I have something to show you after you read this post I wrote earlier this year.
Robert Richie died on August 6, 1945. He was an EMc3 aboard SS-332 Bullhead.
You can read my article about him by clicking here.
Donna who had read it wrote a comment. Yesterday she sent me some documents about Robert Ritchie.
I think it is most fitting to post them today.
Look at the date.
This was sent my cousin Joe who lives in the U.S.
ARLINGTON CEMETERY
Jeopardy Question:
On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was “How many steps does the
guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns” —-
All three contestants missed it! —
This is really an awesome sight to watch if you’ve never had the chance.
Very fascinating.
1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns
and why?
21 steps:
It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute which is the highest honor given any military
or foreign dignitary.
2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?
21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1
3. Why are his gloves wet?
His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.
4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and, if not, why not?
He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.
5. How often are the guards changed?
Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.
6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?
For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5′ 10′ and 6′ 2′ tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30.
They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in any way.
After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they
served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.
The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.
There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.
The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone nor watch TV. All off
duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.
A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are:
President Taft,
Joe Louis {the boxer}
Medal of Honor winner Audie L. Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII and of Hollywood fame.
Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for
guard duty..
ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching WashingtonDC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of
guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, “No way, Sir!” Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a service person. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.
God Bless and keep them.
I’d be very proud if this reached as many as possible. We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.
God Bless America
I did not know that!
Lest We Forget
On a lighter note…?
Paying homage to two Mosquito airmen…
A must read article…
Low and fast across Calgary Airport on May 9th, 1945 – the day after VE Day and the day before the crash. Inset: Just after landing at Calgary on May 9. 1945. Maurice Briggs, John Baker and Edward Jack pose in front of Mosquito F-for-Freddie. Members of the public who bought bonds in support of the 8th Victory Loan Drive were allowed to chalk their names on the aircraft. Photo via Richard de Boer
Robert Richie died on August 6, 1945. He was an EMc3 aboard SS-332 Bullhead.
You can read my article about him by clicking here.
Donna who had read it wrote a comment. Yesterday she sent me some documents about Robert Ritchie.
I think it is most fitting to post them today.
This comment made yesterday made me think about the diary. This blogger is writing a blog about a paratrooper who served in the Pacific.
Every history needs to be recorded, every story told – I can’t stress that enough to my readers and I know you do as well.
I will take her advice, but I will start slow with Lawrence Walton Montague’s diary.
Here goes…
Partying was part of a cadet’s life.
I read it in Art Sager’s book Saturday night, so I think I can safely post this diary page.
This is the entry for March 25, 1942. Lawrence will soon get his wings at No. 6 SFTS Dunnville.
No disrespectful remarks made on this page.
Old George Watson… Alex Strang…
Both in Course 44!
Course 44: December 6, 1941 – March 27. 1942
Wing Commander Patriarche addressed the graduates.”This coming year is going to be an extremely tough one and there will be a tendency all through the Empire of the people to criticize those in authority. It is being done already but I hope that you here, both airmen and visitors, will have no part in it. Make sure before you criticize that you always have a suggestion better than what you are criticizing. None of the men in political or military authority is of a lower standard than the rest of us. They have to be better men or they would not have got the job. You can take it for granted that those men can make just as good or better suggestions than the rest of us. Bear in mind that they have all the facts, whereas we have but a few.
+(J/10741) Eric Thomas Garrett, (J/10742) Harold Eugene Bridges (DFC), (J/10744) L.J. Smith, (J/10748) Thomas Ernest Hilary Farley, (J/10751) William James Stangel, (J/10752) Alfred Giles, +Daniel Ray Scott, +Robert Byrne Honeycombe, Eric Thomas Garrett, Wallace Oppenheimer, James W. Gillen, Gordon A. Patton, +Albert Dalton Braswell, Lee Wells, Conrad Ross Crawford, John William Hubler, Charles Arthur Plewman Appleton – DFC 433 Sqn., +Frank Joseph Borrell, Lawrence Walton Montague, Joseph Wilford McMullin, George Greenwood, +Vincent Wall, John Claire MacDonald, +Dorian Ledington, William Houston Julian, Norman Alexander Ballantyne, John Land Clinton, Edward Mielko, M.M. Fudge, John Douglas Hooper. R. King, James Pringle Morton, +Victor George DeHavilland, Harold Albert Heacock, C.E. Shannon, William Bruce Brittain (DFC), Alexander Wall Strang, G.D. Watson
Royal New Zealand Air Force: (414667) A.J. Osborne, Arthur David Leese, (414238) Alfred William Burge DFC), G.T. Couttie, +(414651) Godfrey Alan McKoy, +(414721) Harry Keith Williams, +(414677) Arthur Lyall Ray, +(41430) Bruce Mackenzie Hirstich, +(413858) Maurice Carson Jolly, + (414380) Douglas Robert Bannerman, +(413875) Frederick Thomas Martyn, +(414664) Andrew George Patterson Newman, +(414278) Raymond Cyril Going, +(414321) Mervyn Jack Mills, Jack McRae Brigham, R.R. Horo, V. Orr, R. Wing, S. Matthews, T.D. Stewart, James E. Shields, T. Alexander, W.M. Sampson, R.J. Hetherington, R.S. Campbell, J.J. McMath, J.N. Buchanan, B.G. Simpson, J.M. McCarrison, W.P. Bennett, (414374) William Frank Bern
Not much information on those two cadets on the Internet, but now you understand the importance of this diary to look for people related to these cadets and share what we know about No. 6 SFTS Dunnville, Ontario.
Lawrence glued this on a page in his diary giving us more clues to look at.
G. D. Watson, New Westminster, B.C.
A. W. Strang, Halifax, N.S.
Now you understand even more the importance of this diary when you look at this picture also glued on a page.
I believe little Larry is on the right.
Next time, we will go back in time with Lawrence’s first entry in his personal diary.
Before I leave, who was Old Scotty?
Was he Daniel Ray Scott from Coleman, Texas who died in WWII?
Thanks for showing me the way…
Is it that important that we find relatives of this man even though he was not a famous ace during WWII?
I think so.
Lawrence Walton Montague
1918-1990
Is it that important that we give back this personal diary he wrote back in 1942?
I was asking myself this question this weekend. The answer was obvious.
This diary is quite sensitive in nature. It reads like a novel and it reveals Lawrence Walton Montague’s inner feelings about the war.
What bothers me are the entries that are sometimes shocking and very disrespectful of his superiors and his comrades revealing the character about a young man who enlisted in the RCAF, but who regretted this move.
Why he enlisted is not known.
He did so before December 7th, 1941. Strangely enough there is no mention of Pearl Harbor anywhere in the diary nor about the U.S. entering the war.
I got my answer.
I have just started reading a book written by a famous Spitfire pilot.
He wrote it using his diary.
He writes that when he was a cadet, cadets were not that interested with what was going on with the war. Lawrence’s attitude seems then to have been prevalent with young cadets during WWII.
I am going to continue with this story, but not because of Lawrence and his controversial entries in his diary, but because of the overwhelming research done on the Website that had his name and try help perpetuate the memory of the new pilots who stood at attention listening to Wing Commander Patriarche address on March 27, 1942.
Course 44: December 6, 1941 – March 27. 1942
+(J/10741) Eric Thomas Garrett, (J/10742) Harold Eugene Bridges (DFC), (J/10744) L.J. Smith, (J/10748) Thomas Ernest Hilary Farley, (J/10751) William James Stangel, (J/10752) Alfred Giles, +Daniel Ray Scott, +Robert Byrne Honeycombe, Eric Thomas Garrett, Wallace Oppenheimer, James W. Gillen, Gordon A. Patton, +Albert Dalton Braswell, Lee Wells, Conrad Ross Crawford, John William Hubler, Charles Arthur Plewman Appleton – DFC 433 Sqn., +Frank Joseph Borrell, Lawrence Walton Montague, Joseph Wilford McMullin, George Greenwood, +Vincent Wall, John Claire MacDonald, +Dorian Ledington, William Houston Julian, Norman Alexander Ballantyne, John Land Clinton, Edward Mielko, M.M. Fudge, John Douglas Hooper. R. King, James Pringle Morton, +Victor George DeHavilland, Harold Albert Heacock, C.E. Shannon, William Bruce Brittain (DFC), Alexander Wall Strang, G.D. Watson
Royal New Zealand Air Force: (414667) A.J. Osborne, Arthur David Leese, (414238) Alfred William Burge DFC), G.T. Couttie, +(414651) Godfrey Alan McKoy, +(414721) Harry Keith Williams, +(414677) Arthur Lyall Ray, +(41430) Bruce Mackenzie Hirstich, +(413858) Maurice Carson Jolly, + (414380) Douglas Robert Bannerman, +(413875) Frederick Thomas Martyn, +(414664) Andrew George Patterson Newman, +(414278) Raymond Cyril Going, +(414321) Mervyn Jack Mills, Jack McRae Brigham, R.R. Horo, V. Orr, R. Wing, S. Matthews, T.D. Stewart, James E. Shields, T. Alexander, W.M. Sampson, R.J. Hetherington, R.S. Campbell, J.J. McMath, J.N. Buchanan, B.G. Simpson, J.M. McCarrison, W.P. Bennett, (414374) William Frank Bern
So is it that important that we find relatives of this man even though he was not a famous ace during WWII?
I think so.
