Allen Boyd Thomas Korea War
508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment
Ashiya Air Base, Japan, July 11 (Monday) More than a third of America's first regiment of paratroops ever to fly the Pacific en masse were in Japan today, awed and enthusiastic about history's longest troop lift.
By early morning 15 giant C-124 Globemasters had brought some 1,350 men of the 508th Airborne Regiment here from the United States. Twenty-eight more of the massive transports, spaced across the Pacific all the way back to Fort Campbell, Ky., were on their way with 2,650 others.
Everything was reported going smoothly, except that varying weather along the 9,000-mile route shortened or lengthened the 2-hour intervals at which the planes left Kentucky. Sometimes there were gaps as long as 4 hours between arriving planes. At other times two Globemasters roared in within 30 minutes.
"We have proved the feasibility of moving troops rapidly from the U. S. to any part of the world," said Brigadier General Roy E. Lindquist.
His 187th Airborne Regiment will be history's second to fly the Pacific en masse. The 187th, which fought in Korea, is scheduled to start streaming back to America tomorrow aboard the same planes now hauling out the 508th.
Not much can be found on Latham, only thing i can fined is that he died 3 August, 1861 at Orange County, Virginia due to a "inflammation of the Bowels"
34th Infantry Regiment, organize 34th d at Loachapoka, Alabama, in April, 1862, contained men from Montgomery and the counties of Tallapoosa, Coosa, and Russell. It moved to Tupelo, Mississippi, and was assigned to General Manigault's Brigade where it remained for the duration of the war. The unit saw little action during the Kentucky Campaign then took an active part in many conflicts of the Army of Tennessee from Murfreesboro to Atlanta. Later it fought in Hood's winter operations in Tennessee and at Bentonville, North Carolina. The regiment reported 11 killed and 77 wounded at Murfreesboro, had many captured at Missionary Ridge, and in December, 1863, totaled 388 men and 281 arms. It lost 14 killed and 46 wounded at Ezra Church and was almost annihilated at Nashville. Few surrendered on April 26, 1865.
14th Infantry Regiment was organized at Auburn, Alabama, in July, 1861, with men from Montgomery and Auburn, and the counties of Chambers, Jackson, Randolph, and Tallapoosa. It remained in camp at Huntsville until October, then moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia. Later it was sent to Richmond to rest after suffering from camp diseases. Many suffered from measles. The 14th was assigned to General Pryor's, Wilcox's, Perrin's, Sanders', and W.H. Forney's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. It participated in many battles from Williamsburg to Cold Harbor, took an active part in the Petersburg siege south of the James River, then saw action in the Appomattox Campaign. In April, 1862, it contained 700 effectives, and reported 335 casualties during the Seven Days' Battles and 47 at Second Manassas. It lost 151 at Chancellorsville, and of the 316 engaged at Gettysburg, fifteen percent were disabled. The regiment surrendered with 11 officers and 180 men.
The four Mississippi companies were assigned to Armstrong's Brigade, which was a part of Chalmer's Division, on March 18. Armstrong's portion of the regiment reported to Colonel [William B. ?] Wade, and transferred to Dillon's 2nd Regiment. This division was located at Forrest's Pickensville Headquarters in Pickens County on and about March 24, 1865. From there, they moved in defense of Selma, where they were using the designation "12th Mississippi Cav." or "12th Miss. and Ala. Cav.", separately from the Dillon's 2nd Regiment.
The rest of the companies remained under Gen. Armistead. According to orders on file, on March 24, 1865 the 16th Confederate Cavalry was redesignated as the 12th Mississippi Cavalry. [Note the order of progression of names of the regiment: Armistead's Regiment, 12th Miss. and Ala. Cav., 16th Conf. Cav., 12th Miss. Cav.]
On April 1st, 1865, the 12th joined in the defense of Selma against the forces under Maj. Gen. Wilson, who led 13,500 Union Cavalry and Mounted Infantry. Many of the members of the 12th were captured, as was its flag which was taken by Private James P. Miller, of Company D, 4th lowa Cavalry on April 2.
The 16th Confederate Cav. (now called the 12th Miss. Cav. in the official records, but still often referred to as the 16th Conf. in field reports) reported to Spanish Fort. During it�s time at Ft. Blakely, Armistead's Cavalry Brigade, reportedly contained the following: 8th Alabama Cavalry under Col. Charles P. Ball, 16th Confederate under Lt. Col. Philip B. Spence, and Lewis's battalion under Major William V. Harrell.
On March 27, 1865, Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby's Union forces rendezvoused at Danley's Ferry, and began a siege of Spanish Fort. According to Gen. Maury's writings regarding this siege, Col. Spence's 16th Cavalry of five hundred men was the only force standing in the path of forty thousand Union troops. These cavalrymen alone caused the twenty mile march of Canby's force to take nine days. That delaying action was an incredible accomplishment, considering they were outnumbered by eighty to one!
The Union forces captured the fort on April 8. Most of the Confederate forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson, escaped to Mobile. The 16th, for some time thereafter, was at Ft. Pollard, and fought around Pensacola, Fla., according to some sources. Another says that they participated as the rear guard of the evacuation from Mobile to Demopolis with Lt. Col. Spence commanding.
Another flag of this regiment was captured at Talladega on April 15th, as was Major Cox who was then commanding the regiment. The capture was made by Private Shoed of the 3rd Ohio. I suspect that this is the remains of the part of the regiment which was at Selma.
Yet another flag was in the possession of the flag bearer after the war, apparently never captured. There are at least two photos of him and the flag, one being published in the Confederate Veteran magazine. The photo in the Conf. Vet. magazine also has Col. Spence in the photo, lending credence to the story that this is the "real" flag of the 16th Conf. Cav. The capture at Spanish Fort may have been a banner or a gridiron, or not this regiment's flag, at all. The Talladega flag was probably a separate flag, being used by the Armstrong part of the regiment.
Private Allen Boyd Thomas 1822-1900
6th Alabama Infantry Regiment
Reunion of 28th
Daniel Comey and 7 others were massacred and slain by Indians April 21, 1676 in which started the American/Indian War and the Battle of Concord and King Philip's War
Lieutenant Colonel William Groves Morris 1825-1918
Desmond Doss
Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was a United States Army corporal who served as a combat medic with an infantry company in World War II. He was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions in Guam and the Philippines. Doss further distinguished himself in the Battle of Okinawa by saving 75 men, becoming the only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during the war. His life has been the subject of books, the documentary The Conscientious Objector, and the 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge.
Early life
Desmond Doss was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, to William Thomas Doss (1893–1989), a carpenter, and Bertha Edward Doss (née Oliver) (1899–1983), a homemaker and shoe factory worker. His mother raised him as a devout Seventh-day Adventist and instilled Sabbath-keeping, nonviolence, and a vegetarian lifestyle in his upbringing. He grew up in the Fairview Heights area of Lynchburg, Virginia, alongside his older sister Audrey and younger brother Harold.
Doss attended the Park Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church school until the eighth grade, and subsequently found a job at the Lynchburg Lumber Company to support his family during the Great Depression.
Doss on top of the Maeda Escarpment, May 4, 1945
Before the outbreak of World War II, Doss was employed as a joiner at a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. He chose military service, despite being offered a deferment because of his shipyard work, on April 1, 1942, at Camp Lee, Virginia. He was sent to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for training with the reactivated 77th Infantry Division. Meanwhile, his brother Harold served aboard the USS Lindsey.
Doss refused to kill an enemy soldier or carry a weapon into combat because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He consequently became a medic assigned to the 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division.
While serving with his platoon in 1944 on Guam and the Philippines, he was awarded two Bronze Star Medals with a "V" device, for exceptional valor in aiding wounded soldiers under fire. During the Battle of Okinawa, he saved the lives of 50–100 wounded infantrymen atop the area known by the 96th Division as the Maeda Escarpment or Hacksaw Ridge. Doss was wounded four times in Okinawa, and was evacuated on May 21, 1945, aboard the USS Mercy. Doss suffered a left arm fracture from a sniper's bullet and at one point had seventeen pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Okinawa.
Post-war life
Desmond Doss grave
After the war, Doss initially planned to continue his career in carpentry, but extensive damage to his left arm made him unable to do so. In 1946, Doss was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which he had contracted on Leyte. He underwent treatment for five and a half years – which cost him a lung and five ribs – before being discharged from the hospital in August 1951 with 90% disability.
Doss continued to receive treatment from the military, but after an overdose of antibiotics rendered him completely deaf in 1976, he was given 100% disability; he was able to regain his hearing after receiving a cochlear implant in 1988. Despite the severity of his injuries, Doss managed to raise a family on a small farm in Rising Fawn, Georgia.
Doss married Dorothy Pauline Schutte on August 17, 1942, and they had one child, Desmond "Tommy" Doss Jr., born in 1946. Dorothy died on November 17, 1991 in a car accident (Desmond was driving and lost control of the vehicle). Doss remarried on July 1, 1993, to Frances May Sherman.
After being hospitalized for difficulty breathing, Doss died on March 23, 2006, at his home in Piedmont, Alabama. He was buried on April 3, 2006, in the National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Frances died three years later on February 3, 2009, at the Piedmont Health Care Center in Piedmont, Alabama.
Awards and decorations
Medal of Honor
Corporal Doss receiving the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman on October 12, 1945
Rank and organization: Private First Class, United States Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, April 29, 1945 – May 21, 1945.
Entered service at: Lynchburg, Virginia
Birth: Lynchburg, Virginia
G.O. No.: 97, November 1, 1945.
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the MEDAL OF HONOR to
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS DESMOND T. DOSS
UNITED STATES ARMY
for service as set forth in the following
Citation: Private First Class Desmond T. Doss, United States Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. Near Urasoe-Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 29 April – 21 May 1945. He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machine-gun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Private First Class Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them one by one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On 2 May, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and two days later he treated four men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within eight yards of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making four separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On 5 May, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small-arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Private First Class Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On 21 May, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited five hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Private First Class Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, this time suffering a compound fracture of one arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Private First Class Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.
SUDBURY FIGHT INDIAN & CONCORD BATTLE
David Comy (Mac Omey) of the MacThomas Clan of Scotland
1635-1676 Sudbury, Massachusetts.
David was one of several colonial soldiers from Concord, Mass slain by Indians as they went to the aid of other soldiers in the "Sudbury Fight '' in King Philip's War (also called the first Indian War) on April 21, 1676. Him and the others are buried near the place where there's a stone marking their names. Captain Hugh Mason company from Watertown went to their aid and found all 5 of them in a river meadow. David was a immigrant ancestor of Dr Perley Pierce Comey MD of Worcester
Manly Winn Hall 1918-2013With the outbreak of WWII, he volunteered for the Army Air Corps, and proudly served his country as a co-pilot on a B-17 'Flying Fortress" in the 418th Squadron of the 100th Bomb Group (H) of the 8th Air Force. He completed 29 combat missions, including D-Day, from the Group's base at Thorpe Abbotts, in North Anglia, England from March through August 1944.
Uncle J B Henderson This story and information came from Robert Henderson from El Paso, Texas, my 1st cousin. He sent me information on his dad from his military service. I have added some to it just to show from history where he was and to give an idea of what it was like where he was stationed. Uncle JB ) He was working in a DuPont gunpowder factory somewhere in Reform-Tuscaloosa area when he was drafted into the Army sometime in 1942-43 time frame...don't know exactly when. Never found any military papers. My mom probably discarded them years ago as "unnecessary"
2) Not sure where he trained or for how long. Pretty sure it was in SE. He did say that the unit he was in was eventually sent to England and subsequently involved in the invasion of France after Normandy. Said most all of his original unit were KIA before the end of war. My dad didn't go with them because of a detached retina found before his unit was transferred. My dad spent 6 months in a hospital bed (only treatment for detached retina at the time) somewhere in SE (Georgia, Carolinas....not sure). He admitted joking with nurses a lot. He said he just laid in bed and ate and ate. Said he got up to 180+ pounds on a 5'6" frame.....fairly stocky for the times.
3) After release from hospital, he became an MP. My dad never drank alcohol even during the military. Maybe that is why he was put into MP's to handle all GI's on leave in various venues in SE.
4) Some time in 1944, he was transferred to pacific NW......Seattle area maybe. He talked about still being an MP working with SP (shore patrol for Navy) rounding up and controlling drunk sailors on liberty. Said he had a girlfriend in every bar they patrolled while on duty. During the Vietnam war, there were a lot of violent anti-war demonstrations that needed crowd control by police wielding batons shown on nightly news. My dad said it reminded him of "knocking heads'' as an MP. He commented also about the heavy fog in the NW. He recalled one night that the fog was so bad that when the MP vehicle got to an intersection, someone had to get out and walk across the street to see if the traffic light was red or green.
5) Sometime late 1944 or early 1945 had him on a troop transport ship for a 3 week trip on rough seas to western Pacific (Tinian-Saipan) for troop build up for planned ground invasion of Japan. (As a result of the trip across the pacific, my dad didn't want to get on another boat unless he could swim to shore. My mom finally got him on a cruise ship in 1975....30 years later...my dad still wasn't thrilled)
6) My dad talked about driving around Saipan and seeing all bombed out Japanese fortifications and still some unburied Japanese bodies lying about (invasion of Tinian in Aug 1944 so maybe my dad got there in early fall 1944). He didn't talk much about what he did in Tinian/Saipan other than snagging a Japanese cadaver head and putting it in one of his buddies' bunk. Just mostly waiting.
7) Dad did comment on all the B-29's flying. He said they would start taking off in waves and took hours most every day to launch all the planes. I believe most of the bombers were on Tinian airfields with a part of B-29 group on Saipan. Dad spent most of his time on Saipan. He did say that once he snagged a trip on a B-29 to Guam. He was riding in the bombardier's seat in the nose but engine problems (B-29 notorious for engine problems) had them turn back after only a few minutes.
8) My dad said that by July 1945, there was a rumor going around the islands that a special bomb was coming.....powerful enough to totally wipe out the island. Dad and fellow GI's didn't believe it. They thought only wishful thinking.
9) Not sure when Dad left the Pacific. I have read that it took about 6 months to get all military deployed to Pacific theater back home. He used the GI bill and entered Livingston State Teachers College (about 70 miles south of Reform) now called U of West Alabama. There is where he met my mom one summer when my mom, U of Alabama student, was taking a trig class (she kept failing the class at U of A). They dated a year or so and were married in June 1949 after Dad had graduated.
10) In fall of 1949, he started at U of Alabama dental school in Birmingham. One year later, I showed up.
11) Summer of 1953, Dad graduated dental school and moved to El Paso.
12) No other military history after separation from WWII.
Tinian was a Protectorate of Japan following World War I having been both a Spanish and then a German possession prior to coming under Japanese administration in 1914. Tinian was largely a sugar plantation area in the pre Pacific war period. Large-scale military construction began on Tinian in 1939, during the Japanese military build up in the Pacific,. 1,200 prisoners of war were sent to the island from Japan for the construction of airfields as part of the defense of the Mariana Islands. By 1944, the island had three military airfields with a fourth under construction. What would later become North Field under US control was originally a Japanese fighter airstrip of 4,380 ft (1,335 m) in length, it was originally built as Ushi Point Airfield.
The island was captured from the Japanese in July 1944 in the Battle of Tinian. Following a 13-day naval bombardment of Tinian leading up to the invasion at Unai Chulu, U.S. forces utilized napalm bombs against the Japanese. It was the first time napalm bombs were used during warfare. The US Marine landing force overcame the numerically superior Japanese force on 1 August 1944 in what is considered to be the best-executed amphibious landing operation of the war. US Marine casualties were 328 dead with 1,571 wounded. The Japanese lost 8,010 dead. Only 313 Japanese were taken prisoner, many Japanese service personnel and civilians were reported to have committed suicide rather than face capture. Several hundred Japanese troops held out in the jungles for months following the capture of the island. Following the conquest of the island Tinian subsequently became an important operational base for the rest of the Pacific war.
The exact figure is unknown however it is understood that approximately 5,000 Korean civilian laborers died in the Marianas during the Pacific war. There is a small cluster of monuments on the island placed there in their memory.
B-29s of the 462d Bomb Group West Field Tinian Mariana Islands 1945
In December 1944, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff made the decision that the newly-captured islands in the Marianas in the central Pacific should have airfields built on them to support long range strategic bombing operations against the Japanese. Once under American control, a massive construction project was begun on the island in mid-August 1944. The previous Japanese airfield sited there was repaired and considerably expanded, being named as West Field, or Gurgaon Point Airfield due to its geographical location. Westfield became operationally ready in the early spring of 1945, and the Twentieth Air Force XXI Bomber Command 58th Bombardment Wing was assigned there and initiated strategic bombardment operations directly against the Japanese Home Islands. After the Japanese surrender, groups of the 58th Bomb Wing dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war in Japan, Korea, and Formosa, and took part in a show of force missions. Beginning in September, the vast majority of its fleet of B-29 super fortress were returned to the United States as part of "Operation Sunset". The 58th Bomb Wing returned to the United States on 15 November 1945, and its subordinate units were either inactivated or reassigned to other bases in Okinawa or returned to the United States.
George Woodrow Hall was my 1st cousin that lived in Hale County, Alabama. He was a Staff Sergeant in India Headquarters for the 7th Bombardment Command (Heavy) from 1942 to 1945. They had 7 different Squadrons in their command. They had the B-17, B-12, B-18 & the B-24 Liberator.
Reuben Allen III 1748-1779 from Shenandoah County, Virginia was one of 67 Virginians who served on the "Commander in Chief Guard". He was part of a Elite Group of Soldiers tasked with depending General George Washington from enemy fire. He was wounded and furloughed in 1779. He died of his wounds.
Freeman Lester Thomas a 1st cousin from Hale County, Alabama was with the 328th Machine Gun Battalion Company A, 82nd Division. He served with the FAMOUS Medal of Honor Alvin York. They were also known as “The All American Division” because they had a person from all 48 states.
He went to Fort McPherson and then to Camp Upton, New York for final training. Left in April to Boston and boarded the ship “Scandinavian” to Southampton and Liverpool. He then boarded a train across England and then boarded ships for cross channel voyage to France. He arrived in April 1917. He was killed in action in Riencourt, France which was in northern France.
