Leonard's Story: December 21, 1944

This letter is a retelling of the previous letter but with the details of the Japanese counteroffensive. S-2 refers to military intelligence, as in collecting data on enemy movement and battlefield deployments. Knee mortar is likely a 30 ounce grenade launched from a grenade launcher called a leg mortar. G-2 refers to Army intelligence but it is unclear what a ghoal is. The Lodger is a 1944 horror movie, based on Jack the Ripper and starring Merle Oberon, George Sanders and Laird Cregar. 
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                                                                       Philippines

                                                                       21st Dec

Dear Arnold,

     I just received your letter of 30 Nov today.  I have

received others since, and I don't know what the mix up

was.  Incidentally your letter and some clippings sent to

the 37th Div on the election, is the first mail I have receiv-

ed in over two weeks.  I hope I get some later mail before

Christmas.

     You mention the snow and the white barreness.  It is

beautiful in a bleak, cold white way, it will give you a

real White Christmas.  I'll never forget one day at Ritchie

when we had to go out on a map problem.  There was about

eight inches of snow on the ground, a sharp bitter wind was

blowing, bringing the temperature down below zero.  I would

take off a glove write a few figures or a few lines of a

sketch and then put it on before my hand froze.  We had on

hoods and masks with only our noses and eyes sticking out,

I thought my nose would freeze and fall outff.  It is hard

to imagine when spring comes that something so beautiful

and green could be so bleak and cold.

     Now it can be told!  At 1838 on the evening of the

6th of Dec, during a customary air raid, about twenty one

or more planes suddenly came roaring over at about 800 ft.

The strange thing was that they were Jap transports.  They

held their formation beautifully, and flew on without a break

or falter through a sky filled with flak.  Then to our rear

and right flank paratroopers came pouring out the doors.  In

less than thirty seconds they were on the ground and the

planes had disappeared in the distance.  Imagine the excite-

ment and confusion.  I will never forget that night.  Only a

few of themen had bothered to dig foxholes, but you should

have seen the scramble for shovels.  We dug them around and

in our G-2 tent.  Three of us were working together on one,

and it is quite an experience to dig one in pitch darkness.

Before we could finish the fireworks started.  Bullets were

wanging around everywhere, mostly our own.  Two men were shot

ten feet from me in the tent by our own fire.  This firing

kept up all night, and it rough spending the night in a

little foxhole with two other men.  There were no Japs

shot right in our immediate area, however the trigger happy

bastards were able to get some of our men, and would quite

a few more.  The next day or I should say that morning I

was assigned as acting S-2 or a mixed regiment formed to

protect a nearby airstrip.

     Once again history repeated itself, but this time there

were actually some Japs around.  The Japs threw over a few

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mortar shells not far where I was holed up in a fortress of

stacked steel airstrip matting.  They were not knee mortar

shells, but 60mms, and Bub it is an unpleasant feeling to

hear them exploding around you.  For the few they/shot over

we dumped back a hundred fold so they finally decided it did'nt

pay and quit.  The main shooting was across the strip from

where I was situated, but the men around us did'nt let that

phase them.  I guess they thought it was the fourth of July

or something.  Every time out own troops would have somthing

to shoot at across the strip, the boys on my side would hear

the firing and would open up in any direction just for the

hell of it.  They shot one of their own men about fifty feet

from where I was.  These GIs are good shots and consequently

they usually kill what they hit.  About 0130 the Colonel sent

me out to find out why they were throwing grenades, and I'll

be damned if they did'nt almost get me.  About every ten or

fifteen minutes they would decide they needed some extra pro-

tection so some joker would toss a hand frenade out in front of

his hole.  The next morning they knocked off some snipers

nearby, but at that time I only had a .45 and they were out

of my range.  Shortly afterwards I drew a carbine.

     I have been out on four special patrols now, but I have'nt

gotten any more Japs since the first one - patrol.  In fact I

just came in from one tonight.  We went up to where one of

the transports crashed, to get some equipment.  The plane was

up on a cliff and the bodies were two undred feet below

in and on the banks of a river.  While we were up on the

cliff some of the men below got two Japs, but all I could

do was listen to the firing, I could'nt even see what was

happening.  I don't mind so much searching freshly killed

Japs, but when they get a week or two old, the odor gets

pretty bad.  I am fast becoming the official G-2 Ghoal.

I thought I was getting hardened until I heard about some

of the GIs digging the gold fillings out of the teeth of

rotting Japs.

     Well tonight we had a show, the first one I've seen for

a long time.  It was THE LODGER, fair for out here.  The sun

has come out a little in the last few days, I ate down at

another ourfit tonight and walked away with the wrinkles (not many now)

taken out of my stomach for a change, the action is going

along swell here, in fact things are almost looking up a

little.  Inclosed you will find a Jap major's insignia taken

off one of the deceased at the plane.  Write soon.

                                                  love,

                                        [signed] Leonard

P.S. Thanks for the wings, but I have'nt received them yet.

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Leonard's Story: December 10, 1944

CP is probably Command Post. 
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                                                                    Philippines

                                                                   Sun, 10th Dec

Dear Arnold,

     How is the home front?  I have finally had a little

real combat experience, sleeping in a muddy fox hole all

night, being under fire, seeing dead of both sides, and

even killing a Jap.

     On Pearl Harbour day I was assigned (volunteered) to go

on a special / mission up to the front to search Jap bodies, recover and

capture all possible documents, and try to identify the enemy

force.  Searching bodies is not normally my duty, but identifying

is.  I was flown up to an airstrip about a milebehind the lines,

and hoofed it the rest of the way.  I finally found an officer

of the unit I was looking for and he supplied me with an ample

bodyguard, and four AA men on their day off decided to come along

for excitement.  We were on the right flank, and the road to the

main fighting area was under fire, so we had to go a long way

around.  The mud was over our knees at times, and often we became

mired and had to pull one another out, in addition we were travell-

ing in an area in which there were snipers.  We got lost once and

almost walked into the main field of fire, however we finally

arrived at an air unit which was more or less temporarily isolated

on a hill, as firing was going on in all directions around them,

in fact shortly after we arrived we neard firing in the direction

we had just come from.  They treated us well, fed us and gave

us water and directions.  We started out about noon and travelled

down a road whcih was practically one the line.  All the Japs

inside the area had already been searched, and I had to go into

a swamp fifty yards in front of the lines.  I took one of the

AA men who seemed like a reliable man.

     It was a messy ticklish job, in muddy, bloody water.  I

was'nt so much afraid of meeting a Jap, as having one get in

between us and the lines, and having out own troops shoot us

while shooting at the Jap.  We found some with grenades or their

weapons still clenched in their hands.  We finally reached our

last Jap.  I thought he looked in pretty good codition, and

he did'nt seem to be hit badly.  We had just finished searching

him, and while turning him over for a final check we pushed

his head under water.  The bastard was playing possum, but he

could hold his breath, and when we turned him back up he started

gasping.  He opened his eyes and looked at me, that was his last

earthly act and mistake.  I shot him in the head with my .45

at two feet, you can well imagine the effects.  He might have   ?

been helpless and merely recovering conciousness, and I could

have just as well cold-conked him, but in that one second I

forgot I was in intelligence and all I could think of was

what if he had a grenade or knife in his hands which were

below the water, it was him or me.  However I have no feelings

[page 2]

                                    [arrow, handwritten] I'll never know

about the matter, even if he was helpless, but I do which I

had taken him prisoner, we could use the information.

I got some good souvenirs; Jap flag, rifle, bayonet, watch, [arrow, vertical in margin] 

                                                                                        And a good cigarette

                                                                                        case that coincidentally,

                                                                                        see other side

other misc items.  I am going to send all home except the

rifle, which is verboten.

     That same night we had some most unusual excitement,

the nature which I am not at present permitted to disclose,

but you probably read about it in newspapers.  We had Japs

running around near our area creating a good deal of conusion,

but not too much damage.  These green troops were all "trigger

happy", and consequently those at the Division Cp hit more

of our own men than they did Japs.  Two men were hit in the

G-2 tent ten feet from me.  No Japs were found the next morning,

but some of our own wounded and dead were, shot with our own

weapons.  It is a sad situation when you are shot by your

own troops.  Some of these fools must have thought it was

fourth of July, and shot at everything and anything that

moved or made a noise and a great deal of things they imagined.

Someone would open up and everybody else would follow suit,

not knowing what they were shooting at. Consequently I spent

most of the night in my foxhole.  I have only fired oneshot

at the enemy.

     The second night I was on temporary duty with a temporary

unit guarding an object.  There were green troops again, just

brought up from the beach, and again history repeated itself.

A man was killed fifty yards from the CP I was at by a carbine

bullet.  About two AM the Colonel ordered me to go out and

find out what they were throwing grenades at, although I

crawled out on my belly, they almost got me.  Periodically

they would lob a grenade out in front of their foxholes.

In the morning we aggain found no Japs in their immediate area.

There were some Japs about three or four hundred yards away,

and we did receive some mortar fire, but I don't know if it

was from the Japs or our own troops.

     Things are almost back to normal now, and I doubt if I

will see some excitement again for some time.  For a while

the sun came out, but it has started raining again, nevertheless

despite the weather, our troops have made good progress as

you have probably been reading in the papers, and it should'nt

be long before things care cleaned up here.  I imagine in the

next operation I will have even more exciting things to write

about.  Well write soon and give me the latest news.  By the

time this letter reaches you, you will be at MIT, and Christmas

and New Years will be a thing of the past, but just the same:

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEARS FROM THE PHILIPPINES

                                                                         LOVE,

                                                         [signed] Leonard

P.S. That earthquake was convenient, I have been hoping for the

thatsame for the last three years.

[page 3]

(in pencil - very faded

                     AHN)

I was on pretty friendly terms

with our Native baggage boys

but since I killed the Jap

that I might have captured

there has been a change. Try

as I may they wont take

a cigarette from the Jap case.

                                         ?

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