Wally Nadel - World War II

GENERAL SIMON BOLIVER BUCKNER, JR.

The history of this soldier is well documented and available in

minutes on a computer or within a half hour in most libraries.

Nevertheless, this thumbnail sketch needs to be said.

General Buckner Jr. was the scion of the first General Simon

Boliver Buckner who fought for the Confederacy during the

Civil war. Gen'l Buckner Sr., in one of the battles, was

captured and subsequently imprisoned on an Island in Boston

Harbor, which was used as a Prisoner of War Camp. We

assume that he was released some time after Lee surrendered.

Gen'l Buckner Jr. , who grew up in the South, was considered

a good soldier, distinguished himself in a variety of assignments

prior to the outbreak of WW II, and was assigned to the Alaskan

Command. Again, after the Japanese occupied the Aleutian'Islands,

he is given credit for the campaign to push them out.

I must add that he never came to visit me on Shemya!

He was recognized by the War Dept., then given another assignment;

to organize and command the Tenth Army in Hawaii, then invade

the Island of Okinawa.

The capture of this Island, heavily defended, was one of the bloodiest

battles in the South Pacific, took three months, resulting in 12,000

American deaths and 36,000 wounded.

One of those deaths was General Simon Boliver Buckner, Jr. who was

killed from ricocheting artillery fire.

I hate to say anything negative about a brave soldier, but I must!

General Buckner Jr. let his peers know that he would never allow

any Blacks to bear arms under his command. As a Southerner, he

is also quoted as saying other things not worthwhile repeating

Were he alive when Truman integrated the Armed Forces, Truman

may have been obliged to fire him!

The next highest officer killed in WW II was General Leslie Mc Nair

in France - July 1944. Unfortunately his death was from "friendly

fire". This happened more frequently than we would like to think

or that is reported.