Took part in vital day in history
Aug. 4—Jeff Martin shares an incident his dad experienced during World War II. His dad was a Greensburg Police Officer for more than 30 years.
One evening in 1970, while my father, Dennis Martin, and I were at Hook's Drugstore on Lincoln Street, he showed me a picture in a paperback that depicted Japanese military officers about to board an aircraft. He asked, "Do you know who took this picture?" I hadn't a clue, so he stated that he took it when he was stationed at Ie Shima during World War II's end.
Ie Shima is west of but within sight of Okinawa. The islands were first assaulted by allied forces about April 1, 1945. Ie Shima was invaded on April 16 and it was there that two days later war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed. Historians cite that Japanese hostilities ended on June 22 but an internet contributor contends there remained sporadic sniper fire. His uncle was killed on June 29. In that there were holdouts, my father told the story of two Japanese soldiers who surrendered when they entered an American mess tent. They were starving and were drawn by the smell.
He was an aircraft mechanic, electrician, and a volunteer photographer. His unit was on alert for a mainland invasion and, incidentally, Greensburg resident George Blare was also an assigned pilot. His job was to repair aircraft returning from their mission. The pilot's life depended on the quality of their work, and his crew became very inventive and proficient in getting their craft airborne. Protocol had it that the repair bay was NCO territory. Officers weren't welcome to be around and demand military courtesies.
My father told me of exploring the island and climbing Mount Gusuku, where he could see all around from that vantage point. The men made the best life for themselves with what they had. They made an outdoor movie screen from plywood crates used for the transport of airplane engines. He told of having lived through a typhoon. The eye of the storm passed over the island and for a short while the sun shined, though he could see water spouts over the open water. Then, the winds returned.
They could listen to Tokyo Rose and WLW Cincinnati on the radio. The latter then had a million watt, water cooled, AM frequency transmitting tube. One day, they heard the announcement of a single bomb destroying a whole city. That was like science fiction for them. After the second bomb was dropped, coordination was made for a pair of Japanese planes to rendezvous with American aircraft for escort to the Ie Shima landing field. The delegation was to board American aircraft for flight to the Philippines, to receive the surrender terms from General McArthur's staff.
My father was told to be at a certain place and time with his camera. He took pictures and handed over the film, as it was governmental property. Twenty-five years later, he showed me a photo, stating that he hadn't an idea how the paperback publisher received it. The photo was taken from under an aircraft's belly, depicting a ladder with Japanese officers awaiting their turn to board.
Recently, I stumbled onto the internet site of the Combat Air Museum in Topeka. Someone had anonymously left an envelope of that event's photos. The museum has posted a page with some of the pictures, but not of this one in particular. By exchange of messages and my description of what was shown, the museum provided the one I was able to identify.
It also happened that a different photographer captured an image of three men under the aircraft. A portion of it was enlarged and I recognized my father as the young man he was, at 24 years of age, by the somewhat upturned bill of his cap. A different photo of him at Ie Shima also depicts he wore his cap in that manner.
The war abruptly ended and the surrender ceremony occurred on the deck of the battleship Missouri. My father returned to the United States aboard a bomber. Over the Pacific and with the bomb bay doors open, he nearly fell out when the plane hit an air pocket. Someone grabbed and pulled him to safety. He was discharged on December 6, 1945, my sister Linda's first birthday. I would be born on the same day, only 10 years later.
Decatur County resident Pat Smith may be contacted via this publication at news@greensburgdailynews.com.
