Number of ETO soliders in the Pacific ?
Musicman59
I know there was mobilization to move the troops to the Pacific for
the impending invasion of Japan but am not sure how far along it got.
Thx - Craig
Rich Rostrom
Are we considering only Army personnel?
Some USAF personnel were sent to the Pacific well
before 1945. General Curtis Lemay served in Eighth AF
(leading several missions over Germany) before he was
transferred to the Pacific.
Also, there was some transfer of Navy personnel, as the
war in the ETO/Atlantic moved away from the ocean.
There were no large amphibious operations in the ETO
after D-Day, and so many landing craft and their crews
were transferred. I have read of a Navy coxswain who
was a veteran of D-Day, and also of the landings on Iwo
Jima and Okinawa.
Finally, are we considering only Americans? Because the
British Empire/Commonwealth transferred lots of men to
the Pacific during the war. Most of these were
Australians who had served in North Africa. Does that
count as ETO troops? All the Australians were withdrawn
from North Africa after Second El Alamein.
I have no doubt that some of the Australians who served
in North Africa later fought in New Guinea and some in
the last actions in Borneo in mid-1945.
Of course there were also transfers of Royal Navy and
Royal Air Force personnelas well. RNZAF pilot Terence
O'Brien, who was formerly active in this newsgroup, had
served in Britain. He has written of bombing German
coastal shipping with a Blenheim light bomber.
Mr. O'Brien was transferred to the Far East, just in
time for the defeat in Malaya. He continued in the
East till the end of the war, when his was the first
Allied plane flown into Saigon and IIRC Hong Kong after
the Japanese surrender.
The Royal Navy deployed a carrier task group to the
Pacific to support the Okinawa landings. One of their
armored-deck carriers was hit by a kamikaze, but kept
operating aircraft.
Then-Boy Seaman Tristan Jones was transferred east
in mid-1944, for duty with landing craft in Burma
and Malaya. (He never saw action there, due to
shortages of craft and two bouts of disease.)
Chris
>Also, there was some transfer of Navy personnel, as the
> war in the ETO/Atlantic moved away from the ocean.
> There were no large amphibious operations in the ETO
> after D-Day, and so many landing craft and their crews
> were transferred.
Not just Navy landing craft units, but other specialized amphibious
assault units that were in the Army were transferred. My great uncle
was a beachmaster for the US Army: landed on Utah Beach, then
transferred to the Pacific and landed on Okinawa. Was scheduled for
Olympic too. I seem to recall that there were engineer units
specialized in clearing beach obstacles, and I would bet that they had
similar careers as well. How many other specialized amphibious assault
units were there in the US Army?
Chris Manteuffel
Geoffrey Sinclair
news:a9b9e520-2330-46e0...@t12g2000vbk.googlegroups.com...
> Did any ETO troops see action in the Pacific between May-August 1945?
Assuming ETO and soldiers means US Army only. The answer is some.
Individuals moved between the theatres during the war but if you are
referring to formed units then,
The 1st Engineer Special Brigade went to North Africa in December
1942, via England, assaulted Sicily then Italy. To England, assaulted
Utah beach on D-day. To the US December 1944, in Hawaii in
February 1945, assaulted Okinawa in April 1945, ended up in
Korea post war.
(the 2nd, 3rd, 4th Engineer Special Brigades were used in the
Pacific, the 5th in Europe, they were meant to be the US Army's
specialist amphibious assault units).
> I know there was mobilization to move the troops to the Pacific for
> the impending invasion of Japan but am not sure how far along it got.
Apparently US Army fuel consumption in Europe went up after the
German surrender as it tried to move troops out of the theatre for
redeployment in the Pacific.
I have not tracked non divisional units but as far as I can tell none of
the ETO units present when Germany surrendered saw action in the
Pacific. In June 1945 the 86th, 95th, 97th and 104th divisions left
the ETO, the 86th and 97th both arrived in the Philippines in
September 1945.
Various USN ships, including many landing craft, transferred from the
ETO to the Pacific. Similar for RN ships.
The 489th Bombardment Group served with the 8th Air Force from
April until November 1944 when it returned to the US. It converted
to B-29s and was alerted to move to the Pacific before the war ended,
but had not left the US on VJ day.
The name 8th Air Force HQ was transferred to the Pacific, arriving
in Okinawa in July 1945, but very few to none of the personnel
assigned to the HQ actually went, the name was used by units already
in the Pacific.
Geoffrey Sinclair
Remove the nb for email.
Dave
> Did any ETO troops see action in the Pacific between May-August 1945?
Redeployment of U.S Army ground forces was underway in August '45. I
interviewed a vet of the 10th Mountain Division who was on a train
westbound in Indiana when they got the word of the Japanese surrender.
They had combat service in Italy and before that, in the Aleutians.
GFH
> Did any ETO troops see action in the Pacific between May-August 1945?
What "action"?
Okinawa was over by mid June. While there were preparations for the
invasion of the Japanese home islands, that is hardly "action". My
father was en-route to the Pacific in mid August. En route is not
"action" either. He was not awarded a Pacific Theater ribbon for
"en route". I know he got as far a San Francisco, perhaps even
Pearl Harbor (but I don't think so).
GFH
Walt Boyd
the US Army?<<<--
There were quite a few that were attached to the Engineer Special
Brigades for assaults on D-Day. My father was First Sergeant of one of
them - the 294th Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO) that landed on
Omaha Beach. There were two other JASCOs there too - the 286th and 293rd
I believe.
After the Normandy and Northern France campaigns, the 294th was shipped
back to the states via Scotland (December 44). They trained at Camp
Callan for several months, and then were deployed to Oahu where they
began preparing for Olympic. I don't think they saw any action in the
Pacific, however. My father was transferred back to the states in July,
and the 294th was deactivated in October '45 only to be reactivated a
couple years later.
Although the Marines and Navy are always featured in the amphibious
landings in the Pacific Theater, there were several US Army JASCOs that
participated in landings in the PTO - some of them many times. They were
all sent directly there from the states, however.
-Walt
Joe Osman
> -->>>How many other specialized amphibious assault units were there in
> the US Army?<<<--
>
> There were quite a few that were attached to the Engineer Special
> Brigades for assaults on D-Day. My father was First Sergeant of one of
> them - the 294th Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO) that landed on
> Omaha Beach. There were two other JASCOs there too - the 286th and 293rd
> I believe.
>
> After the Normandy and Northern France campaigns, the 294th was shipped
> back to the states via Scotland (December 44). They trained at Camp
> Callan for several months, and then were deployed to Oahu where they
> began preparing for Olympic. I don't think they saw any action in the
> Pacific, however. My father was transferred back to the states in July,
> and the 294th was deactivated in October '45 only to be reactivated a
> couple years later.
>
> Although the Marines and Navy are always featured in the amphibious
> landings in the Pacific Theater, there were several US Army JASCOs that
> participated in landings in the PTO - some of them many times. They were
> all sent directly there from the states, however.
>
> -Walt
>
personnel? I believe that there were both in US Army JASCOs, the AAF
for air support and the Navy for naval gunfire. The US Army part was
Signal Corps.
According to "Military communications: from ancient times to the 21st
century" by Christopher H. Sterling, a platoon of the 294th had the
only working comms on Omaha Beach until noon.
Joe
Walt Boyd
I can only imagine what he saw in France, but I'm sure it was
horrendous. He always shifted the conversation to his favorite
assignment - five years in the Panama Canal Zone - also in the Signal
Corps. Many veterans have been more willing to talk in about their WW II
experiences in recent years, but my dad passed away in 1965.
Most of what I know comes from research (including the citation you
mention). He did mention training with the Army Air Corps and Navy in
both the states and England prior to D-Day. I remember he commented that
he might as well have been in the Navy considering all the water and
muck he encountered.
-->>>According to "Military communications: from ancient times to the
21st century" by Christopher H. Sterling, a platoon of the 294th had the
only working comms on Omaha Beach until noon.<<<--
Many of the support units of 5th Engineer Special Brigade lost their
equipment before ever making it to shore. The 294th did manage to get
some of its equipment onto the beach and functioning. They also
"donated" some of their radios to the infantry.
-Walt