My dad was with the 323rd Inf. Co H, 81st 'Wildcat Division.' A great website is Military Rootsweb Ancestry, Allen Family site once there, click on the Army History of Wildcat Division, and you can load each page that has the history of the Wildcat Division.
After capturing Angaur Island, helping 'clean up the enemy' on Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, dad went to New Caledonia to recover from a Japanese grenade wound. They went to Leyte, Philippines for more training to attack Japan via a shore landing before Japan surrendered. Then, they went to Aomori City, Japan to 'occupy and keep the peace.' Dad wrote letters home wondering why we were there. The people were quiet and peaceful.
The closest base is Misawa.
It is an air base, and was where much of the relief aid to Japan was routed through after the earthquake and tsunami, since roads from the south were impassible.
I'll bet the fog got him ready to be in Washington state after returning!
The area is beautiful and lush.
And here I am, following in dad's footsteps. My first 'other language' was Japanese. Dad taught us to count to 10 in Japanese. I still use the old words for four and seven from time-to-time. In the afternoon, we headed to Aomori City for the festival.
You tube has some good History Channel clips. Pacific Lost, Evidence Peleliu in 2 and 5th episodes has some footage of the 81st. Dad's purple heart burned in their house fire, long before I was born.
I have been to Hiroshima, and Tim has been to Nagasaki. I feel deep sorrow for the innocent lives of women and children lost there. My dad spoke how the Japanese would fight to the last man on these islands. If he'd have had to do one more fight, I don't know if I'd be in this picture. I feel I owe a debt to those women and children.
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