Night Sky Photography -- 07-31-2020 -- Venus Rising in the East

Good morning fellow stargazers!

This morning I woke up about an hour before sunrise and went outside to see beautiful clear skies -- as well as the loud chirping of the legions of Cicadas (Neotibicen linnei, commonly called Linne's cicada) that play their music in the evenings and early mornings in mid-summer down here in Dixie. 

Today is the last day of July, the first full month of summer, with the hottest month of August looming.

I focused on the rising dawn and saw bright, beautiful Venus in the east just over the tree line. I snapped this photo of Venus and managed to capture the faint stars of the Constellation Auriga the Charioteer. 

Y'all notice the star Elnath at the southern tip of Auriga. This star used to belong both to Auriga, where it was known as the heel of the Charioteer, and to the Constellation Taurus the Bull -- which unfortunately didn't come out well in the dawn's light, although its brightest star, Aldebaran, the fourteenth-brightest star in the night sky, is clearly visible in the upper right of the shot. 

Auriga's brightest star, Capella, marks the Charioteer’s left shoulder. Capella is the sixth-brightest star in the night sky and although it appears to the naked eye as a single star, Capella is actually a quadruple star system group organized in two binary pairs made up of the stars: Capella Aa, Capella Ab, Capella H, and Capella L. 

Well what better way to close out July and my last blog post of the month. I hope y'all enjoyed my photography, and I hope to have more soon, God and clear skies willing. 

Until then fellow stargazers have a wonderful Dixie day and y'all keep your eyes to the night skies.

Southern Fried Nostalgia & Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood -- Ten Years Later

10 years ago this month, two brothers returned home
after completing their long and fateful journey.

"There's no such thing as a painless lesson, they just don't exist. Sacrifices are necessary. You can't gain anything without losing something first. If you can endure that pain and then walk away from it, you'll find you now have a heart strong enough to overcome any obstacle. A heart made fullmetal." ~ Edward Elric

On Friday, July 4, 2010, the 64th and final episode of the shounen anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood aired, bringing to a close the epic journey of two brothers seeking redemption for their attempt to break the laws of nature using alchemy.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the second adaptation of Manga author Hiromu Arakawa's award-winning series Fullmetal Alchemist, is widely considered by many fans of Japanese anime as one of the greatest anime series ever made -- well, maybe second only to Cowboy Bebop in this writer's humble opinion anyhow. 

I watched the series several years following its final episode airing in the United States on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim nighttime programming block from February 2010 to September 2011, and later on Netflix when I was finally able to see the whole story in 2015. It remains to this day one of the most emotionally satisfying and beautifully written anime series I've ever watched. 

With immaculate world-building, exciting action, rounded and multidimensional characters, and an emotionally resonant story, FMA: Brotherhood will change the way you think about anime. It will have you laughing, crying, and everything in between while providing you with a memorable story that will stay with you long after the final credits play.  

(Warning: slight spoilers ahead)

FMA: Brotherhood is the story of two young brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, (voiced brilliantly in the English dub by Vic Mignogna and Maxey Whitehead) who attempt to break the laws of nature by using alchemy to attempt human transmutation and bring back their dead mother. The attempt goes horribly wrong and results in one of the most dreadful and emotional scenes in amine history. This failed attempt to break the taboo results in both brothers being physically and emotionally scared -- the elder brother, Edward, loses his right arm and left leg; while the young brother, Alphonse, loses his body completely, resulting in his soul being bound to a suit of armor.

As a result of this, Alphonse is doomed to live in a body that does not allow him to sleep, feel human contact, warmth or cold -- a truly terrifying concept to imagine for anyone to go through, let alone a young boy. Edward meanwhile must undergo painful surgery to install automail prosthetics to allow him to walk again. With the help of their childhood best friend Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako (both automail mechanics) Edward is able to fully recover physically within a year.

Feeling guilt over what happened to Alphonse, and determined to find a way to help his suffering younger brother, Edward later reluctantly becomes a State Alchemist for the military dictatorship of his home country, Amestris, to allow him the freedom of traveling with Alphonse to search for a method to recover Al's body.  

After passing the exam under the direction of Colonel Roy Mustang, Edward is dubbed the "Fullmetal Alchemist" by the military. Following this the brothers begin their long quest to regain their full bodies through the use of the fabled Philosopher's Stone, which is capable of alchemy without sacrifice, or equivalent exchange. 

Along the way, the brothers encounter and defeat corrupt officials and religious leaders, and earning a reputation for helping people; facing new enemies and making new friends and allies. In their search they make a horrific discovery, one that will lead them to another even more terrifying revelation, one involving their estranged father, Van Hohenheim, and the secret of a lost civilization that died out hundreds of years before. 

The anime shows the bond between siblings as they go through hardships and hurt. These brothers stick by each others side no matter what. A fateful journey that takes up 64 outstanding episodes that never feel like they are too long. Even the less exciting scenes don't seem like filler and they lead to major plot developments and character growth for the vast selection of the secondary characters of the series.

With the help of their friends and allies, the Elric brothers must help stop a major conspiracy within their country's military, one that would have unimaginable consequences for everyone in the country. 

Edward and Alphonse (Al) Elric on their journey to restore
their original bodies and find peace with their past.

The journey of the Elric brothers will take you on an epic journey that is a roller coaster ride full of incredible fight scenes, drama, action and some pretty dark elements. FMA: Brotherhood also has some strong themes about the value and dignity of human life and the bonds of love between family. What truly sets it apart is it's ability to evoke such a powerful emotional response on a deeper level at the same time.  

The story deals with real problems in the world like war, hurt, trauma, love, dealing with grief and loss, acceptance, overcoming obstacles, and above all never giving up when you are knocked down.

Now I will give y'all fair warning if you are an easy victim of those pesky onion ninjas, FMA: Brotherhood is chock full of emotion, with heartbreaking sad and beautiful moments throughout the series that will move even adults to tears.  

Despite the comedy side to this animated tale of redemption -- and believe me there are more than a few -- the tough scenes balancing them really do hit hard. Particularly when it comes to the permanent nature of death. 

This series is a masterpiece of beautiful storytelling that will leave a mark on your heart that you will never forget. If you haven't seen this series yet, you're truly missing out. Please check it out, you will not regret it.

The Battle of Stallings Plantation: Patriots & Loyalists In The South Carolina Backcountry 1780

Living history reenactors portraying Patriot militia at
Historic Brattonsville in York County, South Carolina.

The Battle Of Stallings Plantation

Patriots & Loyalists In The South Carolina Backcountry 1780 

By C.W. Roden

During the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War the Piedmont region, or "backcountry" of the two Carolinas and Georgia was the scene of some of the most intense warfare of the entire conflict. Often referred to as "America's first civil war," the Revolution in the Carolina Backcountry divided families and pitted neighbor against neighbor.

After Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina fell to the British Army in 1779 and 1780, the war in the Backcountry settlements rapidly became a bloody partisan fight between the Patriots (Whigs or Rebels) who fought to maintain independence, and the Loyalists (Tories or Royalists) who remained faithful to the British Crown. 
  
Some neighbors who quite recently fought together against raiding Cherokee attacks and against the old Regulators now turned on those same neighbors. In many cases loyalty to the cause of independence, or loyalty to the old country, were simply pretenses to settle old family feuds and past conflicts. This led to bloody reprisal after bloody reprisal throughout the summer and autumn of 1780 in the South Carolina Backcountry. 

The story of the tragedy at the Battle of Stallings Plantation in September of 1780 is but one of many examples of how personal the Revolutionary War in South Carolina's Backcountry truly was.

The exact date of the conflict isn't exactly clear. Some sources site it as July 12, 1780 -- the same day as the Battle of Huck's Defeat about ten miles away. However, this is contradicted by the fact that some of the men reported to have been at Williamson's Plantation the same day also fought at Stallings, which is unlikely. The battle happened sometime in late July, or August of 1780.

John Stallings, a local Loyalist, owned a large plantation -- known locally as "Stallions" -- along Fishing Creek in modern-day York County, South Carolina. He was holding a recruitment meeting for local Tories in his home.

Now when talking about plantations, modern-day readers usually have an image of a large white house with columns surrounded by vast fields and slave cabins. In upstate South Carolina in 1780, "Stallions" was just a large wooden homestead with a few smaller fields, a barn, and maybe a few wooden outbuildings -- as many other plantations were at that point in time. If the Stallings were slave owners, this writer was unable to find evidence of it. 

The house was slightly fortified and served as a post for local Loyalists. Stallions, as a loyal servant of the King, also likely grew food that was sold to the British forces garrisoned at nearby Rocky Mount near the Catawba River.

Upon learning of the gathering, Stallions’ brother-in-law and local Patriot, Captain Andrew Love of the New Acquisition District Regiment of Militia, met with and persuaded Colonel Thomas Brandon of the 2nd Spartan Regiment of Militia (Fair Forest Militia), to join him in routing out the Loyalists.

Thomas Brandon needed very little encouragement.

Earlier in the year in June, Colonel Brandon and his militia had established a camp near Fair Forest Creek in modern-day Union County as a place to recruit new volunteers for the militia. He also used it as a place to launch patrols against local Loyalists and as a place to keep prisoners.

One night a Tory prisoner, Adam Steedham, escaped and made his way to the camp of Loyalist Captain William "Bloody Bill" Cunningham -- a nickname that was well earned for his brutal treatment of the local Whigs. This was in retaliation for the 1778 whipping death of his invalid brother, John Cunningham, by a local Patriot militia leader, Captain William Richie.

The story goes that, without a horse and in a boiling rage, Cunningham went straight to Ritchie's house where he shot and killed the man in front of his family. Cunningham then fled to Georgia and took refuge with the Loyalists there and remained in exile until the return of the Crown's authority in South Carolina. "Bloody Bill" Cunningham would go on to become one of the most infamous figures in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War.  

Colonel Brandon had about ten or twelve men in camp making breakfast that morning when Captain Cunningham and his Loyalist cavalry, led by Steedham, rushed in and completely routing them. Brandon had situated his men beside a deep ravine, and many were able to get away by jumping into it. Cunningham's horses could not jump it. Five of Brandon's men were killed -- including his nephew, 20 year old John Young.

When Brandon's other nephew, 16 year old Thomas Young, learned of his older brother's death at the hands of Cunningham's Loyalists, Thomas was so devastated by the news that he vowed to avenge his brother’s death. He left home the next day and joined the Fair Forest militia, vowing to kill as many Loyalists as he could. He would later fasten the rope around the neck of Steedham, the Loyalist he felt the most responsible -- other than Cunningham -- for his brother's death.

This theme of wanton brutality and bloody reprisals would continue to play out throughout the rest of the war in South Carolina.

Thomas Young described the skirmish at Stallings Plantation -- his very first battle with the Patriot militia -- in his memoirs:

We had received intelligence of a party of Tories, then stationed at Stallions; a detachment of about 50 Whigs under Colonel Brandon moved to attack them. Before we arrived at the house in which they were fortified, we were divided into two parties. Captain Love with a party of sixteen, of whom I was one, marched to attack the front, while Colonel Brandon with the remainder, made a circuit to intercept those who should attempt to escape and also to attack the rear. Mrs. Stallions, on the approach of her brother, ran out and begged him not to fire upon the house. He told her it was too late now and that their only chance for safety was to surrender. She ran back to the house and sprang upon the door step, which was pretty high. At this moment the house was attacked in the rear and Mrs. Stallions was killed by a ball shot through the opposite door. At the same moment with Brandon’s attack, our party raised a shout and rushed forward. We fired several rounds which were briskly returned. It was not long, however, before the Tories ran up a flag, first upon the end of a gun, but as that did not look exactly peaceful, a ball was put through the fellow’s arm. In a few moments it was raised on a ram-rod and we ceased firing.
While we were fighting a man was seen running through an open field near us. I raised my gun to shoot him, when some of our party exclaimed, "Don't fire; he is one of our own men." I drew down my gun, and in a moment he halted, wheeled around, and fired at us. Old Squire Kennedy (who was an excellent marksman) raised his rifle and brought him down. We had but one wounded, William Kennedy, who was shot by my side. I was attempting to fire in at the door of the house, when I saw two of the Tories in the act of shooting at myself and Kennedy. I sprang aside and escaped, calling at the same time to my companion, but he was shot (while moving) through the wrist and thigh. The loss of the Tories was two killed, four wounded, and 28 prisoners whom we sent to Charlotte, N.C. 
After the fight, Love and Stallions met and shed bitter tears; Stallions was dismissed on parole to bury his wife and arrange his affairs.

Though a short engagement, the battle at Stallings Plantation was just one of over 250 individual battles and skirmishes that took place in South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War's Southern Campaign -- more than in any other individual State during the war. Most of those battles were fought between fellow Americans.

The tragic story of what lead up to the battle and its personal aftermath for both Captain Love and Mr. Stallings showed just how brutal and bitter that fight would be; as well as a testament to the absolute ugliness of bloody civil war and the hatred in the human heart that causes it. 

South Carolina highway marker detailing the Battle of
Stallings Plantation located on SC HWY 5 near
Park Place Road in York County.

Sources for this article include the following:

Voices of the American Revolution in the Carolinas, edited by Ed Southern (2009) ISBN 978-0-89578-358-3 (paperback) Pages 87-88.
The Memoirs of Major Thomas Young (Penfield, GA.: Orion Magazine, 1843). 

The Dixie Cross Flies Over Okinawa In 1945

U.S. Naval Reserve Lieutenant Thomas M. Davis
of Columbia, South Carolina, raising the Dixie
Cross on Okinawa, Wednesday, April 4, 1945.
The flag was carried by many Southern-born
U.S. Servicemen in World War 2 in the
European and Pacific Theaters as reminders of
home and family. 
Colorized photo courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps

"Earlier in the morning [of May 29, 1945] . . . Marines had attacked eastward into the ruins of Shuri Castle and had raised the Confederate flag. When we learned that the flag of the Confederacy had been hoisted over the very heart and soul of Japanese resistance, all of us Southerners cheered loudly. The Yankees among us grumbled . . .​"

~ Eugene B. Sledge, Corporal, K Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st U.S. Marine Division
From his WWII memoir With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa (1981)

The Battle of Okinawa -- code-named Operation Iceberg -- was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and the bloodiest sea–land–air battle in American military history to date, lasting from Sunday, April 1, 1945, and officially ending on Friday, June 22, 1945. More than 548,000 Americans participated in the Okinawa invasion. Only the Normandy D-Day invasion in 1944 surpassed Okinawa in its scope, preparation and forces employed.

The strategic importance of Okinawa was that it provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in close proximity to Japan. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for the proposed Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, 340 miles away.

The Imperial Japanese 32nd Army forces on Okinawa commanded by Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima had set up its headquarters underground beneath the historic Shuri Castle and by early 1945 had established complex lines of defense and communications in the regions around Shuri, and across the southern part of the island as a whole.  

Opposing the Japanese forces on the ground were the invading U.S. forces of the newly formed 10th United States Army, a rare combination of divisions from both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., the son of former Confederate General Simon B. Buckner. The 10th  was composed of the XXIV (24th) Corps, made up of veteran Army units including the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th Infantry divisions, and the III Amphibious Corps, with three battle-hardened Marine 1st, 2nd, and 6th Divisions.

The invading Americans were surprised to find virtually no resistance as they stormed the beaches on Easter (Sunday, April 1, 1945). They soon discovered that the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy had literally gone underground having spent a year forcing Okinawan slaves to dig their underground defenses. It required 82 days of some of the most brutal combat in the Pacific Theater to defeat the Japanese.

At about twenty minutes after seven in the morning of Friday, May 25th, as the final part of the Okinawa campaign began, the American battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41) shelled the historic palace for three days prior to its capture by U.S. Marines in a murderous onslaught with her 5 and 14-inch guns that set the structure ablaze and virtually pounded the historic castle into rubble. 

Due to this, the 32nd Japanese Army retreated southward and the United States Marines secured the castle. On Tuesday, May 29th, Major General Pedro del Valle, commanding the 1st Marine Division,  ordered Captain Julian D. Dusenbury of Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines to capture the castle. 

The capture of the Japanese headquarters and subsequent raising of an American flag over the ruins represented both strategic and psychological blows for the enemy forces and was a milestone in the campaign -- much like the famous raising of the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima only a few months before.

However, unlike the famous event on Iwo Jima, the red, white, and blue American banner that was first raised over the remains of Shuri Castle was not the (then) 48 Star U.S. flag, but rather the Confederate battle flag (Dixie Cross). 

So, how on earth did this happen?

Well folks, there is a very interesting story behind this little historical event and it begins right here in this writer's home state of South Carolina in December of 1941 with one proudly Southern-born young man -- Major Julian D. Dusenbury. 

Julian D. Dusenbury of Florence,
South Carolina as a R.O.T.C. cadet at
Clemson University prior to World War II.
Photo courtesy of Clemson University archives.

Julian Delano Dusenbury was born on Friday, April 1, 1921 in Bishopville, Lee County, South Carolina. His family moved to Florence, South Carolina where he would grow up. Dusenbury would later attend Clemson University and join the Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC).

He was serving as the Executive Officer (XO) of cadets when the rest of the country learned of the Japanese attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941. Upon learning of the attack, Dusenbury led a group of students in a patriotic demonstration on the lawn of the university president’s house to proclaim that they would leave school to enlist. 

The college's president convinced them to stay as he knew the war would be long and that America would need fine officers from Clemson. Julian was one of only two cadets not to join the army and instead was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in 1942 and later promoted to the rank of Captain and served in the Pacific Theater campaigns as a company commander in the 1st Marine Division from 1944 - 1945. 

Military service was nothing new in Julian Dusenbury's family history. His grandfather, James Elkanah Dusenbury, a former Confederate veteran, served in Company A, 26th South Carolina Infantry Regiment during the War Between the States 1861 - 1865. His great-great grandfather, Cornelius Benjamin Dusenbury, served with the South Carolina militia under Brigadier General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion during the American Revolutionary War's Southern Campaign against the British in 1780 - 1781. 

Before he left to go fight in the Pacific Theater, the local members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in Florence gifted the departing Dusenbury the Dixie Cross pattern battle flag that he would carry with him in his regulation Marine M1 Helmet throughout his service between 1943 - 1945 as a reminder of home and family. 

U.S. Navy poster using the image of Confederate
General Robert E. Lee to encourage young men
from Virginia to join up for service, circa 1942.
Photo courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy.

United States servicemen displaying the Dixie Cross pattern battle flag of the defeated Confederate military during World War II was nowhere near as weird or "controversial" as some might view U.S. service personal displaying it today. 

Around the time World War II came about, the Dixie Cross was already enjoying a renewed popularity as a regional symbol of Southern identity and individuality. When the war began, the U.S. military sometimes used war propaganda to appeal to the martial spirit of Southerners to join up and fight. Many of the Southern-born men who fought in World War II were themselves proudly descended from Confederate soldiers and veterans. 

Southerners have long been among the most willing to volunteer to serve in America's military from the Continental Army of the Revolutionary War (and yes as British Provincials too) to serving as both Confederate and Union soldiers in the War Between The States, and in all wars afterwards as U.S. military personal right up to the current-day War on Terror in Afghanistan. 

Captain John D. "Studd" Felming of Columbia, Tennessee
waving the Dixie Cross banner from the window of
his B-29 Super Fortress as he prepares to take off on a
bombing run in 1945.
Photo courtesy of the National Department of Archives

Although it was never an official banner and not specifically authorized by the U.S. government or armed services at the time, the Dixie Cross found its way onto battlefields in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific during America's four years in the conflict. The banner was painted on military vehicles, such as the artwork on bomber planes, and flown from tanks and jeeps. Individual Southern-born soldiers carried them with them as reminders of their home. 

U.S. servicemen carried the Dixie Cross with them in their helmets, in their pockets, or displayed them with their personal affects during the war.  The Dixie Cross was there for most of the major actions of the war until the final liberation of Europe from Nazi fascism and the liberation of the Pacific from Japanese imperialism. 

In Europe, a company made up primarily of Alabama born U.S. Army soldiers flew the flag as a symbol of their unit when Nazi Waffen SS soldiers surrendered to them. The flag flew on an American tank of the U.S. 12th Armored Division when the unit helped liberate the Nazi's concentration camps at Dachau in Western Germany. When the Allies secured military victory over Germany, a tank officer carried that same flag into occupied Berlin. 

In the Pacific, Marine Colonel William O. Brice of South Carolina flew the flag as his base in the Solomon Islands. One of the 26 United States Navy's Cleveland-class light cruisers, the USS Columbia (CL-56) flew the Dixie Cross flag as a battle insignia during the entire South Pacific war. This was done to pay tribute to the ship's namesake, Columbia, the capital city of the State of South Carolina. At the end of the Pacific war, as the USS Mississippi (BB-41) steamed into Tokyo Bay to be present at the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, it too was flying the Confederate battle flag.

Lt. General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller,
the most highly decorated Marine in the
history of the U.S. Marine Corps,
the only Marine to receive
five Navy Crosses, and the most highly
regarded legend in the annals of a
military organization was a life member
of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

These are just a few examples out of possibly a hundred others, if not more. Many of these proud Southern men and boys died and were wounded in the defense of the United States.

Knowing these details its absurd that modern-day Neo-Nazi groups could be taken seriously in their wrongful display of this flag for their own sordid and hateful cause. That any so-called informed, free-thinking individual still takes such attempts at co-opting the Dixie Cross seriously in the 21st century speaks unhappy volumes about the success of the propaganda of racial division. 

But that's an argument for another time.

Captain Dusenbury joined the 1st Marine Division in 1944 then under the command of then Colonel Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller, a native of Virginia and a life member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Shortly thereafter Dusenbury was wounded fighting at the Battle for Peleliu, one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. Marine Corps history, during the Mariana and Palau Campaign (Operation Forager).  

The 1st Marines under Puller's command lost 1,749 out of approximately 3,000 men during the fighting on Peleliu. They would later lose just about as many men (1,655) fighting on Okinawa.

It is alleged that Captain Dusenbury first publicly displayed his Dixie Cross banner on Peleliu, much to the approval of the Marines of A Company, many of whom were also Southern-born and regarded the battle flag in a positive light.

Dusenbury was awarded the Silver Star and his first Purple Heart for his gallantry and leadership in Peleliu. His official Silver Star Citation reads:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain Julian D. Dusenbury (MCSN: 0-10785), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Commanding Officer, Company A, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu Island, Palau Group, 15 and 16 September 1944.  Gallantly leading his troops in the assault of the enemy-held beachhead on D-Day, Captain Dusenbury braved the concentrated enemy fire to direct his men in repulsing two enemy tank counterattacks, thereby destroying several tanks.  Under intense artillery, mortar and machine-gun fire, he led his assault company across fourteen hundred yards of open airfield and, although severely wounded by shell fragments after reaching his objective at the far side of the airfield, continued to direct his troops in driving the Japanese from strongly fortified positions until he was ordered by the Battalion Commander to return to the rear for treatment.  By his aggressive fighting spirit and inspiring leadership under fire, Captain Dusenbury contributed materially to the success of his battalion and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. General Orders: Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Pacific: Serial 00436. [1]

As the captain of Company A, 1st Marine Division, Captain Dusenbury had the honor of briefly hosting famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle on Okinawa for a brief time before his unfortunate death on April 18th. He is mentioned in Pyle's book, The Last Chapter (1949) published after his death. In the book, Dusenbury is described as a bold leader, brave in combat, exceptional with command, and yet easygoing with his men who adored their "skipper". He preferred the company of his noncoms to many of his fellow officers. After the war, 1st Sergeant Martin "Birddog" Clayton of Dusenbury's company remarked: "it was hard not to like Julian, as a C.O. or as a friend."

Dusenbury was wounded twice on Okinawa. The first time was on June 18th. Despite being wounded, the South Carolinian would not leave his men and continued to fight with them.

U.S. Marines on Okinawa holding a captured
Japanese yosegaki hinomaru (Good Luck Flag).
These flags were given to individual Japanese
soldiers by their friends and family with
written messages as reminders of home.
Southern boys were not the only men in the war
to carry personal banners not officially authorized
by their government.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps

After two months of fighting the Japanese, the 6th U.S. Marine Regiment and the U.S. Army’s 7th Division were moving south, nearing Shuri Castle. The 6th Marines were commanded by Major General Pedro A. del Valle. Following a hard fight at Dakeshi Town, del Valle’s Marines engaged in a bloody battle at Wana Draw, which stretched 800 yards and was covered by Japanese guns from its 400-yard entrance to its narrow exit. The exit provided the key to Shuri Castle. The Japanese were holed up in caves the entire length of the gully, and had to be cleared out in brutal man-to-man combat.

While the Marines battled through the mud and blood up the draw, the Army’s 77th U.S. "Statue of Liberty" Division was approaching Shuri from the east. To the west, the 6th Marines were pushing into the capital city of Naha. Faced with this overwhelming force, Japanese General Ushijima’s army retreated to the south and ultimately their final stand. 

On the morning of Tuesday, May 29, 1945, A Company, Red Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, commanded by Captain Julius Dusenbury, approached to within 800 yards of Shuri Castle. This is an amazing feat in itself as Dusenbury's company had been cut off from the the battalion the day before, was surrounded, and practically out of ammo. The night prior to the assault on Shuri Julian reportedly crawled through mud, over bodies, and sneaked past Japanese sentries 9 times to drag back boxes of ammunition through enemy lines to his men.

Shuri Castle had been shelled by the battleship USS Mississippi for three days before this advance. Due to this, the 32nd Army withdrew to the south. The castle lay within the zone of the 77th Infantry Division, however, General Ushijima’s rear guard had stalled the 77th’s advance, and only frantic efforts by the commander and staff of the 77th Infantry Division prevented an American airstrike and artillery bombardment which would have resulted in many casualties due to friendly fire. 

U.S. Marines hunting a Japanese sniper at Shuri Castle
during the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945. The sniper
was responsible for wounding Captain Dusenbury.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps

Impatient, General del Valle radioed the 5th Marine Regiment and ordered Captain Dusenberg to "take that damned place if you can. I’ll make the explanations." Dusenbury reportedly radioed back, "Will do!" Dusenbury’s Marine company stormed the stone fortress, quickly dispatching a detachment of Japanese soldiers who had remained behind.

With the fall of Shuri Castle, the Imperial Japanese Army headquarters, victory on the island was assured and with victory on Okinawa the end of ground combat in WW II was at hand.

It was during the wiping up process that Captain Dusenbury was shot in the back by a Japanese sniper, severing part of his spine and destroying his spleen, putting him in a wheelchair for the remaining thirty years of his life. 

Throughout the entire campaign, Dusenbury carried the Dixie Cross with him tucked inside the suspension webbing of his military issue M1 Helmet. After the now twice wounded captain was evacuated, his men found the battle flag inside his helmet. 

The last photo of Lieutenant General Simon Buckner Jr.
taken before his death on June 18, 1945, on Mezido Ridge
observing the final attack of U.S. forces against the remaining
Japanese holdouts.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps

At the time there was no U.S. flag available to raise above the ruins to signal their victory, so to show both their capture of the castle (what remained of it) as well as their love and respect for their "skipper" -- and because it was quite simply the only American flag in their possession -- the men of Company A hoisted the Dixie Cross above the ruins signaling that the castle had fallen. 

While many of the Marines of Company A -- particularly those from the American South -- cheered the flag, others had serious objections.

Major General Andrew Bruce the commanding general of the 77th Division, protested to the 10th Army command, objecting because originally his Army troops were supposed to take the castle and not the Marines. General del Valle also protested the presence of the Dixie Cross, but General Buckner only mildly chided del Valle, saying, "How can I be sore at him? My father fought under that flag!" 

Lt. Col. Richard P. Ross Jr., commander of
3rd Battalion, 1st U.S. Marines raising the
48 Star Old Glory at the remains of Shuri Castle.
Unfortunately no photo exists of the original
Dixie Cross flying over the ruins.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Eventually the grumbling of the other officers and their insistence that the national colors should fly over the former Japanese headquarters caused Buckner to reluctantly have the battle flag lowered once a suitable U.S. Flag could be found.     

Captain Dusenbury's Dixie Cross only flew on the ruins of Shuri Castle for two days when it was formally lowered on Thursday, May 31, 1945 and replaced with the U.S. Flag by the commander of the 3rd Batallion, Lieuntenant Colonel Richard P. Ross Jr. Dusenbury's flag was presented to Gen. Buckner as a souvenir. 

Tragically, just days before Okinawa fell, General Buckner was killed by an enemy shell on Monday, June 18, 1945, on Mezido Ridge while observing a Marine attack. Buckner became the highest ranking U.S. officer killed in war to date. He is buried in a family plot at Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky next to his father, the Confederate general and former Kentucky governor. 

The final whereabouts of Captain Dusenbury's Dixie Cross banner remains unknown to this day.

Although Captain Julian Dusenbury was put in for the Medal of Honor for his actions on Okinawa, he instead received the Navy Cross. Though some speculate that this was due to the display of the Confederate battle flag, it was more likely that it was downgraded due to the fact that there were already three Medals of Honor awarded to men from the 1st Division for actions during the battle. The Navy Cross was still a pretty high honor to get, as well as a second Purple Heart. 

The citation for his Navy Cross reads:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Julian D. Dusenbury (MCSN: )-10785), United States Marine Corps (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of Company A, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 7 May 1945.  During an assault against strongly fortified enemy positions which threatened the advance of the entire front, Captain Dusenbury repeatedly braved intense hostile fire to ensure the success of his company’s advance.  When one of the platoon commanders was seriously wounded during a critical phase of the assault, he reorganized the platoon and, in the face of intensified enemy fire, led it in continuing the attack.  Fearlessly moving among his entire company front to coordinate the advance of the troops with supporting tanks, he personally directed the fire of the tanks in destroying several Japanese strong points.  Although painfully wounded during the initial stages of the advance, he refused to be evacuated and continued to direct the attack until Japanese resistance was broken and the positions overrun.  By his initiative and indomitable fighting spirit, Captain Dusenbury served as an inspiration to his men, and his leadership throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. [2]

Though he was attributed with the raising of the Dixie Cross over the ruins of Shuri Castle -- an event for which he was not even present -- and denied the Medal of Honor, according to his grandson, Mr. Stuart Moore, he reportedly went to his grave never regretting being denied the nation's highest military honor saying he instead preferred being known for flying the noble banner of the American Southland. 

After a long recovery, he returned to his home in Florence in 1946, and retired as a Major.  He also received Clemson’s Alumni Distinguished Service Award.

Dusenbury had to spend the rest of his days in a wheelchair but remained active, both as a farmer and as a South Carolina legislator. He served in the SC State House of Representatives from 1948-1950 and 1952-1954.  He then served with a number of civic, veterans, and political organizations.

On Friday, January 30, 1976 he died of complications of his long-endured injury. Major Julian D. Dusenbury is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Florence, SC.  

The Julian Delano Dusenbury Presidential Scholarship ($1500) at Clemson is given annually in his memory.  Marine Corps League Detachment 410 in Florence is named in his memory.

[1] & [2] https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/julian-delano-dusenbury/

Night Sky Photograhy -- 07-22-2020 -- Mars, Jupiter & Saturn

Good evening fellow stargazers!

Late last night, or maybe early morning depending on how y'all see it, I mounted my camera up on the tripod and took it out into my backyard. The skies, which had been cloudy thanks to the usual hit-and-run afternoon summer showers we're famous for here in the Carolinas, were not pleasantly clear. Luna was not in sight since the New Moon phase took place a couple of days before. At present the moon is low in the west after sunset as a very thin crescent. 

In the darkened skies I was able to easily spot three visible planets in the night sky.

In the south/southwestern sky, Jupiter and Saturn are still very close together, well at least as seen from Earth, and as I mentioned in a previous blog post both recently reached opposition with the orbit of our planet this month (Jupiter on July 13th and Saturn on July 20th). 

Looking to the east, Mars rises after midnight and shines a beautiful bright reddish glow in the late evening sky. Mars will begin to get slightly larger over the next few months as it makes a close approach to Earth -- the closest in 15 years, on October 6th.

Have a wonderful Dixie day, and keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all! 

Historic Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery In York County

Historic Bethesda Presbyterian Church cemetery in McConnells
in York County, South Carolina.

Historic Bethesda Presbyterian Church is located just off South Carolina Highway 322 in the small town of McConnells in York County. 

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.  According to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History Bethesda Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest churches in the South Carolina Upcountry, Bethesda Presbyterian Church is also one of the four original Presbyterian churches in the state’s old York District. The original structure was build sometime around 1760 about a mile from the site.  

Many of the graves in the historic cemetery include those of local American Revolutionary War militiamen, Confederate soldiers, US Veterans, and Scots-Irish immigrants who migrated to the area from Pennsylvania (and prior to that from Ulster in Northern Ireland and Scotland) in the mid-1700s. 

Also buried in the cemetery are the graves of Colonel William Bratton and his wife, Martha, who both played an important role during the Battle of Williamson Plantation (Huck's Defeat) during the American Revolutionary War and many of the Bratton family, including their grandson, J. Rufus Bratton, one of the more infamous characters in York County's history during the Reconstruction Era (1867 - 1876).

A number of Confederate graves are located in the cemetery,
almost all of them marked by an iron Southern Cross of Honor.

Many of the graves at Bethesda Presbyterian Church include
Scots-Irish immigrants who settled in the South Carolina upstate
in the mid-1700s, probably one of the tens of thousands who migrated
to the area from Pennsylvania down the Great Wagon Road.

Woodmen of the World marker.

Bratton family plot.

A toddler's grave for 3 year old Robert Lowry.

Grave of Colonel William Bratton & his wife Martha Bratton,
two local heroes of the Battle of Williamson Plantation (Huck's
Defeat) on Wednesday, July 12, 1780.
Colonel Bratton was one of the local Patriot militia leaders who fought
a partisan campaign against occupying British soldiers and Loyalist
supporters during the summer and fall of 1780.
His wife Martha was best known for her courage when confronted
by a Loyalist officer and threatened at weapon point on the porch
of the Bratton family home just prior to the Battle of Huck's Defeat.
Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) markers also honor their
service at the site.

Grave of Dr. John S. Bratton (1789-1848)
noted local doctor and youngest son of Colonel William
Bratton & Martha Bratton, and father of J. Rufus Bratton.
He was the boy who held onto his mother as she was
threatened on the porch of the Bratton homestead by
a Loyalist officer on July 11, 1780 prior to the
Battle of Williamson Plantation (Huck's Defeat)
the next day.

The grave of Confederate surgeon J. Rufus Bratton
(1821-1897) and his wife Mary R. Bratton (1831-1921).
Rufus Bratton is also infamous for leading a local
branch of the first Ku Klux Klan during the Reconstruction
Era and subsequent terrorist activities committed in
York County in 1871.