Battle to take Sechault

This painting depicts the battle to take the town of Sechault on the very day that Tebbs was killed.

Croix de Guerre

Here are some of Tebbs' comrades that survived the war. The 369th saw more continous battle than any other regiment in the AEF. The entire regiment was award the Croix de Guerre by the French government for liberating the town of Sechault on September 29, 1918. Tebbs was killed in action on that very day, so I have another goal, to get him his Croix de Guerre and the Purple Heart. My ultimate goal is to have these medals displayed with his medallion at the new memorial when it is completed. Note that Tebbs' fellow soldiers are all proudly displaying their medals.

Hallowed Grounds

A really interesting video about the 125,000 service men and women buried overseas from world wars I and II. It was of particular interest to me because 3 of the guys that I am researching are buried overseas. Ulysses Tebbs is buried at Meuse-Argonne in France and two members of the Hetzler B-24 crew that I research, Don Davis and Richard Clark are buried at Ardennes in Belgium. I hope to someday visit those graves. My wife and I spoke of how we would like to visit all 21 of the American Cemeteries, most of which are in Europe, but also in Tunisia and the Philippines.

Battle for the Purple Heart

My work to get Tebbs his Purple Heart continues. Today I spoke

with Congressman Carnahan's office. In order to get the Purple Heart we need proof that he was killed in action. As you know, the records here in St. Louis are at the moment lost, but I pointed out that I had records that the state of Missouri kept and faxed them the information you see to the right. As you can clearly see, it states that he was killed in action. So, it should be just simply a matter of time and perseverance to get this done.

Air Group 16

"This documentary tells the story of Air Group 16 - the pilots, radiomen and gunners who served on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington in World War II. The film follows the veterans and their families as they make the journey to Washington, DC, for the dedication of the National World War II Memorial in 2004." This is a short film, about 25 minutes, and it made the point that what veterans really want is to be remembered. That is exactly what I am trying to do for Private Tebbs, a man who is completely forgotten, who died almost 90 years ago. The film also has a brief, but excellent synopsis of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, in which U.S. Naval planes delivered a knock out blow to the Japanese Navy from which they never really recovered.

The Draft

Here is Tebbs' draft card. Notice that the corners are missing. The draft boards would tell all of the African American men to do this. Turns out it was a really quick way of making sure they were drafted without having to read through the card and see what color they were. As noted in his obituary, Tebbs was one of the first African Americans drafted from the St. Louis area. I am really curious about the 1 child he lists as a dependent.

Secrets of the Dead: Dogfight Over Guadalcanal

Secrets of the Dead is an investigative history program on PBS. On this episode they recount and digitally reconstruct the famous dogfight between Saburo Sakai and Pug Southerland over Guadalcanal. Southerland was a U.S. Navy pilot and was ultimately shot down by Sakai. The wreckage was found in the late 90's and Ralph Wetterhahn traveled to Guadalcanal to find out why Southerland didn't shoot down Sakai when he had the chance. He finds an old shell, which he calls the "Rosetta Stone" of the accident and then claims that this particular shell was hit by a Japanese bullet, exploded in the wing and jammed the guns. In my opinion it could be true, but it was quite a stretch to prove conclusively, considering this plane was shot down and then rotted in the jungles for 67 years. Even more baffling is why they were investigating that aspect in the first place. Southerland lived thru the experience and reported himself that his guns were jammed. Sakai (pictured) also lived thru the war and wrote a book that looks interesting: Samurai! Besides the investigative conclusions and theatrics, the film was interesting, I enjoyed learning about the dogfight and seeing what remained of Pug's Wildcat.