Remembering Pearl Harbor
On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise, preemptive strike on the US. Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. All around the island of Oahu, other US military bases and strategic locations of defense were simutaneously attacked by Japanese aircraft. The attack began at 0748 hrs., when the first of 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft , (consisting of two waves of fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo planes), broke through the clouds and began wreaking havoc on their unsuspecting targets below.
A Japanese bomber soars up and over battleship row after releasing its payload.
In the aftermath of the Sunday morning attack, all 8 US Navy battleship were damaged with 4 sunk. The Japanese also sank 3 destroyers, 3 cruisers, 1 minelayer, and an anti-aircraft training ship. 188 US aircraft had also been destroyed in the attack; 2,403 Americans were killed, and another 1,178 others were wounded. By attacking the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese had hoped to prevent the United States from interfering with its planned military campaigns in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. One day after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on the Empire of Japan. (more…)
Posted in North America, Historical Journeys and tagged Hawaii, Oahu, pearl harbor, WW2 by Big John with 1 comment.
Remembering WWII in Linden, Tennessee
On September 24, 2016, my sons and I set foot into the small, unassuming town of Linden, Tennessee. In doing so, we magically stepped back a period of seventy-two years. We had entered into the year 1944. During our time-travel voyage, the boys and I experienced a taste of life as it was in both Europe and on the homefront during that momentous period of history. There were war bonds to buy. Food was rationed at the markets. Air raid sirens cracked the morning calm and the threat of an enemy attack was at the forefront of everybody’s mind. We were suddenly caught up in the largest event ever recorded by history – we had entered into a world at war.
Newsboys take to the streets heralding the story of impeding doom.
What had started in a Linden resident’s home to honor local veterans, Remembering WWII has now blossomed into an award winning national event that draws in thousands from across our nation. The motto of this fascinating event is to remember your past and honor your heroes. Its founder, Anthony Courter, stated the following:
We began Remembering WWII, not to glorify war or advocate a return to “the good old days”, but to cast a vision of the future by helping our generation understand the lessons of the past.
Posted in Historical Journeys and tagged linden, reenactment, Tennessee, WW2 by Big John with no comments yet.
3 Miles Up, 3 Miles Down or How to Conquer Curahee Mountain
On Memorial Day, 2015, we loaded up the car and headed out for a day trip to Toccoa, Georgia. Although this Blue Ridge region of the Peach State has many spectacular places of interest, I was only focused on finding one particular landmark: Currahee Mountain. Currahee is a Cherokee word meaning “stand alone”. Most likely the name was derived from the mountain’s prominent peak that extends higher than all others within Stephens County. Currahee Mountain, which rises abruptly above the Chattahoochee Forest, climbs about 800 vertical feet above the local terrain and its summit is visible for many miles on a clear day.
(more…)Posted in Adventure Fitness, Adventurous Places, Historical Journeys, North America and tagged 506th Infantry Regiment, Band of Brothers, currahee, Currahee Mountain, Toccoa Georgia, WW2 by Big John with 10 comments.
A Leatherneck with a Saxophone Takes to the Pacific
In this article, A Leatherneck with a Saxophone Takes to the Pacific, we will embark on a historical journey and travel back to a time when the entire world was engulfed in war. Along the way, you will meet a patriotic young man with a love for his country and a song in his heart. This post is a brief glimpse into the life of a leatherneck who carried his trusty saxophone into war and brought the joy of music deep into the hellish jungles of the Pacific.
This particular Marine has a special place in my heart for he is my paternal grandfather, Richard Edwin Cutler. Though I never had the privilege of really getting to know him, I’ve heard the extraordinary music he once created could jazz up even the most unlikely of venues.
My grandfather, Cpl. Richard Edwin Cutler, standing tall in his U.S.M.C. uniform (circa 1943). (more…)
Posted in Asia, Historical Journeys and tagged leatherneck, marine corps band, saxophone, USMC, WW2 by Big John with 9 comments.