1944 (18 years old)
Where did my story go? Oh ya. GI's aren't allowed to sit around
very much so they always have us training at what ever they can find.
We were training at night compass and map reading. A tactic that
continued from my induction into the Army. All this was to be capped off
with an unit wide excersion starting at one end of the island and ending
at the other. My group was diverted to help a farmer round up his
cattle, putting us four days behind the others. Anyway we were four
days late getting in. When we showed up the regiment was all loaded up
on trucks and moving out. We just threw our packs and equipment on a
truck and climbed in. Three and one half hours later we were loaded
onto transports. As usual nobody new anything. 10 days later we landed
in New Guinea. No one was too anxious to explore. I'll be damned if
they didn't put us all together and tell us that we were going to be
fighting retreating enemy troops to divert them from a non combat zone
(ours). Well we engaged them and proceeded to lose 400 guys that day.
Next day we loaded up again and went to sea. Then later we joined
a small convoy going our way. All we heard was that we were going to
join a much larger convoy in about a week. The week it turned out was
two days later and another three days to integrate with it. I thought I
had seen a lot of ships in a convoy at other times, but this was
fantastic! I don't know how many. Over 2,000 everyone said. Then the
word around was that we were invading Luzon in the Philippines, where
(the city of) Manila is. We knew it was going to be rough. But lots of
us had enough combat points to go home after this landing. It was going
to be like a stroll in the park on Sunday.
Thirty miles down the road it was a different story. The Japs had
formed a main line of resistance covered by artillery and mortars. We
were already short 400 men in the outfit. This was really going to be
some party and of course we came riding up on our white horses to rescue
the fair maidens. At my age we were heroes and nobody would get hurt.
Then the guy next to me had his forhead shot off including both eyes.
Another 400 were downed that day. I turned eighteen the next day. Some
birthday, huh?
We finally established a line of our own and went from there with
air stikes and combat patrols. Next day they pulled out since we had
the superior force at that time. I finally found out why we had been
doing all that map reading. My personal unit was an anti-tank and recon
platoon and since we din't know about any enemy tanks that left recon.
So here we go. A sargent, a corporal and the anti tank squad. We
loaded up at about 3:00 pm and some Philippine scouts took us through
the lines. We walked all night and at daylight we bedded down in some
trees. We slept most of the day. We were way behind the Jap lines. I
was ready for the sack again and was making some small talk with the
sargent when two scouts came in. They had seen two Jap tanks about six
miles away. They wanted confirmation before calling the artillary. Two
other guys and I were assigned to check it out.
We made it about three miles. My partner and number two anti tank
gunner, Joe Mariano, slipped and fell over making the worst rattle you
ever heard. To this day I can't figure out why the Jap patrol never
heard us cause they were loaded for bear as they passed us while we were
all laying in the brush. They stopped and then finally moved out in
about 15 minutes. We moved out slowly afterwards. About two hours
later we ran into the separated tanks. They were 105mm's under one of
those typical south pacific stilt houses. So the scouts thought they
were tanks. We moved in to gather some intellegences when it seemed
like their whole army moved over our back trails. We were trapped but
good! One of the young guys said he had a sister who lived just down
the road at right angles to our path. He led off and of course we
followed.
It took us all night to reach his sister's house. It turned out to
be a brothel. So we had breakfast. Best one I had since leaving New
Zealand. Made me think of home (New Zealand did that is). They hid us
in a pit under the chicken house. We stayed there all day. Japs were
moving all around us the whole time so we were still trapped. That
evening we were getting our gear to move back to our unit when we heard
a commotion start back the way we originally came. It turned out to be
three Jap scouts from a combat patrol who had found out about us. We
sneaked off into some saw grass and none too soon. Here they came. Our
sargent pulled his trench knife and stuck the first one and since I was
the "expert" with a "G" string I was next. Joe Mariano got the last one
with a trench shovel.
We decided to make a circular movement around their main troop
body. So we went. It turned out that their main body was a battalion.
We couldn't get around them so we retreated back to the whore house.
They were glad to see us. As it turned out the only thing that saved us
was the fact a lot of Jap troops were deserting and their commanders
weren't too concerned about people moving about. You know, I've given
the impression maybe that I was some kind of wheel on the patrol? I
wasn't! Just another slogger doing what he was told. Although, I did
do my job extra well I thought. Ain't that swell? All I ever was was a
slogger...back under a chicken house (till near the end). During the
night they made a half baked search for us. Of course they never found
us cause I'm here! (Hopefully your moms and dads can fill you in on the
parts you don't know about. Uncle B.K. and Steve can fill in the parts
that may be dark to you. My main concern at this point is finishing
this bomb. Got a ways to go.) Did I say the shack was at a Y in the
road? It was. Next morning the Japs had pulled out so we decided to
move while the moving was good. When we got back to our lines they were
mounting a company size patrol to come look for us. Boy were they ever
happy we showed up!
My squad loaded up and moved our anti tank guns under the shack
with line company's on each side, rifle fire and some sporadic auto
weapons fire. Here we were trying to cover a road against infantry and
no knowledge of what's before us. About dark now. Here comes a jeep.
He goes right by us and over a little hill into a little valley. We
hear shooting and pretty soon here comes the jeep back. The guy they
were carrying wasn't on it but there was another and he was gut shot...
hollering and yelling and groaning. I went out to help hold him down.
I just got there and I heard this engine. At the same time my hand
touches a grenade on the floor of the jeep. This tank comes up directly
behind the jeep and stops. His machine gun turret starts to swivel and
I know he's going to fire. I grab the grenade, jump against the tank in
a spinning turn and toss the grenade down the open turret. God damn
thing almost blew clean off the tracks. What a thrill. I just couldn't
hardly stand it. Remember the piano wire back in the jungle? Even
better.
It's dark now and we hear more engines so we know we are going to
have some fun. Lots of fun. A.T. guns are small bore, 37mm, but large
enough for Jap armored weapons. Did I say we were in open rice patties
with small trees along the edges? Some maybe 8" but mostly 4" and 6".
So here they come. Maybe a dozen all firing right over our heads. The
first one stopped behind a couple of those trees I mentioned. First
thing I do is fire a round of white phosferous to get a little light,
then started firing high explosives at the trees to get them out of the
way. Then to get the tank with armour piercing rounds. I guess I
should tell you the different kinds of shells we had for the 37mm AT
guns - armour piercing, high explosive, white phosperous and one called
cannister which is kind of like a great big shot gun shell that had 128
steel balls embedded in rosin. When the cannister shell is fired the
rosin melts from traveling down the barrel and the steel balls are
released to go their separate ways. Not very nice.
I got the first tank in line. The second pushes him partly off the
road into a big ditch. It's really dark now and there is firing all
over and the tank is burning something fierce. That's when they decided
to have a bonzai attack. They all got out anything that makes noise and
started beating on it and firing every thing they had. Remember I said
they were battalion strength? They were and then some. I started
plinking away and got some before their infantry started to over run us.
We hooked up and started for our battalion headquarters. We went at
right angles and never made it a quarter mile. The road was blocked.
So then we went right into a river. Truck, gun, ammo and some pissed
GIs and mad Japs right behind us. We all made the far bank alive. Joe
Mariano had been shot in the jaw and we were forced to carry him. Bad
stuff. After about three hours we got him to an aid station. They
evacuated him to a hospital ship. The rest of us ate and went back to
the war. Another vehicle and an hour later and we had our gun back. I
counted empty shell casings and found I fired 531 rounds and there were
540 dead enemy. Of course they weren't all mine, except a tank. I
always believed that the artillery got most of them after we had marked
them with fire. Silver star for me though. It was a pretty blown up
area. So I am sure the artillery made a big play in a little struggle.
They replaced our platoon leader about that time. A guy named Jack
Upham from Texas. He knew all there was to know about everything and
wasn't afraid to tell anybody that would stand still. He didn't like
many people and they had better be officers. He was a First Leutenant
bucking for Captain. We got into an argument over some little chicken
deal. Before I rotated home my silver star ended up being a recommend
rather than an award. Great huh? Anyway when I was in Korea they
restored it.
We moved on in about three days. It was nice to be moving again.
As it turned out we didn't move that far. About ten miles to what was
the main North South highway. At least we were away from the chicken
house. We went to a small town. The town square was like a wagon wheel
with the hub being at the exact center. We set up three guns. Every
time the Japs came within 600 yards we would open fire. It kept us out
of trouble for five days. Then they moved in some smaller stuff and the
battle was on. 1st they would blow us out of our socks and then we
would return likewise. We had reinforcements and fresh supplies coming
in all the time. They made do on what they had and what they could
steal. I never figured that one out.
We heard about a big Bonzai attack coming so we moved into the
jungle surrounding the area and started cutting fields of fire to keep
them from infiltrating and getting behind us. I was stringing out
communications wire on a trail from a back board. I looked up just in
time to see something coming at me. It was a Jap swinging at me. It
turned out to be a pistol butt. He didn't have any ammo. I guess he
was trying to smash my skull. He missed and knocked out my front teeth
instead. A buddy shot him. Lucky me.
We had fresh bread and pork chops that day. I couldn't even eat
the bread with a split lip and broken teeth. We finally cut the Jap
supply lines and they moved on North. Oh ya. The big attack never did
come. Might as well have though. We had continued skirmishes with
small groups deserting, setting booby traps every night and taking them
up in the morning. My job mostly. A real pain actually. I'd hang a
grenade or 6mm mortar shell on a tree, rig up the safety pin and wait?
Hoping of course that the pin didn't come out while I was playing with
them.
Here I am! I guess it all finally caught me. I'm about to loose
the last pin. At least it's better to go in bed than blown all over
some bushes on a jungle trail somewhere. I have no gripes. I had a
good one and have some pretty good kids and grand kids. Proud of the
whole damn bunch of you I am.
The Japs went on North into the mountains and we followed. The
first obstacle we came to was a place called Balete Pass. They were all
dug in waiting for us, really the shits. We lost a lot of guys again.
(* web version edited per request)
There were some big caves facing us as we went up. Cap'n Jack, as I
said, knew everything. He thought he saw Japs in one cave. He said he was
going to shoot. We all ran. I mean really got the hell out over the next
ridge. He fired - into a three ton mound of picric acid the Japs
used for artillary propellant. (* web version edited per request)
(* web version edited per request)
It's hard to imagine what we went through with Jack. He
volunteered/ordered us for every lousy detail he/his commanders could
think of in his quest for promotion.
There were wounded Japs beyond the pass. Several of us were
ordered to collect the wounded enemy men and bring them in for
treatment. Lots of fun. Even with the first one. Must have been a
mess sargent. He weighed as much as I did. We loaded him on a strecher
and started up the hill to the aid station. He kept rolling off. He
couldn't walk so I figured he didn't want to go.
We thought we'd let him think it over and so we went and found a
small creek and started another search. We really had to be careful
because of ambush. So here I am leading the way and scared fartless not
knowing what's around the next corner. We came to a place where there
had been a bridge. The bridge was gone and they had put in a culvert
and covered it with earth and rocks. We could see someone was in the
culvert so this guy decided to talk to them. He slid down and started
in and they almost shot his head off. No good. No way we could talk to
some guy who was more scared than we were. We saw blood in the water
and wondered where it was coming from. This guy wasn't coming out so we
decided part of us will get him and the rest of us will see what we will
see. There were several good sized rocks where they had dug the dirt
and gravel away for their fill material....
(This is as far as Ray got before he passed away).
The following was contributed by Charles K. Jessup
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