I just found out something very interesting this morning while perusing my copy of "We Ripened Fast," the 76th Infantry Division History.

Major Genenral William R. Schmidt took command of the 76th in December, 1942 to start training the 76th for war. He commanded the 76th until August, 1945 when the 76th went "Category Four" (which apparently means that it was dissolved and it's troops assigned to other units.) Upon relenquishing command of the 76th General Schmidt took over command of... and this is very interesting due to some of the posters here... the 3rd Infantry Division.

I am sure you supplied this info before, but when did you leave the 3rd, j3rdinf?

I just found this kind of interesting since my grandpa was in the 76th from March, '45 until August '45, and I was able to find this out due in large part to tips given to me by j3rdinf, formerly of the 3rd (as well as others who advised me in my quest.)

Hi Marion,

This is a test picture for you regarding my uploading. I hope this is OK, please let me know.

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Received an email yesterday from Tom Ricks, the military correspondent for the Washington Post, regarding an article we have on our site regarding Ernie Pyle. Seems the article I posted has some paragraphs missing for some reason. I don't remember where I obtained the article, but asked Tom if he could provide me with a full-fledged version. He stated, "I only noticed this because it is my favorite

article by him."

Thank you Tom for bringing this to my attention. I always wondered why the third paragraph didn't seem to flow.

Anyway, I decided to find out more about Tom and began reading a section called, "Tom Rick's Inbox". I'd like to share the following article regarding "feminizing" today's military.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6110301454.html

1941 : The order is given: Bomb Pearl Harbor

On this day in 1941, the Combine Japanese Fleet receive Top-Secret Order No. 1: In 34 days time, Pearl Harbor is to be bombed, along with Mayala, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines.

Relations between the United States and Japan had been deteriorating quickly since Japan's occupation of Indochina in 1940 and the implicit menacing of the Philippines (an American protectorate), with the occupation of the Cam Ranh naval base only eight miles from Manila. American retaliation included the seizing of all Japanese assets in the States and the closing of the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping. In September 1941, Roosevelt issued a statement, drafted by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, that threatened war between the United States and Japan should the Japanese encroach any further on territory in Southeast Asia or the South Pacific.

The Japanese military had long dominated Japanese foreign affairs; although official negotiations between the U.S. secretary of state and his Japanese counterpart to ease tensions were ongoing, Hideki Tojo, the minister of war who would soon be prime minister, had no intention of withdrawing from captured territories. He also construed the American "threat" of war as an ultimatum and prepared to deliver the first blow in a Japanese-American confrontation: the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

And so Tokyo delivered the order to all pertinent Fleet commanders, that not only the United States-and its protectorate the Philippines--but British and Dutch colonies in the Pacific were to be attacked. War was going to be declared on the West.

For you vets, or anyone that might know, I have a question for purly informational purposes. What happened toy your uniforms at the end of the war? I know that most if not all troops left the service with their class As, and such, but what about your other uniform items? Such as your combat uniform, or what ever other stuff you had. Did you turn them in to somebody? Were you allowed to keep anything that was still wearable? What about gear such as helmets, packs, cartridge belts ,etc?

WHat did you actually leave the service with?

This may be a strange bunch of questions, but I was thinking about it the other day and figured I'd ask.