Memorial across from Camp Cleveland near Reims France

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I parked in a muddy ditch on the side of the country road near the intersection which was right next to the field where Camp Cleveland used to be 80 years ago. I had a WWII war map that pinpointed this exact location. Some sensors on the car beeped loudly which made it clear the car didn’t like the spot I was parked. I hoped the tires would not spin in the mud when I started the car back up. At this intersection was a granite memorial for World War I. Wind whipped across the empty fields. On occasion a large farming truck would roar by. Strangely the spot reminded me of a scene from the Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest where Carry Grand was dropped off by a bus in the middle of nowhere.

The City Camps were an area north and south of Reims France where troops assembled before being sent back to the states. Since Japan was still fighting in the pacific, there was a possibility that any soldiers who did not have enough points to go back to the states might end up going to the pacific.

The War Memorial of Val de Vesle was erected in 1957 which was long after my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken left Europe. This memorial commemorates the French offensives of April 1917. The involved units were: VIIIe Armée: 85 RI, 95 RI, 27 RI, 1 RAC, 37 RAC. The memorial is at the intersection of D34 and See Liberty. I doubt anyone ever stops here. This was one of the first sketches I did upon entering Europe since it was on the road leading to the American Reenactment camp I first sketched when I left Paris France. Since I don’t read French, I at first though the WWI monument might have been on this spot when Camp Cleveland was a cross the street 80 years ago.

All the city camps on the map of Reims are, Detroit, Washington, Chicago, and Philadelphia north of Reims and then Cleveland, Boston Pittsburgh, Philadelphia Saint Louis, Baltimore and Brooklyn. There isn’t much academic research on these camps since they became less important when Japan surrendered. There were traffic control points at some intersections for security purposes.

I read an article about how one veteran’s son purchased a property in France which was close to the City Camp his father had been stationed at. The son could not find the camp, so his father helped by using Google Street View to navigate to the exact spot. The son then sent photos of the location, and the father was able to navigate the son to a tree where the soldiers used to carve their initials. The initials had been carved into the bark at about waste height. Over the 80 years the tree grew much taller and the bark healed. There were no initials to find.

Camp Cleveland today is a wide open field. There were no trees to carve names into. Even if there were, time heals such wounds. I have to wonder if the farmer, tilling the soil each year might find WWII trinkets lost by the many soldiers who passed through Camp Cleveland. There were between 2000 and 35,000 soldiers stationed in each camp. There is plenty of room for a huge camp in the empty fields near Reims France buy I have not yet determined just how big Camp Cleveland was. Camp Lucky Strike which is much closer to the port city of Le Havre France had the largest number of solders at 35,000.

May 8, 1945: Plettenberg Germany

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Plettenberg, Germany was the last 75th Infantry Division command post in 1945 at the end of World War II. My father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was leading C-Company of the 75th Infantry Division. The 75th was tasked with occupation duty in a large area around Plettenberg Germany, known as Westphalia.

On May 8, 1945 Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender of its armed forces to the Allied forces. The Stars and Stripes newspaper headline declared, NAZIS QUIT! Donitz Gives Order. Grand Admiral Donitz, Adolphthe successor to Adolph Hitler. Ordered the surrender. Celebrations broke out in New York City and London immediately. The 75th Infantry band marched through Plettenberg to celebrate the good news.

Relief was felt by every soldier, but the world war was still far from over. The 75th Infantry Division was engaged in routine duties of occupation in the Westphalia region of Germany. This was no easy task since they had to feed and care for 90,000 displaced persons many of them forced laborers and Prisoners of War.

Though victory in Europe was being celebrated, every soldier worried that they might be shipped off to the pacific where the war was still raging against Japan. Occupation duty meant that the soldiers were no longer being pushed from one battle front to another. The pace had slowed down and with peace in Europe men began to hope that they might get to go back home.

The military had a points system for discharging soldiers at the end of hostilities. Each soldier was granted one point for each month of service. They received 2 points for each month overseas. They would be given 5 points for each ribbon, and 5 points for each star. Soldiers with children under the age of 18 received 12 points for each child. Soldiers with 85 points qualified for immediate discharge. The demobilization system began on May 10, 1945.

So in May of 1945, Arthur Thorspecken would have built up the following points…
1 point per month in service… Arthur Thorspecken entered the service on February 4, 1943. On May 8, 1945 he would have served 2 years and 3 months. This amounted to 27 Points.
2 points for each month overseas. Arthur was overseas for 16 months. This amounted to 32 points.
5 points for each ribbon and 5 for each star. Arthur Thorspecken was awarded an American Campaign Medal, an African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with 2 battle stars, a World War II Victory Medal, and a Combat Infantry Badge. Each medal equals a ribbon, so that amounts to 20 Points and 2 stars adds 10 points for 30 points total.

12 points for each child. Arthur Thorspecken married Elvira Corr while he was in Camp Davis in North Carolina. Elvira had her first child while he was still in infantry school. Elvira’s baby girl was born while Elvira was in Massachusetts. Arthur  did see pictures of his baby girl before being shipped overseas. That amounts to 12 points.

That would be a total of 101 points which would qualify him for immediate discharge. Arthur still served on Occupation Duty in Europe for 3 more months until his discharge could take effect.

In August of 1945, the 75th Infantry Division strength was 20,785. Of these 11,147 had less than 65 points. 7,183 had scores of 85 and higher. Arthur Thorspecken likely departed Europe on about July 29, 1945 when he would have taken the week long boat ride back to America. He was officially separated from the military on August 4, 1945 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, which was just 2 days before the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan. The idea of a world at war took a seismic shift towards peace.

Mass Infection is not the Solution

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The politicians solution of mass infection or herd immunity is not the way to end the COVID pandemic. The Trump White House first embraced this far-reaching support for a dangerous and discredited herd immunity via mass infection strategy inside the White House. Unfortunately Joe Biden has also embraced this insanity since it is the easiest thing to do. He proclaimed the pandemic was over on National TV.

The fact is that the infected are getting re-infected with increasing worst outcomes. COVID does not boost the immune system it turns out it is destroying peoples immune systems. Though people might survive the first infection of COVID, they are more likely to become infected by other viruses. This is why people are suddenly catching horrible cases of the flu and RSV.

Non-COVID excess deaths are on the rise. No one knows the cause of the excess mortality in the midst of the pandemic. XBB.1.5 is spreading rapidly and the public has been lulled into abandoning all health protection measures like social distancing and wearing masks. The are done with caring and are easily persuaded to go about life as if the pandemic were over. In a football game this week a player is in critical condition after a cardiac arrest that left him lying of the field. The game went on as normal once his body was dragged off the field. He reamins in critical condition. This is how politicians treat their constituents. Dispose of the bodies and go about as if there was no pandemic. People will believe anything you say if you say it often enough. We learned that from 45.

Congress votes to cut 8 billions dollars that was slated for COVID. Political leaders continue to lie saying the pandemic is over, yet in Japan they just recorded the highest number of deaths in a single day since the start of the pandemic. Ignore the gaslighting of politicians if you hope to remain uninfected.

Mask up with quality well fitting N95 masks folks. the next couple of months are going to be rough. I don’t try and look for subtle reasons to mask, or no mask,I mask in all situations, indoors and outdoors  when around others. When I wear the mask often it becomes easier to forget I am wearing it.

27 Test Positive on Carnival Cruise Ship

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The Carnival Vista departed from Galveston, Texas headed to Belize. 26 crew members and one passenger tested positive for COVID-19.

All 27 were vaccinated, had mild or no symptoms, and were in isolation, according a statement from the Belize Tourism Board. The tourism board said 99.98% of the ship’s crew was vaccinated, as well as 96.5% of its passengers. So who were the 3.5 passengers who were not vaccinated?

Carnival announced last week that there were positive cases on board, but the cruise line did not not give specific numbers. Cruise ships are often settings for disease outbreaks because of their closed environment and close contact between travelers from many countries, according to the CDC.

At the beginning of the pandemic the Diamond Princess was quarantined off Japan. Of the 3711 people onboard, around 700 were eventually infected with the virus (567 out of 2,666 passengers and 145 out of 1,045 crew) and 9 people, all of them passengers, died. Quarantine on a cruise ship is dangerous, because the cruise ship does not use HEPA filters which can effectively screen 99 percent of the particles. Airborne transmission likely accounted for over 50% of disease transmission on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which includes inhalation of aerosols during close contact as well as longer range. The CDC issued an advisory to avoid traveling on Cruise ships. The cruising industry came to a screeching halt in mid March of 2020.

The CDC’s no-sail order to expired on October 31, 2020. Cruise lines, including Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Carnival began November 2020 by announcing they would cancel North American sailings through December 31, 2020. With the advent of the vaccines, there was hope that 2021 would see the return of care free cruising. No one was prepared for the Delta variant. The cruising industry has to choose between passenger safety or profit and of course profit always wins.

The Games Begin

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Over 500 people protested outside the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Tokyo. They beat drums and shouted which could be heard inside the stadium. Less than 1000 people were in the stands hear the hatred outside.

Tokyo recently recorded a six-month high in new COVID-19 cases and the city is in a state of emergency because of the virus. Shortly after the ceremony the number of people infected at the Olympics rose to 127.

Over 100 American athletes have not been vaccinated. I can’t imagine why Japan allowed so many athletes into the country who are not vaccinated. The Government of Japan continues to enforce strict travel regulations that bar most foreigners from entering the country. America has had vaccines available for months so there is no excuse for athletes to not be vaccinated. Around the world other countries are struggling to get enough vaccines and the supply is scant. The U.S. athlete vaccination rate is likely higher than that of most countries. That means that as athletes get infected the virus has plenty of fuel to spread.

The energy of the ceremonies was muted at best. Athletes were checking their phones and one decided to lay down since he was so bored and tired. There was more energy outside the stadium in the angry crown than inside. Polls show that right now, most Japanese people don’t want this event. There was a moment of silence for those who have died of COVID-19. Hey Millions were invested in these games, so they will go on even if they bring death. Like the emperor, the Olympics have no clothes during this pandemic.

Olympic Winner: COVID-19

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A flight of the Czech Olympic team is being investigated as a possible cause of a COVID-19 cluster leading up to the Olympics. Two of the Czech athletes had to withdraw from the games. An unvaccinated doctor might have contributed to the spread. The “doctor” claiming that gargling mouthwash can prevent the spread of COVID-19. He is misinformed. Five members of the Czeck delegation were infected and 42 people were on the flight.

Cities typically spend $50 million to $100 million in fees for consultants, event organizers, and travel related to hosting duties. Tax payers of course foot some of the bill. With that much money invested how could Tokyo not hold the games? The investment is more important that public safety.

People in Japan are increasingly mad at their government for the decision to go ahead with the games. 87% of Japanese who were polled are worried that the Games are going to proceed. Only 20% of the population has been vaccinated. Cases are rising in Tokyo. The country has been closed to overseas travels for over a year.

In an attempt to keep the games safe, athletes are being tested every day. There will be no crowds and no parties. The opening ceremonies will have 950 people including dignitaries and VIPs in a 68,000-seat stadium. Tokyo COVID cases are rising to over 2000 cases a day fast approaching the levels seen in January of 2021. Tokyo is reporting new COVID-19 cases at levels not seen since January, when Japan was enduring a record spike in coronavirus infections. In less than two weeks, Tokyo will face a critical situation with the number of infections far exceeding that of the third wave.

The first U.S. athlete expected to compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics, beach volleyball player Taylor Crabb, has tested positive for COVID-19 while in Japan. Let the games begin. The only winner will be COVID-19.

Over 60 Infected at the Olympics So Far

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Over 60 people working at the Olympics in Japan have tested positive for COVID Since July 1, 2021. Athletes or others who may have arrived early for training camp but are not yet under the “jurisdiction” of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are not included in the count, an official told the Associated Press.

Table Tennis player Ryu Seung-min of South Korea was the first IOC member to test positive. Two South African soccer players who were the first athletes inside the Olympic Village also tested positive.

Team South Africa confirmed the coach of its rugby sevens team also tested positive at a pre-Olympics training camp in the southern Japanese city of Kagoshima. He is in isolation there and will miss the entire rugby competition, the team said. The British Olympic Association said six athletes and two staff in the track and field squad are isolating at the team’s pre-Olympic base in Yokohama after being deemed close contacts of a person who tested positive following their flight to Japan. U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff didn’t travel to Japan after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The planned arrival of over 11,000 people is stoking fear that the Games will be a major superspreader event. Tokyo reported 1,008 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the 29th straight day that cases were higher than seven days previously. It was also the fifth straight day with more than 1,000 cases. The Olympics will open under a state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures.