One of the things we learned on the Pendleton Underground Tour was that Pendleton was the
training ground for an all black battalion of fire-fighting parachuters during World War II called the
Triple Nickles. Every hear of such a thing? Me neither. Nor had Judd and I ever heard that the western
states had been bombed by Japanese incendiary balloons during that war either. Some balloons sailed
as far as Iowa! One of the reasons this troop was not sent to the European conflict was because of
fear of the racism there at the time. When the western states started experiencing forest fires from
the Japanese bombs, the trained troop of smokejumpers was ready to go.
training ground for an all black battalion of fire-fighting parachuters during World War II called the
Triple Nickles. Every hear of such a thing? Me neither. Nor had Judd and I ever heard that the western
states had been bombed by Japanese incendiary balloons during that war either. Some balloons sailed
as far as Iowa! One of the reasons this troop was not sent to the European conflict was because of
fear of the racism there at the time. When the western states started experiencing forest fires from
the Japanese bombs, the trained troop of smokejumpers was ready to go.
On a different note: the third Friday in September is National POW/MIA Recognition Day.
The Walla Walla VA has an annual lunch/remembrance program. There was a small table set
for one missing guest. The Red Cross sponsored lunch and the station theater was packed. The
highlight, by far, was the personal story of Laurence Friese, a retired US Navy commander who was
a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 5 years. He was warm and funny, if describing being and A-6 Intruder
bombardier and getting shot down over North Vietnam and then being taken prisoner can be funny.
He said he realized it was his fault for breaking the cardinal rule of war: don’t fly over an area you
just bombed. He spent the first 18 months in solitary confinement. He was later in a barracks
area of the “Hanoi Hilton “ with 41 other prisoners. When he was freed under Operation Homecoming
March 1973, he said he was welcomed back to the States like royalty. He traveled home on the
same plane as Senator John McCain. He exuded how proud he was of his fellow POWs but
thanked all the other Vietnam Vets who served, knowing they faced hardships as well. One
more parting joke: he mentioned he got paid less than his plane mate. It turns out POWs got
paid an amount for every day incarcerated and since his mate had been captured the first day
they ejected from the plane, and Larry walked through the jungle for 4 days before he was captured,
he was paid less than his mate for only 1,842 days of incarceration.
http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=504
Incredible stories!
The Walla Walla VA has an annual lunch/remembrance program. There was a small table set
for one missing guest. The Red Cross sponsored lunch and the station theater was packed. The
highlight, by far, was the personal story of Laurence Friese, a retired US Navy commander who was
a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 5 years. He was warm and funny, if describing being and A-6 Intruder
bombardier and getting shot down over North Vietnam and then being taken prisoner can be funny.
He said he realized it was his fault for breaking the cardinal rule of war: don’t fly over an area you
just bombed. He spent the first 18 months in solitary confinement. He was later in a barracks
area of the “Hanoi Hilton “ with 41 other prisoners. When he was freed under Operation Homecoming
March 1973, he said he was welcomed back to the States like royalty. He traveled home on the
same plane as Senator John McCain. He exuded how proud he was of his fellow POWs but
thanked all the other Vietnam Vets who served, knowing they faced hardships as well. One
more parting joke: he mentioned he got paid less than his plane mate. It turns out POWs got
paid an amount for every day incarcerated and since his mate had been captured the first day
they ejected from the plane, and Larry walked through the jungle for 4 days before he was captured,
he was paid less than his mate for only 1,842 days of incarceration.
http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=504
Incredible stories!
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