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Showing posts with label Bougainville Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bougainville Island. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Arnold's Story: September 26, 1950

Hazel updates Arnold with some family news. They enjoyed sailing on Leonard's boat at Balboa Island, Newport Beach

In the 1970s we visited Leonard's family and went sailing on his boat at Newport Beach. I don't know if it was the same boat or a newer one, but by then he had bought a small house to spend the weekend in.






next post  September 28, 1950

previous post  September 22, 1950

first post in Arnold's Story  July 1943

first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943


Thursday, January 7, 2021

Monday, December 28, 2020

Arnold's Story: September 26, 1944 MHN

I find it interesting that the family does not appear to be particularly concerned for Leonard's life in active combat in the Pacific Theater. I can only attribute that to Hazel's supreme confidence in God's plan and the power of prayer. Or, since Leonard wrote more explicitly to his brother about his front-line experiences, he kept the realities of any danger to his life from the rest of the family.







next post  1944 poem

previous post  September 18, 1944 Mason

first post in Arnold's Story  July 1943

first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943



Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Leonard's Story: April 26, 1945

The Times Pony edition was printed for members of the U.S. Armed Forces overseas beginning at the end of 1942. Div CP would mean Division Command Post.
______________________________________________________________

                                                                                               Philippines
                                                                                               26th April

Dear Arnold,

     Received your V-mail of 6th April.  After what campaign?  We were
going to get a rest, but the situation changed  and here  we are kicking
the Japs around with everything or anything.  They are about as hard to exterminate
[ARROW] as cockroaches in a good old Calif home.  I am going up to work with the
Guerrillas, as an intelligence officer.  It should prove interesting.

[from ARROW above in margin]
but we are just the guys who can and are liquidating them

     Although the rest did'nt pan out we did get ten days of perishable
rations, and have had fresh meat and eggs for breakfast practically every day
day now for the last seven days.  However, it will soon be back to bully
beef and spam again.

     At present we ar set up in a coconut grove, near an ex-town ( completely
destroyed by the Japs).  The weather is hot and muggy, but it is better this
way than if it was raining all the time.  I sure hope we finish this deal
up before the rainy season starts.  I don't want to have to go through another
nightmare like we had on Leyte.  Of course we would be there during the
typhoon season, and I have never been wet so much for so long in my life.
We use to have to stand in ankle deep mud even in the chow line, and keeping
dry feet was just impossible, in fact keeping dry was impossible.

     We have had a little rain here, and I can see that this place will be a
regular mud hole too, when the rains come.  It rained just as much or more
on Bougainville, but the ground quickly absorbed the water.  Also it would
usually rain about the same time every day for a week or so, and then change
the schedule.  In Leyte is just rained all the time every day.

     Say I want to thank you again for the pen and pencil set, it is now one
of my prized possessions.  I don't know how I got along without it before.
Also thanks for the Air mail edition of TIMES Pony, that is something that
is hard to find around here, and they are always read to death.

     I have lost a lot of weight, and you probably would'nt recognize me now.
Things have been rough, and I am glad that you won't have to got through any-
thing like this.  It is no fun, believe me.

     A while back when we were at a certain extown, we had a bit of excitement
right in the center of the Div CP.  It so happened that I was duty officer
this particular morning, when I heard the guards open fire.  Now this in its
self is not uncommon, in fact I was cussing tthem out, because the bullets
were wanging around, and the only things they seem to hit are horses or dogs,
or just the ozone.  Suddenly a man came running up and said that they wanted
me to go over and search a Jap that they had killed only about a hundred yards
down the road from the G-2 office.  Now the interesting thing is that this Jap
was armed with a US .30 caliber carbine, and upon checking the number it was
discovered that it belonged to one of our men, and had been stolen from the side
of his sack while he was asleep earlier in the morning.  In the dim pre-dawn
light this Jap was thought to be a guerrilla, and was finally killed walking
down one of the main roads only about 100 yds from the center of town.

     Well I'd better close now, write soon.
                                                            love
                                                  [signed] Leonard



Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Leonard's Story: November 15, 1944

                                             Nov 15th Wed.
                               somewhere in the SWP
Dear Arnold,
     Well Bub, how are you? I expect
its getting pretty cold now where you are
How do you like the east in the autumn?
Do you still go boating on the Charles river?
And how are you coming in your classes, you
never mention that?  What about your
love life, have you met any cute chicks yet,
you old hermit?
     Things are going pretty well with me.
So far I have been given a free rein in my
work, and I hope to make some real progress.
At present I am loafing around, but I expect
to be busier than hell soon. I like this work
I sometimes wonder how I ever got into such a
sweet racket.
     Well Dewey lost the election, I see.
I guess we will have to grin and bear it. I
wish they could get off the dime in Europe,
and clean things up. As you have read by
the news we are going along pretty good down
here, and Bub, we're just getting started.
If I'm lucky I may be home in a year.

[page 2]
     When do you finish your course? Are you
going on to MIT and if so when will you finish
that? Take it easy and don't try to rush out
here. And by all means have a good time while
your in the states, it is nice to look back on. I'm
glad I spent seven months at Ritchie. I had
the time of my life. I spent over $1500 while I
was there, but I don't regret a cent of it. I will
be able to save plenty out here. Starting this
month I intend to sock away $175 per plus a
twenty-five dollar bond. I have been saving $75
plus a bond, and have been paying Dad the money I
owed him. I am now clear of debt and several hundred
dollars ahead. If I can stay with this outfit a
year I can save at least $2000 in that time. Jump
pay is a nice thing.
          I am inclosing some pictures that
were taken on Bougainville. My hair has
grown out now and I don't look quite so
bad.  Write soon.
                     Love
                    Leonard


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Leonard's Story: October 20, 1944

                                                                          Friday, Oct 20

Dear Arnold,

     Received your letter of the 7th today.  You lucky stiff,
I envy you very much.  I used to think that I hit a soft touch,
but brother you have me beaten by a light year.  Keep it up.
I may sound adventuress to go overseas, bit it is'nt worth it.
Its not that it gets so tiresome and dull, but the main thing
is you wonder when you will ever get home again.  If you could
come over here and go through one campaign and then go back home
it might be worth it, but you can't do that.  I reall believe
that it will be about two years before I get home.  Don't rush
over here, if you are offered a job in the states take it.
Eventually you will get over here anyway, so let nature and the
army take its course.  If you don't beleive me ask the Major
that you know who is from this island.

     I was in a town once similar to the one you mention.  It
was Reading, Penn., they hardly knew a war was on.  You buy a
good meal very reasonably, and we had a swell double hotel room
for only five bucks.  We (another officer and myself) met only
one other officer in town and about six enlisted men.  We were
going to pick up a couple of girls, but everybody treated us so
highly and took such an interest in us, that we just could'nt do
it.  We went into one drug store for a soda, and in five minutes
it was filled with girls from sixteen to twenty.  I always meant
to get back to that town, but bI never got around to it.

     Well I am going tomorrow by air with my S/Sgt, while my
M/Sgt is staying behind to bring the equipment by water.  My
new assignment ought to be very interesting and exciting.  I
hope you don't tell the folks what kind of an outfit it is they
might worry.  My new APO is 468, the rest of the address is the
same.

     I captured a spider today with a body over two inches long,
and a leg span of about six inches, he is a big ugly bastard.
The other night the men killed a nine inch centipede on my desk,
and up at Corp they have a pet lizard that is two feet long, with
a body about three or four inches wide, and he must way a couple [arrow] new way to spell weigh
pounds.  He is very friendly, and makes no effort to escape,
maybe he's just lazy?  The other day he ate a live centipede that
they gave him.  We have some of the queerest types of life here.
Yesterday I saw a bug that had a fuzz that looked like a peacocks
plume, only it was white.

     That word you mentioned that had been cut out, come to
think of it, it might have been a possible clue to our location,
so I don't blame the censor, it shows that he is on the ball.
Well Bud, I' about out of gaff, so I will close until later.
Keep'em coming, letters I mean.

                                           love,
                                 [signed] Leonard



Leonard's Story: October 15, 1944


                                                                                 Sunday, Oct 15th

Dear Arnold,

     I have already sent a bunch of negatives home and accord-
ing to Mother they have already been printed and some should
be back on their way out here.  So your getting per diem, if
you get your other allowances too, I figure that you should be
pulling around $336 per month, though, huh?  But I suppose you
will get used to it in time.  Talking about seeing pictures we
probably see them before you do.  Last night we saw DEVOTION
with Oliva Dehaviland, Ida Lupino, and Paul Henreid, which
is'nt going to be released in the States until 1945.  Recently
I have seen CASANOVA BROWN with Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright,
IMPATIENT YEARS with Jean Arthur, MR. SKEFFINGTON with Bette
Davis and Claude Rains, MR. WINKLE GOES TO WAR with Edward G
Robinson, MARRIAGE IS A PRIVATE AFFAIR with Lana Turner(this
one had its world Premere here), and a number of other lesser
pictures.  DEVOTION and MR. SKEFFINGTON are excellent, don't
miss them.  You know it was worth coming overseas just to be
able to see the pictures first?

     I guess I have told you that I am leaving this outfit
pretty soon.  So far my orders hav'nt come through yet.  I
am going to an Airbourne Division.  It ought to be pretty
interesting and lots of fun.  Don't tell the folks they might
worry too much.  Both of my enlisted men are going with me,
and frankly they don't seem to appreviate it as much as I do.
But in the type of work we are doing there is'nt much to
worry about, I only hope it turns out to be the good deal that
I hope it will be.

     You can tell the Major that things have changed quite
a bit since he was here, however there has been some recent
trouble up a well known trail, and they are killing Japs up
there every day.  At least when I leave I will have something
new to write about for awhile.  Things have fallen into such
a routine pattern here that it is difficult to write about
any thing that is interesting or intelligent.  So I dribble
on about the inconsequential little things, and try to fill
up a page of typing.  Excuse me while I go eat lunch.

     Well I've finished lunch, I did'nt feel like eating much,
they threw a big party here last night celebrating their fourth
year of army service.  Although I did'nt get fried, I did con-
sume a good deal of the free liquor.  It was a good party, and
for those people who base the success of a party on the number
potted guests, it was a hugh triumph.

     It has been hoter than hell this morning, and just as I
sat down here to finish this letter so I could go swimming,
the sun went behind a cloud, while all morning I could'nt find
a cloud in the sky.  Probably by the time I get down to the
beach it will be raining, the hell with it, I'll go anyway.
Well write soon, I'll send you some of those pictures.

                                   [signed] Leonard



Monday, June 2, 2014

Leonard's Story: Yank Jungle Patrol

Uncle Len would be around 24 years old when he writes this narrative. I am not sure what “AA men” would be — AA is sometimes America’s Army, other times Anti-Aircraft  I am inclined to the latter interpretation. BAR stands for Browning Automatic Rifle — photo here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Browning_ar001.jpg. “Division CP” would be Division Command Post.
____________________________________________________________

[handwritten: Ed - Please return this when you are finished. Thanks, Arnold
by L. J. Nevis]

                              ON A YANK JUNGLE PATROL

     Several weeks ago I had requested the authority to go on a 
patrol outside the perimeter into Jap territory.  The other day Maj.
Ayres stopped by and said that preparations had been made for 
me to go out on a patrol.  Several hours letter the S-2 of one 
of our regiments called and told me to be at J (J because of 
censorship) Company at eight o’clock wednesday morning.   I drew
the necessary equipment, and spent the rest of the day cleaning 
my carbine.  Calling back the next day to check on the patrol, 
I found that I should be there at seven-thirty instead of eight 
o’clock.  Before I went to bed tuesday night I had everything 
ready. For the first time since i have been here I got up at 
reville.  After a hasty breakfast, I had Letwin drive me up to 
J Company area, which was situated thigh up on the ridge that forms
the perimeter.  I was introduced to the Lt. who was the patrol
leader, rations and ammunition were handed out, and a few instruc-
tions were given.  We then boarded a truck and are driven out to 
the Company whose lines we were to go out through.  our patrol 
consisted of fourteen infantry men, as we detracted we were met 
by fourteen AA men, who were to go out with us.  The AA men were 
designated to bring up the rear, and I followed behind the Patrol
Leader, whose was in turn behind two scouts.  We started out single 
file up over a little ridge.  On the other side we could see an 
outpost, as we approached they open the wire in front of them so 
that we could pass through.  At the outpost we stopped and made 
a check of the radio and our equipment.  The command was then 
given to load and look.  We went out through the wire and down 
a path through the mine field that was planted in front of the 
wire.  We were on our own now, out in no-mans-land.  We kept going
down,the trail getting steeper and steeper.  This was nice after 
climbing over the ridge to the outpost, but then I realized that 
every step we took down meant two steps up.

     The men in the patrol were all young, probably between twenty 
and twenty-five.  They were wiry, healthy, good looking kids.
They all looked capable  and looked like they knew what the score
was.  Apparently the misfits and weaklings had been weeded out long 
ago.  We finally reached the bottom of the little canyon, and 
started up  It was hard work climbing with a pack, I was sadly 
out of condition and became quickly winded, but somehow I kept 
up with them.  The morning passed slowly on, and we kept climbing 
or descending.  The trail became steeper and rougher.  Just about 
the time I felt I could go no farther, the patrol leader would
call for a halt.  The trail became even steeper; we would climb 
up for about fifty feet or so, and then rest.  I had only a piece
of toast and a cup of coffee for breakfast, and though I was wind-
ed before, I now began to feel weak.  I counted my pulse and it 
was constantly up around 150 or 160, and at times it went over
200.  I thought my heart was going to burst and my lungs ex-
plode with it.  Just about the time I felt I must stop, a call
came from the rear that that a man had fallen out.  We had to stop
and rest for a half hour, and wait for him to recover. This
certainly was a break for me.  A little while later two men fell
out and said that they could’nt go any further.  We radioed in 

[page 2]
our position and then left them there.  We then started forward
again, but this time a little slower.  We continued to climb and 
then descend, hour after hour, yard after yard.  A little before
twelve, we reached the crest of the ridge that we were to follow.
The mission of the patrol was to find a trail along this ridge to
an outpost that was our destination.  After following the ridge 
for about twenty minutes we stopped for lunch.  After I had eaten,
drank a good quantity of water and rested, I felt much better. At 
this point I learned that six of the AA boys had dropped out about 
eleven o’clock and started back, this decreased out patrol to twen-
ty men.  I was also told that the hardest part of the hike was be-
hind us, and so with the food, rest, and this knowledge I started 
off feeling more like my former self.  Although the ridge was eas-
ier than climbing up and down, it was was still rough.  The trail was 
narrow, and the ground sloped away rapidly on both sides.  If you 
can picture a flea walking along the top of a chipped and broken 
razor, you will have a rough idea of what it was like.  Occasion-
ally we would pass an old Jap gun position with some 75mm ammunition 
scattered around.  From these old positions we could look right 
down on our perimeter.  It must have been a terrific job for the 
Japs to get these 75mm’s up there.  Once in a while we would pass
a few abandoned Jap helmets.  Suddenly the Patrol Leader signaled
for a quick halt.  Ahead I could see a trip wire across the trail.
A scout went ahead to examine it.  It turned out to be merely a 
warning system, as it was attached to a couple of cans.  One of 
the men cut it and we proceeded, however a little more carefully. 
These two scouts had a tough job, every time the trail forked at 
a questionable place, they would drop their packs and each would 
investigate a branch.  They would then come back, and report their
findings to the Patrol Leader, who would decide which trail to 
take.  If any enemy was ahead they would be the first to contact 
them.  Behind me was a man with a BAR (automatic rifle) who could 
give immediate heavy fire power in case of contact with the enemy.

     We continued on when suddenly we were once again signaled to 
a quick halt.  Ahead was a newly prepared gun position.  We took 
cover, and the man with the BAR came forward to cover the scouts
while theyexamined the position.  One went to the left, the other 
to the right, and they started slowly crawling forward to flank 
the position.  Suddenly they jumped up and signaled us to come
ahead.  They postion was empty.  A little while later we reached some 
more old 75mm positions and the ridge fork at this point.  We
dropped down to rest, while the scouts went to investigate the 
fork.  In the distance we could hear artillery fire and some auto-
matic weapons firing.  I was so tired that I did’nt even bother to
try to find out how far away, where, or who it was.  The scouts 
finally came back, and it was decided to take the ridge to the 
left.  We were find later that this was to be an expensive 
mistake.  We started down the ridge, the going became rougher. 
Fortunately, the noon rest had done me a great deal of good and 
I was’nt any more tired than the others.  Once again we started 
to go up and down. The trail became steeper, and in many places 
it was necessary to use vines, or pull a man up with a rifle.
                                            -2-

[page 3]
Finally we started up a rather steep ridge, it was tough going,
but a least we thought we were on our way back to the main ridge.
However much to our disappointment we found our selves on top 
of a little pinnacle shaped mountain.  He we rested and the Patrol
leader planned the next move.  The dense jungle was a great hind-
erence on climbing up an down, but the vines are often handy at
a particularly tough spot.  We again got under way, this time we 
kept going down.  The slope became steeper, it was more and more 
difficult to descend we came to a little stream that was damp
but dry.  Here we started up again.  After a long climb we finally 
started down again.  The trail was an old one and hard to follow.
Suddenly the Patrol Leader signaled us to an abrupt halt.  The 
scouts went forward to examine a trip wire.  They were able to 
follow it for only about five feet on either side of the trail,
and then the going became too rough.  As it was slick they decided 
to cut it.  I got well back under cover, for if any booby traps 
were going to go off, I did’nt want to be around.  One man went 
forward and carefully cut the wire.  Nothing happened so we pro-
ceeded on down the trail.  After continuing down for several hun-
dred yards we found ourselves hacking through the brush.  Some-
where we had missed the trail.  The going got steeper, when we 
suddenly found ourselves on a ledge over a straight drop down.

     There was only one thing to do, and that was to go back.  I’ll
never forget that going back.  Once the Patrol Leader slipped and 
slid down about twenty feet before he finally caught hold of a 
root.  Somehow we finally made it back up and then down to the 
little damp stream bed.  Several of the men said that they could-
‘nt go up any more, they would have to go down.  We started to 
follow the stream down.  The rocks were slimmy with moss, here 
I took my first fall of the day.  The stream suddenly took a 
drop of thirty feet.  We went down a vine hand over hand. Every 
hold I took on the vine creaked and cracked, and I expected any 
minute to have it snap and go plunging down to the rocks below.
I was the fourth man down, the twentieth and last man said it had 
creaked and cracked on him.  Now we must continue downward for the 
vine would never hold if all of us tried to climb up it.  For some 
time now the men knew that we were lost, and they began to bitch 
bitterly.  A little further down the stream there was another straight 
drop.  We looked down and could’nt even see the bottom as it was 
obscured by folaige.  It looked like we were really stuck this
time.  The afternoon was wearing away, and in a few hours it 
would be dark.  The Lt. in charge finally worked his way around
a narrow ledge to the left, and we all followed.  After hacking 
along the edge of a very steep slope we finally came upon an old 
trail.  We started down, for over an hour we kept climbing down,
it was fast and rough going, as the Patrol Leader was trying to 
get us down to level ground before the sun went down.  We finally 
came out on an old Jap bivouac area, and upon crossing it we found 
a little stream.  Here we paused and filled our canteens, being 
careful to chlorinate the water.  Continuing on the trail, which 
now had become more  or less level we entered the site of a former
Jap hospital.  There were boxes, bottles, shoes, skulls, bones, 
and helmets strewn about. It was rather a funny feeling to look 
over at an old rusty Jap helmet, and see a skull nearby, sardonicly
leering up at you.  There were numerous foxholes, dugouts, and 
old fortifications on the other side of the hospital area.  About 
five-thirty somebody shouted, “This is far enough, lets stop for
                                             -3-

[page 4]
the night.  The Patrol Leader guided us off the trail to a little
level spot, and we threw off out packs.  I picked me a spot, and 
started to hack out a clearing with my knife.  About that time it
started to rain.  I did’nt even bother to put on a poncho, as I 
was already wet and covered with mud.  Normally guards and out-
posts would be posted, but we were all so tired that we were or-
dered to bunch up, and the Patrol Leader let it go at that. 
I asked him why we did’nt stop at the Jap bivouac area, as it was 
a much better spot.  He said that this place, well concealed and 
off the trail would be much safer.

     I opened my “K” rations and proceeded to eat a cold dinner of 
crackers, spam, and a choclate bar.  I took a couple of salt tablets
and some dextrose tablets, and prepared to settle down for the night.
I took off my wet fatigue jacket and slipped on a dry “T” shirt.
I dropped my poncho over my head and made a pillow out of my shelter
half, using part of it for a flap to keep the rain out of my face.
An hour later I woke up in a puddle, and had to move to higher 
ground.  Soon the rain let up and I fell asleep wet and cold with 
any and spiders crawling over my legs, and oblivious to the many 
sounds of the jungle night.About one in the morning I woke up ex-
tremely cold, I found that the warmest position was to lie on my 
side, cross my arms at my chest, and draw my legs up.  So once
again I fell asleep, however, this time with the moon shinning 
through a break in the trees right in my face.  About every hour 
i would wake up with a sore hip, then I would turn over on my back.
An hour later I would wake up very cold, so I would turn over on 
my other hip, curl up and go back asleep.  I did this alternately
all night.  We got up at six o’clock, ate breakfast, packed our gear,
and started off.  We figured ( or rather they did) that it would 
take us about two or three hours to hit the main trail that ran
out to a trail block and outpost.

     We went along a pretty good clip, I I was feeling pretty good
and did’nt mind it too much.  At one point it looked like we were 
going to have to cross a swamp, but they finally found a muddy
trail around the edge.  We were making pretty good time, when we 
found out that the rest of the patrol was quite a ways behind us.
They finally caught up with us, and they were pretty mad.  Mean 
words flew back and forth.  A man with a BAR wanted to throw it
away.  The Patrol Leader tried to find somebody else to carry it.
Every one declined, declaring that he was too tired.  Finally the 
Patrol Leader said that we would levee this spot until someone
would carry the gun.  The man that owned it then said, “I’ll carry 
the damn thing, lets get the hell out of here.”  Once again we 
plodded our weary way forward.  The jungle became very dense, you
could not see a man on the trail five feet in front of you.  Forty-five
minutes later we suddenly came out on the main trail, what a grand
and glorious feeling.  Because of the jungle out radio had not worked
since three the previous afternoon, so we flagged down a jeep and 
gave him the message to have the trucks come out and pick us up.
Two hours later I was sitting in my tent freshly showered and in 
clean sun tans relating my experiences to some friends.  Although 
we did’nt contact the enemy, I was well satisfied with patrolling, 
and determined to stay near the Division CP unless ordered to do
otherwise.