Military Roll Call: Pictures from the South Pacific.

In a 2013 review of JD’s stash of photos and pictures supplied by JL, Rex and Mary Catherine were some military pictures. I had never seen some of these before, and they will all go into the book really well. I also received a picture of Raymond Savat in Korea from Sandra. After considerable research of the pictures from the South Pacific, we have found both where some of the pictures were taken, who some of the sailors were, and found other pictures.

2020 UPDATE: I discovered a comment dated March 31, 2018, at 9:27 PM, which was not appended to this post but to another, which led to it being overlooked the last 2 years. This comment eliminates any speculation about the bakery's location. As you can see, it eliminates Romblon Island as being relevant to the question of these pictures. Their location is obviously Manila. Unfortunately, the author of the comment (the son of the bakery's owners) left the comment anonymously and has not commented further.

The comment: 

"Anonymous-March 31, 2018 at 9:27 PM. Hi GlennDL - i saw your reply to my post about the Wong's Bakery in Romblon Island, Philippines 6 year ago. I somehow revisited the blog today after 8 yrs and saw your post. I think my grandparents established The Wongs Bakery in Romblon in the 1950s, so i dont think the photo was taken in Romblon. However, before the war and immediately after they owned the same Bakery in Magdalena St, Binondo, Manila, which is not far away from Taft Avenue, so there is a possibility that is the place where the photo was taken. It is also a place where there are Calesas(horse drawn carriage exist to this day). I will research if it is indeed their bakery in Binondo. Magdalena St is now Masangkay St. and pre-war was the site of St Lukes Hospital (established by American Jesuit Nuns). Many thanks for posting the photo with the Wongs Bakery in it, I will research more and post you another update if any."

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The picture in front of Wong’s Bakery:

Don’t know who the three in front are, but that’s JD standing in the carriage. The only clues to where this might be in the South Pacific:

• are the dress of JD and his ‘CB’  (SeaBee) buddies,
• Wong’s Bakery,
• a stained un-readable note on the back
• and the bottle in one sailor's hand.

Wong’s bakery would probably take some serious research, and I can’t imagine Wong's bakery would be significant enough outside of its location unless it had actually survived 66 years. I tried to focus and enhance the photo to identify the bottle, but the image was in too low of a resolution. The only thing that the sailors' dress might tell us is that they probably were in the vicinity of their duty station instead of on shore leave in New Zealand, Australia, or somewhere similar. (I don’t even know if that was an option for sailors in WWII). 
Note 1         What was a CB?

JD’s CB unit was in New Caledonia and the Fiji Islands; Tetere Beach, Guadalcanal, Emirau, New Guinea and then to Manus, New Guinea, then Manila, Philippines.

Hello! On a whim, after writing the above, I started to do a little research and discovered Wong’s Bakery in Romblon, Philippines, which is an island about 200+ miles from Manila. Wong is probably a popular name, but this was the only reference found in New Guinea, Guadalcanal, and the Philippines. This is a long shot, but the bakery was still in existence in the 60s and 70s. I’m sending an email to the blog that had this reference: The only thing readable on the back of the picture was JD’s name and “Taff Ave.”

Unfortunately, we have never gotten a response to the e-mail.

Hopefully, we might get JL to bring the picture to next year's reunion, and we can get a better scan.

The 1944 War film The Fighting Seabees, staring John Wayne, tells a heavily fictionalized story of the formation of the Seabees and their first taste of combat.

What follows is what we now know. 

Where was it taken:   We had speculated that JD might have been on the Romblin Island as part of the duties of a SeaBee. We have since discovered the following:

• JD was a Ship’s Cook 3rd class (“Hq” Company, 4th Platoon). His duties would not likely take him 200 miles away to the island of Romblon. It was not taken on Romblon Island.
  • The scribbled back of the picture was mostly unreadable. The only thing for sure was the identification of JD in the carriage and the words “Taff Ave.”

We had known there was a main thoroughfare in Manila named “Taft Ave,” but we were trying to exhaust the Romblin connection first.

• I pulled out dad’s pictures and discovered that some pictures in my already scanned box were missing from my computer—victim of one of many crashes over the years.
• In reviewing several pictures, I discovered the following:

Picture #1 So there is little doubt now that the picture was taken in the Manila Suburb of Pasay City on Taft Ave. The other 3 pictures were taken in the same suburb or Manila proper.

A picture of JD with two buddies in what appears to be a picture gallery. Another picture, on a different day, in the same location with JD and 3 other buddies. Another picture, in a bar, of JD and two buddies. On the back was written: “Talega Posay Manila P.I.” Originally, I thought Talega was a place name. It still might be, but it isn’t in my notes, so I will have to Google it. I also thought that Posay and Talega might be the misspelled names of the two buddies with JD, but an extensive search of the 63rd CB roster and unit book turn up no similarities. When in the Philippines, the 63rd CB’s were camped in Pasay (Pasay) city, a suburb of Manila. As it turns out, Posay was a misspelling of the place name Pasay. And right there, running right through Posay City, is Taft Ave.

When was it taken: Picture #1 above says 1944 on the back. Picture #2  below is dated June 25, 1945, on the back. Picture #3 below is dated 1943 on the back. All pictures indicate the Philippines; only picture #2 appears to be in the original handwriting. We have to rule out the dates for the other two pictures as being added later through a foggy memory because the 63rd CB's didn’t arrive in the Philippines until April of 1945 and departed July 24, 1945, for the USA.

So the original picture from JL that started this conversation, as well as the other three, were all taken between April and July of 1945.

Who’s in the picture(s) with JD? The picture in the carriage with JD standing:

• The sailor setting in front of JD is also in pictures #1 and #3.
• The sailor standing next to the carriage is also in pictures #2 and #3. 

The sailor in front of JD is Dave English of St. Louis. He was in Company “D” 5th Platoon. He was a lifelong friend of Dad’s after the war. He visited, and we met him in the 60s and 70s, but I was too young to remember what he looks like; Dad had written his name on the back of picture #1.

Picture #3 middle JD; right Dave English

I have not been able to Identify the sailor standing next to the carriage; we will call him Kilroy for now. On the back of picture #2, are four names listed, in hard to read, faded script. I will have to enhance the photo, but for now, this is what I make out:

Picture #2

Curley                   Oklahoma ????                       Missouri          (This would be our ‘Kilroy’) Deal                        Alabama J.D.                         Missouri Searching all pictures and the unit book, I could not find any Curley or any name similar to Oklahoma. Obviously a nickname, this is a total loss for now. We found a Deal in the company roster, Deal, D.L. of Northport, Alabama in Company C, 4th Platoon, 63rd CB's, and then found a picture that matches.

On the back of picture #1 with JD and Dave English, it says, “Ralph Uptgraff, St. Louis, MO..” Checked all Ralphs from Missouri, checked for Uptgraff with no success. I also looked at all the pictures in the unit book, and there were too many guys who could be this guy; none of their names were close. He could be a fellow Missourian that JD and Dave ran into from another unit? Possible Marine?

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The above information is from Military Roll Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2015:  40 / 113

MRC: Jesse Davis USS Cape Gloucester

Jessie Lee Davis was a son-in-law of John & Kizzie (Comer) Littrell, husband of Leatha Mae Littrell (Davis). He served aboard the Carrier Escort USS Cape Gloucester during World War II.

We have very little information on the service of Jessie during WW II other than what was past down as oral history. We are in need of additional information. Obviously any military records are crucial, but even the most insignificant memory, picture, or document would be of help. Please click this link for more information on how you can contribute to this serviceperson’s or any service person’s history: MRC: Putting Together Individual Histories of Service.

UPDATE: 5-31-2018:

UPDATE: 5-28-2018

Recently discovered World War II Draft Registration Card for Jessie Lee Davis:

The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Missouri, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 77

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see Crew Roster below for other updates to this article

ORIGINAL POST: 5-17-2018

The USS Cape Gloucester (name changed from Willapa Bay on 26 April 1944) was launched on 12 September 1944, commissioned on 5 March 1945, and reported to the Pacific Fleet.

The Cape Gloucester arrived at Leyte, Philippine Islands on 29 June 1945 to join the 3rd Fleet engaged in the Battle of Okinawa. Arriving as the battle was concluding the USS Cape Gloucester's planes flew combat air patrol fighting off Japanese kamikazes attempting to attack minesweepers operating east of Okinawa from 5–17 July. They then took part in air raids and photographic reconnaissance of shipping and airfields along the China coast until 7 August. During this time, her aircraft shot down several Japanese planes, and aided in damaging a 700-ton cargo ship.

After a period covering minesweeping along the Japanese coasts, and just two weeks after the Japanese formally surrendered, the Cape Gloucester sailed into Nagasaki, stripped of her planes, to serve as an early participant in the celebrated “Magic Carpet” fleet that returned thousands of ragged and half-starved prisoners of war from Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Holland, together with a handful of Americans, to their homes. Many of these POWs were from prison camps on Kyūshū. In that role, Cape Gloucester sailed to Okinawa to unload the allied POWs, and made four voyages returning U.S. servicemen from Okinawa and Pearl Harbor to the west coast.

USS Cape Gloucester (CVE-109) underway off the U.S. West Coast in 1945. USN photo.;

On a website for the USS Tyron I found a conversation that relates to the USS Gloucester and Operation Magic Carpet.

“My Dad was captured in Singapore and sent to work on the Burma/Siam railway, after this he was railed back to Singapore and shipped to Japan on the Rakuyo Maru, torpedoed by USS Sealion, rescued by the Japanese and continued to Japan to be interned in Fukoka 25b Branch Camp in Omuta near Nagasaki. After the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki the war ended and then he was liberated by the Americans (he was British). To my knowledge he sailed from Nagasaki to Okinawa on the USS Cape Gloucester and then sailed from Okinawa (45.09.21??) via Manila, Ulithi Atoll and Hawaii en route to San Francisco. Then on to New York and back home on the Queen Mary…” 

“…I am not 100% sure my Dad sailed to San Francisco aboard the Tryon. What I am sure of is that two other British POWs that were in the same camp as him were sent from Nagasaki to Okinawa on the Aircraft Carrier Cape Gloucester and then transferred to the Tryon some days later. With regard to the route, yes I am sure of this. I have a had written note from my Dad showing all the ‘ports of call’ from when he left England. This was written by him not long after he returned to England so I believe this is correct. The sailing date of Tryon from Okinawa is from the other two pow accounts. However I have found that many of these dates are inaccurate and can only be used as a guide…” from the son (David M.) of Sgt. Harold Madderson 848338, 135 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

• USS Cape Gloucester – Nagasaki to Okinawa
• “…transcription of the POW Diary of Fred Parham: “Left Nagasaki on U.S.S Gloucester (aircraft carrier)”  http://www.roll-of-honour.org.uk/p/html/parham-frederick-james.htm

By October 1945, Magic Carpet was operating worldwide with the Army, Navy and WSA pooling their resources to expedite the troop-lift. December 1945 became the peak month with almost 700,000 returning home from the Pacific. With the final arrival of 29 troop transports carrying more than 200,000 soldiers and sailors from the China-Burma-India theater in April 1946, Operation Magic Carpet came to its end. The last of the troops to return from the Pacific war zone (127,300) arrived home in September 1946.[4]

Within a month of the end of Operation Magic Carpet the escort carrier USS Cape Gloucester returned to Tacoma, Wash., 22 May 1946, and was placed out of commission in reserve there on 5 November 1946

USS Cape Gloucester (CVE-109)underway in 1945. By USN - U.S. Navy bureau of Ships photo 19-N-92916 from Navsource.org, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39408273

U.S.S. CAPE GLOUCESTER (CVE-109) CREW ROSTER

• Dale, Paul: Hemet, CA
• Beauregard,Robert: Leominster, MA
• Davis, Jesse: East Prairie, MO
• Carry Orcarrie: Newberryport, MA
• Cummings, Alvin: Omaha, NE
• Defenbaugh, Robert: Bardstown, IL**
• Rapp, Albert: Tacoma, WA
• Peat, Robert: North Hollywood, CA
• Runyan, Vernon: Was K.C., Mo
• Wolford, Charles: Omaha, NE
• Vanfossen, Dean: Smyrna, OH
• Hager, Lloyd: Duluth, MN**
• Smallwood, Ken: Miamisburg, OH
• Greenia, Fredrick Henry: Louisville, KY
• Hayes, Paul: Dillon, SC**
• Gregg, James: Harrisburg, PA
• Morrow, Robert: Oconto Falls, WI

Obviously there are many more crew members than the above list(1066 officers and men). Those listed above have been registered on the website http://www.hullnumber.com/CVE-109 by themselves or their families.

**I have sent inquiries to all the above. The following are responses received from them to date:

as of 5-18-2018

“My father Lloyd John Hager (dec) served aboard the USS CAPE GLOUCHESTER (CVE-109) in 1944-45. He was an electricians mate (EM). Before joining the ship he went to boot camp in Idaho and aviation electricians training in Florida. Given the crew of over a 1000 it is unlikely he knew your uncle. Other than information about the ship and its activities which can be found on numerous websites (use correct full name above to search) the only information I can add is that he once told me that the ship held boxing matches in the hanger bay in which he participated.
Note: the CAPE GLOUCHESTER was only in commission from late 1944 until decommissioned in 1946 so your uncle was probably onboard during that period.        Dennis L Hager, CAPT USN (ret)”

“I am writing in reference to My Fathers assignment on CVE-109 towards end of WWII. He is still alive and has some pics and a book on CVE-109. Whether or not they were active at same time you would have to contact him for that info. I registered him on this site long time ago but he does not use computer. His name is Robert G. Defenbaugh. He was a Gunners Mate and they were in Nagasaki area after bomb drop. You could give him a call for any info you might be able to acquire. He is located in Central Illinois telephone xxx-xxx-xxxx. Be aware he is hard of hearing, 90 years old and cantankerous. He loves to talk to anyone related to CVE-109. Please identify yourself when calling and I will let him know in advance of our contact. I believe he still may have contact with others from CVE-109. Not many left.                             Robert L. Defenbaugh”

“Dear Glenn, My father, Paul Hayes, USN passed away 5 years ago.  He was a proud member of USS Cape Gloucester.  The only information I have is that the ship sailed out of San Diego.  I wish I had more information to help you in your search. Blessings,    From Donnie Hayes, Vicar Christ Church Florence, SC”

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NOTES & SOURCES:

The Gloucester was commissioned late in the war on 3-5-1945 and decommissioned 11-5-1946. After the war It was later repurposed as a Helicopter Carrier (CVHE-109, then a Cargo Ship and Aircraft Ferry (AKV-9) and sold for scrap in 1971.

USS Cape Gloucester (CVE-109) anchored in mid-stream at Nagasaki, waiting to take aboard liberated Allied prisoners of war. Photographed by Private First Class L.F. DeRycke, 5 September 1945. Official U.S. Marine Corps Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), # 127-GW-1643-138641.

The Gloucester was a Commencement Bay-Class escort carrier built specifically for WWII.
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (US hull classification symbol CVE) was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used in World War II. They were typically half the length and a third the displacement of larger fleet carriers. While they were slower, carried fewer planes and were less well armed and armored, escort carriers were cheaper and could be built quickly, which was their principal advantage. However, the lack of protection made escort carriers particularly vulnerable and several were sunk with great loss of life.
Escort carriers were too slow to keep up with the main forces consisting of fleet carriers, battleships, and cruisers. Instead, they were used to escort convoys, defending them from enemy threats such as submarines and planes. In the invasions of mainland Europe and Pacific islands, escort carriers provided air support to ground forces during amphibious operations. Escort carriers also served as backup aircraft transports for fleet carriers and ferried aircraft of all military services to points of delivery.

From <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escort_carrier>

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cape_Gloucester>

Note: After operational training at Pearl Harbor,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Magic_Carpet

Note: The navy hastily converted many of its warships into temporary transports, including aircraft carriers, where three-to five-tiered bunks were installed on the hangar decks to provide accommodation for several thousand men in relative comfort. The navy fleet of 369 ships included 222 assault transports, 6 battleships, 18 cruisers, 57 aircraft carriers and 12 hospital ships.[4]

https://usstryon.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/hello-world/

P.S.

In 2015 based on some information I obtained from Bill Davis I began trying to research his father's service during World War II. According to Bill, Jesse Davis served on a carrier escort in the South Pacific. Bill remember the name of the escort being the Gloucester. Unfortunately, Bill was not able to provide a copy of Jessie's discharge papers which would have provided more information. As a result, all I was able to do was established that there was a USS Gloucester and it was a carrier escort. Without the discharge papers, the next best option was to look for a cruise book but I was unable to find any. I attempted to also do an online search for military records for Jesse as well as any newspaper articles that might have included him but was unable to find any such information. That does not mean that such a book or information on Jessie Davis doesn't exist. A few days ago I received an email from a website called hullbuddy.com referencing Jesse Davis. With the arrival this email I restarted the research on Jessie to see what this website had come up with, unfortunately, it turns out that this was a newsletter sent from a website that I had registered Jessie on in the hopes of somebody would respond to it. The newsletter contained an article referencing Flight Deck operations for escort carriers and aircraft carriers but nothing specifically on the USS Gloucester or Jesse Davis. But I began backtracking on the 2015 research. Fortunately, it turns out that new information has made its way on the internet, but so for not anything specifically pertaining to Jesse Davis but a significant amount of information pertaining to the USS Gloucester. Primarily pictures of the ship and a short record of movements. I also found references that prove a cruise ship book for the USS Gloucester was published¹, but have not been able to find a reference to a known location of a copy of the book. But based on new information from various sources we can now piece together the above World War II record of the USS Gloucester.

¹ https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/cruise-books/wwii-cruise-books-biblography/ship-books.html Cape Gloucester (CVE 109): U.S.S. Cape Gloucester Album: A Pictorial Log. Anon. Chicago: Rogers Printing Co., [1945?]. 107 pp., 28 cm, photos, ports. Dornbusch 1950: 866, Smith: 7168. No known copy location.

18 / 136

MRC Generations: Jesse, Billy & Blaine Davis–Father, Son, & Great-Grandson

Jesse Davis, Billy Davis & Letha Mae Littrell Davis   Blaine is the son of Wayne Lee Davis and grandson of Billy & Alberta Davis and great grandson of Jesse & Letha Mae (Littrell) Davis and great-great-grandson of John & Kizzie. Jesse and Bill also served in the US Navy.	Bill Davis	Blaine Scott Davis While there have been several 2 generations of service combinations: Renny & Zachariah Belew (father-son)* Rodhom & Eli Literal (father-son) Robert, Rodhom & Eli Literal (father-son-grandson)  & Jesse, Bill, and Blaine served in three different conflicts.

*Renny Belew actually served at the same time as three of his son’s did. In the same unit during the American Revolution.

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2015:   27 / 69

MRC GENERATIONS: Les & John “JL” Littrell–Father & Son.

Generations…
…a tribute to Father – Son service in the Military, but as information was compiled we discovered not just father and sons but also grandfather and grandsons, husband and wives and great-grandfathers and great-granddaughters. As a result of these discoveries we changed the name to “Generation” and present to you examples of continued multi-generational service.

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2015:   20

JD Littrell: US Navy and US Army (Retired)

Photos Only:

View Full Album

(JD (AKA Junior Dolan) was a son of John & Kizzie (Comer) Littrell)

63rd CBs at Guadalcanal, 1943. JD would serve 28 months in the South Pacific.
   He was discharged from the Navy in 1945. Later he would enlist in the Army.
Following his Discharge from the US Navy (World War II) JD returned to the ‘bootheel’ area of Southeast Missouri until his enlistment in the US Army, September 10, 1947. JD was stationed with the 7th Tank Battalion, 3rd Armored Division as a Platoon Sergeant until being assigned to C Company of the 1st Battalion, 23rd Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division in Ft. Lewis (1950). The 23rd Regiment would soon ship-out for Korea aboard the USS General Freeman.

The picture was provided by the Theresa [daughter of Nell Horn-Virgin [a niece of Jean’s]] 

Don’t know who the guy in front of Dad is, the note on the back just said:

  "on the France and Germany border lots of love to you and the boys your daddy".

The boys being Troy and I, Rick would be born in France.

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2016:   76 /112

John L. ‘JL’ Littrell: US Navy

JL is a grandson of John & Kizzie.

JL enlisted July 16, 1971. After completing the Navy's boiler technician school he joined the crew of the USS Kitty Hawk Aircraft Carrier (CV-63, formerly CVA-63,) in San Diego for deployment in the waters off of South Vietnam, Southeast Asia in  1972.
 

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You can follow the Vietnam War travels of JL & the Kitty Hawk for 21,353 miles from 1972-1975. Just go to Military Role Call Map and follow the ships course and mission.

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2016:   62/121

MRC Generations: JD, Troy and Glenn Littrell–Father & Sons

A career soldier, JD served in two conflicts, World War II and Korea; two branches, Navy and Army; and had two sons served in the Army, Troy and Glenn. JD was the first of John & Kizzie's to enlist and the family's first career soldier.

Generations…
…a tribute to Father – Son service in the Military, but as information was compiled we discovered not just father and sons but also grandfather and grandsons, husband and wives and great-grandfathers and great-granddaughters. As a result of these discoveries we changed the name to “Generation” and present to you examples of continued multi-generational service.

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2015:   25 / 87

Steven Johnson: US Navy

Steven is a great-great-grandson of John & Kizzie,
and the grandson of Jessie Dolan and Theola Littrell

Facebook response from Deanna Littrell Johnson:
“Yes my son is now a Navy Reservist with a Marine unit scheduled to deploy Dec. 7th to Afghanistan. He has already done 2 tours in Iraq and the sad thing is he has 2 small children one only 7 weeks old and he won't even be home for her 1st birthday!”

(Steven is 7th from the left in the back.)

Steven is currently deployed with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 15 in Afghanistan.                                        5-31-13

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NMCB 15 leaders participate in Convoy Simulator Training.
Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Garas:

“NMCB 15 is currently mobilized to Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, executing pre-deployment homeport training in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and is an expeditionary element of U.S. Naval Forces that act as civil engineers and support various units worldwide through national force readiness, humanitarian assistance, and building and maintaining infrastructure…”   Read more

 

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NMCB 15 departs for it’s final deployment.
3-18-13   Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Garas

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. – “Elements from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 15, based in Belton Mo., departed today for its final deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

After the battalion returns, it will be decommissioned Oct. 1, 2013, and it’s members will be assigned to other construction battalions.

…During the past three months, the battalion trained to complete various tasks to demonstrate proficiency in civil engineering operations and combat support and successfully completed their Final Evaluation Problem (FEP), in late February. FEP is a graded evolution used to train and evaluate Seabees on various scenarios they may face.

“Our main job is to keep the people who do the kinetic fight completely enabled,” said Church. “Our main job is to build bases, primary force support and protection to keep the warfighters fighting.”

Seabees are a critical engineer element to International Security Assistance Force assisting the Afghan National Army to conduct effective engineer operations. During homeport NMCB 15 was exposed to extensive Afghan language and culture classes in order to increase its operational effectiveness….”           Read complete article

NMCB 15 arrives in Afghanistan
4-12-13   Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Garas

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan –Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 15, headquartered out of Belton Mo., arrived in Afghanistan earlier in April to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

As the International Security Assistance Force continues to drawdown, NMCB 15, operating under the recently coined name “Task Force True Grit”, is spearheading engineering retrograde operations.

“We just won’t be in one forward operating base,” said Commander Anthony Spinler, NMCB 15’s Commanding Officer. “Whether it is a squad of twelve or a large detachment of 100 or more, we tailor ourselves to the task at hand. That’s one of the things that make Seabees unique.”

Upon mission tasking, the Operations Department task tailors’ each project into detachments by supported commander priority, deploying to locations throughout the area of operations to support a wide-variety of engineering operations.

Spinler added that this deployment will be different from a standard one in that the number of tasks is greater and that Seabees will be continuously formed into new teams.

“The missions are a lot shorter,” said Spinler. “They may only be on a job for two weeks before they return and then reorganize into a new build-team.”

“I think this deployment will be exciting,” said Construction Mechanic 1st Class Justin Bohaty. “The opportunity to work on many jobs with different people will break-up the monotony and avoid complacency.“

While deployed, NMCB 15 will be tasked with completing numerous projects in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, including the drilling of water-wells, camp maintenance and various deconstruction projects.

NMCB 15 is currently deployed as part of the joint U.S. Theater Engineer Brigade in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and is an expeditionary engineering element of U.S. Naval forces supporting units worldwide through national force readiness, humanitarian assistance, and building and maintaining infrastructure.     Original article

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2016:   159/189

Ronald LyVonne ‘Von’ Littrell: US Navy

Von was a grandson of John & Kizzie.

 

 

 

Von was in the Navy (1958-1959), he was injured and received a General (Medical) Discharge: Under Honorable Conditions.

 

 

Seaman
United States Naval Training Center,
Great Lakes

reposted from 2016:   55

Blaine Scot Davis: US Navy

Blaine is the grandson of Billy & Alberta Davis and great-great-grandson of John & Kizzie. Blaine is a third generation sailor following in the footsteps of his grandfather Jesse Lee Davis, and his grandfather Billy Davis.
Blaine Scott Davis served in the US Navy, (2008-2013) aboard the Destroyer, USS Benfold as a CTTs or Technical Cryptologic Technicians???

In 2012 Blaine and the USS Benfold were in Bahrain: ”Arabian Gulf -and conducted joint exercises with components from Camp Buehring in Kuwait. Blaine’s cousin (2nd cousin, once removed) Garrett Littrell was stationed at Camp Buehring in Kuwait at the time.

BENFOLD conducted independent Ballistic Missile Defense deployment to FIFTH and SEVENTH Fleet that included tracking the launch of a North Korean Ballistic Missile. BENFOLD also participated in numerous exercises that included coordinating nearly a dozen Coalition aircraft for MCM Defense, as well as exercises for Maritime Infrastructure Defense, and Strike Warfare.

”Arabian Gulf - Guided-missile Destroyer USS BENFOLD (DDG 65) conducted the first annual BENFOLD 100 Cable Run in support of Wounded Warrior Project.”  from the Benfold’s website (click here)

“To those who make things like this happen, bringing the family together, remembering those lost, not present and for the family we love. Thank you. I read this and it made my day. It's good to know I have a great family back home and that even the ones I've never met are backing me. I hope to make it to one of the reunions soon!” -Blaine Davis            October 27, 2012

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USS Benfold, returning! Welcome home, shipmates  [12-19-2012]

“…BENFOLD and her crew are eastbound to homeport San Diego, CA where she will receive a Combat Systems modernization upgrade in 2013. CDR Rich LeBron (Commanding Officer of USS BENFOLD) remarked “We look forward to returning to the Gulf after our SRA. BEN will return to Fifth Fleet just as we left it: 100% Ready, 100% of the Time!”
BENFOLD is an Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, assigned to Destroyer Squadron ONE. She is returning to her homeport of San Diego, CA after a 7 month independent Ballistic Missile Defense deployment to FIFTH and SEVENTH FLEET’s…” READ MORE

BENFOLD conducting Diving OPS in the CAG. (Photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jayme Pastoric

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2016:   63

Bill Lee Davis: US Navy

Billy is a grandson of John & Kizzie.

Billy served in the Navy aboard the USS ARD-5 from 1960-64. The ARD-5 was a Class Auxiliary Repair Dock ( a floating dock) tasked for submarine repair.

FYI:
The cold war began at the end of World War II, Korea and Vietnam were flashpoints, but not the beginning.

We use the dates January 1, 1961 to August 14, 1974 for service during the Vietnam War Era based on the criteria for the National Defense Service Medal.

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2016:  69/157

James Edward “Bud” Simbeck: Ret. US Navy

(James, 'Bud', was the grandson of John & Kizzie Littrell.)

  In January and February of 1951 the SS Hank (Bud’s ship) supported the 8th Army (two cousins, JD and Ruben Littrell were serving in the 8th Army in Korea) as it moved to recapture and consolidate Seoul and Inchon. Screening, blockade patrol, and shore bombardment constituted the destroyer's duties along the Korean coast until she sailed for the United States, reaching Norfolk on 9 June via San Diego, the Panama Canal, and Guantanamo.

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Bud was honorably discharged from active duty in December 15, 1967 and officially retired

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 11-9-2016:   148 / 180 / 183