Dorchester High School for Boys - Red and Black Yearbook (Dorchester, MA)

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:gan .f 1 7 ff, - ,v gf If -Aix. 5-Ti li- I 1 , 51 X... I x A 5 v Q Nj 'XY ' t 'f Et? ' Q5 i fair . X f l X x l. ' N ' A byx ws 4 'kk T c ffff!fff I Ni x ' . , 2 I ,Li G HOTTOIAN a piece out of the trunk. Needless to say, I ducked. But this Jap seemed to be set on getting me. For about three hours I didn't move, with bullets cutting down bushes around me and the tree full of holes. Finally, someone spotted the skunk and opened up. Then it seems that everyone saw him because about every gun in that area was firing. That Jap didn't shoot any more. I learned later that most of the snipers were only about thirty yards away from us. That's only ninety feet. Yet I couldn't see them. I didn't fire a shot through the entire engagement. My arm was a .45 pistol and it earned me the name of Pistol Packin' Photographer. It was getting late so my buddy and I de- cided to move back and dig in for the night, We covered each other as we headed for the rear. We went back about two miles and dug our fox holes. Boy, then you find out what terror is. There is shooting all night long with Japs creeping up on you trying to find where you are. I didn't sleep all that night. I just prayed for morning to come. After what seemed like years, it got lighter. I waited for it to get damn good and light before I took my helmet off, and with my hand lifted it up to the edge of the fox hole, There wasn't any shooting, so I lifted my head and peered out. There six feet away from me was a grinning Jap. Whewf Boy, was I worried for a minute. It turned out he was one of our interpreters. Then I opened up a breakfast ration, while still sitting in about four inches of water in the foxhole, and was just starting page sixty-six to eat when - rat - rat - rat. The Japs had sneaked up with a light machine gun to within one hundred yards of our bivouac area and were firing into it. Down I went face first into the mud and water. Then our carbines opened up and got them. I started to eat breakfast again, and this time sat on the edge of my foxhole with my feet dangling in. Then splash, I was with my rations floating like an earthquake had a second later we heard Even though I lost my to know that the .Iaps sitting in my hole again in the water. It felt hit us. A fraction of very loud explosions. breakfast, it felt good were shaking from those bombs a lot more than we were. We had used up all our water the first day, and there was no sign of any around: so we took in our belts a notch and headed for the front. We were a hell of a lot more cautious than the first day because we knew that the Japs had infiltrated during the night. We saw our first signs of the Japs when we came upon a dead Jap and a wounded prisoner alongside of the road. Our boys were guarding them carefully though we thought the prisoner was going to kick off. A jeep came down the road carrying stretchers and we saw that one of the wounded men was our Catholic Chaplain, Father IVleany, who had been picked off by snipers about thirty yards in front of me during the first day. I-Ie was badly hurt, but he pulled through. I think everyone said a prayer for him the first night, myself included. He was a good guy, and we knew that he had been hit. Two of our men gave their lives to risk getting rf' 4 s 44,0 'F cali, cf' 1'1 i -'i,.,,,

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and cleaned out this section. I looked around behind me, and there came the first wave through the palm trees. I, Edward P. was in front of both the Japs and my own side. This wasn't for me, so I hightailed it for the beach. Back there I got some beautiful shots of the boys feeding some of the natives that had come over to our side. Later, I met one of our other cameramen, and we teamed up and headed for the front. All this time there was a terrific racket from both sides. We worked up slowly and careful- ly, but then we ran into trouble. The snipers were all around us. We decided to try to work our way along the beach. We did this pretty successfully with only a limited bit of slugs whistling near us and rounded a cove that looked upon the main Jap positions. From the cover of a fallen tree we could see the whole show. It was impossible to get pictures because we were still quite a distance away, but we watched our planes give those sons of heaven -Hell. It finally got too hot there, and we followed some troops moving up the road. We were forced to skirt the road alongside of the palm I trees. All this time the fire got heavier and the noise of the weapons nearer. On the road ahead of me I saw what looked to be a flashy sedan, It was a DeSoto of about IQ4I model that the Japs had abandoned after we hit it strafing. One wheel was gone to make sure we wouldn't use it. Qur tanks started to move up and were passing the auto. It was a beauti- ful shot. I knelt down to take a shot of it and Wham. --I hit for the trees. This kept up for about half an hour with my rushing out about half a dozen times and some sniper trying to pick me off. Then I fooled him. I ran across the road, snapping as I went. I got a picture although it was slightly blurred. We moved up until we came to our forward CP. The bullets were whistling all around. The Japs were using machine guns along with their rifies. I took cover and things quieted down a bit. To give you an idea how heavy the brush and undergrowth of the jungle was, there was a First Aid Station, fifteen feet in front of me and I didn't know it. I crawled up there but couldn't get any pictures. I leaned up against a tree, half sitting, and whing, a bullet took page sixty-five

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him out the first night. All the fellows were relieved and glad to hear he came out OK. They loaded the Jap on the same Jeep and headed for the rear. This time we didn't even get to the car. The shooting was all around us. We had found out the previous day that a pistol isn't much good when a sniper's about one hundred yards or even fifty away. So we bumbed a ride to the rear. We tried to locate our supply dump to get some more film but no soap. We didn't take many pictures that day and stayed near the rear CP for any news of a break through. The second night in the hole was worse than the first. Sleep was very fitful in between the prayers. I must have gotten a full half hour's sleep at one time when our artillery opened up in the rear. The shells whistling over our heads really woke us up. I opened up a ration. This was my second meal in three days, the previous day I had some supper, and washed it down when our water came up. I looked over to my buddy's hole and he sat up rubbing his eyes and snifling. This was the first time I realized that I really stunk as did all the others. Mud and water and sweat can really make you smell. We packed up again and headed for the front. This time we worked our way through the snipers, headed into the main Jap fortifications. It was all over in this section. What Japs that were there were dead, and the others had retreated towards the extreme end of the island. It was an excellent chance for me to get some souvenirs but I came to take pictures, so pictures I took .... Boy, what a scene of devastation. I can't go into it too fully because of censorship. Boy, did those Japs stink. Almost as bad as I. I went to town and my best two items were, I say WERE, because I haven't got them any more, a sniper's rifle and a practice sword. Also numerous small items which I still have. Thatenight I bumbed a bunk for me and my buddy Ken aboard an LST that was unloading supplies. About ten- thirty we were awakened and told that we had to get off, that the boat was pulling out. Rather than walk around in the dark on the beach, we told them to pull out we didn't give a damn. Well, at five-thirty in the fplease turn to page ninety-six! page sixty-seven