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WWII Hand Made POW DIARY JAPAN - Submarine Vet USS GRENADIER SS-210


KASTAUFFER
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vicjoy1945

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

Fantastic addition to your POW collection Kurt !! Really nice and extremely unique !!

 

Vic

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Did I read correctly that he wrote " Dope Roosevelt dies " or is it " done " ??

 

 

It sure as heck looks like "dope" to me.

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Amazing how the men were dropping like flies. Did I read correctly that he wrote " Dope Roosevelt dies " or is it " done " ??

 

Great find and even though the entries are very simple one word can sink you right into the heart of the matter.

 

"Dope" would be slang (like scuttlebutt) for news or word passed down.

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  • 2 months later...

My father is Norman Albertsen TM 1/C (spelled Albertson in diary). My uncle Charles Johnson, Carterville Il. (my Mom's brother) is also listed as part of the crew. I met several of the crew including Fitzgerald (the Captain), "Buck" Withrow (Chief of the Boat) who was the one who opened the vents to scuttled the boat, Rupp, Ver Valin, York, Witzke, and some others. They were all great men. I know of only one still living and that is Charles"Skeeter" McCoy. It is hard to believe they lived thru that 2 1/2 years of Hell.

Norm Albertsen, MSgt. NVANG Ret.

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  • 8 months later...
grenadier210

My father is James D. Landrum also in the diary. Norman Albertsen and my dad were liberated from the Omori POW camp. There is a photo of their liberation on the edge of the island camp in Tokyo Bay. My father is the person holding the American Flag (Albertsen was one of the group that made the Flag. WISH I COULD FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO IT. I went to California in 1969 after being discharged and stopped by the Albertsen's house in Oxnord. Norm, do you remember? We went to the Naval base and visit Pete Zucco in Santa Barbara. I have two diaries that my dad kept while in POW Camp. One diary has some pages missing.....he said he had a nightmare and tore some pages out and burned them because of what he had written on them about the guards. The guards came in and went through prisoners things. One prisoner was taken out and never returned. My dad was taken outside (in the rain) and got one of the worst beatings he could remember. It also has names of the crew as well as others in the camp including "Pappy" Boyington. Albertsen and my dad climbed onto the roof and painted "pappy boyington here" which is shown in a photo taken by a Naval plane that flew over the camp. It also has pages that list every type of candy bar they could think of and a wish list for Christmas dinner. He documented his weight which at a low was 92 lbs. although he was 6' 4". Wish I had recorded some of our conversations we had and some I had with other crew members.

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Grenadier210

 

I echo Rusty canteen's comment. Thank you for sharing your Father's story with us,

 

Kurt

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My father is James D. Landrum also in the diary. Norman Albertsen and my dad were liberated from the Omori POW camp. There is a photo of their liberation on the edge of the island camp in Tokyo Bay. My father is the person holding the American Flag (Albertsen was one of the group that made the Flag. WISH I COULD FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO IT. I went to California in 1969 after being discharged and stopped by the Albertsen's house in Oxnord. Norm, do you remember? We went to the Naval base and visit Pete Zucco in Santa Barbara. I have two diaries that my dad kept while in POW Camp. One diary has some pages missing.....he said he had a nightmare and tore some pages out and burned them because of what he had written on them about the guards. The guards came in and went through prisoners things. One prisoner was taken out and never returned. My dad was taken outside (in the rain) and got one of the worst beatings he could remember. It also has names of the crew as well as others in the camp including "Pappy" Boyington. Albertsen and my dad climbed onto the roof and painted "pappy boyington here" which is shown in a photo taken by a Naval plane that flew over the camp. It also has pages that list every type of candy bar they could think of and a wish list for Christmas dinner. He documented his weight which at a low was 92 lbs. although he was 6' 4". Wish I had recorded some of our conversations we had and some I had with other crew members.

 

 

A theme I have seen in almost every Pacific POW diary I on and have seen is lists of food. One particular diary I own the POW listed every single candy bar he could remember in the pages. Recording recipes was also a very common subject,

 

Kurt

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In the statement, "Dope Roosevelt died", I took this to mean Dope or Rumor that Roosevelt had died. Dope is a 30's - 40's term.

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  • 1 year later...

Worthy of a second look.....simply an awesome find, Perhaps hen's teeth would be easier to locate. Thanks again for this thread.

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Really a great find - priceless. Are the closing comments that he is on a British carrier? I can't tell whether he is kidding when he says those "G#% D%& Limies". Maybe I'm misquoting. I have an English- French dictionary with notes from a B-17 crewman shot down near Paris just before D-Day. He eluded capture and was presumably hidden by locals. He wrote in the dictionary day by day where he was hiding out until the allies arrived in Paris and he was "liberated". I also have his wings, ID bracelet, Air Medal, Purple Heart and a leather name tag. It's a group I'll not part with and I'm not sure why the family let it go.

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Kurt, have you ever thought of Google Earthing the addresses in the diary? I love these threads "when the family comes calling" but in a positive collective manor.

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Hi Dustin

 

I actually have not tried that. I wonder how many of the original houses are still standing?

 

Kurt

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Really a great find - priceless. Are the closing comments that he is on a British carrier? I can't tell whether he is kidding when he says those "G#% D%& Limies". Maybe I'm misquoting. I have an English- French dictionary with notes from a B-17 crewman shot down near Paris just before D-Day. He eluded capture and was presumably hidden by locals. He wrote in the dictionary day by day where he was hiding out until the allies arrived in Paris and he was "liberated". I also have his wings, ID bracelet, Air Medal, Purple Heart and a leather name tag. It's a group I'll not part with and I'm not sure why the family let it go.

That sounds like a cool group. You should post it! Id love to see it.

 

Kurt

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  • 1 month later...

I have book that was written by one of the survivors Albert Rupp.

called threshold of hell describing the treatment these men endured at the hands of the Japanese some of it chilling.

he would frequently visit the submarine I was on back in the late 80's as it was one of the last diesel boats in the navy.

he also told us some stuff that was deemed to graphic by the editors to be allowed in the book.

what these men endured is mind numbing.

Andy

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  • 3 years later...

My Dad, Charles E. Johnson, is the one standing to the far right in the picture. Every time I see this picture it gives me such a sense of pride. He went on to get married and have 4 children, three of us were in the Army and had two grandsons who attended West Point. That sense of honor was instilled in us from a very early age.

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