Bobtoad777
Virgin
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2000
- Posts
- 3,067
The first German serviceman killed in the war was killed
by the Japanese (China, 1937), the first American serviceman
killed was killed by the Russians (Finland 1940), the highest ranking American killed was Lt. Gen. Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps. So much for allies.
The youngest US serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham,
USN. He was wounded and given a Dishonorable Discharge for
lying about his age. (His benefits were later restored by
act of Congress)
At the time of Pearl Harbor the top US Navy command was
Called CINCUS (pronounced "sink us"), the shoulder patch of
the US Army's 45th. Infantry division was the Swastika, and
Hitler's private train was named "Amerika". All three were
soon changed for PR purposes.
More US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine
Corps. While completing the required 30 missions your chance
of being killed was 71%.
Generally speaking there was no such thing as an average
fighter pilot. You were either an ace or a target. For
instance Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80
planes. He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.
It was a common practice on fighter planes to load every
5th round with a tracer round to aid in aiming. This was a
mistake. Tracers had different ballistics so (at long range)
if your tracers were hitting the target 80% of your rounds
were missing. Worse yet tracers instantly told your enemy
he was under fire and from which direction. Worst of all was
the practice of loading a string of tracers at the end of
the belt to tell you that you were out of ammo. This was
definitely not something you wanted to tell the enemy. Units
that stopped using tracers saw their success rate nearly
double and their loss rate go down.
YOU'VE GOT TO LOVE THIS ONE....
When allied armies reached the Rhine the first thing men
did was pee in it. This was pretty universal from the lowest
private to Winston Churchill (who made a big show of it) and
Gen. Patton (who had himself photographed in the act).
German Me-264 bombers were capable of bombing New York
City but it wasn't worth the effort.
German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.
Among the first "Germans" captured at Normandy were several
Koreans. They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army
until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight
for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans
and forced to fight for the German Army until they were
captured by the US Army.
Following a massive naval bombardment 35,000 US and
Canadian troops stormed ashore at Kiska. 21 troops were
killed in the firefight. It would have been worse if there
had been any Japanese on the island.
Two U.S. Air Force F-15s shoot down two U.S. Army helicopters
on a diplomatic mission over Iraq, mistaking them for hostile
aircraft in the "no-fly zone," killing 26 people. No one was
found criminally responsible.
A "siesta" ordered by Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa
Anna to his troops during a conflict between the Mexicans and
Texans caused the infantry to be overtaken in just 18 minutes.
Fort Douaumont at Verdun in France was captured in 1916 by
a single German soldier after French General Chretien forgot
to pass on orders to defend the fort to the last man to his
successor.
The Russians tried to wreak havoc on German Panzer divisions
during the WWII by strapping bombs to the backs of dogs and
teaching them to associate food with the underneath of their
enemies' tanks. Unfortunately, the dogs only associated food
with their own tanks and forced an entire Soviet division to
retreat.
Japanese soldier Hiroo Onodo refused to stop fighting long
after WWII was over, claiming that stories of the war's
ending were mere propaganda. It wasn't until his commanding
officer flew out to the remote Pacific island where Onoda was
holed up and ordered him to lay down his arms that he finally
complied.
Probably the most famous mistake in U.S. military history
occurred in the Civil War, when Confederate Gen. Stonewall
Jackson was mistakenly shot by one of his own troops after
the Confederate triumph at Chancellorsville.
by the Japanese (China, 1937), the first American serviceman
killed was killed by the Russians (Finland 1940), the highest ranking American killed was Lt. Gen. Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps. So much for allies.
The youngest US serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham,
USN. He was wounded and given a Dishonorable Discharge for
lying about his age. (His benefits were later restored by
act of Congress)
At the time of Pearl Harbor the top US Navy command was
Called CINCUS (pronounced "sink us"), the shoulder patch of
the US Army's 45th. Infantry division was the Swastika, and
Hitler's private train was named "Amerika". All three were
soon changed for PR purposes.
More US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine
Corps. While completing the required 30 missions your chance
of being killed was 71%.
Generally speaking there was no such thing as an average
fighter pilot. You were either an ace or a target. For
instance Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80
planes. He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.
It was a common practice on fighter planes to load every
5th round with a tracer round to aid in aiming. This was a
mistake. Tracers had different ballistics so (at long range)
if your tracers were hitting the target 80% of your rounds
were missing. Worse yet tracers instantly told your enemy
he was under fire and from which direction. Worst of all was
the practice of loading a string of tracers at the end of
the belt to tell you that you were out of ammo. This was
definitely not something you wanted to tell the enemy. Units
that stopped using tracers saw their success rate nearly
double and their loss rate go down.
YOU'VE GOT TO LOVE THIS ONE....
When allied armies reached the Rhine the first thing men
did was pee in it. This was pretty universal from the lowest
private to Winston Churchill (who made a big show of it) and
Gen. Patton (who had himself photographed in the act).
German Me-264 bombers were capable of bombing New York
City but it wasn't worth the effort.
German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.
Among the first "Germans" captured at Normandy were several
Koreans. They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army
until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight
for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans
and forced to fight for the German Army until they were
captured by the US Army.
Following a massive naval bombardment 35,000 US and
Canadian troops stormed ashore at Kiska. 21 troops were
killed in the firefight. It would have been worse if there
had been any Japanese on the island.
Two U.S. Air Force F-15s shoot down two U.S. Army helicopters
on a diplomatic mission over Iraq, mistaking them for hostile
aircraft in the "no-fly zone," killing 26 people. No one was
found criminally responsible.
A "siesta" ordered by Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa
Anna to his troops during a conflict between the Mexicans and
Texans caused the infantry to be overtaken in just 18 minutes.
Fort Douaumont at Verdun in France was captured in 1916 by
a single German soldier after French General Chretien forgot
to pass on orders to defend the fort to the last man to his
successor.
The Russians tried to wreak havoc on German Panzer divisions
during the WWII by strapping bombs to the backs of dogs and
teaching them to associate food with the underneath of their
enemies' tanks. Unfortunately, the dogs only associated food
with their own tanks and forced an entire Soviet division to
retreat.
Japanese soldier Hiroo Onodo refused to stop fighting long
after WWII was over, claiming that stories of the war's
ending were mere propaganda. It wasn't until his commanding
officer flew out to the remote Pacific island where Onoda was
holed up and ordered him to lay down his arms that he finally
complied.
Probably the most famous mistake in U.S. military history
occurred in the Civil War, when Confederate Gen. Stonewall
Jackson was mistakenly shot by one of his own troops after
the Confederate triumph at Chancellorsville.
