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Willie and Joe

Discussion in 'WWII General' started by scarface, Nov 12, 2007.

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  1. scarface

    scarface Member

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    [​IMG]
    Fresh, spirited American troops, flushed with victory,
    are bringing in thousands of hungry, ragged,
    battle-weary prisoners. (News item)

    EDIT: This particular cartoon is the one that won Mauldin's first Pulitzer Prize.







    -whatever

    -Lou
     
    scarface, Nov 22, 2007
    #21
    Kai-Petri likes this.
  2. scarface

    scarface Member

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    [​IMG]

    "Ya don't git combat pay 'cause ya don't fight."


    On a more serious note....was this TRUE???? Didn't medics/corpsmen get combat pay???

    If that is in fact the case, I just find that INCREDIBLE... combat medics not getting combat pay!.... unbelievable!!!

    If anyone has any info on this, please chime in.

    -whatever

    -Lou

    Oh.... yeah.... Happy Thanksgiving to all!
    -L
     
    scarface, Nov 22, 2007
    #22
  3. scarface

    scarface Member

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    [​IMG]

    "You’ll get over it, Joe. Oncet I wuz gonna write a book exposin’
    the army after th’ war myself."
     
    scarface, Nov 24, 2007
    #23
  4. bigfun

    bigfun Ace

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    hey thanks again for the this thread, i just bought a first edition of "Up Front" by Bill Maudlin, i can't wait to get it!!
     
    bigfun, Nov 24, 2007
    #24
  5. scarface

    scarface Member

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    [​IMG]

    "That can't be no combat man. He's lookin' fer a fight!"

    -whatever

    -Lou
     
    scarface, Nov 26, 2007
    #25
  6. White Flight

    White Flight Member

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    The issue came surfaced in one of the interviews in Burn's film 'The War.' The medics didn't carry a rifle and were paid less.
     
    White Flight, Nov 26, 2007
    #26
  7. scarface

    scarface Member

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    Wow - that's incredble - Combat Medics didn't get combat pay! I just found a link that indicated that the average PFc overseas got:


    Base Pay................................................... $54.00/mo
    Expert Infantry Badge (if qualified)................. $ 5.00/mo
    Combat Pay............................................... $10.00/mo

    [​IMG]



    "Hell! Just when I git me practice built up they transfer me to another regiment."​




    -whatever​


    -Lou​
     
    scarface, Nov 26, 2007
    #27
  8. bigfun

    bigfun Ace

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    well that seems a bit skewed!
    SNAFU!!!
     
    bigfun, Nov 26, 2007
    #28
  9. scarface

    scarface Member

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    It would take a special kind of person to be a combat medic. What was the arrangement - how many were there to a company? We they assigned to companies (or platoons) ie. - were they always with the same group of guys as a unit, or just assigned on an 'as-needed' basis from a central pool of medics? I know the Marines in the Pacific had Phamacist Mates as medics. Were they volunteers, or just Pharmacists mates that were assigned to accompany the jarheads?

    I know so little.

    -whatever

    -Lou
     
    scarface, Nov 26, 2007
    #29
  10. bigfun

    bigfun Ace

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    I know little about this as well, but I have a book to read about it, just haven't gotten around to it yet! I should go find that one! I only remember that it was about nurses and medics.
     
    bigfun, Nov 26, 2007
    #30
  11. scarface

    scarface Member

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    ...and the name of the book is.....???????



    -whatever

    -Lou
     
    scarface, Nov 26, 2007
    #31
  12. bigfun

    bigfun Ace

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    well i most have packed it away soewhere, i can't find it!!:mad:
     
    bigfun, Nov 27, 2007
    #32
  13. Seadog

    Seadog Member

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    In most cases, the medics were a special breed. Some were those who wanted to be doctors after the war, others were Quakers and other conscientious objectors that were opposed to shooting at people, but wanted to contribute to the war effort. I went through basic with one of them. The medics in europe were generally respected and not shot at, but in the pacific, they were unarmed targets to the Japanese. Many medics did carry hand guns in the pacific.
     
    Seadog, Nov 27, 2007
    #33
  14. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Medic Medal of Honor Recipient
    Desmond Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist, served honorably even though his religous beliefs were at odds with the reality of war.
    [​IMG]

    Desmond Doss - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    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 machinegun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them 1 by 1 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 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making 4 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, Pfc. 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 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. 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 1 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 Pfc. 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.
     
    Slipdigit, Nov 27, 2007
    #34
  15. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Damn, I never heard any news that he had passed away last year.

    Rest in Peace Desmond T. Doss.
     
    C.Evans, Nov 28, 2007
    #35
  16. scarface

    scarface Member

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    What an incredible story - this is the first I've heard of him.

    Thanks for posting that, Jeff.
     
    scarface, Nov 28, 2007
    #36
  17. scarface

    scarface Member

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    [​IMG]​

    "Maybe Joe needs a rest. He's talkin' in his sleep."​

    -whatever​

    -Lou​
     
    scarface, Dec 1, 2007
    #37
  18. scarface

    scarface Member

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    [​IMG]

    -whatever

    -Lou
     
    scarface, Dec 9, 2007
    #38
  19. scarface

    scarface Member

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    [​IMG]
    Them was his exack words - 'I envy th' way you dogfaces git
    first pick o' wimmen an' likker in towns.'​




    -whatever

    -Lou
     
    scarface, Jan 9, 2008
    #39
  20. fsbof

    fsbof Member

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    Last month, my 99 yo father died and was buried at Arlington Nat Cemetery. After the graveside service, as I walked alongside my mother back to our car, we passed through row upon row of graves. As I couldn't help glancing down at the markers (noting with sadness the 1980, 1983, 1984, etc. birthdates on many), I saw one that was inscribed simply "Bill Mauldin . . ..", but I wasn't able to read the rest of the inscription. All of the other markers displayed the deceased's full formal name, but this one did not say "William F. Mauldin." I seem to recall that he had requested an ordinary soldier's grave, with no flashy tombstone or memorial - the grave I saw was consistent with that wish. When I go to visit my dad's grave this Spring, I'll also look for Mr. Mauldin's.
     
    fsbof, Jan 9, 2008
    #40
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