Amazing stories from the Pacific Theater, WW2 - - on NPR

[cmac2012]

Heard today probably the closest account of what my dad went through in WW2 that I'm likely to ever hear. God knows I didn't hear it from him. Our local NPR station, KQED, broadcast "The Silent Generation: From Saipan to Tokyo," an account from soldiers who were there. Available in streaming audio at:

http://www.prx.org/pieces/6585

My dad talked very little about his time there. Hearing this piece, I have a better idea why. They spoke of what it was like to mow down Japanese soldiers in their last, desperate Bonzai, "sake" charge. Or having to shoot people charging while holding their children. Or cleaning out foxholes and tunnels with flame throwers.

My dad did tell his brother and law and his nephew, who was 10 at the war's end, that he'd been real proud to have been the first guy in his unit to have been given a "Thompson Gun." I wonder if he was haunted though, by some of his time with the that gun.

He was a pretty good guy but prone to wild bursts of anger. A lot of the guys on this radio show described the same thing. A lot of bottled up horror and trauma that they weren't able to fully deal with.

Not that they're complaining and I'm certainly not. It had to be done. Does give me pause to consider that the cost of all out war is quite high, and that we best make sure that it has to be done, I mean really has to be done, afore we do it.

[koop]

My dad only mentioned the war once. I was 8 or 9 and we were watching Battle of the Bulge. He turned to me and just matter of factly said "I was there." Well this gets a kid all excited and I'm asking what he did. He says "You see that big machine gun?" (the big ol .50) "Yeah daddy what did you do, what did you do, did you shoot a lot of Germans?" He just said, "I carried that heavy son of a ***** across Europe."

[cmac2012]

One time my dad and I were on a small, overnight road trip to eastern Washington. He was *****ing at me about something and getting a bit anxious to get back home and I foolishly implied that he was a little too dependent on his wife/my mother for support, saying he was wimping out or words to that effect. He says, "Who you callin' a wimp?! I spent 9 months in a foxhole trying to keep a Jap from crawling down my neck!" It was the first time he'd spoken of it, and this was in '91.

[Botnst]

Becoming an historian after retiring from the USN opened my Dad. I was a young teen when I finally heard details. He was on two ships that were sunk, the Hornet at Santa Rosa Sound and Lexington, don't recall where she was sunk. He studied the battles later from an academic perspective and it gave him a sort of peace to be able to learn his place in the greater scheme of things.

His favorite story was in recommending a sailor for Chief Petty Officer. The man was an American Indian from the Dakota's, I think. Anyway, the newly advanced CPO told my dad that his folks would understand his being made a chief.

A few years ago a former subordinate of Dad's sent me some pages from the Deck Log of the Hornet when my dad was OOD. Most of the info was routine recording of sped and course changes. Later he wrote of the Japanese planes being spotted 40 or 50 miles out and sounding General Quarters. Then his GQ relief is logged and my Dad went to his duty station. Having been a sailor myself, reading those pages from brought my Dad to life as a 24 year-old Lt.

B

[cmac2012]

It was a major frustration for me to try to find some of my Dad's WW2 buddies while he was still alive. I asked him in the late 90s if he'd ever had a reunion with any of his buddies or if he'd like to. He said no and he'd love to. He said that just before we left NM in '67, a couple of guys were orgainizing one somewhat east of us, I believe, but then we moved to Wash. state so it didn't work out.

I did a lot of web searching and posted the details of his whereabouts, 24 ID, Philippines, war's end -- pretty simple -- on every bulletin board I could find. No response. I guess the Pentagon is not responsible for orgainizing class reunions but some centralization of records and contacts could help, I would think, to enable some of these aging vets to see each other again.

[kramlavud]

Bot,
The Lexington sank in the Coral Sea. My uncle, a marine, survived.
regards,
Mark