Memo To:  All The Island Explorers

Bob Polakowski says hello and regards to all.  He has been reading a lot of Marine Corps data that Foster Cummings sent to him and said that it is real great stuff.  The data on Iwo Jima he devoured a couple of times because of the detailed information that was contained within the article.   The maps showing different areas of attack was very fascinating to him and he was able to pick out the names of the various island sections which also brought back memories to him.

He also had the opportunity to speak with DC Clay who reported that he still manages to get in some golf.  While closing a knife he accidentally cut a finger which bothers his golf game a little, but with the proper first aid treatment  he feels that he will be back up to par in nothing flat.

Ned Carmichael says hello and regards to all from the land of "down under".  He was unable to give any data on the PBJ accident of 4-4-44 in Washington, DC.  Although he was in the squadron at that time he just doesn't recall hearing anything about it.  He didn't recognize the names of the pilots either.

He did remember an incident though just before he joined the squadron when a PBJ exploded around New Bern but couldn't recall what squadron it belonged to.  He was in one of 613's PBJ on a NAV hop with either Major Nevils or Lt Hancock as pilot at Pensacola when suddenly the whole plane was filled with gasoline fumes as they came through the turbulence approaching the landing pattern.  Another "near miss" and another story but it did give a clue as to the New Bern disaster.

He and Betty are both well and he is enjoying his work for the Lord.  They do, however, expect to retire in 15 years.  He sent along a picture of both of them taken in April in front of their riverside home just following the ANZAC Annual Parade.

Mike Brennan reports that he is doing pretty well health wise but the weather upstate New York has been lousy for a couple of months.  He isn't complaining because they haven't had any forest fires, nor have they had any earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes.

Mike sends his best regards to all and especially to D.C. and to Chico.

Bill Kehr says hello and regards to all.  He and Marian recently returned from a trip to the Seattle area.  They flew to save road time and rented a car there and spent about two weeks driving around Vancouver Island, Main Land Vancouver and also went up to Mt Rainier.  They made the Mountain road in time to get involved in the middle of a snow storm.  It added some excitement to the trip since it has been many years from what could be considered a violent snow storm for them.  This trip also gave them the opportunity to board a ferry for a portion of their trip.

Jim Garls sends his best regards to all.  Although they continue to have very high temperatures his air conditioning system continues to perform per spec.  Hence he doesn't have any compelling reason to venture out of doors very often.  His area of Illinois is experiencing a drought and at the time of his writing they were running a shortage of nine inches from the average rainfall for the area.  Since he waters his tomato crop every other day it is doing well and in a few more weeks he will be harvesting a large crop.

Doc Protheroe says hello and regards to all.  After his many trips to Florida he has been busy working on the house fixing up things that have been deferred.  Hopefully he will have them all squared away prior to the start of the fall season.  All remains well with he and Jane.

Lloyd "Mac" McDaniel sent along a message and said that he and Edna are both in good shape at the moment.  Time can change with their age.  He said that he can relate to Frank Carthey in respect to being interviewed by high school students regarding WWII. This program was set up by Senator Lugar from Indiana and would result in having reports of WW #2 on file in the D.C. Library

 Mac was given a sheet of questions that he would be asked but they did not ask any of the questions in fact the students new very little about World War II.  One of the students used a screen to show pictures, etc.  He was showing military aircraft and got one of the planes shown upside down.  Mac pointed out that technical problem and the student said OH.  Although he was disappointed about the outcome he felt that the program was a good one but should have been run by some one, other than 10th graders in high school.  Mac hopes that some day they will again teach History in School.

Foster Cummings sends his greetings to all.  He and Doris had front row seats to watch the 4th of July Fireworks Celebration in their home town.  They sat out in the back yard facing the lake and watched the myriad of colored explosions.  They also had the Boston Pops 4th of July Program going on their TV set which was close by.

Foster and Doris went up to John Siergiewicz's farm in New Hampshire for an outdoor celebration.  His son put on a 50th Anniversary Celebration Cook Out of their buying a farm.  They had horses pulling wagons around, a disc jockey helping out on the entertainment and they also enjoyed a fantastic cook out.  All in attendance had a great time.

John Kennedy reported that they had two hurricanes pass through without damage.  However, they still need people to fix roofs, if I am in the mood he has something for me to do.  He reports that he is surviving with a bad back, root canals, heart troubles and face cancers.  He is still looking for the golden year.

John's son Michael whom we met at the Pensacola Reunion (which is a real disaster scene again this year) is the Veteran's Agent in Williamston, MA and he paid honor to and saluted the local veterans on Memorial Day.  John sent along a newspaper write up of the affair and his son did an outstanding job of saluting the local veterans on Memorial Day, particularly the World War II Veterans.

Michael made mention of the battle of Okinawa and said "it should be recorded for what it was and what war is--an atrocity to the human race." Michael also mentioned many other battles both in the Pacific Theater and the European Theater and included the many serious injuries that the personnel received.  He also said that it was very unfortunate that many of the injured World War II Veterans passed away due to their war injuries prior to receiving their Veterans Administration awards.  It is hard to believe but the World War II Vets are disappearing fast.

John sends his best regards to all.

Bob Longenberger says hello and regards to all.  Things remain well with him with the exception of having to limit his desire to complete a few major tasks every now and then.  He injured some vertebrae some time back and they just don't want to heal up all the way.  Hence, he thinks about the work rather than getting it done.  Their area of the world has been getting a lot of rain and in tracking the hurricane that is on the weather reports every hour on the hour they may get a lot of rain from it, if and when it makes its way north and inland. 

We found time to reminisce about the storm off of San Francisco when we were aboard the troopship George W. Julian.  The water and wind really demonstrated that they were in charge.  He was made NCOIC of a Clean Up Detail after the storm to clean up the ship and had a twenty five man detail to do the work.  He learned a lot about the ships areas and where to look for miscellaneous trash to heave over board. 

Charlie Cosbey sends his best to all.  He is feeling good and continues to work two to three hours a day at his son's shop.  He continues to put up with pain in his hips and knees and hopes that this will dissipate soon.  His excitement so far this year was when his Explorer tangled with a  U.S. Mail box which resulted in the front end of the Explorer being destroyed.  After a long period (four weeks) of getting the body work corrected and the engine adjusted to operate properly he was able to get out and travel around again with his own vehicle.  He had to use a rental during his vehicle down time.

Jim and Buzz Packard say hello to all.  They were in the process of getting ready to go on a week long trip up to the mountains when they sent their message.

Willis Roose says hello and regards to all.  He reported that he had a pacemaker installed in November of last year - no big deal - his life style has been changed a little.

Heard from Jim and Mary Jane Lewis who send their best to all.  They reported that their area of MN received a lot of rain and than more rain.  At an outdoor wedding they attended the sky opened just as the bride and groom came down the aisle to meet the Minister.  Needless to say the wedding took place in the close by garage attended by all wearing rain sodden clothes.  They also experienced tornado warnings in the vicinity of their home and fortunately no damage to their home.

This year the "NO SEEUMS" were out in force in their neighborhood along with the mosquitoes and they took a toll on those daring to venture out into the outdoor atmosphere.  They also attended the towns art fair which was attended by all the locals and out-of-towners.

Hearty regards to all from Doc Scott.  He remembers his good friends from Kwaj especially the Medical Corpsmen and he has been in touch with Waxie Prankard and he sends his greetings to Willis Roose.  Doc reported that he is now legally blind but he was still able to print his letter to us.  He can't see the center of his field of vision.

He still lives in his own small apartment in his retirement community known as White Horse Village.  There is still a great deal of retirement activity and he can still do some woodworking and play pool.  His four daughters spoil him pretty seriously he said. 

Dorothy Evans sends along her best to all.  Recently she had the opportunity to hear a local author Thomas Flagel, at a book signing of his hew book, The History Buff's Guide to World War II.  Knowing that we have a lot of book readers she knew that they would enjoy reading this book.  He also has a previous book, The History Buff's Guide to the Civil War, and another coming soon, The History Buff's Guide to Gettysburg.

She has had a busy summer keeping occupied with volunteer jobs and playing with her great grandson, Sammy, and playing with the Iowa Accordion Club.  Although she hasn't played since she was eight years old she picked up the tempo quite rapidly.  Their group has been getting requests to perform for a lot of organizations.  She misses all the members and is looking forward for the next reunion.

Mary Hall sends her regards to all and reported that she has made the move back to Rochester, NY.  Her new address is at the end of the letter under Roster Addendum.  Her home sold in five days which accelerated the move to Rochester, plus she sold the house with a lot of furniture still in it which made the move easier.

Mike Jacus sent along some recommended military reading books and I have listed a few of them here for your review and possible reading. 

Small Wars Manual, U.S. Marine Corps, 1940.  A practitioners guide, this book made almost every list.  It highlights lessons identified by Marines in the "Small Wars" of the early 20th century.  From the political/strategic level to tactical operations, it provides shrewd guidance for those pitted against insurgents.  Despite the section on packing mules, it remains painfully relevant today.

Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice, by David Galula, 1964.  Although now 40 years old, this remains one of the most useful books on counterinsurgency every written.  A practitioner rather than an academic - he observed wars in Greece, China and Algeria.  Galula starts with the understanding that insurgency and counterinsurgency can succeed.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph, by T.E. Lawrence, 1926.  The Marine Corp's Small Wars Center of Excellence praises this autobiographical account of Lawrence of Arabia's attempts to organize Arab nationalism during World War I.  It lauds it "penetrating insights into Arab culture and politics, with implications for future developments in the "Thrice-Promised Land.'" Although dated, Lawrence of Arabia's elegant masterpiece was the second most recommended book on the Inside the Pentagon" reading list compiled from a survey of active-duty officers.

Another of Lawrence's works, the bluntly practical Twenty Seven Articles (1917), is also frequently quoted.  In particular, practitioners have come to value his caution, earned out of painful experience spurring Arab troops to fight the Ottoman Empire.  "Do not try to do much with you're your own hands," Lawrence warned.  "Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly.  It is their war, and you are to help them, not to win it for them. "Twenty Seven Articles is widely recommended as a kind of Cliff"s Not es for conveying Insurgency and Terrorism: From Revolution to Apocalypse, by Bard E. O'Neill, second edition 2005.  Col. H.R. McMaster of the 3d Armored Cavalry, currently serving in Iraq, noted that "O'Neill provides a framework for analyzing insurgency operations...a good book to read first in insurgency studies."

Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam: Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife, by John A. Nagel, 2002.  Another recommendation from McMaster, who wants his soldiers to learn as they fight.  In so doing they would be following an old example. "Nagel argues," McMaster told his troops, "that Britains's military had an organization that allowed it to learn from its mistakes and eventually defeat the communist guerrillas in Malaya.,"

Iraq Insurgencies have everything to do with governance, and good governance requires an understanding of local conditions and cultures.  Grasping the historical complexities of Iraq is the challenge these books address.

The Modern History of Iraq, by Phebe Marr, revised edition 2004.  McMaster notes that this book, by a leading Iraq scholar, "focuses on several important themes: The search for national identity in a multi-ethnic, religious state; the struggle to achieve economic development and modernity in a traditional society; and the political dynamics that have led to the current dire situation in Iraq.

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