Month: January 2018

WW2 National Museum

Had a great chance to visit The National WW2 Museum in New Orleans and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the history of the bloodiest conflict the world has ever seen.

 

 

DKN NZ350 Motorcycle was the preferred motorcycle for the German Wehrmacht.
The MG-34 the predecessor to the infamous MG-42

The Smallest Soldier

In the early morning hours before the sun arose on June 5th infamously known as D-Day, the 82nd and 101st U.S airborne alongside the British 6th Airborne division launched a preemptive strike to secure roads and key bridges to prevent and German counter attacks once the invasion had begun. A tactic that was employed during amidst this attack was a deceptive strategy designed to intimidate the Germans, the planes the paratroopers would jump from would also throw “paradummmies” out of the planes which were small dolls designed to look like falling paratroopers. These dolls became affectionately known as “Rupert Dolls” by the British and “Oscar” by the Americans

 

The Smallest Soldier
A small radio used by French Resistance while under the German rule.
The standard carry for U.S Paratroopers during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day.

This helmet was worn by PFC Joseph K. Berrineau, while he was with allied forces pushing further into France after the successful invasion of Normandy. While he was advancing towards the German occupied town of Vidouville, France he was hit by shrapnel across his shoulder and back. It was only after he was being medically evacuated did he notice that a machine gun round had gone straight through his helmet miraculously he was completely unharmed by the bullet.

 

The Merchant Marines

A very under appreciated group when talking about WW2 are who are known as The Merchant Marines. This group before the war consisted of around 55,000 civilian sailors this number increased to about 250,000 sailors during the height of the war. The ages of these sailors ranged from around 17 to 70 years old. The Merchant Marines delivered supplies to allies on the front line all throughout the war despite heavy casualties. There are no exact records of how many casualties they accumulated over the course of the war but some sources estimate over 9,000 men were either lost at sea or killed. Bear in mind these were not soldiers they did not receive any honors or any recognition of naval sailors, they were simply brave men who were willing to lay down their lives for their country.

 

A painting of the Merchant Marines.
The Messerchmitt BF-109 was put into production in 1939 and was the the fighter of choice for the German Luftwaffe.
A standard Japanese uniform during the Pacific theater.
The Japanese made Type-92 used all through the Pacific campaign by Japanese forces. Known by the allies as the “woodpecker’ due to the noise it made while firing.