PGR_NTX Patriot Guard HOTH: Honoring the "Lost Battalion, Farmers Branch, TX, 16 AUG 08
Mission Information For North Texas PGR
mission at txpgr.org
Thu Aug 14 13:35:06 CDT 2008
Final Itinerary
Honoring the World War II “Lost Battalion”
All Former Prisoners of World War II
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Ride Captain: William (Bill) Crow (LASER)
817 360-1819, _aqsi6 at msn.com_ (mailto:aqsi6 at msn.com)
Co- Captains: Dom Massey (Eagle) and Mike Brown (Choo-Choo)
Mission Profile: NTX Patriot Guard Riders HOTH:
Lost Battalion Association Annual Reunion, Saturday, August 16, 2008, 10:00
a.m. through 12:00 p.m. at the Omni Hotel at US Highway 635 at Luna Road in
Farmers Branch, Texas.
Mission Location: _http://tinyurl.com/5m6xc9_ (http://tinyurl.com/5m6xc9)
__________________________________________________________________
Staging Information: There are four (4) important Stage requirements as
follows:
(1) 0900 (9:00 a.m.) The Traveling Liberty Bell (David Hall) in-place under
the main lobby drive through in the outside lane at the Omni Hotel at US
Highway 635 at Luna Road in Farmers Branch, Texas.
(2) 0915 (9:15 a.m.) The Patriot Guard Riders will stage and park their
bikes just south of the Omni Hotel main entrance drive through (in an area
designated) adjacent to the main hotel entrance. Parking may be limited at this
location and others may have to park at another (yet to be designated)
location.
(3) 0915 (9:15 a.m.) The PGR Flag Masters truck will be in place in
designated area with 100 flags. As the PGR Riders arrive all riders proceed to the
Flag Master vehicle and receive a flag. Please leave the flag “furled” until
at your posted location. PGR personnel will be available to direct you to
your post location. Once at your post, please un-furl the flag and begin
doing what we do best, “Stand Tall and Silent with Honor and Respect”.
(4) 0915 (9:15 a.m.) The Bagpiper (Mr. Steven Creed) will be in place at
the location of the Traveling Liberty Bell at the main entrance to the hotel.
We should have time to assemble, brief and post as the Heroes will emerge
from the hotel at 1000 (10:00 a.m.)
Please remember, the Patriot Guards Riders attendance is a complete surprise
to the Heroes and family members. In that regard, when you arrive please be
a quiet as possible.
Weather: The weather Saturday August 16, 2008 is expected to be near 95
degrees F, with a 30% chance of rain showers. The weather always presents a
serious need for hydration by all participants. Drink adequate amounts of
water and or electrolyte enhanced liquid prior to and during the mission.
Mission Coordination: Patriot Guard Ride Captains will be on location at
the Omni Hotel prior to your arrival to direct you to the designated parking
and where the flag line will be located. The Hosts of the “Lost Battalion”
reunion are providing water located at our flag line. There may be many
additional riders attend this HOTH and the water may not be sufficient for all who
attend. Please be prepared with water and or other appropriate liquids for
your own use if necessary.
Iron Horses if you can, cages are always welcome and appreciated. The
Support Truck with flags will be there.
Please remember that our mission is to stand tall and silent, with honor and
respect for this veteran and his family.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bill Crow (LASER)
North Texas PGR Ride Captain
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Order of Service (What we are going to do)
PRG Riders will form two lines of flags (9’ spacing) from the main lobby
elevators to and out of the main entrance to the hotel. Additionally we will
form a circling line to the left of the Traveling Liberty Bell (as you are
looking at and or facing the Traveling Liberty Bell) to the edge of the drive
through.
On the right of the Traveling Liberty Bell, we will form a flag line to the
auxiliary entrance just to the south of the hotel main entrance. Depending on
the number of participants we may continue the flag line in a corridor in
the hotel. (Best hope is we will have near 100 riders). We must be in place
and have flags posted no later that 0945 (9:45 a.m.) to ensure we are posted
prior to any early arrival of the Heroes.
The Bagpiper will proceed to the elevator in the main lobby and on signal
will begin to “pipe”. The elevator doors are expected to open at 1000 (10:00
a.m.) sharp with the Heroes and family members ready to begin the walk to the
Traveling Liberty Bell. The Bagpiper will” pipe” and begin a slow dirge
walk to the Traveling Liberty Bell and will curl around to the bell’s left
(south) side of the flag line allowing all of the Heroes to stand or sit directly
in front of the Traveling Liberty Bell. The Heroes families will be behind
them. (We are expecting 100-125 family members in attendance).
When all Heroes and family members are in place Mr. Hall will begin to toll
the Traveling Liberty Bell an appropriate number of times (7 indicating
completion) and then inform the Heroes and families about the meaning of the bell.
(3-4 minutes) Following that time, Mr. Hall will invite the Heroes (as many
as will and can) to salute and ring the bell. Following the Traveling Liberty
Bell activity, The PGR Ride Captain will share a moment of information
regarding the PGR Challenge Coin and will ask 15-18 PGR Riders to step forward and
present the Challenge Coins to the Heroes.
Following the challenge coin presentation, The Traveling Liberty Bell will
once again toll the number of times representing the number of Heroes that
have past since the Lost Battalion Reunion last year. Immediately following the
tolling of the bell the Bagpiper will begin to “pipe” and lead the
departing Heroes and family members along the PGR flag line into the auxiliary
entrance doors just south of the main lobby entrance, along our flag line and into
the conference room for the memorial service. The Heroes and family members
will proceed to the conference room on the first floor for a 30-40 minute
memorial service dedicated to those POW that have passed since the last reunion.
The Patriot Guard Riders have been invited to bring the flags and form a
circle around the memorial service room and remain for the memorial service.
After all Heroes and family members have made their way into the memorial
service room the PGR should enter silently and proceed to circle around the walls
to provide walls of flags for the service.
Following the memorial service the Patriot Guard Riders have been invited to
meet and greet and share light finger food and drink with the Heroes and
families on the 12th floor meeting area. I think the outside PGR activities
will take approximately 15-17 minutes if we move along appropriately.
This is an opportunity to see and meet some of the last living Heroes of
World War II. All were POW incarcerated by the Japanese. This HOTH may be (is)
a once in a lifetime privilege for our North Texas Patriot Guard Riders as
these men are survivors of the harshest form of human abuse ever recorded and
are true living American Heroes.
“Please be flexible as we honor these Heroes”. “Things do not always
happen according to best laid plans”.
William (Bill) Crow, (LASER)
North Texas Patriot Guard Ride Captain
Don Massey (Eagle) and Mike Brown (Choo - Choo) are co-captains for this
HOTH event.
The following is a brief synopsis of the history of the Lost Battalion and
the men of the USS Houston that we are supporting.
History of the Lost Battalion:
2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Infantry Division,
Texas Army National Guard
And
Survivors of the USS Houston, “The Battle of the Java Sea”
It is with great pride and historical interest, the 2nd Battalion 131st
Field Artillery, 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard is the "Most
Decorated Unit" in Texas War History and the Heavy Cruiser USS Houston is the
"Most Decorated Vessel" of its class in the US Fleet.
The Lost Battalion Association is composed of the men of the 2nd Battalion,
131st Field Artillery, 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard
and those men who swam ashore from the Cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) during the
"Battle of the Java Sea", when she was heavily battle damaged and sank, and
those who survived 42 months of "Hell" as prisoners of the Japanese during
World War II.
The Japanese incarcerated all of the American prisoners from the 131st Field
Artillery (less E Battery) and the USS Houston together in the 10th
Battalion Bicycle Camp, a former Dutch installation in Batavia (Jakarta) Java.
Battery E remained in the Soerabaja area until moved to Nagasaki and other areas
in Japan via Batavia and Singapore in Nov and Dec, 1942. Thus, two units
(Army and Navy) of the American Armed Forces consisting of 902 men, disappeared
from the face of the earth, seemingly sacrificed in hopeless effort to save
the Netherlands East Indies from overwhelming numbers of the Japanese Army and
Navy.
What was to become an unbelievable string of events which, for some, would
last for three and a half years and was to mold the Prisoners of War (POW) of
the 2nd Battalion 131st Field Artillery and the USS Houston together in a
bond closer than blood. This Army and Navy group of POW suffered together
through 42 months of humiliation, degradation. physical and mental torture,
starvation, and horrible tropical diseases with no medications. Many have said
the hardest part was watching friends die slowly, day by day, with the
survivors often thinking, fleetingly, that maybe they (the dead) were "the lucky
ones".
The men were brutally treated and forced to work in hot steaming jungles
and the monsoon seasons of Burma chopping down trees, hand building road beds
and bridges, laying ties and rails with primitive tools in construction of the
now infamous "Burma-Siam Death Railway" Some of the men were mining coal
and/or working on the docks in Japan while living in horrible conditions
without heat or sufficient cover during two Japanese winters, where real
starvation was a daily companion.
Of the 902 men taken POW, 668 were sent to Burma and Thailand and worked on
the "Death Railway" (Bridge on River Kwai of historical fame). Of the total
163 who died in POW camp, 133 died working on the railroad. After completion
of the railroad, 236 of the men were disbursed to Japan and other South East
Asian countries to work in coal mines, shipyards, docks etc and a few
remained at "Bicycle Camp" in Java.
Moving from Java to Singapore by Japanese transport ship and then to Burma,
Thailand or Japan, the men were packed like cattle in the ship lower holds,
taking turns sitting, standing, squatting, or laying down while suffering from
sea sickness, dysentery, malaria and or other tropical diseases. They stood
in their own or their neighbor's filth, because it was impossible or not
permitted by the Japanese to get to the ship side latrine on the main deck.
During the Japanese transport of the prisoners of war, many of the men were
killed by American submarines and American bombers attacking the Japanese
transport ships while they were en-route to Singapore and Japan.. When
liberated, the men were found to be scattered throughout many locations in South
East Asia, Java, Singapore, Burma, Thailand, French Indochina, Japan, China and
Manchuria, and other locations.
Since the Battalion had disappeared when the island of Java had surrendered,
no one knew where they were, the War Department knew nothing and nothing was
heard from them for 42 months.
So each year since 1945, the survivors of the POW "Hell", along with their
families, meet each August to keep their “Bond of Brotherhood” strong and to
remember and pay honor to those who died in Prison Camps and the 575 who
have died since liberation and the 646 who died in action, in a futile effort to
save Java.
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