Interesting Facts from WWII - Part I Quiz

Answer: Ilmari Juutilainen (Finland)

Ilmari Juutilainen (1914-1999) was a fighter pilot in the Finnish Air Force. He had 94 confirmed aerial combat victories during 437 sorties. However, he himself claimed 126 victories.

Tetsuzo Iwamoto (1916-1955) was the top scoring fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy during WWII with 80 confirmed aerial combat victories. He did however, have another 14 victories confirmed but they were in the war against China in 1938. Ivan Kozhedub (1920-1991) had 66 confirmed victories with Soviet Air Force. He also took part in the Korean War. Constantin Cantacuzino (1905-1958) was with the Royal Romanian Air Force and had 56 confirmed victories. Constantin was also the captain of the Romanian Ice Hockey Team in 1931 and 1933 at the World Championships.

The top ace in the US Army Air Force was Richard Bong with 40 confirmed victories. However, the Ace of Aces was Erich "Bubi" Hartmann (1922-1993) of the Luftwaffe with 352 confirmed victories.

Answer: He was only 12 years of age

Calvin Graham (1930-1992) was just 12 years of age when he enlisted in the US Navy on August 15, 1942. When his ship returned to New York in December 1942 he went to attend his grandmother's funeral without Navy Permission. It was after this incident that the Navy found out about his actual age and he was released from the Navy on April 1, 1943.

He turned 13 just 2 days later. In 1948 he joined the United States Marine Corps.

Answer: John Wayne

John Wayne starred in 14 WWII movies but did not serve in the armed forces due to an old football injury. James Stewart flew 20 combat missions over Germany as a pilot in the Army Air Corp. Henry Fonda served in the US Navy and Walter Matthau flew in the US Army Air Force along-side James Stewart as a radioman-gunner. There were many Hollywood actors that served in the armed services during WWII including Lee Marvin, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Eddie Albert, Mel Brooks, Charles Durning, James Arness, Paul Newman, Ernest Borgnine, Tony Curtis, David Niven and Christopher Lee to name just a few.

The most decorated American serviceman in WWII was Audie Murphy who became famous in 1949 with his book "To Hell and Back" and he starred as himself in the 1955 movie of the same name.

Answer: George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush served in the US Navy from 1942-1945 achieving the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade) and became the 41st President from 1989-1993. He flew 58 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and 3 Air Medals.
John F. Kennedy was in the US Navy from 1941-1945 achieving the rank of Lieutenant and became the 35th President from 1961-1963. His torpedo boat PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer and he and his crew spent many hours in the water before being rescued.
James "Jimmy" Carter was in the US Navy from 1943-1953 achieving the rank of Lieutenant. He was the 39th President from 1977-1981. Richard Nixon was also in the US Navy from 1942-1946 achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander and became the 37th President from 1969-1974.

Answer: In appreciation for sheltering Princess Juliana during WWII

In 1945 the Dutch Royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa in appreciation for the sheltering of Princess Juliana and her daughters during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. In 1943 Princess Juliana gave birth to Princess Margriet at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. Princess Juliana became Queen of the Netherlands in 1948. Each year the Netherlands send over 10,000 tulips to Canada. The first tulip seeds came from Turkey (via Hungary) to Vienna in 1554 and from there were distributed to Amsterdam. From 1593 it was realised that tulips could tolerate the harsh conditions of the low countries.

Answer: William Hitler

William Patrick Hitler (1911-1987) was the son of Adolph Hitler's brother Alois Hitler Jr. and his Irish-born wife Bridget Dowling. William was born in Liverpool (England) and later went to Germany. However, when his uncle (Adolph) asked him to relinquish his British citizenship, William then left for the USA with his mother in 1938 for a lecture tour.

They were then stranded in the USA when war broke out. After making a special request to President Franklin D. Roosevelt he was able to enlist in the US Navy in 1944 and was discharged in 1947 and having been wounded, he was awarded the the Purple Heart Medal. Upon discharge he changed his name to William Patrick Stuart-Houston. William married Phyllis Jean-Jacques in 1947 and they raised four sons in the USA.

Answer: He surrendered 29 years after WWII ended

Hiroo Onoda (1922-2014) was an Imperial Japanese Army officer who did not surrender in 1945. For 29 years until 1974 he evaded capture and continued guerrilla activities in remote areas of the Philippines. In March 1974 his former commanding officer was flown to the island of Lubang to relieve Hiroo of his duty and for him to hand over his sword.

He had trouble understanding the attention he received on his return to Japan and in 1975 left for Brazil and raised cattle. He married in 1976 and he and his wife have done much work for charitable organisations. Only Private Teruo Nakamura (Taiwanese born) held out for longer when he was arrested in Indonesia in December 1974.

Answer: The only German POW to escape and return to Germany

Franz von Werra (1914-1941) was the only German POW to successfully escape and return to Germany. He was a fighter pilot and was shot down over Kent, England on September 5, 1940. He was interned but escaped on a number of occasions which resulted in recapture.

In January, 1941 he was shipped to a camp on the north shore of Lake Superior, Ontario. On January 21, 1941 he escaped and crossed the frozen St. Lawrence River. After making his way to New York he eventually returned to Germany on April 18, 1941 via Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Italy.

He died on October 25, 1941 when his plane crash landed in the North Sea. His story was told in the 1955 movie "The One That Got Away" starring Hardy Kruger, Max Heiliger was the fictional name in which the Nazi regime opened bank accounts to store stolen bullion including stolen banknotes, jewellery, dental gold, wedding rings etc. which resulted in the filling of several bank vaults by 1942.

Answer: Siege of Leningrad

The Siege of Leningrad commenced on September 9, 1941 and was finally lifted on January 27, 1944 which was a total of 872 days. Estimated casualties during the siege are for military 3.4m and civilians 1.0m for a total of 4.4m. Total casualties for the Soviet Union during WWII is estimated at over 21m. During WWII the USA and Great Britain suffered just on 1.0m total casualties between them. Germany had an estimated 7.0m casualties as a result of WWII.

Answer: He served in three different armies

Yang Kyoungjung (1920-1992) was conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army in 1938, as Korea was part of Japan at that time. He was then captured by the Soviets in 1942 and sent to a labour camp, but was then pressed into the Soviet Army. He was then captured by the German army in 1943 and was pressed into the Wehrmacht and sent to the D-Day landings as part of a Soviet POW battalion.

He was captured by U.S. paratroopers in June 1944 and sent to Britain as a POW and then transferred to the USA as a POW.

After the war he stayed in the USA (Illinois) and raised a family. A South Korean movie was made about his life in 2011 titled "My Way".