CBS Film Crew Disrespects Pearl Harbor Veterans
- At December 15, 2011
- By Heather
- In Memorials, Pearl Harbor
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Over seven decades ago over 2,400 young men died in Pearl Harbor as the United States was catapulted into World War II. On Friday last week, a group of Pearl Harbor veterans funded by the Greatest Generations Foundation visited the National Cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii to honor their comrades who fell defending our freedom.
According to the GGF website: “The 70th anniversary of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor is expected to be the largest and final commemoration involving living Pearl Harbor Survivors, due to the advancing age of the veterans….The Pearl Harbor Survivors will visit the USS Arizona Memorial as well as the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific to pay tribute to those who perished in the Japanese attacks.
Pearl Harbor Survivor Paul Kennedy served in the US Navy aboard the gun boat USS Sacramento. On the morning of December 7, 1941, Kennedy woke to the blaring alarm, but figured it was just another drill. Then his friend shook him awake, screaming, ‘Come on, Paul! The Japs are bombing the hell out of us. Get your gas mask and your helmet. Get to your battle station!’
Scrambling above deck, Kennedy observed the blue skies filled with Japanese planes. A torpedo plane flew twenty feet above his head, turning ominously toward the battleship USS Oklahoma. Kennedy witnessed the torpedo drop and propel into the Oklahoma, causing the battleship to rocket into the air.
‘There were three men on the side of the Oklahoma that were standing right above where the torpedo hit,’ he said. ‘They went flying up in the air like rag dolls, and back down into the water…dead.’
‘I saw guys in the water swimming for their life,’ said Kennedy. ‘Black oil poured into the bay, coating the water with six inches of oil. The top of the water was on fire from all the burning oil. There were 45-50 guys in their white uniforms floating face down in the water, their white uniforms covered in red blood and dark black oil. Some of their bodies were burning. Motor boats would go get a boatload of dead men, and some live guys, and these Jap planes would come down and strafe them. Absolutely defenseless. That still bothers me today.’
Despite his horrifying experiences during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kennedy embodies the timeless spirit of American patriotism and dedication to the preservation of freedom.
‘If I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat,’ he said. ‘It was my duty and an absolute privilege. I’m an American, and I love my country. I’ll do whatever it takes to defend it.'”
During the solemn ceremony to honor those so horrifically killed, however, a film crew from CBS’ Hawaii Five-O did not completely cease its activities, and shooed those veterans attempting to honor the fallen away, standing on graves in order to film their show.
The executive producer of the show Peter Lenkov apologized in a statement, saying any rudeness could be attributed to their haste to end filming for the day.  Ironically and sadly, while filming an actor showing respect to the dead, this crew wouldn’t spare an hour to take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show their respect for the men who fought so bravely and endured so much to ensure America’s freedom.
TGGF’s Battlefield Remembrance program, according to their website, provides veterans with journeys to former battle sites to give them the opportunity for healing and closure and an avenue to educate younger generations about service and sacrifice.TGGF’s mission is to preserve each veteran’s story of his or her heroic involvement in WWII, guaranteeing that their legacies are never forgotten. TGGF works to ensure that the value of their deeds never be allowed to disappear.
To the brave men of the B-24D, SACK-TIME SALLY, 42-40749
- At October 08, 2011
- By Heather
- In Memorials
- 7
Hardly anyone can be stand above the Dutch in their heartfelt remembrance of the sacrifice of their WWII liberators. People of all ages, including school children, still lay flowers and wreathes upon the graves of American and other Allied servicemen every year in honor of their sacrifices for Dutch freedom. Recently a Dutchman contacted me and wanted to post a story about his village’s new memorial to airmen who were killed there during WWII. I’m happy to post this story written by Johan Kuiper in October, 2011
Anxiously all eyes of the residents of Opeinde, Netherlands were drawn to the giant aircraft circling above their heads and fighting off three German ME 109’s.  One of the German fighters was hit by .50 caliber ammo from the B-24 and went down, but the two remaining fighters sent shells ripping through the bomb bay, setting the bomber on fire.
Within minutes the flames spread and the residents of the village counted as five men jumped out of the burning plane.  Seconds later an explosion tore the tail off the aircraft. At that moment the B-24 stood still in the air before slowly nosing down. SACK-TIME SALLY was no longer in the firm hands of her pilot, Lt. Roy Braly.
The engines screamed as the aircraft dove to earth. The B-24 slammed into the meadow of farmer Kees Van der Meulen.
By the end of the day on November 26 , 1943, four brave men were found dead under the wreck,  one man was found in the tail section and one of the men who had bailed out was found dead in a meadow miles away from the B-24. His parachute had caught fire. Only four men were able to land  their parachutes amongst the local villages.  Pilot Roy Braly and gunner John Filenger were captured immediately by German troops. Bombardier Merlin Verberg was picked up by the female Dutch Resistance member Tiny Mulder, who hid him at her parents’ house.
The last man on the loose was navigator, James McGahee. His parachute had gotten stuck in a tree, and with the help of a young man he got free and ran. By the evening he was safely in the hands of the friendly Dutch Resistance, who hid him in a church for three nights followed by three weeks on a farm.
Just before Christmas he met his friend Merlin Verberg again, but on their way to freedom, the German Gestapo arrested them and sent them to Stalag Luft 1, a prisoner of war camp where they stayed until the war was over.
As a young man I knew the story of this giant bomber, because both of my parents were residents of Opeinde.  Many years later I learned from a village researcher the name of the B- 24, SACK-TIME SALLY, and the names of her brave crew.
About three years ago, I noticed an appeal from Mrs. Rachel Hughes, who asked about her great-uncle, Sgt. George Scott, who was killed in that aircraft disaster. I could give Rachel a lot of information, and I started to research more, too. With help from Mr. Clint Gruber (co-pilot of the IRON-ASS), I became friends with navigator Lt. James McGahee. He had never told anyone about his war years, but now he was ready to deal with his terrible memories of that time.
May 5, 2010 was the first time in nearly 68 years that Lt. James McGahee was back in the Netherlands. He was given a hero’s welcome by the residents of Opeinde, and the privilege of uncovering the monument which now honors the six USAAF and four RAF men (from a 1942 crash) who lost their lives here.
From several sources and people we learned where McGahee was hidden and who helped him. McGahee could step into the farm and into the church where he stayed back in 1943. His most emotional visit was to the crash-site. The meadow has not changed, nor the family who owns it. Even today small parts of the giant bomber can still be found in the soil.
The visit has given McGahee some peace, and he now can deal with this tragedy. He has also met Mr. Laur Dolhain, who has adopted the grave of Edward Goodall at the cemetery in Margraten in the Netherlands. During the war the crewmembers always kept an eye on Edward, as he was the youngest. Now Mr. Laur Dolhain is keeping an eye on “ the Kid “ as McGahee called Edward Goodall.
From the Netherlands, by Johan Kuiper, in memory of the SACK-TIME SALLY crew.
