Thousands Gathered to Witness Beach Landing in Bossier

The east bank of the Red River in Bossier City, a draw now for leisurely entertainment and shopping, attracted crowds for a very different reason 81 years ago today. On Sunday afternoon, June 10, 1945, the shoreline near the Texas Street Bridge came alive with the clatter of machine-gun fire and the roar of fighter planes, as a battle unfolded. But Bossier City hadn’t become the latest hotzone of World War II. The fighting was simulated, meant to give spectators a glimpse of America’s military in action and highlight the importance of financially supporting those who were facing enemies abroad. Although victory in Europe had been declared a month earlier, the war in the Pacific continued.

War bond drives, or loan drives as they were also called, were a critical aspect of U.S. policy during the Second World War. They helped raise funds that the government used to buy equipment and supplies for the war effort, and they helped foster a sense of patriotism among citizenry by providing a means to contribute to that effort. There were eight such drives between November 1942 and December 1945. The mock invasion held in Bossier City was part of number seven.

In the days leading up to the event, local newspaper stories heightened interest by telling of the military machinery and maneuvers that would be on display and the guests who would attend, including Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis and movie star of that era, Robert Young. Personnel would also be present to sell bonds. In an article on June 9, Barksdale’s Bark, the newspaper of Barksdale Field – as the base was then called – set the scene: “One hundred Barksdale GIs, armed with rifles and machine guns, will be disgorged from nine Higgins boats tomorrow, and behind a smoke screen, will plunge into an inferno of explosions, … belching flame throwers, roaring dive bombers and wheezing bazooka shells to secure a beachhead,” the paper stated. According to the article, Barksdale not only supplied the troops, but also much of the equipment, including jeeps, walkie-talkies and blank ammunition. The Higgins boats, named for Andrew Higgins, founder of the New Orleans company that built them, were brought by truck from Texas.

The “Red River Bond Invasion Show,” as the event was referred to in some local newspapers, got underway before a crowd estimated to number between 25,000 and 30,000 attendees, gathered along both sides of the river and on the Texas Street Bridge. Prior to the start of the invasion, Young addressed those assembled and “placed decided emphasis on the need to buy war bonds,” according to an article the following day in The Shreveport Journal. Navy Lieutenant Joe McMeel, survivor of a bombing attack on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin just four months prior, spoke as well.

After the guest speakers, the invasion commenced. The Shreveport Journal article of June 11 described what took place: “As the men advanced to establish their beachhead, smoke bombs … were set off, providing continuous protection to the men landing on the shore and to those moving upward on the beach. Even as the men advanced, the … P51s (fighter aircraft) continued to come over, providing a cover for them and blasting an opening … to aid the men in their move forward.” This must have been quite a sight to see on Red River! Soldiers stormed ashore and scrambled up the east bank with the objective of planting a flag at a predetermined point in “enemy” territory. Once this was achieved, victory was declared.

Persons who purchased bonds at the event and in the days just before the event were allowed rides on the Higgins boats. Young, who years later would achieve fame on tv in shows like “Father Knows Best” and “Marcus Welby M.D.,” signed autographs for those who bought bonds of $1000 or more. The June 11 article in The Shreveport Journal states that approximately $21,000 in bonds were sold during the afternoon’s show. That amount combined with money from bond sales across the country during the seven weeks of the Seventh War Loan Drive helped achieve a final total of more than $26 billion. Yes, billion.

For one Sunday afternoon in June 1945, Bossier’s east bank became a stage, offering a more forgiving glimpse into the brutal beach landings at places such as Normandy and Iwo Jima. For a moment, the crowd had a visual reminder that freedom isn’t free.

If you have any photos or other information relating to the history of Bossier City or Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call us to learn more. We are currently closed for renovations, but can still be reached by phone at (318) 746-7717, and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/

Images: 

• 7th War Loan poster/Wikimedia Commons
• Beach landing on Red River's east bank/Barksdale's Bark, June 16, 1945

Articlel by: Kevin Flowers

Ben Kuroki: All-American War Hero, Part II

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and a perfect time to remember Sergeant Ben Kuroki, a US Army Air Corps gunner from the “Mighty Eighth” Air Force during World War II. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Ben Kuroki couldn’t wait to fight for his country. As a “Nisei,” born in America to parents who immigrated from Japan, he had to “fight like hell” for the chance. In last week’s history column, American-born Kuroki, raised on a farm in Hershey, Nebraska, was ultimately able to get a spot in the US Army Air Corps. Sent first to clerical school and then to Barksdale Army Air Field in Louisiana for the activation of the 93rd Bombardment Group, he continued to fight to stay with his squadron once they were deployed overseas.

With much persistence, Kuroki made it to England with the 93rd Bomb Group. This time Kuroki fought to fight from the air in the 93rd’s B-24 heavy bombers, also known as Liberators, in some of the most critical and dangerous air missions of the European front. Kuroki assiduously prepared and proved himself for a spot in the air. He volunteered to be a much-needed aerial gunner and attended gunner school in England. When a young turret gunner in Kuroki’s squadron was grounded for medical reasons, he was allowed to choose his own replacement. He picked the eager Kuroki for the spot.

Sent to Africa for temporary deployment, Ben Kuroki was on his first mission, a raid on the docks and supply depot of Bizerte, Tunisia, when his bomber was hit by flak. One of his crew members was gravely wounded by shrapnel. It was largely Sergeant Kuroki’s clear-headed thinking that kept the man alive, and cemented the bond between Ben Kuroki and the crew.

It was also clear that Kuroki performed extremely admirably as a gunner, moving from waist and tail to turret gunner. His fellow squadron members gave him the nickname “Honorable Son” with affectionate intent, and his reputation as a valued crew member continued to grow. As two examples of his many exploits, he spent three months interned in Spain after being shot down over Spanish Morocco, and was a part of the daring and dangerous low-altitude air raid of the Ploesti oil refineries of Romania.

When Kuroki’s squad member 1st Lt. E.E. Weir returned home to Kilgore, Texas in the northeast part of the state, he visited the Kilgore News Herald’s office. The young navigator proudly wanted everyone to know how he was in the same squadron as the “popular” Ben Kuroki. He also enthusiastically announced that in addition to Kuroki, his diverse fellow crew members included an Italian-American soldier. (With Italy as part of the Axis powers, Americans of Italian descent, like Americans of Japanese descent, faced suspicion and discrimination when the United States entered WWII.) Since Kilgore is just over an hour from Shreveport and Barksdale Army Air Field, the Shreveport Times also ran the News Herald’s feel-good war story on February 26, 1944.

Following 30 combat missions in Europe on the B-24, and earning two flying crosses, Kuroki rotated back to the United States, where he could have stayed. Instead, he hoped to return for another full tour of duty as a B-29 gunner in the Pacific. Once again, Kuroki had to fight to fight, this time even harder. Americans of Japanese descent were expressly prohibited from entering active air combat against Japan.

By that time, Kuroki and his achievements had garnered him media attention and speaking engagements while he was back in the States. These engagements included speaking to Japanese Americans incarcerated in detention camps in the US West, encouraging young men to join the military and fight for America, while also appealing to the larger American society to end the discrimination and civil rights violations against Americans of Japanese descent.

Kuroki delivered one of the most powerful speeches at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, which received national media coverage and caught the attention of such influential Californians as the chancellor of Stanford University, the former editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, and the provost of the University of California Berkeley. He also had the support of his Nebraska Representative, Carl T. Curtis. These men successfully pleaded Kuroki’s case to the highest ranks of the Army.

Sergeant Ben Kuroki became the only Japanese American to serve in air combat in the Pacific Theater of Operations, and was one of the very few soldiers of any background to have fought in both the European and Pacific theaters. Following his tour in the Pacific, where he participated in the bombing of Tokyo, Kuroki was awarded a third flying cross. In total, he completed 58 combat missions during his service.

                                     

Ben Kuroki continued his mission to end discrimination against Japanese Americans, which he referred to as his 59th mission, and became a journalist and publisher. In 2009, when the 93rd Bomb Group planned a reunion at Barksdale, a reporter from The Shreveport Times contacted Kuroki. Kuroki, he recalled, was cordial and polite and said he would not be taking part in the reunion due to health reasons, compounded by memories of local prejudice. “My traveling days are pretty much over,” he told The Times. He died Sept. 1, 2015 at his home in California at the age of 98.

Kuroki has been the subject of a handful of biographies and documentaries. The most recent and complete biography is titled, Most Honorable Son: A Forgotten Hero’s Fight Against Fascism and Hate During World War II by Gregg Jones, 2024. The book is available online as an e-book and e-audiobook from Bossier Parish Libraries. You can download it from home with your library card number via Hoopla at bossierlibrary.org.

While our History Center is still closed due to installation of our new exhibits, you can explore our resources online, including our online catalog, where most of our photographs and many of our archival materials, such as oral histories, have been digitized. Go to the bossierlibrary.org website and choose History and Genealogy under Resources. You can contact us with questions at (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org For other local history facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.

Images: 

• Sgt. Ben Kuroki responding to a speech of welcome given by Project Director Guy Robertson and representatives of the Community Council upon his arrival at Heart Mountain, 24 April 1944. From the War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement housed at UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library, available via Calisphere.org
• Sgt. Ben Kuroki holds the damaged turret from his 30th mission in Europe. Photo by Ken LaRock, Courtesy of National Museum of the USAF

Article by: Pam Carlisle

Ben Kuroki: All-American War Hero (Part 1)

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and a perfect time to remember Ben Kuroki, an Army Air Corps gunner from the “Mighty Eighth” Air Force during World War II who couldn’t wait to fight for his country, but who first had to, as he stated, “fight like hell” for the chance.

Ben Kuroki in almost every way possible represented the classic All-American young man of the 1940s. Growing up on his parents’ potato farm outside of Hershey, Nebraska, population 500, he was a high school basketball star and vice president of his graduating class. At the age of 24, two days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan, he and one of his brothers headed to their nearest military recruiting office in North Platte, Nebraska. But as Nisei, the sons of immigrants from Japan, their credentials as Americans were considered suspect. After they heard nothing from the recruiter for two weeks, they acted on a radio call they heard for volunteers for the army's air corps. With Ben having high hopes of becoming a pilot and younger brother Fred of becoming a navigator, they drove 150 miles to Grand Island, Nebraska and signed up. That recruiter was perhaps more interested in the $2 fee he got for each man he signed up than what they looked like.

The brothers were “in,” but not accepted. Kuroki remembered that they experienced hatred from fellow recruits, NCOs, and officers and described themselves as the loneliest men in the Army. They were frequently on Kitchen Patrol (KP) or tasked with menial chores like cleaning the latrines and digging ditches. Kuroki completed basic training in Texas and was sent to Fort Logan, Colorado for clerical training, not the fighting action the young man dreamed of. Fred was transferred to the Corps of Engineers.

Upon completion of the Army's administrative course, Kuroki was sent to Barksdale Field in Shreveport, Louisiana where a new air group was being formed to fly Consolidated B-24 heavy Liberator bombers. Kuroki was assigned as a clerk-typist to the 409th Bomber Squadron of the 93rd Bombardment Group. In an oral history interview he recalled:

When we went to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, I saw those big B-24s flying in, and I said, laughing, “Oh, my god.” I was so da** excited. But you know, I wouldn’t go near that plane. The first thing they’d say, if something happened, they’d say I was the one that was doing sabotage or something, and I didn’t want to risk it.

In fact, Kuroki was so frightened of something happening to get him kicked out of the Air Corps that he spent his earned leave time on base. Recalling the prejudice he encountered, he said, “I didn't even go into town because I couldn't enjoy a minute of it when I did.” In a speech to business leaders following his wartime experience, Kuroki remembered about his time in Barksdale:

Of the 40 clerks sent to Barksdale, I was the last one assigned. I spent about a month at Barksdale, most of it on K. P. You've all heard the Air Forces motto, "Keep 'Em Flying." Well, my motto was Keep 'Em Peeling"; they called me "Keep 'Em Peeling" Kuroki in those days. The most discouraging thing about that was the fact that I had no assurance that I ever would be assigned.”

What kept him going, he said, were letters from his sister reminding him that Americans were in shock from Pearl Harbor and many were “unable to distinguish between Japanese and Americans of Japanese descent.”

“I still was without a friend in the Army, though, and that made it bad. There was only one boy who was kind to me at all,” who would take him his mail when he couldn’t get out of the kitchen in time to get it.

A few days before Kuroki and his squadron were to leave Barksdale, their commanding officer told Kuroki he was to be transferred and wasn't going with them to Fort Myers to prepare for overseas deployment. Kuroki considered that about the worst news he’d ever heard, and he asked the officer why. He only answered that he had nothing to do with it. But the officer started asking him questions, like how he liked the Army, and so forth. Kuroki was frank about his experiences and his hopes. His words must have had some effect, because the day before the group left, the officer again called for him and told him to pack his bags because he was going with them.

At Fort Myers, Kuroki did clerical work for about three months and gradually began to win over some of the soldiers. The young man who used to get his mail for him at Barksdale became an inseparable friend after they were in a truck accident at Fort Myers and Kuroki was able to help him. But when the group finished training and was ready to go overseas, Kuroki was again told he would not be going with them, and was given orders transferring him out of his squadron. This time it felt even worse, because for three months at Fort Myers, he had been counting on going overseas. He went to see the squadron adjutant and begged him, with tears streaming down his face, to take him along. When the adjutant got the approval, Kuroki recalled, “I was about the happiest guy in the world just then.”

In England, Kuroki was an orderly, typing up flight orders and keeping track of squadron records. As the Eighth's first B-24 squadron, its planes flew cross-channel bombing missions. Kuroki spent as much time as possible on the flight line to help out in any way he could and learned to skillfully operate the .50-caliber machine guns of the B-24. He passed a two-week gunnery course and never gave up requesting flight status. Part II of this story will detail exactly how his persistence paid off.

While our History Center exhibit and research areas are closed for installation of new exhibits, you can still explore our History Center resources online at www.bossierlibrary.org and choose “History and Genealogy” under Resources. Or you can attend our History Center programs in the Central complex meeting room. Beginning June 2nd at 6PM, and for the following 3 Tuesday evenings, we are bringing back R & R with History: Read & React: 1 Book; 4 Evenings. In honor of America’s 250th, this session’s book is Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrook. The discussions will be led by Benton High School history teacher, Rusty Beckham, whose programs receive rave reviews from BPLHC patrons! To get a copy of the book and register, stop by the Central Library circulation desk, at 7204 Hutchison Drive, Bossier City, LA. You can contact us with questions at (318) 746-7717 or email history-center@bossierlibrary.org

Images: 

• Ben Kuroki/photo colorized by Johnny Sirlande
• Ben Kuroki welcomed into VFW in Omaha, NE, 1944/photo courtesy National Archives4

Article by: Pam Carlisle

J. H. James – Local Businessman and Car Manufacture

 It was the end of the 1910s, and an interesting newspaper article was published in the December 18, 1919, edition of the Bossier Banner: “Made in Plain Dealing.” In an unexpected announcement a Plain Dealing garage had assembled an automobile, boasting of bold claims of greater specifications than the Ford of the time. Now there may be some among you, the readers, who are asking just who exactly built and assembled such a feat. The answer: J. H. James of James’ Garage.

James’ Garage, the assembler of this trial car, was owned by a Mister J. H. James, son of Welsh immigrants to the United States. Mr. James was born in 1878 in Ohio before moving to Louisiana sometime before February 1913, when he moved from Dubach in Lincoln Parish to Benton. Regardless, by July of 1913, Mr. James was the proud owner of a sawmill one mile west of Benton, along the Arkansas road. This sawmill, operated under the company name of James Lumber Co., would burn down less than a year later due to fire starting in a wood shaving pile, though he would promise to rebuild it in the same area. However, while Mr. James declared his intention to rebuild the mill in the same area, he carried no insurance on the mill, and much of the material was declared unsalvageable, including the planer and some 30,000 feet of lumber. His straits were not all dire, as you will soon see, as J. H. James would make a business pivot into a different and much more interesting direction.

By 1915 Mr. James was operating a transit service for the residents of Benton, running a route between Shreveport and the Benton area for the price of one dollar round trip, and seventy-five cents one way. His transit service, which functioned via automobile, was forced to temporarily halt service to make a bevy of repairs to his vehicle, providing a hint of foreshadowing to the later life choices of Mr. James, and his eventual accomplishment. It would be in 1919, on the first of the year, when J. H. James would officially take ownership of the Plain Dealing Garage Company after moving into the town. Renamed to James’ Garage, the company would run with three mechanics plus himself, helping to manage the automobile needs of Plain Dealing. It was by the end of the year, in December, that Mr. James would build his great achievement. The Plain Dealing car, built during the days of the Ford Model T, was said to carry a gas tank double the size of the competition, with electric lights, a self-starter, and a body built to be suited to the area. March of 1920 would seemingly validate the claims of Mr. James, as he would make a trip across the wet country roads between Benton and Shreveport without accident or fear. The hope of the Bossier Banner writers was that J. H. James would become synonymous with names like Ford, and hundreds of cars would be produced in Plain Dealing.

Alas, Mr. James would not stay in Louisiana. Perhaps due to a lack of further local interest in a ‘Made in Plain Dealing Car’, Mr. J. H. James would exit the mechanic business by February 1921, returning to the lumber business in El Dorado Arkansas. Still, the achievement of a ‘Made in Plain Dealing Car’ stands as an example of the industrious spirit of Plain Dealing and Bossier Parish.

  

If you have any photos or other information relating to the history of Bossier City or Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. The History Center is currently closed until July 2026, though staff remains available. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/

Images: 

• James' Garage Advertisement - Bossier Banner (Sep 25, 1919)
• James Lumber Co. Advertisement - Bossier Banner (Jul 3, 1913)
• Men standing cars behind Heifner's Hardware and the Bank of Plain Dealing, c.1910s-1920s - BPL History Center (1997.062.043)

Article by: Jonah Daigle

Slogans Feature in Bossier City’s History

Through the years, as Bossier City has grown in population, efforts have periodically surfaced to instill the community with a sense of identity and uniqueness through the use of slogans. While utilizing slogans is nothing new for cities – think “The City That Never Sleeps” for New York and “What Happens Here, Stays Here” for Las Vegas – Bossier has perhaps had more than its share of attempts at finding an ideal catch phrase.

In 1923, with its number of residents topping 1,000, Bossier was officially proclaimed a town, and within a few short years, the idea of creating a slogan for the burgeoning community took hold. The Bossier Lions Club sponsored a slogan contest in early 1928 with cash prizes for the best offerings. The stated contest rules, published in The Bossier Banner of February 9 that year, mentioned that club members would vote to select the top two entries. First place would receive $10, with second receiving $5.

Within two months, after reportedly receiving several thousand entries, members chose a winner. The top vote-getter, according to The Planter’s Press of April 13, 1928, was “Bossier, City of the Hour,” submitted by Bossier student, Johnny Liberto. Runner-up was “Be Bossier’s Booster.”

Fast forward 23 years when the city’s status received another upgrade due to population increase. In October 1951, having more than 5,000 residents, the Town of Bossier City was declared by Louisiana Governor Earl Long to be the City of Bossier City. As part of the celebration surrounding the auspicious occasion, another slogan contest was held, this one sponsored by The Planters Press and the Bossier Chamber of Commerce. The winning submission, by writer and Bossier resident Irene Vinson, was “Next Door Neighbor to World’s Largest Air Base,” a nod to Barksdale Air Force Base and the city’s gratitude for its presence. Mrs. Vinson’s entry earned her a cash award of $15.

In an editorial of October 13, The Shreveport Journal praised the new slogan: “Sharing a boundary line with Barksdale Air Force Base is one of Bossier City’s most outstanding privileges. The Journal congratulates Bossier upon having a slogan which is so appropriately expressive of one of the community’s principal resources.” But despite its being well-received, this slogan apparently became a victim of the city’s continued growth, as another slogan became popular later that decade.

By 1957, the phrase “Fastest Growing City in Louisiana,” was being applied to Bossier. An article in May that year, appearing in Barksdale’s newspaper, The Observer, used the phrase in praising Bossier’s progress, and Bossier City Mayor Jake Cameron used it two years later in an editorial he wrote for The Shreveport Journal. “Bossier City has been called by people all over the state, the fastest growing city in Louisiana,” Cameron stated. He estimated the number of residents in 1959 to be approximately 30,000.

But that slogan also wasn’t in use for long. A front-page headline in the March 27, 1960 issue of The Bossier Tribune declares, “City Abandons Old Slogan,” with the accompanying article saying “Fastest Growing City” was being dropped in favor of “The City of Champions.” Although the article mentions that Bossier was still experiencing tremendous growth, it states that Mayor Cameron felt the “Champions” moniker was more appropriate due to various titles and championships won by schools such as Rusheon Junior High and Bossier High School, as well as Bossier High graduate Eurlyne Howell winning the Miss USA crown. From newspaper accounts, it seems this slogan, like the others, was heralded initially, but used infrequently thereafter. I was unable to find mention of it beyond 1963.

In the late 1970s, yet another attempt was made to provide a notable slogan for the city. Bossier Bank and Trust created a promotional campaign in 1979 titled “Bossier’s Breaking Through…And Coming on Strong,” and even had a song recorded for it. With the backing of Mayor Marvin Anding, the City Council, Bossier Chamber of Commerce, and Bossier Economic Foundation, the campaign was launched with much enthusiasm. Jim McKigney, the bank’s chairman of the board and chief executive officer at the time, was quoted in an article in The Bossier Tribune of November 9 that year as saying the goal was to “draw attention to Bossier’s dynamic growth.” The slogan was used often during the couple of years after its creation.

With Bossier City celebrating its 75th anniversary in 1982, community leaders thought it appropriate to have a slogan for that festive occasion. “Much Alive After 75” was chosen and printed on everything from buttons to bumper stickers. That slogan was used primarily during the anniversary year.

There was an effort in the early 1990s to have a slogan that would promote both Bossier and Shreveport. “Shreveport-Bossier City: Where Working Together Means Growing Together,” submitted by Grambling State University doctoral student SaRita Martin, was selected from among approximately 2,000 entries in a contest sponsored in part by The Times and KTAL-TV. I was unable to find mention of it in newspapers after 1992. Although our slogans may come and go, Bossier City remains a great place to call home.

If you have any information relating to the history of Bossier City and Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the material to its research collection. We are currently closed for installation of new exhibits, but can still be reached at (318) 746-7717 and by email at history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/

Images: 

• Headline from The Planters Press, April 13, 1928
• Headline from The Bossier Tribune, March 27, 1960
• Button from Bossier's 75th anniversary, 1982/History Center collection