Official blog
TWS Website
TWS Website
U

MENU

World War II

Taco Rice and the Legacy of Marines on Okinawa

Taco Rice and the Legacy of Marines on Okinawa

,

In 1984, Matsuzo Gibo added traditional Mexican-style spices to ground beef and put the spicy meat mixture on a bed of rice, then added lettuce and shredded cheese. He started selling it from his food stall as a quick lunchtime meal. The simple dish, now known the world over as "taco rice," conquered Okinawa faster and with far less resistance than the U.S. military did during World War II.  How Taco Rice Became a Beloved Dish Near Camp Hansen Gibo, who died in 2014, was the owner of the Parlor Senri food stall outside of Camp Hansen's Gate 1 in Kin Town, Okinawa. Being just a mile away from the gate, his primary customer base was U.S. Marines and had been for a long time.  The fight for Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II and was also one of the war's bloodiest. On Apr 1, 1945, the United States landed Marines and soldiers on the island. It was the largest amphibious landing of the Pacific War.  For a little over three months, the United States, with Allied naval...

read more
5 Unsung Heroes of the U.S. Marine Corps

5 Unsung Heroes of the U.S. Marine Corps

,

When it comes to famous Marine Corps veterans, everyone remembers Lewis "Chesty" Puller, John Basilone, Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly, and a slew of other legendary devil dogs. But to celebrate the Marine Corps' 250th birthday, it's important to remember that the Corps has no end of heroes, many of whom fade away further and further with time.  So we don't forget the Marines who fought with distinction, but may not have been as quotable as Chesty, as political as Smedley Butler, or as smart as John Glenn, here are a few more worth remembering.  1. Brig. Gen. Joe Foss Joe Foss earned his wings in March 1941, months before America officially entered World War II. After Pearl Harbor, the young Marine aviator shipped out to the South Pacific and joined the Cactus Air Force over Guadalcanal, where the air was thick with heat, malaria, and Zeros. Across three brutal months, he hunted enemy bombers and fighters, sometimes limping home with holes in his Wildcat, ditching in the drink and getting...

read more
WW II – Buna Gona: MacArthur’s Jungle Slugfest in the Pacific

WW II – Buna Gona: MacArthur’s Jungle Slugfest in the Pacific

,

The first full year of World War II was a hard-fought one for the Allies in the Pacific Theater. In 1942, Thailand, the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, and more were in Japanese hands, as were tens of thousands of American, Australian, and British prisoners of war. In January of that year, Rabaul fell to the Japanese, alarming Australians as Imperial Japan advanced on Papua New Guinea.  Buna Gona Forces Japan to Halt Its Advance The enemy reached the heights overlooking Port Moresby, New Guinea's largest city, but advanced no further. American landings on Guadalcanal and the threat of an Allied assault on the other end of New Guinea forced the Japanese to make some hard decisions.  American and Australian forces had checked the overland thrust across the Owen Stanley Range on the Kokoda Track by late September 1942, then turned the Japanese around at Ioribaiwa and chased them back through Isurava and over the jungle-sawtooth ridges to the Papuan north...

read more
The Most Decorated Enlisted Sailor in Navy History

The Most Decorated Enlisted Sailor in Navy History

,

In the history of the United States Navy, only seven men have earned all of the big three valor awards: Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, and Silver Star. Six were World War II officers, including one aviator. The seventh was James Elliott "Willy" Williams - considered the most decorated enlisted man in the history of the Navy. James Williams Joined the Navy at Sixteen James Williams, a Cherokee Indian, was born November 13, 1930, in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Two months later he moved with his parents to Darlington, South Carolina where he spent his early childhood and youth. He attended the local schools and graduated from St. John's High School.   In August 1947, at the age of 16, Williams enlisted in the United States Navy with a fraudulent birth certificate. He completed basic training at Naval Training Center San Diego. He served for almost twenty years, retiring on April 26, 1967, as a Boatswain's Mate First Class (BM1). During those years, he served in both the Korean War and...

read more
WW2 – Bataan and Corregidor

WW2 – Bataan and Corregidor

,

Within hours of their December 7, 1941, attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the Japanese military began its assault on the Philippines, bombing airfields and bases, harbors and shipyards. Manila, the capital of the Philippines, sits on Manila Bay, one of the best deep-water ports in the Pacific Ocean, and it was, for the Japanese, a perfect resupply point for their planned conquest of the southern Pacific. After the initial air attacks, 43,000 men of the Imperial Japanese 14th Army went ashore on December 22 at two points on the main Philippine island of Luzon. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the supreme commander of all Allied forces in the Pacific, cabled Washington, D.C., that he was ready to repel this main invasion force with 130,000 troops of his own. The Road to Bataan and Corregidor Begins with Miscalculation For whatever reason, MacArthur's claim that many troops were in error. In fact, his force consisted of tens of thousands of ill-trained and ill-equipped...

read more
WW2 – Battle of Tarawa

WW2 – Battle of Tarawa

,

Following the December 1941 Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Wake Island, and other Pacific islands, the U.S. began to halt Japan’s aggression expansion with important battle victories at Midway Island in June 1942 and Guadalcanal from Aug. 1942 to Feb. 1943. To continue the progress against the Japanese occupying scattered island chains, Allied commanders launched counter-offensive strikes known as “island-hopping.” The idea was to capture certain key islands, one after another until Japan came within range of American bombers. Rather than engage sizable Japanese garrisons, these operations were designed to cut them off and let them “whither on the vine.”

read more
Lt. Henry Fonda, U.S. Navy (1942-1946)

Lt. Henry Fonda, U.S. Navy (1942-1946)

,

Lt. Henry Fonda, of the US Navy between 1942 and 1946, interrupted a prominent career as a film actor in order to serve his country when it needed him most. Fonda’s commanding screen presence made him a favorite of theatergoers for five decades, culminating in an Oscar for his final performance. Henry Fonda Built His Hollywood Career on Stage and Screen Born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1905, Fonda was the son of a printer. Raised in Omaha, he witnessed and was profoundly affected by the horrors of the Omaha race riot of 1919. After high school he attended the University of Minnesota, but did not graduate. At the age of 20 he joined the Omaha Community Playhouse. He grew to be fascinated by the stage and learned many aspects of stagecraft, eventually growing to enjoy acting as taking on a role and speaking someone else’s words gave him respite from his shy personality.  In 1928 he moved to Massachusetts and met his future wife Margaret Sullavan while working for the University...

read more
The Fighting Arkansans

The Fighting Arkansans

,

Lloyd L. "Scooter" Burke - the most highly decorated soldier in Arkansas' history - was born in Tichnor (Arkansas County) on September 29, 1924, one of five children of A. D. Burke, a foreman at a lumber mill in Clarendon (Monroe County) and his wife, Belly Burke. In 1942, Lloyd Burke graduated from Stuttgart High School and enrolled at Henderson State Teachers College, now Henderson State University. Lloyd Burke Rose Through Courage and Leadership In 1943 when Burke was 18-years-old, he dropped out of Henderson State College and joined the United States Army. He served two years during World War II as a sergeant with combat engineers in Italy. After the war, he returned to school at Henderson, where he participated in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, which is now named "Burke's Raiders" in his memory. He was also a member of the Phi Sigma Epsilon fraternity. In 1950, he graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate. After graduation, Burke was commissioned a...

read more
WW2 – The Bombing of Balikpapan

WW2 – The Bombing of Balikpapan

,

In the early morning hours of August 13, 1943, twelve US B-24 Liberators from the 380th Bombardment Group (also known as the Flying Circus), began a low approach over the harbor of Balikpapan, Borneo. They were about to break records for the longest bombing run in history. Their 17-hour non-stop flight would take the Japanese completely by surprise and result in destruction in Balikpapan. The Bombing of Balikpapan Breaks Records Intelligence had suggested that Balikpapan refineries were producing half of Japan’s WWII aviation fuel. Under the command of Lt. Col. William A. Miller, a risky plan was conceived for a bombing run to Balikpapan. Pilots would need to cover 2600 miles - roughly the distance between Los Angeles and New York City. The planes and crews were readied at the Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin in Northern  Australia. Each plane was loaded with six 500-pound bombs, 3500 gallons of fuel, and weighed nearly 66,000 pounds. The runway at Darwin was especially...

read more
WW2 – Sugar Loaf Hill, Okinawa

WW2 – Sugar Loaf Hill, Okinawa

,

After the Battle of Midway in the summer of 1942, the United States launched a counter-offensive strike known as “island-hopping,” establishing a line of overlapping island bases. As each Japanese-held island fell, U.S. forces quickly constructed airfields and small bases, then moved on to surrounding islands, one after another, until Japan came within range of American bombers.

read more
Out of the Darkness : Navy Seals

Out of the Darkness : Navy Seals

,

On June 6, 1943, the Naval Combat Demolition Unit (NCDU) training school was established at Ft. Pierce, Florida. Training candidates came from rugged, physically capable Marine Raider and Navy Scout and Construction Battalion volunteers with previous swimming experience. Demolition work was emphasized without restriction. Grueling nighttime training conducted in the snake- and alligator-infested swamps of Florida produced a specimen of a man who was at home with mud, noise, exhaustion, water, and hostile beings, human or otherwise. The trainees were divided into teams of six men - one officer and five enlisted - called Underwater Demolition Teams, or UDTs (later changed in the mid-1950s to Sea, Air, and Land, or SEALs), and were also known as Frogmen for their amphibious abilities and appearance. The UDTs conducted amphibious assaults on D-Day and on Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. Navy Seals Built a Museum to Preserve Their Legacy In the 1980s, a group of retired UDT-SEALs...

read more