December 7th, 1941

Nakajima B52N "Kate" fighter from the carrier Zuikaku flying over Pearl Harbor.

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
Address to a Joint Session of the Congress
December 8, 1941

USS Arizona's total complement on 7 December 1941 appears to have been 1,512, including Adm. Kidd and those who were ashore or on other ships at the time of the attack.  On-board that morning were 1,282 officers and enlisted men.  Of these, 1,177 were killed, including Adm. Kidd and Capt. Van Valkenburg, leaving 337 survivors.  A total of 229 bodies were recovered before the Navy decided it was too dangerous to continue, leaving 945 still entombed.

December 7, 1941 Losses

http://www.nps.gov/usar/home.htm

Remember Pearl Harbor ....................

Remember the World Trade Center ...

Remember ..............

On A Rock In Rural Iowa
As you can see corn and beans aren't the only things Iowa has.....This huge rock is located on Highway 25.  There is a gravel-rock pit here and the kids used to use it for obscenities, but since it has been painted like this it has been left alone!!! 
Thanks to Linda Burge, Camp Atterbury.

1943 Map of
Camp Atterbury
Showing Main Cantonment Roads
and Facilities
(click to enlarge)
 

The Final Journey of a Japanese Submarine - Japan's Special Weapon
or
How Camp Atterbury Came to Play
a Small Role in the History of the
Capture of the First Japanese Combatant
of World War II.

As designed in 1938, the Type-A midget submarine was a remarkable innovation. She was a two-man sub, consisting of a junior officer who commanded the boat and a petty officer who manipulated the control valves and ballast. Figure 3 shows that the Type-A measured 80 feet in overall length, and her hull measured 6 feet in diameter. She displaced 46 tons when submerged. Two bolted hull joints permitted the submarine to be separated into three sections. She was propelled by a single 600-horsepower electric motor, driving a single-geared shaft with a pair of contra-rotating propellers. Acid-cell batteries supplied power, with recharging accomplished by a mother submarine. Top speed of this class was 23 knots on the surface and 19 knots submerged. At top speed she had an endurance of 55 minutes. At a submerged speed of 4 knots, however, the midget had an effective range of 100 miles or 25 hours. Each carried two 18-inch torpedoes mounted one above the other. The size of each torpedo warhead approximated 1,000 pounds of explosive—more than twice the destructive firepower of those carried by the Japanese attacking aerial force.

Specifications: Type A Ko-Hyoteki, 1938-1942, 62 were built
46 tons submerged 78ft 6in x 6ft x 6ft, 1 x 600hp electric motor
23 knots surfaced 19 knots submerged
80 miles at 2 knots? 55 miles at 19 knots?
2 x 18 in torpedoes
crew of 2

The Japanese Navy included five Type A midget submarines in the Pearl Harbor raid of 7 December 1941. Transported on board large "I" type submarines, the midgets were launched near the entrance to Pearl Harbor the night before the attack was to begin. One, spotted trying to enter the harbor before dawn, was attacked by USS Ward (DD-139) and presumably sunk in the first combat action of the as yet unopened Pacific War. At least one of the midgets was able to enter the harbor and was sunk there by USS Monaghan (DD-354). Another, the Ha-19, unsuccessful in its attempts to penetrate Pearl Harbor, drifted around to the east coast of Oahu and was captured there the day after the attack.

Three of the five Pearl Harbor midget submarines have been salvaged, Ha-19 immediately after the attack and the one sunk by USS Monaghan a few days later. The third was found off the harbor entrance in 1960. Monaghan's submarine was buried in a landfill shortly after its recovery. The other two are on exhibit, Ha-19 at Fredericksburg, Texas, and the one found in 1960 at Eta Jima, Japan.

Ha-19 (Midget Submarine, 1938-1941).

Ha-19, a 46-ton Type "A" midget submarine, was built at Kure, Japan, in 1938. In November-December 1941, she was transported aboard the larger submarine I-24 to the waters off Pearl Harbor, where she was one of five midget submarines launched to participate on the 7 December Japanese raid.

A non-functioning gyrocompass prevented Ha-19 from entering Pearl Harbor. After many adventures, she went aground at Waimanalo, on the east coast of Oahu. The submarine and her pilot, Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, were captured on 8 December. Ensign Sakamaki was the first Japanese prisoner of war taken by the United States during the Pacific War.

Ha-19 was salvaged and later sent to the United States' mainland, where she was featured at War Bond drives throughout the country. After the end of World War II she was exhibited for many years at Key West, Florida. In 1991, Ha-19 was moved to Fredericksburg, Texas, where she remains on display at the Admiral Nimitz museum.

As built in 1938, HA-19, designated as "Midget C" by the U.S. Navy, was a Type-A class two-man midget submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Constructed of four longitudinally welded, cold-rolled, 10-inch steel strakes reinforced by welded transverse angle-iron frames, HA-19 is 78.5 feet in length overall, with a 6.1-foot breadth and a 6.1-foot draft. HA-19 displaced 46 tons submerged.  Two bolted joints allow the submarine to be separated into three sections. There is a single 93-inch long, 50-inch high, and 20-inch wide conning tower welded and mechanically attached to the pressure hull. The hull, originally coated with yellow zinc-chromate primer, a bitumastic tar and then painted with a finish coat of black and red enamel, is now painted with a gray gloss enamel finish coat.

The vessel was equipped with a single Type 92 periscope manufactured by the Japan Optical Manufacturing Company in May 1941. Raised by electrical winch, the periscope was 10 feet long, 3 5/8 inches in diameter, and had magnification settings of 1.5 and 6.0. The periscope was removed by the U.S. Navy after the submarine's capture in December 1941. [3] The armament consisted of two 18-inch torpedo tubes mounted one over the other. During the submarine's participation in Japan's "Hawaii Operation," it was armed with two torpedoes, each with approximately 1,000 lbs. of explosive in the warhead

The submarine was propelled by a single-shaft electric motor of 600 h.p. Powered by acid-cell batteries, the submarine carried no generator and required recharging by a mother submarine or tender. At top speed (23 knots surfaced and 19 knots submerged) the submarine's battery charge would last only 55 minutes. However, at a submerged speed of 2 knots, the submarine had an effective range of 100 miles. The shaft connected to two tandem-mounted, counter-rotating propellers, the forward propeller turning right and the after propeller turning left.

The submarine is divided into seven compartments--a free-flooding bow tank; torpedo room, forward battery room; control room; after battery room; motor room; and a free-flooding tail section. The battery rooms and control room, separated by riveted watertight bulkheads with doors, are integral to the center section of the submarine; the torpedo room and motor room comprise two separate sections that are bolted to the center section. The submarine carried 534 lead pigs weighing 5,899 lbs. as ballast equally loaded throughout; these pigs were shifted by the crew on December 7, 1941 to correct trim and help work the craft off a submerged reef after grounding.

The torpedo room, in addition to the two 18-inch tubes and ballast, also carried a 7.5-foot ballast tank, two low-pressure air tanks, two impulse tanks, and the torpedo tube firing valves. The forward battery room carried air and oxygen flasks, a 90.5-gallon trim tank, air purification equipment, and 12 battery cells. The control room carried the depth and control instruments, periscope, a small crystal radio, torpedo tube controls, gyro compass, electrically actuated directional gyro, a small electric trim pump, a low-pressure air manifold, a small regulator tank, and a hydrogen detector. The after battery room contained 36 battery cells, sound equipment, air conditioning apparatus, air purification equipment, and one 56.5-gallon trim tank. The motor room carried the motor and control panels. The free-flooding tail section housed the gear box. The submarine's exterior equipment and accouterments were few and consisted of a vertical rubber-sheathed 32-inch radio antenna, the periscope, two white running lights, the forward light blanked off, probably for the "Hawaii Operation," the battery ventilation exhaust, a jack for telephone communication with the mother submarine while still tethered, the mounting studs for attaching the midget to the mother submarine's deck, and a U-frame fairing sheer that supported two 3/4-inch diameter 3-strand steel wire rope net cutters running fore and aft.

Map of Pearl Harbor, recovered from the captured Japanese Submarine.

After being depth charged by USS Aaron Ward on her way to Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and then hitting a reef, the 2-man I-24tou (HA-19) washed ashore on the island of Oahu. Its crewman, Kiyoshi Inagake, was killed.  Here, her commanding officer, IJN Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, surrenders to become the first Japanese combatant to be captured by the United States after its entry into World War II.

December 7, 1941 - The Attack on Pearl Harbor - 10.5 miles WSW of the harbor entrance. At 0333, the I-24 launches her midget, the HA-19, commanded by Ensign Sakamaki Kazuo with PO2C Inagaki Kiyoshi. The HA-19 begins to broach. Inagaki manages to correct the trim successfully. At 0700, the HA-19 makes the harbor entrance, but cannot enter the harbor before the air strike commences. About 0800, Sakamaki surfaces, but runs aground on a reef. The HA-19 is spotted by the USS HELM (DD-388). The HELM fires at the midget. The shells miss but blast the HA-19 off the reef, disable a torpedo firing mechanism and knock Sakamaki unconscious. When he comes to, Sakamaki sees ships burning in the harbor. He runs aground again. Sakamaki and Inagaki shift ballast again and free the midget, but it will not answer the helm. Drifting, the HA-19 is depth charged several times. Sakamaki tries to beach, but runs aground again. He lights the fuses of the self-destruct charges and leaps into the surf where he is battered unconscious again and washes ashore at Waimanalo Beach. The charges do not explode.2 Ensign Sakamaki is taken prisoner - the first POW taken by the United States in the Second World War.

The Sub as it is being re-painted at Camp Atterbury. 
The conning tower made it too tall to completely enter the Paint Shop.
Note how it is almost laying on its side.

It can not be sure exactly which captured Japanese Sub was painted at Camp Atterbury.

Captured Japanese Sub on tour in Vincennes, Indiana

The two-man submarine captured on an Oahu beach after the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor is slated to start backfiring on the Japanese on Oct. 27 in Civic Center as part of the annual Navy Day celebration.

It will be the first public display of the craft in a nation-wide War Bond tour, which is expected to produce record bond sales.

General DeWitt, Admiral Greenslade and Maj. Gen. Upshur will be speakers at the noon ceremonies. Mayor Rossi will represent the city. At an evening fete, enlisted men of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard will be guests at a reception and grand ball in the Veterans Auditorium.

A participant in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, HA-19 was the only Japanese vessel captured intact from the attack and is representative of the successful U.S. defense against this type of "secret weapon." one of HA-19's sisters was the first confirmed kill of the United States Navy in the Second World War. Yielding significant intelligence information as well as the United States' first prisoner of war, Ens. Kazuo Sakamaki, pilot and commanding officer, HA-19's story is a significant aspect of the "day of infamy' at Pearl Harbor and its immediate aftermath. HA-19 is also of exceptional significance because of her role as a display used to good effect to sell war bonds during a nationwide tour that lasted from 1942 to 1945. Visited by millions in the major cities of the United States, HA-19, played a significant part in helping win the war against Japan as she raised funds, helped make an image of a clever, perfidious enemy, and helped ensure that the nation remembered Pearl Harbor.

Commanded by Ens. Kazuo Sakamaki and Chief Warrant Officer Kiyoshi Inagaki, HA-19 slipped off the deck of I-24 some 10-1/2 miles off Pearl Harbor and headed for the lights of Honolulu.

The Misadventures of HA-19 and Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki

The last midget submarine launched by a mother submarine was HA-19, commanded and piloted by Ensign Sakamaki and crewed by Chief Warrant Officer Inagaki. While still aboard I-22, Sakamaki and Inagaki had learned that HA-19's gyro compass, a critical navigational aid, was out of order. Defying attempts at repair, the compass was still out of order as the time to depart for Pearl Harbor approached. Lt. Cmdr. Hiroshi Hanabusa, commanding I-22, asked what Sakamaki intended to do. "We will go,' Sakamaki declared firmly, whereupon Hanabusa, fired by the young man's enthusiasm, shouted with him, on to Pearl Harbor!"  The midget, with Sakamaki and Inagaki aboard, launched at 3:33 hours, Dec. 7th, and almost immediately began to sink, nose down. As the midget approached the 100-foot limit of its pressure hull, Sakamaki and Inagaki hauled the lead ballast pigs aft in an effort to correct the trim. Succeeding, they surfaced, took bearings of Honolulu's lights, and headed toward Pearl Harbor's entrance. Fighting to keep the submarine from surfacing, and navigating in circles because of the malfunctioning gyro compass, Sakamaki and Inagaki finally reached the harbor entrance at 7:00.

Running at periscope depth, Sakamaki managed to navigate the entrance without being spotted by patrol craft, but nonetheless could not make Pearl Harbor before the air attack commenced. striking three times on submerged coral reefs at the entrance, Sakamaki surfaced just after 8:00. There, HA-19, aground and with propellers spinning in reverse, was spotted by USS Helm. The shots fired by Helm missed but blasted the midget off the reef, disabled one of the torpedo firing mechanisms, and knocked Ensign Sakamaki unconscious.

Regaining consciousness, Sakamaki saw billows of smoke from the burning ships in the harbor and pressed forward, only to run aground again. Backing off without being spotted, HA-19 once again ran for the harbor and grounded. Attempts to back off failed, and Sakamaki and Inagaki were forced to shift ballast one more time. Damaged, partially flooded, smoke-filled and reeking fumes from the batteries, the midget's interior was a shambles. Free at last, the midget would not answer its helm. Depth charged several times as it drifted through the defensive zone, HA-19's aborted role in the attack was over. The other torpedo's firing mechanism was now useless; as the midget swung in circles and drifted out of the harbor entrance, Sakamaki wept bitterly before he and Inagaki passed out from the bad air. Reviving in the evening, Sakamaki opened the hatch. Noting he was near land, the hapless ensign tried to beach his craft, but the engines died and HA-19 grounded on yet another coral reef. Ordering Inagaki to abandon ship, Sakamaki lit the fuses of the self-destruct charges and leapt into the surf. Calling to Inagaki, Sakamaki realized with despair that the charges had not exploded and his vessel was to fall into enemy hands. Separated from Inagaki, whose body washed ashore the next day, Sakamaki was battered into unconsciousness. On the morning of December 8, 1941, he woke on the beach with Sgt. David Akui standing guard over him. Ens. Kazoo Sakamaki, I.J.N., was the United States' first Second World War prisoner of war.

The submarine, aground on the reef, was bombed by Army planes. The bombs missed, but once again U.S. forces succeeded in freeing the vessel. Drifting ashore, HA-19 was captured by a salvage party from the Submarine Base at Pearl Harbor. Lines were secured to the vessel, and " ....plans for salvage were made. A demolition bomb in the after battery compartment was removed. It was found that the submarine consisted of three sections bolted together. By the aid of a jury mast, a heavy sled of 12- by 12-inch timbers, and an army tractor, the submarine was hauled higher on the beach. After considerable effort, the three sections of the submarine were unbolted, placed on trailers, and hauled to the Submarine Base."

At the same time, naval investigators recovered several documents, including a navigational chart of Pearl Harbor from the sub's interior. Ensign Sakamaki, imprisoned at Fort Shafter, was interrogated by Naval Intelligence. While "his revelations were less than earthshaking," the captured submarine provided allied intelligence with its first view of Japan's secret submersible weapon. The initial report on the captured midget submarine was produced on December 26, less than three weeks after the attack. Shamed by his capture, and censured by his colleagues for that reason, Sakamaki briefly returned to Japan after his release. He lived in Brazil.  Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, skipper of the I-24 became a successful corporate executive for Toyoto for many years after the war, died on 29 November 1999.

HA-19 and War Bond Drives

Very quickly after its capture and studies to assess the capabilities of the midget submarine, HA-19 was pressed into another duty. Shipped to the mainland in January 1942, mounted on a trailer and modified for public display, the midget submarine toured the United States in 1942-1945 as a promotion for war bond sales. Admission to the "Japanese suicide" submarine was secured by the purchase of war bonds and war stamps.  The war bond drives were an integral part of the nation's effort to win the conflict and were a marked aspect of life in the United States during the war years. The war bond drives were major campaigns "in which just about every promotional stunt the combined brains of Madison Avenue, Hollywood and the Treasury Department's War Finance Division-plus hundreds of thousands of local drive chairmen--could dream up was employed."  HA-19 was employed for such stunts-including the enlistment of Chinese-American naval recruits in San Francisco on Navy Day in January 1942.

More importantly, however, the captured midget was a potent symbol. "As a symbol of that government which had caused the death and destruction attendant to America's entry into World War II, it helped perpetuate the electrifying phrase, 'Remember Pearl Harbor."'  The midget submarine, a seeming "epitome of the Japanese preoccupation with smallness and precision--the mechanical counterpart of a bonsai tree," was also a potent symbol of Japanese perfidy and American rage at a "little people" who presumed to attack "a white giant." "People here are wild at the insolence of the 'little Japs,"' wrote one correspondent at the end of 1941. The concept of littleness remained a preoccupation and means of belittling the enemy for many Americans, a concept supported by editorials such as Time magazine's December 30, 1941, statement that the Japanese, "big only in their fury..." were advancing down Malaya "in miniature scale," using "tiny one-man tanks and two-gun carriers. The British even said that their doctors cut miniature Japanese bullets out of miniature British wounds." The disclosure of the role of the midget submarines two weeks after Pearl Harbor and the national tour of HA-19 was another part of this unique sociological aspect of the war as seen in America.

Post-War Display of HA-19

HA-19 ended the war in Chicago, lying at the Navy Pier until transferred, at the request of the commanding officer, to the Submarine Base at Key West, Florida. Arriving at Key West on January 20, 1947, five years after its arrival on the mainland, HA-19 was a stationary outdoor exhibit at the base until 1964, when the submarine was asked for, and loaned to, the Key West Art and Historical Association. On December 2, 1964, the submarine was placed on indefinite loan to the Association and put on outdoor display at the Key West Lighthouse Museum on Whitehead street.  In 1987 the Association decided to focus the effort of the museum on the lighthouse and other aids to navigation, and to favor a request from the National Park Service, USS Arizona Memorial, to relinquish the submarine back to the Navy so t hat it could then be transferred, on indefinite loan, to the USS Arizona Memorial, for public display and interpretation at Pearl Harbor, where a very significant aspect of its brief career was played out in the hours of December 7 and 8, 1941.

 

Photos of Japanese two-man subs being captured and salvaged.  It is not known which of the six subs used at Pearl Harbor are depicted in any of the photos.
The final destination of the submarine re-painted at Camp Atterbury is either in San Francisco or the Admiral Nimitz museum, in Texas.

December 13th, 2003 is the three hundred and sixty-seventh anniversary of the United States Army National Guard.

The Guard has been protecting our Country since before it became a Nation.

December 1943

"Yanks" Radio Show to make debut Monday - WIBC-Indianapolis to feature Post broadcast from Club No. 2.  "Meet the Yanks", Atterbury's own radio show will be broadcast every Monday night from 2030 to 2100.  The show enjoyed 46 weeks of broadcasting last season.

WAC NOTES - Air Corps Guests:  The men of the 320th Aviation Squadron and Freeman Air Base at Seymour, Ind., entertained some of the members of our company at a dance Wednesday evening.  After an evening of "tripping the light fantastic", the WACS were escorted to the mess for a delicious repast.

"Puff Board" Reproduces All Conditions of Artillery War.  After telling with mathematical figures such as mils, target offset, decreasing scale, ballistics, and the like, the 118th Field Artillery completed its "puff board" firing range.  The device, which provides practice for firing indoors, faithfully reproduces all conditions affecting the firing of artillery weapons in the field.

 "Take What You Want, But Eat What You Take !"  Clean your plate campaign continues as Post food wastage drops again.  The Post campaign cut food wastage from one-and-one-half ounces per man per day in October to one-and-one-quarter in November.  One reason is that the cooks now have the ok to substitute popular items for non-popular items in the Washington plan.

300 Civilian Workers to See 30th Division in Action.  Maj. General James L. Collins, commander of the 5th Service Command, will attend.  Indiana war workers will spend Sunday night and Monday at Atterbury, living the life of the doughboy with the 30th Infantry Division.  Maj. General L. S. Hobbs, commanding the 30th and Col. Welton M. Modisette, Post Commander will welcome the workers.

Red Cross Finally Has a Home - This is the permanent home of the American Red Cross in Atterbury.  Located at 29th Street and Schoolhouse Road, the recently completed building is marked with two bright red Red Crosses above its doors.
 

PW's Boast 52-Piece "Canteen Profit" Band - Profits from canteens in the prisoner of war camp here have been used in buying musical instruments, and now the Italians have their own 52-piece orchestra, according to Colonel John L. Gammell, commander of the prisoner of war camp.  A few of the instruments have been donated.  Originally, the orchestra contained only 12 pieces.  Many of the men in the orchestra, including its director, formerly were professional musicians with large orchestras in their homeland.  The group plays both American and Italian classical music and marches.  Just recently, it has added to its library such American hits as "Stardust", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", and "Showboat".  These quickly became favorites.  Instrumental in organizing the orchestra was William P. Morocco, superintendent of music in Logansport, Indiana schools.  He spent two weeks of his summer vacation here and now makes weekly trips to the camp to aid the group.  The Italians recently presented him with a specially-made imported clock that plays a tune instead of an alarm.  Instruments include valve and baritone trombones, cornets, flutes, oboes, clarinets, mellophones, saxophone, bass horn, accordion, piccolo, piano, drums and cymbals.  Adding in securing instruments is Lt. Jack Liffshin, special services officer for the 1537th Service Unit.

December 1943

Class 43-K graduates at Freeman AAF - The 8th class of aviation cadets to receive their silver wings at Freeman Field will hear a first hand account of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  The Post Exchange will be open from 7 am to 8 pm to coincide with graduation ceremonies.  A turkey dinner at 45 cents per plate will be served in the cafeteria.

Freeman Marks First Anniversary - Evening festivity to feature giant birthday cake.

Base Hospital looks back at year's changes - Standing long and low, and stretching over an area of acres, the station hospital is any astonishing contrast to what it was on December 9, 1942

Parachutes hang drying in silent silken folds at dim, hushed tower - On three rows of long shining maple tables, lie sleek, silken folds of parachutes canopies.  Every sixty days, each chute at the field goes through a process of airing and 'hanging out' in the 45-foot-high building.

Sunday set as "Salute The WAC" day - Recognition of the Freeman Field Wacs will begin Saturday when they review the troops at formal retreat.  Sundy they will be invited guests at dinner in the WAC mess hall.

Tower School is one of first in the Nation - Training 20 WACS at a time.

A Christmas Message From the Commanding Officer - It seems as though it has just been a short time since I addressed my initial personal holiday greetings to the members of this command.  It is rather difficult to realize that twelve months have passed since we spent our first Christmas at Freeman Field.  One year ago we were getting started on our intensive and thorough training program which today is producing commendable results.  Men from this command now are taking an active part in the offensive programs in the various theaters of operation.  many more of us will follow and we must exert every effort to be thoroughly trained and skilled to perform our particular functions.  We cannot let up on our training program even during the Holiday Season which means so much to us, for Hitler and Hirohito do not recognize our Christian principles.  Inspired by the Christmas spirit, everyone of us should face his job with renewed faith and hope, for today we are getting closer to our military objective and the time when there will be peace on earth again.  To each one of you, my sincerest wishes of the Season.  E. T. Rundquist

December 1952

Base team defeats 2nd ARD, 72 - 41, in initial game of season - The Flying Boxcars of Atterbury Air Force Base opened their season with a big bang, by 'snowing' under 2nd Air Reserve District.

New civilian personnel office opens - The civilian employees can now expect faster and more detailed service from their Civilian Personnel Office with the addition of a new Central agency in Building 79.

"Seasons Greetings" - At this Christmas Season, when our hearts once again turn toward the spirit of giving and the Christ Child, we find that our Nation is still embroiled in a bitter fight with an enemy who derides all of the Christian principles we hold dear.  I am convinced that we must all turn toward a more deeply religious life, of only in that manner will our way of living survive on the face of the Earth.  We must all get on God's side.  Let us pray that God will be on lour side and help us to combat the forces of evil that are rampant around the world.  Let us carry our fight forward in God's name knowing that eventually there will be Peace on Earth and Good Will toward all Men.  To you in the Air Force family, I extend heartiest greetings for a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Those of us who have been in Indiana for the past year have known a spirit of friendliness and have made many friends among the Hoosiers.  To those of you in the Columbus area, the Air Force extends Best Wishes for a Christian Christmas and a Christian New Year, in the hope that the year will provide closer community relations, and a better understanding.  Let us all go to the Church of our choice as often as we can on the Sundays of 1953.  Sincerely, William S. Pocock, Jr. Colonel, Commanding.

December 1950

28th Infantrymen Build Muscles on Confidence Course.  Skyscraper, Tough Nut and Other New Gadgets Separate Men From Boys.  How would you like to take an afternoon's walk to the top of "The Skyscraper", then "Slide For Life" back to the ground befoe cracking "The Tough Nut" and getting a little exercise on the "Belly Buster" ?  Soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division are doing just that this week on the newly-opened "Confidence Course" at Camp Atterbury. Successor to the notorious "Obstacle Course" of World War II, the Army's new Confidence Course has many features that amaze veterans of both training courses.

Brig. Gen. Kurtz To Head Divarty.  Veteran Artilleryman appointed commander of five battalions.  The first general officer to be assigned to the 28th Infantry Division sice its federalization arrived at Camp Atterbury Tuesday to take command of the Division Artillery.

112th Area Club Has Face Lift.  The Service Club in building 15201 got a new face this week as painters sprayed inside and out in brand new sparking colors.  New furniture is expected soon.

Two Massacre Escapees Reunited At Chance Meeting in Hospital.  Cpl Leo C. Ross, formerly of the 29th Infantry Division in Korea, thought he was seeing a ghost when he came face-to-face with Pfc Raymond Rindels in a corridor of the US Army Hospital here recently.  Both were sure the other had been killed in a massacre of American prisoners by North Korean troops last fall.  The massacre took place near Sunchon, 25 miles north of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, climaxed a 600 mile death march begun by more than 500 American prisoners.  350 reached Sunchon and 21 are alive today.  Ross suffered from eight separate wounds before his capture.  After marching 600 miles they were told to sit down in a field.  The burp guns opened up.  Rindels was immediately hit in three places and was knocked flat on the ground.  I was wounded in the right shoulder, left elbow and left hand.  I was saved because of the head shot received by the soldier next to me, which splattered blood and flesh all over me.  They thought I was dead.  Those of us still alive played dead until we were sure the guards were gone, then we crawled into a woods.  The American troops found us the next morning and took us back to their field hospital.  Rindels dropped from 235 to 120 pounds during the capture ordeal.  His weight loss came about partially because the North Korean guards delighted in yanking out the prisoner's false teeth and stomping them into the ground.  He could not cope with the hardtack biscuits which formed the main part of the prisoner's diet.

Passes - Not Leaves over the Christmas - New Year's Holiday.  Major General Strickler announced that all soldiers of the 28th will have an opportunity to take three-day passes either over the Christmas or New Year's weekends.  He told the troops the "the U. S. Army has been faced with one of the gravest situations in the history of our country".

Servicemen's Club Opens In Columbus.  Located in City Hall at 5th and Franklin.

An Interesting Page In Our Books.  Patti Page with Ralph Flanagan's band entertain hospital patients as the artists made a surprise visit to Camp Atterbury last Monday morning.

388th Evac Hospital by Pfc John Czajkowski.  Our morning reports that are usually typed out by M-Sgt Herbert De Cesare from headquarters, show the addition of two officers' names.  If you were to meet these men in the company area and ask them t identify themselves, they would answer:  1st Lt. Burril Peteerson from Menominee, Michigan and 1st Lt. John Gould from Dickinson, North Dakota.  Welcome to the best evacuation hospital in the army, and here is wishing both of you the best of luck in assuming your responsibilities.  Over the weekend Cpl. James Childress and Rct. Werner Schenk were involved in an automobile accident that totally destroyed the 1937 Chevrolet they were riding in.  Fortunately no one was seriously hurt.  The scene of the accident was by the first narrow bridge on the short cut from route 252 to highway 31.  This bridge allows only one car to pass over at one time, and when the medics approached this danger point they were met by a car  from the opposite direction.  In order to avoid a head-on collision, Cpl. Childress jumped the bridge, and after rolling over and over in the ditch the car finally came to a stop.  I wonder if the parties involved realize hopw lucky they were ? 

World famous Trapp Family Singers entertain at CAMP ATTERBURY.  The Trapp family chorus is composed of a widow, Mrs. Tanie Trapp, her five daughters and two sons, and is conducted by the family's priest and musical director, Father Franz Wasner.  Mr. Trapp died a few years ago.

43,000 signatures on petition to keep CAMP ATTERBURY open.  Administrative plan submitted for the movement of the 31st Division to Camp Carson, Colorado.

Visit the web site dedicated to south-central Indiana Military history www.IndianaMilitary.org