Prisoners of war natives Archives - Page 2 of 2

9 December 1944

Dear Folks:

Instead of getting closer to home as I would like to, I’m going farther away. I know you have probably been anxious since you haven’t heard from me for sometime and I’ve been equally as anxious to write you and let you know everything is alright with me. Now I’m in the Philippines. Pretty hot here in more ways than one. But the most annoying aspect is the rain – it seems to rain all the time and everything is always damp. However I’m now living in a pyramidal tent which is much better than a pup tent. There are native Filipinos all around the area. A few of them have stories about guerilla fighting and how the Japs treated them. And they are always bargaining for something–rations, clothes, matches, etc. The people seem very small and their grass huts are built in proportion to their size. But I’m not much in the mood to write a newsy letter – the main thing is to let you know that I’m fine and the prospects are pretty good. Our first night here we got a Fourth of July welcoming and much of it was spent in a foxhole. Jumping in a foxhole together with the rain isn’t enjoyable, but I can’t complain when I think of the infantry fellows who are up there taking it without even the small conveniences we have. The trip here had me worried a couple of times when the air raid sounded, but we got in without an attack. If you are reading about this place you know what the Japs are doing to hold it and its no quarter fight on both sides. The best thing that happened when we first got here was mail. It was waiting – first class and a package from you – you don’t know how comforting they were. The package had chicken in it and it was a good supplement to the K rations – and the pretzels went good with some beer we managed to ship over in an office box. And then I had a letter from Dad and Mom and a card from Reader’s Digest about the subscription. Would you write them and advise them of my new APO?

WelI thought I’d write this V-mail first for it might get to you a little sooner, but I’ll write again soon and give you more dope. The siren might sound again at any time and then I’ll have to put the light out and won’t be able to finish. So adios for this time.

Love,

30 October 1944

Dear Folks:

Kind of a lazy Sunday morning with not very much to do, so a good time to write you a letter while I won’t have to rush. Church services are in the afternoon. For a while this morning watched some volleyball games and then walked up to the baseball diamond, but it was pretty hot so I came back. While many things aren’t so convenient for us it helps a lot to get some time off and to be able to relax occasionally.

Since I started this I was interrupted and now it is about eight o’clock in the evening. I received three letters just before the show and just now could read them. This was the first mail in four days and I was beginning to think something had gone wrong again. Two of the letters were from you and one from Washington, so I had a boost in my morale. You once remarked Mom how I could write so much, well you are practically the only ones I write to, and many nights it’s a relief to write rather than trying to kill time and thinking about home so much, so I start writing, and when I’m doing it, it seems like I get a little closer to you somehow.

For the first time in several years I played baseball. The battery organized a third team and today I played third base. I guess I did alright although my hands are a little sore from catching the ball. In the battalion we have two leagues, the American (and) the National set up, so there are a lot of games. I’m on the first three graders volleyball team too, but not so hot at that racket. But there aren’t many of us so I have to play.

Of course the news from the Philippines on the water and on land is drawing our attention as it must be yours. I listen to every news broadcast I can, and we can get them from all sides, Australia, Japan, Germany and London. Two nights ago I ran onto a particularly interesting shortwave broadcast while dialing around. Correspondents for UP, INS and AP were transmitting their messages to ‘Frisco from Leyte and the procedure of getting the news to their agencies was interesting. Of course the Japs are claiming victories on a larger scale than ours, and claim Task Force 58 was annihilated off Formosa. The line of rot they propagate is really something to hear. In connection with the war I happened to get a hold of some interesting stuff on (the) Saipan operation and thought you might like to read it. Some of the commentators seem to think the Naval victory may shorten the war a few months and I’m not inclined to disagree. I hope the Philippines don’t bog down into another New Guinea affair and drag on for many months. Those yellow b___’s can live like gophers and it’ll take a lot to dig them out. They use ‘em to haul garbage from camp and when I see them go by on the truck I wonder what they’re thinking about. They are still bringing them out of the hills. About a month ago three of them were seen in a cane field next to one of the batteries and after killing two of them the other gave up. One of them was almost out in two bullets.

Just a few minutes ago I opened a can of beer and even had peanuts to go with it. The PX got a pretty good supply in and after waiting in line for 45 minutes finally was able to buy a few things.

Yesterday went to the dentist and had a small filling taken care of. My gum had swollen a little but wasn’t too sore so I thought I better see what was up. Luckily it wasn’t bad and he didn’t have to drill around too much. My teeth are in good shape now, and contrary to my civilian habits I brush them regularly.

Well I think I’ve run out for this time. Another Sunday gone by and another week on the way. Time seems to be flying for me to and I hope the next year goes as fast as the last one, for then I will be eligible for rotation. And pray that when we get our next furlough quota I will walk up and draw the little slip with the magic words on it. I worry more about you folks than I do about myself and I hope you don’t upset yourselves too much. Well there’s the curtain on another act so, so long –

Love,

20 September 1944

Dear Folks:

Started out to see a show tonight at the Seabee camp but after getting there found there was no show there. I’m back in camp again ready to spend a monotonous evening. I’ll try to write one [letter] in longhand tonight although my writing is getting steadily worse. Don’t know where to begin – not much has happened. Got into a bridge game last night with some real competition but we finally came out on top. Haven’t been a low man for sometime now. We had several fine howls and missed a small slam three times.

Some of the civilians have been released on [faded] you can see a few of them walking with packs on their backs or driving two-wheel carts carrying whatever they can find to begin building again. Of course they are under restriction and can only move in certain areas. I still hate the looks of all of them – they look too sour and mysterious to me. Yesterday I saw four men and a woman walking along the road. The woman was carrying a load that I don’t think I could carry and the men paid no attention to her difficulty. I guess Japanese women are handy gadgets instead of human beings.

In order to find something to write about I’ll take a couple of Dad’s letters and see what I can comment about. In the first place we’ve got our house pretty well waterproofed now, although an especially drenching rain may cause a little leak. It rains almost every day without fail and sometimes a rain comes out of a clear sky in five or ten minutes. We catch the rainwater in buckets and use it to wash clothes with and occasionally take a bath in.

I’d like to see Nancy as a cheerleader and I’ll bet she makes a good one. I suppose Phil plays his heart out in football and will probably get banged up plenty before the season is over. [illegible next sentence]

Every time you write about Gramp’s melons I drip at the mouth and my head begins to swim. Boy, how good an ice cold watermelon would taste – I would eat a 100 lb. one myself.

I’m always wondering what the house looks like now and don’t forget the pictures if you can possibly get them. And it does my heart good to know that you are now able to fix it up as you have always wanted to fix a home up.

Am getting around to Christmas again. I think a fruit cake is a darn good idea. And here’s another, I can use a pen and pencil set. I still have the one you sent me about two years ago but I have good [faded] one in the office – and can you put my name on it?

For some reason tonight I was thinking back to my younger days of mine when things were a little tougher for us and Dad tried to explain to me just why they were that way and I couldn’t quite see it. Now I hope all that has changed and you can both carry out some of the yearned for plans you must have had. And you know whatever I have can be used by you.

Well [faded] says it’s time to think of bed and I feel like a good sleep tonight so better slip this in an envelope and get it on its way.

Love,

26 August 1944

Dear folks:

I just finished a game of volleyball and in this weather that’s pretty strenuous. Now I smell like a goat and will have to take a bath in a Japanese tub that we found. Our water supply for bathing and washing clothes is mostly rainwater. Almost every shack has a barrel with a drain pipe stock in the top. The day before yesterday I was out with the major and we pretty well covered all the island in his jeep. In one area at the southern end of the island we went into some of the caves where the Japs hid out when the Jig was up. There are still plenty of them there and only yesterday 64 were taken prison. We went into one large cave that had been hit with a big naval shell and we estimated there was between sixty or seventy dead ones there. In another we found two who had hanged themselves and their headless bodies were leaned against the wall and their heads still hanging on the wire. But a little time in those places and the stench nearly knocks you out, so we didn’t stick around long.

I was scheduled to see Dick last Sunday on Saipan. I was going to fly over but I couldn’t get away. Don’t know whether I will see him again or not. I wasn’t going to mention this but now that he is well and the same as ever again, I guess it’s all right. On August the 5^th he was injured when a Jap grenade went off near him and he got about a half dozen pieces in his legs and feet and back. He was sent to the hospital, and when I first got news about it I flew over to see him. When I got there he was getting along fine and able to walk in the chow line. He wouldn’t let me tell you about it and so I didn’t write anything, but he wasn’t seriously hurt so I thought is was all right. He was in the hospital until about the 11^th or 12^th and then released. He was a little shaken and damn glad to see me, but I assure you he is as fine as ever and the injury will have no effect whatsoever upon him. Undoubtedly he will be awarded the Purple Heart and maybe he has it by now. He will have plenty to tell you when he gets back. But please don’t worry for he is in the best of health.

Now that the 2^nd class mail has begun to catch up I have papers and magazines all over the place. The box of seeds came the day before yesterday and in good shape and now I can sit around and munch them when mealtime seems a long way off. Danny Gettman brings in armloads of Star Heralds and it’s a job to read all of them, but I don’t mind it. Jack Conklin and I swapped news and he told me Mildred Roberts was getting a divorce—How did it last as long as it did? He had a lot of other news and it’s all interesting. I haven’t received a letter from you for about a week now, but I suppose it will come in with a rush someday. Jack read me a few of his letters and in all of them everyone back there seems very optimistic and sees a bright future for the end of the war. I hope they don’t get too optimistic because there’s a long way to go yet, but everything does look pretty good on the whole.

Well I think I better stop and get ready to crawl in. I hope this letter doesn’t startle you and you won’t worry about Dick, because in all honesty he is fine. Yesterday two fellows left on furlough to the states and I would have given them two hundred dollars for their papers but I don’t think they would bat an eye at that price. I couldn’t blame them. Don’t get your hopes up about me getting back for the quota is so small it’s almost nothing and is more like dangling a piece of meat in front of a dog just to keep him going. Maybe the rotation plan will treat me better although that’s a year away yet. Well that’s enough for tonight, so I’ll just go to bed and think about all of you like I’ve done for a long time now.

Love,

20 August 1944

Dear Folks:

I’ll try my patience tonight and see if I can write a letter in long hand for a change. Maybe you can’t read it around the end but here goes. This is Saturday night again but it just as well be any night I guess. Maybe I can make it to church in the morning if nothing unforeseen comes up. Well I had a little excitement during my tour yesterday. While driving along in a jeep at the southern end of the island, we spotted a Jap running in the bushes and trying to dodge around a burned up truck. We let go a few rounds at him and soon he came out hands up. We stripped him down to his bare then took him to intelligence. He was scared to death and thought for sure we were going to kill him in short order. He was injured pretty badly and flies were all around him. Later we gave him a can of rations and he dug into them as fast as he could. Every time we gave him a cigarette or did anything for him he would bow his head very reverently two or three times.

I can’t think of much to write about. We are getting somewhat stabilized here now and the garrison routines are coming back. We have two volleyball courts constructed and several teams have been organized in the battery for a playoff. My game isn’t so hot but I get in once in a while.

Dan Gettman brought in a slug of Star Heralds a few days ago and we talked about your visit with his mother. He’s a typical valley Russian but a pretty good egg.

Hope I can see Dick in the next few days and swap mail with him. He probably has quite a few.

I wished I could think of something more to write but can’t seem to tonight. So I’ll stop this and get ready for those “cool clean sheets” and that “late Sunday morning sleep”. (Yes, I’m kiddin’).

Love,

18 July 1944

Dear folks:

Time out for another communiqué from Saipan and what I did and saw this morning should give me enough material for a good one but I don’t know how much you like to know about this stuff – I mean maybe you would rather not hear all the worse aspects. Dick came around this morning about ten in a jeep and asked me if I wanted to see some of the island and I said sure so we took off up through Charan Kanoa and on through Garapan to the north where the Japs held out the longest. Dick had been around there before and knew where to go. He wanted to find a Jap pistol and at the same time show me some dead Japs, and as we got near the area I didn’t know whether I was going to feel right or not. Finally we pulled across a young cane field and came to stop about fifty yards from the beach. I noticed the stench was terrific and the flies could be counted by the hundreds, and I felt a little hesitant at having to look around. After putting a shell in the chamber I got out and Dick and I walked into the underbrush and trees. We didn’t go far before we could see plenty of dead Japs. Many of them had committed suicide by putting a grenade on their stomach and some had taken off one shoe, putting the end of the barrel in their stomach and fired their rifle with their big toe. I saw several of these. They have odd and many ways of killing themselves and one group looked as though they had lined up laying down and let the man in back of him blow his brains out. We must have walked three or four hundred yards down the beach and the dead were scattered all through the area. Some civilians had refused to give up and stayed with the soldiers and there was many of them all ages, some in family groups. A number of the soldiers had bottles of sake and more of them had nothing but a stick with a spike on the end for a weapon. Some had attempted to crawl over the rocks on the edge of the water and swim away and in one place in an opening in the rocks there must have been a dozen. Dick found a very good looking officer’s sword in good condition. They are about the most prize souvenir to get and we felt darn lucky. Well about eleven thirty we started back down the wreckage littered road. I thought a lot of things about what the war all means and how come all these people and soldiers are dead, and will they do the same thing fifty or a hundred years from now, but that’s all of no avail. Garapan is a little smaller than Scottsbluff and the town was leveled. If you can imagine the Stockfleth Chevrolet Garage when it burned and then apply it to every building in town you can see what a mess it must be. It must have been a neat little town sitting below Mt. Tapochata but it is wreckage and debris from one end of the town to the other.

I still ate a pretty good dinner when I got back, and now it’s about time to take a good shower and get the smell off me. Also this morning I found a pack of Jap money – there must have been about seven or eight thousand yen in it. The exchange rate is twenty yen to a dollar. How can I sleep with so much money? Ol’ Dick’s quite a soldier and hale as ever. He doesn’t write much I guess but he’s okeh and wanting to get home as much as I do. Guess this is enough for this time – will give another communiqué on my experiences in a day or two.

Love,

17 July 1944

Dear Folks:

I’m a long way from home but today seemed like old home week. We were taking a few minutes off with a pinochle game when somebody came striding in and said ‘Is there anyone from Nebraska in here?’ I was about ready to say your damn right when I recognized Jack Conklin. Ol’ big burly hairy-chested Jack stripped to the waist with a helmet and dark glasses on – I had to look close. He has been looking practically all over the island for me and when he did it was time for him to leave. We pumped each other’s arm for a minute then got the low down on each other. He couldn’t stay very long but we’ll be seeing each other again before long. Dick, myself, and Jack aren’t too far away from one another and probably in the next day or two we’ll celebrate by eating a can of Japanese crabmeat. It certainly is a treat to see someone like that. Jack looked good as hell and of course everyone over here is brown as a dirty penny. He said he hadn’t sent the pictures – hadn’t been able to develop them yet.

Tonight is a special night as it goes over here – its movie night – an old picture that I have seen before but I can always sit through it again. The mosquitoes will beat out those of Minatare any old day, but the GI lotion keeps them off pretty good. But then I suppose it will rain. Along with the nighttime pests is the land crab. Some of them are 7 or 8 inches across and when they get on the tin that we line our foxholes with or around boxes they scratch like hell and sometimes scare the wits out of you. They’re mean looking things. Little red ants run around too that leave a nasty sting that doesn’t go away right away. A few snipers are still afloat and only a night or two ago, a couple were killed around Charan Kanoa, and sometimes in the night you get to seeing things.

When Dick and I were out yesterday we noticed a bunch of Jap workers and thought how far behind the times they were. They don’t seem to have much labor-saving equipment and do about everything by hand. We saw a dozen of them pulling a tree stump when four of them could have picked it up and carried it off in a few minutes. On Maui the sugar cane production used a lot of cranes etc. but over here I guess it’s all by hand. They say that most of the working class are Japanese of the lower classes brought in from Southern Japan. Many of the Imperial Marines taken on the island were said to be pretty good sized but all I’ve seen are little short runts, bow-legged, and squint eyed. Several loads of Jap civilians go by every morning where they are put to work handling supplies or just cleaning up.

You should have a pretty good idea of the place from all I have written you – it has all been interesting and new to me and I thought perhaps you would be as interested as I was. I guess I better line up for chow – suppers are usually pretty good, but my appetite still could stand improvement. It is easy to get diarrhea or dysentery here and with so many flies you must be pretty careful. Well I’ll wind up for this time and hope I get some mail from you tomorrow.

Love,

15 July 1944

Dear folks:

I should have much to write about this time for the censorship regulations have [been] cut down and now I can tell you some of the many things I have wanted to. As you guessed I am in Saipan on the Mariane Islands, about 3200 miles from Hawaii and I don’t know how far from the house. [illegible] which is the capitol and most heavily populated of the Mariane group. Looks much like the islands of the Hawaiian group. The island is about fifteen miles long with a mountain of 1500 feet in the center, and which was the most fought for point in the battle. Three miles to the south is Tinian which is still swarming with Japs [the rest of this sentence was blacked out by the censor]. The boat ride from Oahu was a long one and a hot one. Each day as we progressed nearer the objective the Chaplain gave a short talk about the islands, the makeup of the naval forces, the enemy strength, the battle plan and so forth. We didn’t know where we were going on leaving Oahu and when we were told it was Saipan I think we were all pretty surprised. I was myself for I thought we wouldn’t take such a big hop quite yet. On our boat were mostly Marines [the rest of this sentence was blacked out by the censor]. Aside from a few submarine alerts and unidentified aircraft warnings the voyage was quite routine. I remember the night before D-Day when we first caught a look at the island. It was about three o’clock in the morning and we could stand on deck and see the battleships, cruisers and destroyers bombarding the island with their big shells. About a half hour later we had breakfast and it was a big one. Ration and a half for each man including steak, potatoes and the rest of it—more like a Sunday dinner. About this time H Hour was coming around and although the artillery doesn’t go in as assault troops, I really said a prayer for the Marines who hit the beach first. The Chaplain also had the boat quiet for a minute and said a few words. From our position on the boat we could watch the battle although we were quite a ways out and could only guess as to how we were making out. A few hours later rumors began to fly—we were going right along, then we were taking a beating and all versions were having their round. Almost every evening on the boat the Japs would send over a few planes and that began my first war experience I guess you’d call it. On the boat you go below and sit in the hot holds listening to the announcer give the location and speed of the enemy planes over the loud speaker and hope to hell they will miss you. One night I remember I was sweating more than usual, our own pom-poms and anti-aircraft started a barrage and I thought if they ever hit us we would go straight to the bottom. The first day after D-Day some of troops were ashore. I wasn’t among them and secretly I wasn’t disappointed. The scenes of battle were everywhere, the effect of the naval shells, the Japs own mortar fire on our troops and many bodies lying around, in all positions and all stages of decomposition. Sights that you hope you will never see again. Along the beach, in and out of the water, were wrecked tanks, alligator debris and a thousand things necessary to the campaign. The smell was terrible and the dust from tanks and vehicles was so thick you could hardly breathe. Well the first thing for the night was dig a foxhole and that first one I built was a stinker. I thought it was all right but when our artillery began to fire the thing almost caved in and the sand was all over me. I couldn’t hardly get out of the thing for fear of being shot and I wasn’t feeling too brave anyway. About the second day after I landed Dick came into camp looking dirty and disheveled. I knew he must be having it pretty tough in his outfit and I was pretty worried, but he had a big grin and I felt better. He had a lot to tell me, he gets up close to them and sees the Japs firsthand. He said he killed two Japs the day before and he had a nice flag taken from one of them. Well a little after dinner he had to leave, and that was about ten days before the battle was over and I felt anxious again, and kept hoping the thing would be over in a few days. Can you imagine Dick doing what he is doing? Every evening without fail the Japs would send over a plane to drop flares and keep a line on the situation, and who came to be known as “Bedcheck Charlie”. Later two began to appear and he was called “Bedpan Charlie”. One night they were circling over and dropped a few bombs, and I was laying in the foxhole hoping he wouldn’t get any closer when we opened up with our anti-aircraft and in a few minutes he was hit squarely and caught fire immediately. He dove to the ground and set off a mighty explosion. When he was hit you could hear the dogfaces for a mile or two around. All gave a big cheer. The guys that knocked him down were big favorites after that. About an hour later they bagged another Jap plane and he made a big flame too. Our jeeps have a radio that can get Frisco and at six o’clock we would listen to the news especially anxious to hear what they had to say about Saipan and hoping you were listening too. But when it came time for the GI programs, an air raid would sound and we would hit for the foxhole. Radio Tokyo is easy to get also and of course we always heard their version too. The reports would be exactly opposite and their reports of casualties about four times what we thought they should be. Tokyo also has a night program called the Zero Hour and dedicated to the American soldiers in the south Pacific. The nerve of the guys. Tokyo Rose speaks perfect English and tries your patience by recalling for you how nice it would be to be home and that sort of stuff. But the music is pretty fair and we don’t mind listening. Well the battle went on and I hadn’t seen Dick for about eight or nine days and I was hoping he would show up. He was in the front lines about five or six miles from our positions and it wasn’t too easy for us to get together, but he showed up with a lot of souvenirs and more dope. Said he killed two more one of them a Jap officer, and from him he got his bayonet, a pretty good one. About this time we were pushing the Japs back over the mountain and getting them cornered in the northern point, and Dick thought it would be over in a day or two so I thought easier about him. In our battery we have a shower and that felt damn good to Dick who hadn’t cleaned up for sometime. Our rations were mostly K-rations, single boxes one for each meal and pretty good. We had plenty of them and nobody lacked enough to eat. Cigarettes and toilet supplies are also issued gratis. On the fourth we celebrated by eating a first meal from the kitchen. By this time Aslito airfield was well in our hands and many of our Thunderbolts were already based there, and they looked mighty good. During the night the Japs from Tinian would send over a little artillery fire but it did not damage [anything] and I believe we knocked them out in short order. The report of the Jap navy being around didn’t make me feel better although I was sure we could stop them. Jap opposition from the boats in the sea was practically nothing as far as Saipan itself is concerned. The Jap soldiers were interned in stockades or wire enclosed areas and separated. I wanted to see them so one day we took a walk down and had a look. There are about forty thousand civilians on the island I believe and there were plenty of them crowded in the wire. The women had nothing on above the waist and they had no modesty at all. They were dirty, thin, bewildered and there was more small children than I ever saw. The Koreans were separated from the Japs. Later we saw the two Jap prisoner soldiers. I get a hell of a hatred when I see them, and I wish they were all dead. About 85 percent of the population is Jap with the balance, Koreans and Chamorros, who are a half Filipino and [half] Spanish. Later things began to quiet down and the battle was coming to an end. At this time the Japs got saked up and made their last ditch stand and were successful for a while. Dick was in on that and told me that he was caught on the beach by the Japs and had to be taken off on an alligator. He has had some close shaves and told me of times he thought sure they would get him, but he just laughs about it. He killed a Jap officer with a grenade and then shot the hell out of him to be sure. He looks very good, and now that the campaign is over we’ll have it easy at least for a little while. He was down yesterday and the day before and it’s mighty swell to have him around.

Well the campaign for Saipan is over and now the island is humming with repair work and defensive installations, but each night we can see flares on the mountain where the Marines are rounding up small pockets of snipers or civilians. Many Jap trucks have been put to use and one of them is a water wagon and that has helped to hold the dust down. One Jap truck was caught in our area, a repair truck and pretty well equipped. Some of the dark boys fixed it up and used the motor for a pump. The Japs had plenty of bikes and you can see them everywhere, many wrecked ones but many in use. Most of the civilian cars are Fords and in Headquarters the boys got a 1940 model in good shape. They have it running in good order now.

It looks like the Japs kept the other nationalities in pretty much servitude from the stories they tell and the looks of their homes. All of the houses I have seen are grass and tree limbs but everyone has a reinforced concrete cellar and stocked with Jap array supplies. In Chalan Kanoa the buildings are thick concrete. Apparently the Japs were making every house a strong point.

Well the biggest part is over now, and twice in the last week have seen a movie—old ones but they looked good. And we even have a little time for a bridge game. Doesn’t seem to add up does it? We are pretty close to the Jap homeland and are set for big things now—from now on it will be the clue chips.

I have written quite a bit (probably the censor is using every profane word in his vocabulary on me) but I know you will be interested and perhaps there are many other things you wonder about. Dick and I are fine and not the least bit worried. The main topic is when will we get home. The rumor is that President Roosevelt made a statement that a surprise was in store for the Saipan soldiers. Have you heard it?

The mail has been coming in good but we haven’t received any papers or packages since leaving Oahu but I can understand that. I am anxious to take those dozen back Free Presses and get together with Dick about that. I think I had best stop now—this has been quite a job.

Love,