20. Secret Military History

1945-0503, War, POW, Massacre at Sea.
British torpedo bombers attack the Cap Arcona and the Thielbek in the Baltic Sea. Both vessels are flying white flags, as there are 7,000 concentration camp prisoners aboard.
In the process of abandoning ship, the German captain of the Arcona uses a machete to hack his way through the mass of people. When the ships sink, virtually all of the prisoners drown, making this the single largest loss of life in the history of ocean travel.

1945-0615, Media, the History of SGT ROCK.
During WW2, SGT Rock fought in the Infantry branch of the U.S. Army in the European Theatre and eventually rose to authority within his unit, Easy Company. The unit was made up of a disparate collection of individuals who managed to participate in every major action in the European war.
Rock's dog tag number was 409966, which had been, the writer, Robert Kanigher's own Military serial number. Mr. Kanigher wrote that Rock belonged to "The Big Red One" 1st ID, given his appearance on battlefields in North Africa, Italy, and Northwest Europe.
The back-story for Rock was fleshed out in different comics over the years; generally, he is considered to have come from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he worked in a steel mill. Enlisting after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he went to North Africa as a private, but promotion came quickly as his superiors were killed, to assistant squad leader, squad leader and then platoon sergeant.
His unit is only ever given as "Easy Company,” but no regiment or division is named nor is unit insignia ever shown. Rock also wears the chevrons and rockers of a Master Sergeant on his uniform and applied, oversize, to the front of his helmet. Rock's official position in Easy Company was of senior platoon sergeant though dialogue and scripts are usually vague on his actual responsibilities and duties. He usually leads patrols and appears to have powers of command over the men of the company.
Several officer characters also appeared as both platoon and company commanders, all who were regarded by Rock as superiors. Easy's commander was usually referred to as "the skipper" by Rock. Rock in turn was referred to by others as the "top-kick,” or senior non-commissioned officer in the company. Most Infantry companies did not have Master Sergeants; significantly, Rock does not have the diamond of a First Sergeant on his rank insignia.

1945-0615, Rape and WW2.
11,040-Rapes are the number committed by US Troops in Germany.
Non-fraternization policies were instituted for the Americans in Germany, the phrase:
Copulation without conversation is not fraternization. Was used as a motto by US Army troops. Combat Arms soldiers seldom rape. Combat Support (CS) and (CSS), soldiers are the rapists 75-percent of the time. CS and CSS Soldiers are black-males and white-females.
Black men are in the rear with the girls and the gear. The military punished black rapists harshly. They were considered: Evil, deviants, perverts, bestial, sodomites, liars, crude and stink.
1945-0615, Rape, US Military and Rape in Occupied Japan.
There is no documented evidence of any mass rapes committed by Allied troops during the Pacific War.
The Japanese were afraid US Soldiers would rape their women after the war. In response, the Japanese government established the 'Recreation and Amusement Association' (RAA), military brothels to cater to the Allied troops upon their arrival. Women who volunteered to work in these brothels claimed that they did so as they felt they had a duty to protect other women from Allied troops raping them.
1949-0615, Hookers, After the War, Japanese Brothels Are Placed Off-Limits.
Amid complaints from Military chaplains GEN MacArthur placed all brothels off limits to US Soldiers. 70,000-hookers are put out of work. This was a case of supply and demand. Most of the Military-age men in Japan were killed in WWII and the Japanese economy needed foreign currency.

1945-0615, Gender, First Pregnant Fighter Pilot.
Avn Squadron Commander, Raisa Surnachevskaya a Soviet WW2 fighter pilot, was the first pregnant front-line pilot in the history of combat.

1945-0708, UCMJ, German POWs Murdered in the USA.
Salina POW Camp, Utah. PVT Clarence V. Bertucci was on guard duty in a tower. He took Browning machine gun, aimed it toward 43-tents below and opened fire for the next 15-seconds:
250 German POWs were sleeping.
250 Rounds were fired into the tents.
030 Tents were hit.
009 POW murdered.
020 Wounded.


1945-0815, UCMJ, US Officer Court Martials in WW2:
1,737 Officers were charged with a General Court Martial offense:
08 COL
48 LTC
96 MAJ
320 CPT
1,184 LT
62 WO
30 Black officers.
977 Of the officers were not dismissed from the military.
Offenses the officers were charged with:
31-percent AWOL.
20-percent Disobeying an order.
14-percent Fighting.
11-percent Theft.
09-percent Dishonesty.
05-percent Miscellaneous.
04-percent Sleeping while officer of the guard.
03-percent Drunk on duty.
03-percent Sex offenses.
Note: In WW2, there were no Article 15’s every offence was a court martial. There were two-million court martials total in WW2.