National Monument). A Japanese Midget Submarine washed ashore on the windward side of the island and throughout the war was on display in the lobby of the Bank of Hawaii. One of the Page 3

Dec 2015

Japanese attack aircraft crash landed on the Island of Ni’ihau and the pilot was killed by the residents after being attacked by him. Personal Note: I was 3 years old at the time of the attack. There were also damage to many of the local areas surrounding Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field, either from burning debris or unexploded shells, several homes and one school were destroyed by fire and many Islanders were injured assisting the military wounded. My cousin was an ambulance driver for one of the local hospitals on Hickam Field when a bomb fragment severed his arm. During the years following the attack we (local schoolchildren) had to carry gas mask to school and had air raid drills almost weekly. Present at Pearl Harbor was DD-103, the USS Schley, a destroyer tied up at the Navy Dock. The Museum was fortunate enough to obtain a M1903 Springfield rifle that belonged to the Destroye and. it is displayed in our Pearl Harbor diorama. The attack on Pearl Harbor (called Hawaii Operation or Operation AI by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (Operation Z in planning) and the Battle of Pearl Harbor) was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan and the Philippines). The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. The base was attacked by 363 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. Four U.S. Navy battleships were sunk (two of which were raised and returned to service later in the war) and the four others present were damaged. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 men were killed and 1,282 wounded. The power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured. The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day (December 8) the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for isolationism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (for example the Neutrality Patrol) was Page 4

Dec 2015

replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day. Despite numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan, the lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy".

General Information The U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum located in Huntsville Alabama is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. There are more than 30 historical military vehicles from World War I to the present as well as artifacts and other memorabilia dating back to the Revolutionary War. Displays include a "Merci" 40 et 8 boxcar from World War I, a Cobra attack helicopter, a collection of jeeps, Sherman tanks and Stuarts, a half-track and flags, maps, uniforms and other artifacts from every U.S. conflict. The Museum is located just west of Memorial Pkwy in John Hunt Park at 2060A Airport Road, Huntsville, Al 35801. The U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum is dedicated to promoting the accomplishments of American military men and women. The Museum's web page is www.memorialmuseum.org. The Museum email of is [email protected]. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, send “REMOVE” to [email protected] If you would like to be “ADDED” to our mailing list, send “Add to Newsletter” to [email protected] Follow the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum on Facebook.

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