14-10-2015, 08:31 AM
This guy Smith is a real interesting character! Check this out - so first, from Oct 1942 to Dec 1943 he's up in the Aleutians with the 11th Air Force, dabbling in some kind of intelligence work (where he earned a citation from Gen Davenport Johnson - the mission was to get the Japanese off some islands in the area). Then, from Jan 1944 to Oct 1945 he's with the Ninth Army at SHAEF reporting to Col HF Osborne, in a G-5 Civil Affairs role (which had a lot to do with the protection and recovery of treasures and monuments, as much as the repatriation of people in-country). Smith's detachment was E1C2, which equates with "9th Army Military Government Center". In other words, he was stationed at HQ, where he somehow earned a Bronze Star.
THEN, on 23 Oct 1945 we have now-Major Smith reporting for duty with the Formosa Liaison Mission, reporting to Col Richard C Wittman.
http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/58341354/
Col Smith is still doing repatriation work in China in early 1947, which may help explain some of the missing time till he shows up at the DPD again in 1950.
This is an amazing background for Civil Defense work, don't you think? First he's de-Nazifying Europe, then he's de-Japyifying China and Indo-China.... hey um... come to think of it... didn't Gen Edward Lansdale start getting involved in the Philippines right around this same time, or shortly thereafter?
Very interesting. So now Boise gets to de-commify Dallas, is that how it works? ROFL...
I found out something else interesting today. Lt Revill (who was also a member of Jack Crichton's 488th) almost came to blows with FBI Agent Hosty the morning before the assassination, because he made a derogatory comment about Kennedy and said, "I don't want to protect that sonofabyotch tomorrow". One has to wonder how many other members of the 488th felt the same way.
Anyway, now we know a little more about this fellow Boise B Smith. There is "very little" on the history of Civil Defense in Dallas, between the years of 1960 and 1964. There is the "work product" that you can see in the CD museum, but there's not much pertaining to how it got done. What's striking about Dallas is, it was one of eight federally designated "key cities", and while everyone else was building their Emergency Operation Centers under their City Halls, Dallas was building its Center "far away" from the downtown area, at the Fairgrounds underneath the Health and Science Museum.
THEN, on 23 Oct 1945 we have now-Major Smith reporting for duty with the Formosa Liaison Mission, reporting to Col Richard C Wittman.
Quote:The repatriates are returned to Japan from the entire China theater aboard 100 Japanese-manned American Liberty ships, 85 Navy LST's, and some 90 captured enemy vessels ranging from 100 to 5000 capacity. This repatriation fleet operates under the Shipping Control Authority for Japanese Merchant Marines or SCAJAP, and flies the diagonal red and green especially designed for the SCAJAP operations.
To date, the American field team under the direction of Colonel Richard C Wittman of 3322 40th St Lincoln Neb have assisted in the removal of all Japanese from Amoy, Swatow, Fort Bayord, Hainan Island, North French Indo-China, Canton, and Lao Yao. On the walls of his G-3 offices are maps showing the concentrations of Japanese along the coast and in the interior, their classifications, timetable schedules showing the arrival dates and ports of contact of each vessel engaged in this operation.
One of the most interesting phases of this operation occurs when the repatriates reach the staging areas. Rigid sanitary conditions are maintained by means of instructions furnished each group leader who is held responsible for their enforcement by the American medical men. In addition to these precautions each person is required to be vaccinated against smallpox and is given an initial typhus and cholera shot, with the subsequent series to be completed by the Army's follow-up system upon their arrival in Japan. As a further safeguard against the spread of communicable disease, the person of each repatriate and his baggage are thoroughly sprayed with DDF as they board the ship.
Prior to the arrival of the returnees at the ship staging areas, all persons are carefully screened so as to remove potential War Crimes suspects.
http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/58341354/
Col Smith is still doing repatriation work in China in early 1947, which may help explain some of the missing time till he shows up at the DPD again in 1950.
This is an amazing background for Civil Defense work, don't you think? First he's de-Nazifying Europe, then he's de-Japyifying China and Indo-China.... hey um... come to think of it... didn't Gen Edward Lansdale start getting involved in the Philippines right around this same time, or shortly thereafter?
Very interesting. So now Boise gets to de-commify Dallas, is that how it works? ROFL...
I found out something else interesting today. Lt Revill (who was also a member of Jack Crichton's 488th) almost came to blows with FBI Agent Hosty the morning before the assassination, because he made a derogatory comment about Kennedy and said, "I don't want to protect that sonofabyotch tomorrow". One has to wonder how many other members of the 488th felt the same way.
Anyway, now we know a little more about this fellow Boise B Smith. There is "very little" on the history of Civil Defense in Dallas, between the years of 1960 and 1964. There is the "work product" that you can see in the CD museum, but there's not much pertaining to how it got done. What's striking about Dallas is, it was one of eight federally designated "key cities", and while everyone else was building their Emergency Operation Centers under their City Halls, Dallas was building its Center "far away" from the downtown area, at the Fairgrounds underneath the Health and Science Museum.