Greetings. The sticky at the top of this forum said to answer these questions, so I will try: 1. Your Name: Whats your name? What would you like to be called? How did you come up with your member-name? My name is Nick, so that seems like a good thing to call me. 2. Age: How old are you? How long have you been interested in WWII? I'm in my early 60s. I suppose I've always been interested. It was such a recent memory for all the adults around me. 3. Origins: Where are you from? Vermont, USA 4. Specifics: What areas of WWII are you interested in? What would you like to know more about? I have some very specific questions. I am writing a novel. The novel spans several generations, one of which is immediately following the war. The father of main character in that section was killed in the war. I need to know If he enlisted in the army immediately after Pearl Harbor, what would have been the earliest action (European or Pacific, it doesn't matter) that he might have been involved in? On the other hand, if he were drafted prior to Pearl Harbor, what would his maximum age have been at the time of Pearl Harbor? (in other words, what ages were they drafting prior to the declaration of war?) Were all the Pearl Harbor casualties in the Navy? Or Army, too? Would some of them likely be draftees, or all enlisted men? Have not been able to find these answers in many web searches. Any help that can be offered would be immensely appreciated. 5. Hobbies: N/A 6. Other: What other time periods are you interested in? Specific eras? Why? My greatest interest is in early history (Dark Ages, and prior. But that's not important here)
Welcome to the forums! Sure I read somewhere that the average age of a US serviceman in WW2 was 26, but probably wrong.
Hi Nick. Glad you could join us. I have no immediate answers, but I'll look into it. I'm sure others will, as well.
Hi there and welcome. While waiting for the more illustrious to chip in, regarding Q4 - Specifics, Section 3 - Casualties: http://www.pearlharbor.org/history/casualties/pearl-harbor-casualties/ Here is a list of casualties from Pearl Harbour, im not sure how complete it is but note the section for Wheeler field (USAAF). 35 Army casualties. Believe Hickam field was also USAAF: Another 191 army AF casualties. Bellows field may have more USAAF. If you want Infantry or Artillery casualties check Schofield barracks: There may be more but thats off the top of my head. I cant help you with your other questions regarding draft dates but hopefully someone else can chip in. Hope that helps a little, J Edit: Fort Shafter had another 2 USArmy casualties. Camp Malakole 3 coastal artillery casualties. Fort Kamehameha - coastal arty Also edited for neatness
Thanks to all for your responses so far. Any further responses to the 3-1 question ("If he enlisted in the army immediately after Pearl Harbor, what would have been the earliest action (European or Pacific, it doesn't matter) that he might have been involved in? ") would be more than welcome. Also, being new here— it there's somewhere else on the forum than would be a netter place to post the question, please let me know. @jimmytwohand— your data is very helpful— in essence, it tells me that there were so few US Army casualties that I'd better not go there. Anyone who knew their stuff would get tripped up over the fact that my fictional character's name doesn't jive with any of the real casualties. "Suspension of disbelief" gets compromised in a situation like that. . . thanks.
I seem to be working backwards but regarding 4.2 Couple of books which may help with the draft questions. George Q Flynn - The Draft 1940-1973. First peacetime Draft - University of Kansas. Theoretically, i suppose if your protagonist was registered for the draft in september 1940 he could have been 45. If he had an October birthday by December 41 he could be 47..... As long as you don't go totally "Pearl Harbour the movie" there may still be wiggle room. As a quote from the same site says: "As a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, I am often asked what ship I was on. When I reply that I wasn't on a ship but was stationed at Hickam Field, I am usually asked, 'Where is Hickam Field?' ... The Japanese certainly knew!" Former Master Sergeant Thomas J. Pillion, 400th Signal Company, Hickam Field The USAAF facilities did take a pasting and at least from my point of view it seems to be one of the less remembered chapters in popular history compared to events inside the harbour. I can imagine many plausible situations for USArmy casualties which may give a refreshing perspective on the attack. Seems like there was the best part of 6 Infantry regiments quartered at Schofield barracks so its not totally implausible. EDIT: I should say this really isn't my area, i'm just grabbing things from my bookmarks and reference books, there will be others much more qualified in this realm!
Howdy, Nick. Is it alright if we call you Nick? He could have probably made the landings in North Africa, provided the chips fell correctly and your possibly making use of a wee bit of aritistic license. Let me look at a timeline more closely and I might can come up with something else. Initially, the draft required men between agers of 21 and 35 to register with the draft, but I do not know if any certain age group was drafted to the exclusion of others. I would suspect that going much past 25 in your story would be problematic that early in the war. There easily could be some draftees at Pearl Harbor, although their number would be low. I think at the time, new naval personnel were trained onboard the ship they were going to serve upon and not at a boot camp. I would have to research that more, unless someone more knowledgeable can provide a defineative answer. A note on general nomenclature: In US parlance, any soldier who is not an officer is often considered to be an enlisted man, regardless of his terms of his association.
Thank you, JW, and jimmytwohand as well. Yes, certainly, do call me Nick, Thanks for asking. This sounds like the best bet, if it's reasonable. As the story develops itself, it becomes clear to me that where he was killed is far less important than when— which should be as early in the war as would make sense. In late winter or early spring of 1942 would make sense in the book's timeline. When did the African campaign begin? (I can look this up, I just thought you might have it at the top of your head.) Yes, I was thinking the same. The character is about 30 or 31 — and he is a sole surviving son — so enlisting immediately after Pearl Harbor seems a more likely scenario. That is useful knowledge. So is there any term that distinguishes someone who volunteers from someone who is drafted? thanks so much for your help Nick
For Torch you are looking Early November. Your chap would be leaving mid to late October 1942 depending which TF he was with. First landing 8th November? "Reservist" at Oran might have been the first by an hour or two or possibly Algiers? Definitely double check that. Have you seen the green books? Lovely free resource.
Thanks, jimmytwohand. Early November, North Africa, is good enough, at least at this stage of the game. Might loop the next generation back, looking for more detail, I'm not sure yet, but this is good for now. Thanks for this, and also for the Green Book. I'll look through it. Take care. If anything comes of this, I'll mention you and JW in my acknowledgments. Will let you know if it gets that far.
Another option that would put his demise into early 1942 would be the defense of the Philippines. The fighting there started in Dec 1941 and ended with the surrender of forces Bataan in April, 1942 and on Corregidor in May. There were regular army (31st Infantry Regiment) and national guard units there and that would allow him to have be a bit older, as he could have been pre-war NG. The National Guard units were sent in 1941, before Pearl Harbor. "Draftee" was a common term for those subject to conscription.
No problem Nick. I'm a JW too so you can kill two birds with one stone there. Might also help your project's credibility. For Torch this will be the one you need: http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/006/6-1-1/index.html Philippines: http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/005/5-2-1/index.html Good thought JW.
or you're old enough to remember this track from the 1980s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3LdMAqUMnM
Hi, all Here are a few more simple (I hope!) questions: How long, in WWII, it would take after someone was killed in action before the family would be notified? (Assuming Africa, and assuming his CO knew right away) Did that notification come as a telegram, as portrayed in some movies, or a letter? Or was there a personal visit? Is there anywhere online I could view a facsimile of such a message? I did find one in Google images, but if I could look at a couple more, it might be good.
Thanks, JW-2! I downloaded the one for Torch last night. Good information, there! thanks again for the heads-up.
Assuming the individual was killed after the landings in North Africa and the administrative staff had time to settle in it took between 30 and 45 days to get the official telegram from the War Department followed up by a formal letter of condolences at around 60 to 75 days. Often the unit commander or a friend in the unit would write a letter home to the parents during lulls in the fighting and this would arrive sooner than the official notices.
