cperkins501 Posted February 21, 2014 Share #126 Posted February 21, 2014 Wow, that Dean Ladd uniform is awesome. He wrote a fantastic memoir of his time with the Marines. One of my all time favorite WWII accounts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted February 21, 2014 Share #127 Posted February 21, 2014 Real nice groupings Kurt! Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share #128 Posted February 21, 2014 Wow, that Dean Ladd uniform is awesome. He wrote a fantastic memoir of his time with the Marines. One of my all time favorite WWII accounts! Thanks, Dean is an active member of the 2nd Marine Division Association and we talked a few times a few years ago and low and behold a rather large box from him arrived at my doorstep with his greens from WWII! Needless to say, it made my day/week/month. He stated that Minnesotans were near and dear to him as two fellow Gopher Staters saved his life during the Tarawa operation. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted February 21, 2014 Share #129 Posted February 21, 2014 Kurt, Do you have anything from Lieutenant William D. Hawkins, recipient of the MoH on Tarawa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted February 22, 2014 Share #130 Posted February 22, 2014 Are they in this thread, perhaps I missed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted February 22, 2014 Share #131 Posted February 22, 2014 Wow.... My exact word also!! Cheers Kurt! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cperkins501 Posted February 23, 2014 Share #132 Posted February 23, 2014 Thanks, Dean is an active member of the 2nd Marine Division Association and we talked a few times a few years ago and low and behold a rather large box from him arrived at my doorstep with his greens from WWII! Needless to say, it made my day/week/month. He stated that Minnesotans were near and dear to him as two fellow Gopher Staters saved his life during the Tarawa operation. Kurt Thst is an incredibly cool story! It really goes to show that many veterans really appreciate when civilians take interest in and show gratitude for their service. My WWII marine grandfather has made that so clear to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share #133 Posted February 23, 2014 Thanks for the positive comments. I been a member of the 2nd Marine Division Association MN Chapter for about 15 years; wish I would have known about it earlier. I have done displays for the chapter in the Twin Cities and they have been here to see my museum. Although I was not a Marine, I was in the USN for about 9 1/2 years and they still take me in. Our current president is 92 and a corpsman who was with D-1-2 for Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. So we "squids" get along with all the gyrenes, their wives and MANY widows in the chapter. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewfinderGyrene Posted June 21, 2014 Share #134 Posted June 21, 2014 Beautiful condition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chutesandskulls Posted November 20, 2015 Share #135 Posted November 20, 2015 Great thread here is my small contribution.http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/233982-tarawa-vet-idd-p42-jacket/?hl=%2Btarawa+%2Bp42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewfinderGyrene Posted November 21, 2015 Share #136 Posted November 21, 2015 Soon I will scan my contribution, a letter by a veteran of C Company, 2nd Tank Battalion. As I understand, he was in an M3 Stuart. They weren't as involved as the Shermans, but IMHO had a tougher go in their involvement. Their 37mm main gun wasn't strong enough to knock the Japanese out of their log, steel, and concrete emplacements, so they had to bring their tank to bear right up to the vents of the pillboxes and bunkers to fire. The Stuarts supported a drive by 1/6 which placed them "in the triangle" of Betio Airfield before the 3 consecutive last ditch night attacks by the Japanese on 1/6's lines. Whether the Stuarts remained on the line with 1/6 I have yet to determine. They then escorted the 2 Shermans which remained in action on the final day of the battle, in the drive up the tail of the island. By then most of the Japanese had been neutralized. The letter is amusingly casual, written almost exactly month after Tarawa [12/18/43] on Japanese stationery captured off of a Japanese soldier that "didn't need it anymore" as many of the Marines would say. He mentions the stationery in the content of the letter. Remarkable contributions by all! VFG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewfinderGyrene Posted November 21, 2015 Share #137 Posted November 21, 2015 Harold Kapaun Regimental Weapons Company, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa I wonder if he's a distant relative of Emil Kapaun, the highest decorated Catholic Chaplain, who served in Korea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share #138 Posted November 21, 2015 72 years ago today the struggle for Tarawa was on and the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines landed today D+1. Kurt Barickman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share #139 Posted May 15, 2018 I just added this grouping to the Tarawa KIA grouping to my collection and thanks much to HOA and his wife for graciously driving this group to my house yesterday from Kansas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share #140 Posted May 15, 2018 http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/309211-new-member/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ww2marine Posted May 15, 2018 Share #141 Posted May 15, 2018 Just killer Kurt. Your Tarawa groupings thread is hands down my favorite on the forum. Its always nice to come back and see your amazing collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Jack Posted May 15, 2018 Share #142 Posted May 15, 2018 Kurt, I'm viewing your Tarawa collection for the first time. Absolutely amazing! You are to be congratulated for your quest and determination in preserving this significant period of history. Thank you for sharing. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share #143 Posted May 15, 2018 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zn0KfCloUAXwlDy6GvlZcLgXkN8DxLZ5adOA-GFCD8g/edit?usp=sharing HOA wrote this about Kenneth. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mes Posted May 16, 2018 Share #144 Posted May 16, 2018 Kurt Another great addition to your amazing Tarawa collection. Rip Pfc Marcellus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganz50 Posted June 3, 2018 Share #145 Posted June 3, 2018 Impressive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slickdogmess Posted March 2, 2020 Share #146 Posted March 2, 2020 These groupings make me want to start collecting uniforms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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