Fishman, 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon, "D" Co.
cradles his BAR while on patrol - Negros, May 1945)
D Company on patrol -
Negros, July 1945)
Maurice St. Germain of Vermont - the entire 2d Bn was loaded on a train
from Fabrica to Malapasoc - and was bombed by a wayward B-24.
Mail Call, Negros, July 1945 -
Robert C. Roberts, of 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon, "D" Co. Note the
height of the grass.
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11
April 1945.
2300 hours. |
First
real action of the Negros Campaign. Two (or more) enemy soldiers could
be heard talking in front of the company outpost and moving directly
toward our perimeter. They were met by a burst of fire. Daylight
revealed one enemy KIA approximately 30 ft in front of our position. My
first impression was that they were acting more like a group of GI's
returning from an evening out on the town than a combat patrol. This
impression was never felt again during the campaign. |
14th
or 15th of April |
It was
about the 14th or 15th of April when we moved into new forward positions
and someone discovered an abandoned 55 gallon drum in the perimeter .
It was filled with alcohol distilled from sugar. Sugar cane was one of
the principal crops of the island, and the Japanese had apparently been
using it as motor fuel. Some brave soul sampled the contents and
declared it potable and potent. Mixed with lemon powder and water, it
quickly became a popular drink. I recall the incident primarily because
I was selected to carry the BAR on a patrol when the assigned BAR man
became a bit indisposed after sampling the alcohol concoction. To speed
things, I simply took his webbing and gear, including the BAR belt
filled with ammo, a pistol, two canteens, etc. and headed down toward
the river. As usual, it rained, and the patrol headed back with no
contact. By the time I staggered back up the now muddy hill, I could
barely walk with the ill fitting belt, pistol hitting me about the
knees, and hips raw from the ammo pouches. I believe it was this
evening that our machine gunners, in high spirits, provided the
entertainment by firing their machine guns to the tune of "shave and a
haircut - six bits" They were answered by Jap machine gun some distance
away across the valley, and a little duel ensued. I distinctly remember
our guns red tracers going out - and the Jap white tracers coming back
at them. |
17
April. |
An
overnight patrol in company with Filipino guerrillas. Set up a
perimeter the night of 17 April and moved out in the morning of 18
April. I remember the night well, primarily because we had set up our
perimeter on a hilltop with the guerrillas. It was hot, humid, and the
mosquitoes were thick and hungry. We had repellent that we used, but
our guerrilla comrades had none, and spent the night loudly slapping the
hungry insects. They also had no water, and I recall sharing one of my
two canteens of water with them. Filipino civilians in the area were
questioned and indicated that Japanese activity in the area was common.
About noon the guerrillas made contact and two were wounded in the
ensuing firefight. I recall the firefight well primarily because of
their actions. When the shooting began, they continued advancing in a
skirmish line across a fairly open field, while we hit the ground. They
responded to whistle commands by their leaders to advance, commence
firing, cease firing, etc: I was impressed. We had moved forward and
across a relatively open hillside facing dense forest. We thought the
affair had been settled to our satisfaction and that the enemy had
pulled back until Pvt. Rickard sighted an individual in the trees ahead
of us. He and I had a little discussion concerning the individual's
identity. We decided he was a Japanese, so Rickard shot him. At the
same time PFC Bates, who was in charge of our mortar section, lobbed a
round of mortar fire into the area. The response was immediate and
effective. A barrage of knee mortar and rifle fire erupted from the
forest to our front and hastened our immediate departure to the rear.
|
19 April. |
A
morning air strike on enemy positions directly ahead of us was observed
and cheered by all hands as the Air Force A-20's pounded enemy positions
ahead of us. The sound of Japanese machine gun fire could be heard with
each aircraft pass and its effect observed when one of the planes was
hit in an engine and turned in a glide back over our positions with one
engine flaming. As he crossed over our perimeter, an explosion sent a
burning object from the plane and into our position. It was a tire that
the flames had caused to explode and fall from the plane. We dove for
cover as the tire hit near our positions. Our shouts for the crew to
"jump" were answered as one chute could be seen as one of the
crewmembers bailed out and we could see his chute open as the plane
glided out of our sight. We later heard that the pilot and gunner rode
the plane to the ground and jumped from the burning plane as it skidded
through the brush and just before it exploded on the ground. We heard
that the jumper we had observed bail out was an Associated Press
correspondent who had went along for the ride. |
20
April. |
My
platoons assault on the
ridge to the left front of
our position resulted in no
casualties to our platoon,
but an education in the
sound of Japanese knee
mortars being fired at you
and the actual sight of
incoming mortar rounds.
The company lost several men
in this assault and I found
out just how powerful the
explosion of a mortar round
could be. I dove into
a shell hole at the sound of
a round being fired and the
sight of it coming in my
direction. I was
untouched as the round
exploded beside my hole, but
deafened by the explosion
for a time. |
20/21 April |
The night
of April 20th and morning of the 21st were ones I shall never forget.
We had dug in on top of the ridge and it was the longest night I have
ever endured. Japanese shouting in perfect English "Americans, you will
all be dead by morning", and " We will kill you all". It made you
wonder if perhaps they knew something we didn't. We threw grenades at
the sound of Japanese creeping into our positions, exchanged fire with
them, and it was here I remember asking the Lord to help me through the
night. It was on this ridge at about 4:00 AM that several enemy came
charging into our positions with a machine gun and sprayed fire into one
of our positions, killing two of our people. The position they hit had
originally been one of their gun positions, so they knew exactly where
it was located. Fortunately, I was in a foxhole that I had dug myself. |
28 April. |
Shortly
after noon the company moved through "F" Company to take a ridge some
500 yards to our front. The third (my) platoon was following the first
and second in the advance. After mortars and small arm�s fire hit the
first, we moved through them to take over the advance. I noticed
several of them alongside the trail, wounded and bleeding and being
cared for by medics. I noted one was a friend I had come overseas with
(Raines)- fortunately, he was only slightly wounded. We continued to
the ridge position, the enemy retreating under heavy fire. As the ridge
was being secured, my friend and fellow BAR team member (Hearne*) was
killed at my side by a sniper. A few moments later, as PFC Sierra and I
checked out a road to our front concerning a wrecked field gun that had
been left immediately in front of our position. As we peeked over the
hill at the gun, a sniper put a round directly between us, spraying us
with gravel. By now I was certain that I was no longer invincible, but
a very mortal and very scared individual, who had matured from a
teenager in a very short time. When replacements arrived that afternoon
to fill our depleted ranks and replace those soldiers we had lost, I
felt as I had been there forever. |
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* HEARNE,
Elwood H., Pfc; SN 32762155,
"D" Co., 503d PRCT. Enlisted
NJ. |
2 May
1945. |
Heavy rain
as usual. Everything soaked. At about mid-morning a report that one of
our patrols had been hit and two men killed. One body was not
recovered. My platoon was called out to assist in the recovery. As we
moved up the trail, a "short" round of our own mortar fire burst in the
trees just ahead of us. The rain had soaked the powder charges and made
mortars useless. As we continued on up the trail we met up with a
machine gun section on the trail. It was one of their men that we had
been sent out to recover. It was decided that under covering fire from
the machine gun section and our squad that Dablock and I would race out
to recover the body of Sgt. Wister. As the machine gun section and 1st
squad poured covering fire into the area, we raced out to recover the
body. Encumbered with my Thompson sub-machine gun, I was having trouble
picking up and carrying the body by its feet - which had been stripped
of its boots by the enemy. I took Dablocks sub-machine gun and he threw
the body over his shoulder and ran back to cover while I sprayed fire
from both guns into the area to our front to cover our retreat with the
body. As I turned to race back to cover, my helmet was knocked from my
head - perhaps by a tree limb; or perhaps somewhere on Negros Island,
along a trail called Tokaido road, there is a rusting helmet, possibly
with a bullet hole in it. Needless to say, I did not go back to
retrieve it and find out. |
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