The 5217th Reconnaissance Battalion (Provisional) WW2

The 5217th Reconnaissance Battalion (Provisional) was formed at Camp Tabragalba in Queensland, Australia, in October of 1943 [1]. Comprising Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, the mission of the 5217th was intelligence and commando operations on the Philippine Islands. The brass decided that airborne training would augment the ability of the 5217th to conduct its intelligence work, and to Walter was given the job of seeing that such training was provided. With that mandate in hand, Walter, with the assistance of four enlisted men from the 503d PIR, proceeded to establish a jump school, known simply as Camp X, near Brisbane, Australia. The school’s 3-week program included all aspects of Ft. Benning’s Parachute School program except the 250-foot towers. "We found out very quickly that the average Filipino was too light for a 28-foot main chute," Walter recalls [2]. "Luckily, we didn’t lose anyone, but some of them stayed up an awfully long time. I can recall hearing them call out, ‘Lt. Walter, will I come down?’" Camp X graduated two classes, jump qualifying a total of 66 men. The Filipinos – who had volunteered to serve in the Reconnaissance Battalion and then volunteered for jump school - greatly impressed Walter. Not a single trainee who passed through Walter’s jump school refused to jump. The Japanese retreat in the Philippines was faster than anticipated, and the paratroopers of the 5217th were never employed in an airborne role in forward combat areas. But an opportunity to put their jump training to use arose in May 1945 when an American aircraft crash-landed in the mountainous jungle of central New Guinea, a region much of which bore the disquieting notation Unknown on the maps that were then available. A few weeks before the crash, Walter, now a captain,  had lunched with his former biology teacher from Black Foxe Military Institute, who was now the Chemical Warfare Officer of the Far East Air Service Command (FEASC). Later, this officer informed the Commander of FEASC that Walter had trained paratroopers under his command. With all other airborne units in SWPA then committed to combat, FEASC knew to whom to turn when the plane went down. When Walter asked for volunteers to effect a rescue of the crash survivors, to a man the paratroopers stepped forward. On the following day, Walter and eight enlisted men parachuted into a large valley some 10-15 miles from the crash site to set up a base camp to begin hacking out a landing strip for the gliders, in which they were to be picked up and evacuated. The survivors of the crash were brought to the base camp to recuperate from their injuries and regain their strength, while the paratroopers put the finishing touches to the landing strip. Then, they all sat back to await the gliders. The natives the party encountered proved to be primitive but friendly. As friendly as the natives were, however, their practice of never bathing and coating their bodies with a mixture of pig grease and charcoal necessitated barring them from the paratroopers’ camp. Even so, upon the paratroopers’ return to base camp after completion of the mission, their first act was to burn their web gear, the odor of which was all too reminiscent of the hosts they had left behind.   Crash Survivor Cpl. Margaret Hastings at "Shangri-La" Base Camp. On July 2, 1945, after having spent 42 days in the valley, the party was extracted in three glider pick-ups. One cannot help wondering how the natives – who probably never before had encountered anyone from the outside world – viewed the strange arrival and departure of their visitors. Religions have been founded on events less mystical than those must have seemed. The mission did not go unnoticed by the press, which dubbed it "Rescue from Shangri-La" [2]. Indeed, when the press covering the rescue insisted on one of their number parachuting into the valley to cover the mission ‘up close and personal’, the brass acquiesced. Alex McCann, then a journalist with the Netherlands Indies Government Information Service, drew the assignment. His confidence buoyed by a crash course in parachuting and by a fifth of Boodles gin, McCann parachuted into the valley to document the rescue.   Airborne Section, 5217th Reconnaissance Bn.   Shortly after the mission, the 5217th, now the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, was sent to Manila, where Walter and his cadre were returned to the 503d PRCT. Shortly thereafter, in August of 1945, the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was disbanded and the men reassigned. Few friendships are as enduring as those that derive from acts of bravery or shared hardships. And so it was that in April of 1995, Walter and one of the medics who parachuted with him into "Shangri-La" gathered with the two remaining survivors of the plane crash on the 50th anniversary of the rescue.  The Insignia Besides providing the information and the photographs used in this article, LTC Walter provided the patch (top). Of the patch, Walter wrote: "…I am enclosing the chest patch, which we designed in Hollandia for wear by members of the 1st Rcn. Bn. who were qualified jumpers. We petitioned GHQ [for approval] and our request was denied, due to the fact only a small segment of the Battalion was airborne. I am particularly proud of the chest patch, as it brings back some very fond memories of many officers and men who not only were excellent soldiers and fighting men, but who became outstanding jumpers. It might be of interest to note that there was never one refusal to jump out of the total of close to 90 people who started training and the 66 who ultimately qualified. I have always been very proud to have been associated with the 5217th/1st Recon. I will always remember the very fine officers and men whom I trained and worked with.. It was a most memorable time of my life [2]." Walter’s "chest patch" depicts a parachute as well as elements symbolizing the 5217th/1st Reconnaissance Battalion: the stars of the Southern Cross, the head of a carabao, and the unit’s motto, Bahala Na, meaning "come what will." Authentic examples of the sleeve patch of the 5217th are very rare. (A close-but-no-cigar effort to reproduce this patch occurred in the ‘50s. The copies feature an olive drab border, a rounded-shield shape, and, erroneously, the Big Dipper rather than the Southern Cross.) The "chest patch" is even rarer - the author is unaware of any in collections other than his own. https://corregidor.org/heritage_battalion/hughes/hughes.html

U.S. Army Filipino Bolo Battalion WW2

 

The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was a segregated United States Army infantry regiment made up of Filipino Americans from the continental United States and a few veterans of the Battle of the Philippines that saw combat during World War II. It was formed and activated at Camp San Luis Obispo, California, under the auspices of the California National Guard. Originally created as a battalion, it was declared a regiment on 13 July 1942. Deployed initially to New Guinea in 1944, it became a source of manpower for special forces and units that would serve in occupied territories. In 1945, it deployed to the Philippines, where it first saw combat as a unit. After major combat operations, it remained in the Philippines until it returned to California and was deactivated in 1946 at Camp Stoneman.

Ho Chi Minh AKA "Uncle Ho"

Hồ Chí Minh (born Nguyễn Sinh Cung; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as Bác Hồ ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as Hồ Chủ tịch ('President Hồ'), Người cha già của dân tộc ('Father of the people') and by other aliases  was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime Minister of Vietnam from 1945 to 1955 and as President from 1945 until his death in 1969. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, he served as Chairman and First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam.

Hồ Chí Minh was born in Nghệ An province, in Central Vietnam. He led the Việt Minh independence movement from 1941 onward. Initially, it was an umbrella group for all parties fighting for Vietnam's independence, but the Communist Party gained majority support after 1945. Hồ Chí Minh led the Communist-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, defeating the French Union in 1954 at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, ending the First Indochina War, and resulting in the division of Vietnam, with the Communists in control of North Vietnam. He was a key figure in the People's Army of Vietnam and the Việt Cộng during the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1975. Ho officially stepped down from power in 1965 due to health problems and died in 1969. North Vietnam was ultimately victorious against South Vietnam and its allies, and Vietnam was officially unified in 1976. Saigon, the former capital of South Vietnam, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honor.

Familiar trees in Costa Rica

 Familiar trees in Costa Rica

Gliders and Mules WW2

 The American mule; the least understood and most underrated of the equines. As a personal choice, I would take the dumbest mule over the smartest horse anytime. Mules are made for the long haul, they can go days without water, live on practically any type of food - including people food , and are 10 times smarter than a horse. in WW2 thousands of mules were deployed to the pacific theatre of war via ships then Gliders or planes. Most went by glider. I dont know how the Mules were restrained in the gliders but it had to be tight so they didnt move much, and perhaps they were given a sedative. I would not want to be the Glider Pilot though, Mules, especially packed with loads constantly shift their weight and would - I assume - mess with the pilots trim characteristics in flight. Shoot fire! I hated pulling a trailer full of mules into the mountains back in the day, just because of the way their weight shifted. Those Glider pilots had balls of steel.

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/army-mules-the-beast.../

The Filipino paliunt AKA the "Richardson" slam fire shotgun

The Filipino paliunt slam fire shot gun. Use for Hunting and in war. Gun powder was made from the coarse powder taken from japanese mines, mixed with sulpher, salt peter and antimony. The making of the powder was laborious process , but it worked. Sometimes, you have to roll with what you got. Shotgun cartridges were either brass or waxed cardboard back in the day. They could be reloaded several times though the brass tended to wear out faster than the waxed cardboard. Also known as The "Richardson" slam fire shotgun AKA guerilla (not gorilla - HUGE difference). I'm not sure why Richardson got the credit for this gun, Im certain he didnt invent it. Im sure It is because after he returned home from the war he decided to capitalize on the design and sell it commercially. They had a short run in the USA and came in 3 models. To me these are a classic example of Filipino ingenuity. Called in the Philippines a paliuntod or paltik guns. Anyhoo, if interested you can do further research on this gun. By reading the book "American guerilla in the Philippines" Or, you can watch the movie starring Tyrone Power by the same title. Or lastly, you can watch this vid on YT - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUjDumvMK6I

Dick Summers making fire in A.B. Guthrie's book "Fair land, Fair Land"

"Summers spread grease on the rag, sprinkled powder from his horn on the grease and worked it in.

Higgins came back with an arm load of fire branches. Summers took one of them, got out his knife (Green River knife) and began cutting shavings, thin as ribbons. Nothing but a razor sharp blade could do that, and Mack wondered how the man kept his knife in such shape.

Summers put the shavings over the rag, added some fine twigs, poured a bit of gun powder under one end of the rag, and withdrew flint and steel from his possible sack. He rubbed the powder from his hands on his pants leg and then struck a spark. The bit of powder went up in a puff but still ignited the rag. As the fire spread sputtering along it, lighting the shavings, Higgins said "by god, a slow fuse". Higgins built up the fire and began heating frying pans...."

SARAWAK Old man on Youtube

I dig this old mans videos about Jungle knives and life in the jungle.. Check out his youtube channel for interesting videos on unique subjects. The link is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZRP_i5O754 

A fish tale from Patagonia

So there I was in Chilean Patagonia,  camping out and just basically killing time.  My grub was running low so I decided to try my hand at a little primitive tenkara fishing. Turns out I didn't have any fishing gear. Only a Gill net. Anyhow, I dug through my plunder and ended up making a hook from a safety pin and I used some artificial sinew as a line. 

Being a bit of an ichthyologist I know a thing or 2 about trout. I have fished for them in Maine, Montana , Mongolia and all over the world actually.  I  began turning over rocks looking for bugs etc. To use as bait. I hooked a few bugs on my pin hook and chucked it in the river. No luck.

I thought about different bait alternatives and remembered that my father used dough balls dipped in bacon grease, and in Thailand the locals use dough balls with shrimp powder in the mix.

So, I dug through my garbage bag and pulled out some mouldy bread and my tuna cans. I  dipped the bread in water then kneaded it into several dough balls. Next I swabbed out the tuna cans with the dough. There were also several bugs in the cans so I just smashed them into the mix.

Finally ready I baited up my homemade hook and dropped it in an eddy behind a boulder. .....the about 5 seconds later;  Wham! I had a strike. I managed to land him before he could wriggle off my barb less hook. I had a few other hits but didn't land another. It's ok,I was grateful for the one I had. I cooked it up in a soup with some Ramen. Twernt bad ,and a fitting meal for a Patagonia Wilderness adventure. 

The gear of the "Mad Trapper"

 

 A few years back I was lucky to receive a link from a friend at Discovery channel Canada. It was for a show about the autopsy of “The Mad Trapper”. It was an excellent show but a little inaccurate as to the equipment Johnson carried on his run from the law. The documentary showed TMT with a small partially loaded ruck sack instead of a Trapper Nelson frame pack and he was carrying a rifle saddle scabbard tied to his pack. A saddle scabbard for your rifle would be a very impractical item due to its weight, bulk, and once frozen in the extreme temperatures of the arctic it would be like sheet iron thus making getting your rifle into play nearly impossible.

Also, the documentary showed the character playing Johnson wearing cotton military style clothing – another inaccuracy. Its just me, I have not watched TV in years but when I do I expect things to be portrayed accurately. I find that TV types are extremely vexing and annoying in the liberties they take. Portraying anything with inaccuracies only detracts from the true story and tends to cloud any issues involved in the story. I digress.....

Recently, I was staying with a friend in New Hampshire and happened to find the book “The Mad Trapper of rat River” -  by Dick North. Appendix “A” - Exhibit “C” lists all of the equipment Albert Johnson AKA “The Mad Trapper” had in his possession at the time he was killed by the RCMP.

Pretty cool to me and I'm sure to many others. I had personally never seen this list before and found it interesting to note that Johnson (according to the RCMP list) didn't have extra clothing of any kind, no socks, wool cap, extra mittens, undies and he didn't have a blanket or sleeping bag or food, just some salt and red pepper. During the manhunt He was never known to build a fire to warm himself or cook a meal. I'm just guessing but Perhaps he made small twig fires cook small game like the whiskey jack and squirrel or to brew some spruce or pine needle tea in his lard bucket cooking pot. If he didn't stop to cook or make a brew, I can only imagine that he was chewing snow for water and eating the small game he shot raw.

Looking over this list of equipment I think it shows definite wilderness savvy and potential skill. The Gear Johnson was packing was practical ad functional and suited to the environment. His choice of rifles was excellent, one each for large and small game. Johnson even had an oily rag to swab down his guns. The axe, knives (2), sewing kit, matches, Compass, fishing gear, and babiche to repair his snow shoes all show that Johnson was no tenderfoot and knew what to carry for an extended stay in the wilderness. Smart, functional and practical but about average for your typical “sour dough” I think.

Many of the items Johnson carried on his run from the RCMP closely resemble what I have in my pack now....Like red pepper, salt, sewing kit, fishing gear, .22 rifle & ammo, Matches, cooking pot, small mirror, buckskin rifle case, match safe, cash, razor. I do have a blanket, tent or hammock, minimal food and clothing.

I would like to find one of those old trapper nelson packs though, They look pretty cool but are getting hard to find. I might have to locate a craftsman who could make me a copy of one. I like the simple design of the wooden frame and the canvas pack sack. I did some research into the Trapper Nelson packs and found that they first hit the scene in 1927 and were popular up through WW2 and were used by the Alaskan Army scouts during the war.

In fact, I watched the movie “Death Hunt” with Lee Marvin and Chuck Bronson, which is based in the “Mad Trapper” story and noticed that “Johnson” was wearing a Trapper Nelson pack in the film. You could also see his extra rifle and axe handle sticking up out of the pack.

Below I have copied the list exactly as it is written in the Dick North Book about “The Mad Trapper”. I'm too old and broken down now to do it myself but Id like to see someone replicate Johnson's run from the law using this same gear. Personally?? I doubt anyone could do it.

 I especially doubt that any of the new generation of TV survival "Experts" could match this mans epic run from the law.

Tomahawk – Scouts Out!

Albert Johnson “The mad trapper”
(Gear)

When Johnson was killed he had the following possessions in is pockets and pack;
$2,410 in Canadian and American money.

A small glass jar containing 5 pearls valued at $15.00

5 pieces of gold dental work valued at $3.20

another small jar containing 13 penny weight of alluvial gold valued at $9.36

a model 99 Savage “Featherweight” rifle in 30.30

an Iver Johnson sawed off shotgun in 16 guage

a Winchester .22 rifle model  58

39 30-30 shells

4 16 guage shotgun shells

64 .22 bullets

a compass

a package of 32 pills

an axe; a trapper nelson pack ; lard can with lid in old sack; a dead squirrel; a dead whiskey jack

knife made from a trap spring

match safe

Gillette safety razor

envelope containing a piece of a 3 cornered file, an awl and a chisel made from a nail.
a small knife with a moose skin cover.
moose skin rifle cover, moose skin pouch, moose skin sewing bag containing needles and thread.
small spring, nails wrapped in tin foil, Matches wrapped in tin foil, 30-30 cartridge box containing a small empty bottle and a small piece of wax.
7 pieces of moose hide, a sack containing 6 empty sacks, 15 pieces of babiche, 1 large bundle of babiche snow shoe lacing,1 bundle of sewing thread, 1 moose skin lace.
Calico rifle cover
Large envelope containing;
1 box pony matches
1 bundle sulfur matches wrapped in tin foil
1 bundle sulfur matches wrapped in paper
1 tinfoil packet containing 2 pills
1 paper package of 6 pills
1 paper package of fish hooks
1 tinfoil package containing oily rag
1 leather cover containing comb and sewing materials
4 loose .22 shells
a moose hide container holding a small mirror
1 packet of red pepper
1 packet of salt
1 bundle of rag twine