The tank company was quite a bit different from the infantry. The first thing I learned was the personnel want steel treads on their tanks rather than rubber. I remember the cheers on the day it was announced that rubber treads would be replaced. Soon we boarded a Landing SHIP dock--LSD. This was a ship with an open portion in the back to house the tanks. Life aboard ship was much the same as in other ships. The day prior to invasion I witnessed my first lesson in psychology. The best poker players were playing their final match in the Mess Halll. The room was full of onlookers. One man was winning everything. On the last hand, a loser stated that some people have all the luck. "Not so" stated the winner who then told each player a physical characteristic that told him when they had good hands. For example, one played with chips, another put his cards down and did not look at them again. etc., etc. When it was over, they all agreed this was true.
The morning of the invasion I was amazed at the number of ships that suddenly appeared. Planes were everywhere and shelling of the island was continuous. Where was this? It was the Palau Isands in the Pacific. The island we were attacking was Anguar.
We were not the first landing on the beach. As we came to shore the smell of burning flesh and floating body parts was something I have long tried to forget. We were on shore and sorta made camp. The first night was terrible for us since this was our baptism of fire. Lights were shot in the air with small parachutes to slow them down as they came to earth. The only thing was as the lights descended shadows seemed to be climbing up trees. It took us some time to figure this out. Every once in a while machine guns were fired. I'm not sure there were any Japanese being fired on or not. The next day while we were still back of the fighting a tanker asked me to see if I could shoot a bird high in a tree. I did and luckily I hit the bird. From then on the tankers thought I was a good rifleman. I really wasn't.
The day before we went to the front a rifleman attached to the tankers next to us told me he was married when he was home on his last furlough. The story was that his wife had to choose between two men and she selected the man talking to me. He laughingly said that he bet the other suitor was hoping he would get killed so he could marry his wife.
The next day we were at the front. Gunshots all around and suddently I heard a rifle shot and a groan. The soldier I was talking with the previous day was hit. I went to see if I could help and could get no response. I then started back to my tank group -- just a few feet away -- and all of a sudden BANG. I had been hit. I yelled to those in the tank and they responded immediately. They called for Medics and circled the tanks plus a huge smoke screen. Help arrived and I was given morphine and I remember two sets of medics carrying me to a jeep. The next stop was the tent hospital.
Doctors checked me and decided I had to have surgery to see if everything inside of me was OK. I had to request that they put a screen in front of me. I did not want to watch the operation which used a spinal block.
Things were confusing to me. I thought I was told not to drink water and then I thought I was told to drink lots of water. Someone came and told me that he had my Purple Heart. I told him to put it under my pillow as I had other things to think about. Doctors checked me and told me I was lucky that I was going to be OK.
I thought I was in the tent hospital two days and then taken to a Hospital Ship. The Hospital Ship was lit like a Christmas tree. This was a surprise to me. It must been dark at the time. On board I was told to get out of my bunk and walk. I started to walk and fainted. We didn't try that again. The one point on the ship worth remembering was reading a ship newspaper which told of the World Series between the Cardinals and Browns in St.Louis.
Thanks for sharing that. Your dad had a gift for writing and was brave in battle.
Posted by: Woody | 04/02/2006 at 11:34 AM
He just wrote this, so I guess he still has the gift! It took 60 years and a little prodding from me to get him to write this down. But that's another story.
Posted by: Tom McMahon | 04/02/2006 at 12:00 PM
I'm impressed. I figured this was from a diary long ago. Now, I suspect this is from where you have inherited your talent. I should have known, though, that this was written more currently, because he used the word "Japanese" rather than "Japs"--a give-away.
Posted by: Woody | 04/03/2006 at 08:54 AM