Did You Know?
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By
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By CLIFF CHAMBLIN
For The Highland County Press
GREENFIELD – The Second World War started for me with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in the South Pacific. Much happened before that time, but as a boy
growing up in the country and only hearing the news on a battery-operated radio once in a while, I wasn't up on the news too well. So, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, a neighbor came and told us that the United States had declared war on Japan. It was a very scary time for my brother and me; we thought the Japanese were coming to our country to harm us and our family. From that time on, my father made sure we had a good battery for the radio. We would listen to Lowell Thomas,
Gabriel Heater and H.V. Cultenborn to stay informed on what was going on with the war.
The United States was now fighting on two fronts, the Pacific Theater and the European Theater. Several of the people I knew during that period were either drafted or enlisted between 1944-1946.
Three of my uncles served during this time.
The World War II Veteran I am going to write about now served during 1944-46. His name is Lester Paul Penn. Paul was born in Samantha, Ohio to Oscar Ray Penn and Ocie Myrtle (Jones) Penn on May 9, 1926.
Paul is one of nine children, six boys and three girls. He is married to his lovely wife, Donna Lou, who he married Jan. 29, 1968. His family moved to Greenfield when Paul was in the third grade; he was 9 years old. He graduated from Greenfield McClain High School in May 1944. Paul received a notice from the Highland County Draft Board to report for active duty in the Armed Forces immediately following graduation.
His father asked the draft board for a deferment because his two brothers, Glen and Leo, had already been drafted and were in the service and there was no one left to help on the farm. The draft board gave Paul a six-month deferment. He entered the United States Marine Corps on Dec. 16, 1944.
Paul and Donna made me feel very welcome in their country home when I
went to visit Paul and hear his story. I met Paul and Donna a few
years ago while attending a church in the Greenfield area but only
found a few months ago that Paul was a WWII veteran. I asked Paul if I
could write his WWII story and tell some of the things that happened
during his tour of active duty. He graciously said I could, so the
following is his story.
Paul went to Columbus, Ohio to Fort Hayes for orientation, then on to
Cincinnati, Ohio where he, along with several others, boarded a train
for Paris Island, S.C. for 12 weeks of basic training.
According to Paul, "this was no picnic," up very early in the morning
and to bed late at night.
"We had a platoon sergeant by the name of Sgt. Abel," Paul said. "He
was mean as the devil and would tear into you at any time. I was
accused of something I didn't do, and he came up to me and stepped on
my shoe, which I had just shined, and ripped me good. rather than to
get into more trouble, I just stood real rigid and didn't say
anything. I thought about that later and wondered if he was trying me
to see if I would retaliate, the reason being that I was going to a
special school and he might have wanted to see if I would break."
After 12 long weeks, basic training was over, and Paul was assigned to
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for six weeks of infantry school. When
that was finished, he was sent to San Diego Marine Base for Sea
School, where he was trained in aircraft identification and trained on
the big guns on the ship. According to Paul, they were then sent on to
Oakland, where they picked up more troops and boarded a troop
transport and sailed for Hawaii.
Paul said, "When we sailed from Oakland, we went under the Golden Gate
Bridge. It looked like we wouldn't be able to go under it, but when we
got to it, there was plenty of room. We stood on deck and watched as
it faded in the distance, realizing that this was the last time we
would see our beloved United States of America for quite some time."
The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) was the World War II area of
military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it,
a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative
command structures of the American Forces during that period. (The
other areas of the Pacific War - the China Burma India Theater, the
Southeast Asian Theater, and the Manchurian Theater had their own
respective command structures, independent of PTO.)
The Pacific Ocean Theater was one of four major naval theaters of
World War II that pitted forces of the Japanese against those of the
United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands, and France.
When we arrived at Pearl Harbor, we saw where the Missouri was sunk
and the many other ships that were damaged or sunk.
"What devastation we saw," said Paul. "I had a chance for liberty
while I was here, and knowing I had an uncle who was working for the
government as a painter and might be there at Pearl, I went to several
places where people were working for the government. I saw a man who
was working as a civilian and asked him if he might know of a man by
the name of Fred Penn. He said, 'He is sitting right over there eating
his lunch.' I walked up to my uncle Fred, and when he looked up and
saw me, he said, 'What in the world are you doing here?' Well, we had
quite a reunion. He was a favorite uncle."
The Third Fleet was forming during WWII on March 15, 1943 under the
command of Admiral William F. Halsey. Its onshore headquarters, Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, was established on June 15, 1944. The fleet operated
in and around the Solomon Islands, the Phillippines, Taiwan, Okinawa,
and the Ryukyu Islands with the USS New Jersey and from May 1945 to
the end of the war, the USS Missouri as its flagship. It also operated
in Japanese waters, launching attacks on Tokyo, the naval base at
Kure, and the island of Hokkaido.
Embarked aboard his flagship Missouri, Admiral Halsey led his fleet
into Tokyo Bay on Aug. 29, 1945. On Sept. 2, the documents of
surrender of the Japanese Empire ending the war were signed on her
decks. The Third Fleet remained in Japanese waters until September,
when its ships were directed to sail for the West Coast of the United
States. On Oct. 7, 1945, the Third Fleet was designated a reserve
fleet and decommissioned from active status.
Toward the end of the war, as the role of strategic bombing became
more important, a new command for the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the
Pacific was created to oversee all U.S. strategic bombing in the
hemisphere, under the United States Army Air Forces General Curtis
LeMay. Japanese industrial production plunged as nearly half of the
built-up areas of 64 cities were destroyed by B-29 firebombing raids.
On March 9-10, 1945 alone, about 100,000 people were killed in a
firestorm caused by an attack on Tokyo. In addition, LeMay also
oversaw Operation Starvation, in which the inland waterways of Japan
were exclusively mined by air, which disrupted the small amount of
remaining Japanese coastal sea traffic.
On Aug. 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of
Hiroshima in the first nuclear attack in history. On Aug. 9, 1945,
another was dropped on Nagasaki. This was the last nuclear attack.
More than 240,000 people died as a direct result of these two
bombings. The effects of the "Twin Shocks" were profound. On Aug. 10,
1945, the "sacred decision" was made by the Japanese Cabinet to accept
the Potsdam terms on one condition: the "prerogative of His Majesty as
a Sovereign Ruler." At noon on Aug. 15, after the American
government's intentionally ambiguous reply stating that the
"authority" of the emperor "shall be subject to the Supreme Commander
of the Allied Powers," the emperor broadcast to the nation and to the
world at large the rescript of surrender, ending the Second World War.
"Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate
collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would
lead to the total extinction of human civilization," said Emperor
Hirohito.
After a few days at Pearl Harbor, Paul and his comrades boarded an
aircraft carrier, the Lexington. The Lexington had just returned from
Okinawa, where she had been hit by Japanese suicide bombers and was in
Pearl for repairs. They sailed in a few days and stopped at Guam, but
no one left the ship. They then sailed on toward Japan, where they met
up with the Third Fleet. There were over 100 ships assembled there.
The Third Fleet was on patrol at that time, according to Paul. They
were out there for around 60 days. They then transferred from the
carrier by basket to a destroyer that took them in to Tokyo. When they
got there, they went over the side onto landing craft that took them
into the beach where trucks were waiting and took them to an airfield
where they would do guard duty while there.
"From this air field, we could see the people walking around on the
deck of the ship where the Peace was signed," said Paul. "What an
awesome sight that was, to see history being made."
Following this period, according to Paul, General MacArthur came to
Tokyo to oversee the post-war development of the country. This period
in Japanese history is known as the occupation. Paul went on to tell
me that after the peace was signed, rather than bring all the planes
home, several of them were pushed over the side into the ocean.
"I thought, 'What a waste!'" said Paul.
Paul returned to the United States in May 1946, having served his
country with honor. He and his comrades were sent to the Great Lakes
Naval Station in Illinois for a short time. Their duty at Great Lakes
was to guard Japanese prisoners of war. From there, they went on to
Quantico, Virginia Marine Base for two months. They were assigned to
mess duty while there.
"This was a base where the big wigs were stationed," Paul said. "We
enjoyed this duty because we got to drink all the cold milk we wanted.
We had been without cold milk for quite a while."
While at Quantico, Lester Paul Penn was Honorably Discharged from the
United States Marine Corps. Paul returned to Greenfield and continued
farming with his father and brothers.
Thanks to Paul and many other thousands of men and women who served
during World War II. We are forever grateful that because of you, we
are free today in the United States of America. May we never forget
the sacrifice that was given by these Veterans of World War Two. God
bless them, and God bless America!
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For The Highland County Press
GREENFIELD – The Second World War started for me with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in the South Pacific. Much happened before that time, but as a boy
growing up in the country and only hearing the news on a battery-operated radio once in a while, I wasn't up on the news too well. So, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, a neighbor came and told us that the United States had declared war on Japan. It was a very scary time for my brother and me; we thought the Japanese were coming to our country to harm us and our family. From that time on, my father made sure we had a good battery for the radio. We would listen to Lowell Thomas,
Gabriel Heater and H.V. Cultenborn to stay informed on what was going on with the war.
The United States was now fighting on two fronts, the Pacific Theater and the European Theater. Several of the people I knew during that period were either drafted or enlisted between 1944-1946.
Three of my uncles served during this time.
The World War II Veteran I am going to write about now served during 1944-46. His name is Lester Paul Penn. Paul was born in Samantha, Ohio to Oscar Ray Penn and Ocie Myrtle (Jones) Penn on May 9, 1926.
Paul is one of nine children, six boys and three girls. He is married to his lovely wife, Donna Lou, who he married Jan. 29, 1968. His family moved to Greenfield when Paul was in the third grade; he was 9 years old. He graduated from Greenfield McClain High School in May 1944. Paul received a notice from the Highland County Draft Board to report for active duty in the Armed Forces immediately following graduation.
His father asked the draft board for a deferment because his two brothers, Glen and Leo, had already been drafted and were in the service and there was no one left to help on the farm. The draft board gave Paul a six-month deferment. He entered the United States Marine Corps on Dec. 16, 1944.
Paul and Donna made me feel very welcome in their country home when I
went to visit Paul and hear his story. I met Paul and Donna a few
years ago while attending a church in the Greenfield area but only
found a few months ago that Paul was a WWII veteran. I asked Paul if I
could write his WWII story and tell some of the things that happened
during his tour of active duty. He graciously said I could, so the
following is his story.
Paul went to Columbus, Ohio to Fort Hayes for orientation, then on to
Cincinnati, Ohio where he, along with several others, boarded a train
for Paris Island, S.C. for 12 weeks of basic training.
According to Paul, "this was no picnic," up very early in the morning
and to bed late at night.
"We had a platoon sergeant by the name of Sgt. Abel," Paul said. "He
was mean as the devil and would tear into you at any time. I was
accused of something I didn't do, and he came up to me and stepped on
my shoe, which I had just shined, and ripped me good. rather than to
get into more trouble, I just stood real rigid and didn't say
anything. I thought about that later and wondered if he was trying me
to see if I would retaliate, the reason being that I was going to a
special school and he might have wanted to see if I would break."
After 12 long weeks, basic training was over, and Paul was assigned to
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for six weeks of infantry school. When
that was finished, he was sent to San Diego Marine Base for Sea
School, where he was trained in aircraft identification and trained on
the big guns on the ship. According to Paul, they were then sent on to
Oakland, where they picked up more troops and boarded a troop
transport and sailed for Hawaii.
Paul said, "When we sailed from Oakland, we went under the Golden Gate
Bridge. It looked like we wouldn't be able to go under it, but when we
got to it, there was plenty of room. We stood on deck and watched as
it faded in the distance, realizing that this was the last time we
would see our beloved United States of America for quite some time."
The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) was the World War II area of
military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it,
a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative
command structures of the American Forces during that period. (The
other areas of the Pacific War - the China Burma India Theater, the
Southeast Asian Theater, and the Manchurian Theater had their own
respective command structures, independent of PTO.)
The Pacific Ocean Theater was one of four major naval theaters of
World War II that pitted forces of the Japanese against those of the
United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands, and France.
When we arrived at Pearl Harbor, we saw where the Missouri was sunk
and the many other ships that were damaged or sunk.
"What devastation we saw," said Paul. "I had a chance for liberty
while I was here, and knowing I had an uncle who was working for the
government as a painter and might be there at Pearl, I went to several
places where people were working for the government. I saw a man who
was working as a civilian and asked him if he might know of a man by
the name of Fred Penn. He said, 'He is sitting right over there eating
his lunch.' I walked up to my uncle Fred, and when he looked up and
saw me, he said, 'What in the world are you doing here?' Well, we had
quite a reunion. He was a favorite uncle."
The Third Fleet was forming during WWII on March 15, 1943 under the
command of Admiral William F. Halsey. Its onshore headquarters, Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, was established on June 15, 1944. The fleet operated
in and around the Solomon Islands, the Phillippines, Taiwan, Okinawa,
and the Ryukyu Islands with the USS New Jersey and from May 1945 to
the end of the war, the USS Missouri as its flagship. It also operated
in Japanese waters, launching attacks on Tokyo, the naval base at
Kure, and the island of Hokkaido.
Embarked aboard his flagship Missouri, Admiral Halsey led his fleet
into Tokyo Bay on Aug. 29, 1945. On Sept. 2, the documents of
surrender of the Japanese Empire ending the war were signed on her
decks. The Third Fleet remained in Japanese waters until September,
when its ships were directed to sail for the West Coast of the United
States. On Oct. 7, 1945, the Third Fleet was designated a reserve
fleet and decommissioned from active status.
Toward the end of the war, as the role of strategic bombing became
more important, a new command for the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the
Pacific was created to oversee all U.S. strategic bombing in the
hemisphere, under the United States Army Air Forces General Curtis
LeMay. Japanese industrial production plunged as nearly half of the
built-up areas of 64 cities were destroyed by B-29 firebombing raids.
On March 9-10, 1945 alone, about 100,000 people were killed in a
firestorm caused by an attack on Tokyo. In addition, LeMay also
oversaw Operation Starvation, in which the inland waterways of Japan
were exclusively mined by air, which disrupted the small amount of
remaining Japanese coastal sea traffic.
On Aug. 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of
Hiroshima in the first nuclear attack in history. On Aug. 9, 1945,
another was dropped on Nagasaki. This was the last nuclear attack.
More than 240,000 people died as a direct result of these two
bombings. The effects of the "Twin Shocks" were profound. On Aug. 10,
1945, the "sacred decision" was made by the Japanese Cabinet to accept
the Potsdam terms on one condition: the "prerogative of His Majesty as
a Sovereign Ruler." At noon on Aug. 15, after the American
government's intentionally ambiguous reply stating that the
"authority" of the emperor "shall be subject to the Supreme Commander
of the Allied Powers," the emperor broadcast to the nation and to the
world at large the rescript of surrender, ending the Second World War.
"Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate
collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would
lead to the total extinction of human civilization," said Emperor
Hirohito.
After a few days at Pearl Harbor, Paul and his comrades boarded an
aircraft carrier, the Lexington. The Lexington had just returned from
Okinawa, where she had been hit by Japanese suicide bombers and was in
Pearl for repairs. They sailed in a few days and stopped at Guam, but
no one left the ship. They then sailed on toward Japan, where they met
up with the Third Fleet. There were over 100 ships assembled there.
The Third Fleet was on patrol at that time, according to Paul. They
were out there for around 60 days. They then transferred from the
carrier by basket to a destroyer that took them in to Tokyo. When they
got there, they went over the side onto landing craft that took them
into the beach where trucks were waiting and took them to an airfield
where they would do guard duty while there.
"From this air field, we could see the people walking around on the
deck of the ship where the Peace was signed," said Paul. "What an
awesome sight that was, to see history being made."
Following this period, according to Paul, General MacArthur came to
Tokyo to oversee the post-war development of the country. This period
in Japanese history is known as the occupation. Paul went on to tell
me that after the peace was signed, rather than bring all the planes
home, several of them were pushed over the side into the ocean.
"I thought, 'What a waste!'" said Paul.
Paul returned to the United States in May 1946, having served his
country with honor. He and his comrades were sent to the Great Lakes
Naval Station in Illinois for a short time. Their duty at Great Lakes
was to guard Japanese prisoners of war. From there, they went on to
Quantico, Virginia Marine Base for two months. They were assigned to
mess duty while there.
"This was a base where the big wigs were stationed," Paul said. "We
enjoyed this duty because we got to drink all the cold milk we wanted.
We had been without cold milk for quite a while."
While at Quantico, Lester Paul Penn was Honorably Discharged from the
United States Marine Corps. Paul returned to Greenfield and continued
farming with his father and brothers.
Thanks to Paul and many other thousands of men and women who served
during World War II. We are forever grateful that because of you, we
are free today in the United States of America. May we never forget
the sacrifice that was given by these Veterans of World War Two. God
bless them, and God bless America!
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