WWII Journal

2007-12-19T15:51:00.000-08:00

The first journal entry is dated October 10, 1944. A brief chronology of movements prior to the first entry is written on the back of the journal:

15 July 1944: Received orders

18 July 1944: Left Redding [CA]

19 July 1944: Reported McClellan [AFB, Sacramento, CA]

7 August 1944: Left on furlough

28 August 1944: Returned from furlough

9 September 1944: Left McClellan for [Camp] Kearns [Utah]

11 September 1944: Arrived Kearns

1 October 1944: Left Kearns

2 October 1944: Arrived Camp Stoneman [Pittsburg, CA]

10 October 1944

2007-12-19T15:49:00.001-08:00

This afternoon we marched about 4.5 miles from Camp Stoneman to the docks in Pittsburg Calif. where we boarded the ferry “Catalina”. We were really jammed on board, having about enough space for ourselves, our equipment, and duffel bags. The trip down to San Francisco took about 4-5 hours and was only broken by a lunch of sandwiches, fruit, and candy. Time was passed by the usual bull sessions and song fests. Upon docking at SF we were given coffee and cookies by the Red Cross. After that we boarded the ship. It was the S.S. Lurline, one of the Matson Lines finest liners and also one of the largest on the Pacific. We were immediately billeted in compartment C-1 on C deck aft and went to sleep.

11 October 1944

2007-12-19T15:48:00.002-08:00

Upon arising we discovered we were still at the dock in SF Bay. Also on board were about 600 WACs and about 350 Red Cross Workers. About 9 AM we pulled away, circled the Bay Bridge and headed for the Golden Gate which we went through while we were at chow. Everything is more or less confused as far as shipboard routine goes, but it will probably straighten out before long. A school of porpoises followed us outside the bay and a Navy blimp scoured the ocean in front of us staying with us until dark. The ship is completely blacked out at night which means that there is nothing to do after about 6:30. Latest rumor says our first stop will be Pearl Harbor.

12 October 1944

2007-12-19T15:48:00.001-08:00

Quite a few of the boys seasick this morning. Seas are a little rough, although not bad. So far I have stayed in pretty good shape, although I can tell that I am not on dry land. Slight dizzy feeling for a few minutes this morning. Find it difficult to write between the rolling of the ship and the vibration of the engines. The ocean has taken on a deep and colorful blue. Very pretty with lots of white caps. Chow has been fair, although the manner in which it is served leaves much to be desired. The chow schedule was SNAFU today and we didn’t get to eat dinner until about 7:30. You have to stand in line to do anything as this ship is loaded with about 4000 officers, men, WACs, and others.

13 October 1944

2007-12-19T15:47:00.001-08:00

Rough seas again today and quite a few more seasick victims. I went on deck this AM and it was raining quite hard and the wind was blowing. The roll of the ship is quite pronounced and makes walking a problem. Tonight at chow the Red Cross pass out ditty bags filled with soap, paper and envelopes, guide books, a novel, candy, sewing kit, and a carton of cigarettes. The ship’s store opened today with the usual line to sweat out. Prices are very reasonable and they have some things that are almost impossible to get in the States. Bought a Schick razor and carton of Milky Way bars for 80 cents. (Razor 55 cents).

15 October 1944

2007-12-19T15:43:00.002-08:00

A typical day aboard ship proceeds about as follows:

6:30: Reveille. Hit the deck. All hands turn to. Getting up, dressed, washed, and brushed and then getting a bit of air on one of the open decks.

8:45: Our deck goes to chow. This takes about 25 minutes after which we go on deck again and spend the rest of the day there looking at the water and carrying and bull sessions, talking to WACs or entering one of the eternal poker or crap games. This is the only thing there is to do. Weather is getting warmer daily. We have freedom of the ship, except the boat deck and engine room and bridge.

16:45: Afternoon chow.

1800-1845: Blackout on ship. Lights in our compartment are always turned out at this time. No smoking on the open decks. If you want to read you must sit on the floor in the passageways or foyers.

1900: Taps. Everyone in quarters.

The above routine covers what activities go on aboard ship. We followed this without variation for 13 days. On the 19^th we crossed the International Date Line and therefore October 20, 1944 was checked off the calendar and as far as we were concerned it didn’t exist. Also on the 17^th we crossed the Equator and were issued membership cards in the Shellbacks by order of his majesty Neptunus Rex. The days that followed were routine and do not warrant comment.

24 October 1944

2007-12-19T15:43:00.001-08:00

This morning when we went on deck land was sighted off the starboard bow. It was the island of New Caledonia and we prepared to put in to the port of Noumea. We had the first feeling of excitement and anticipation since leaving SF. Navy planes flew over the ship on patrol. The harbor at Noumea is protected by a large coral reef to the south. It is marked by a small lighthouse. Just inside the reef is a small island with a large lighthouse flying the French tricolor. We passed a minesweeper in the channel and a launch brought the Port Inspector aboard. About 10:00 AM we dropped anchor in the harbor. The afternoon was spent transporting troops which were disembarking here. Also some Red Cross workers, army nurses, Royal New Zealand Air Force men and sailors. We will not leave the ship here. Do not know how long we will remain here, but as there seems to be considerable cargo we will probably he hare for a couple of days. Both passengers and cargo must be transported to shore on huge power driven rafts or barges. The coast of New Caledonia at this point is quite similar to Northern California. Mountainous and hilly with lots of green foliage, but no palms or other tropical vegetation. The water is a brilliant green instead of the deep blue so predominant on the ocean. Some of the crew tried fishing off the stern of the ship without noticeable success.

This evening there was no blackout for the first time. Loudspeakers were rigged out on the starboard side of A deck promenade and they danced until 10*. Heard we are loading some troops tomorrow and leaving about 2:00 PM.

* Presumably, the WACs and nurses were still aboard.

25 October 1944

2007-12-19T15:42:00.001-08:00

This morning loading and unloading continued and another barge load of troops was put aboard. About 3:00 PM we pulled out of Noumea harbor and headed for Australia. Spent the afternoon playing poker with the result of $1.90 to the good. However, after chow we got started again and after 4 hours of play I was even for the day. However in 15 minutes I dropped $4. Even 25 cent limit poker can be rough at times. Probably will try again tomorrow.

29 October 1944

2007-12-19T15:41:00.000-08:00

This morning we were in sight of land. Passed through the straits (China) and into Milne Bay, New Guinea. Had our first look at the real jungle. Thick growth right down to the water’s edge. Many coconut palms, mangroves and other jungle growth. Many native huts and some very nice houses along the channel. Evidently belong to plantation owners.

At 10:00 AM ship docked at Gilligili on Milne Bay. Excellent harbor facilities which permit ships of this size to pull up to the very shore. Spent the day at dock taking on fresh water, as our supply is getting quite low because of the change in orders. Typical tropical jungle here. O.T.s in small boats brought coconuts out to ship in exchange for oranges, apples, etc.

30 November 1944

2007-12-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

At 0430 this AM we left Gilligili and headed up the NE coast of New Guinea. The shoreline was in sight most of the trip and about 1700 we pulled into Ora Bay and the port of Buna. This is a very busy port. Numerous freighters in the harbor loading and unloading every type of material imaginable. Appears to be quite an important supply depot. A great number of troops including WACs disembarked. Also a lot of mail and freight is being unloaded. Seems as though we will never get to our destination---wherever it may be. Our CO is just as much in the dark as we are.

1 November 1944

2007-12-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

No change today. Continued disembarkation of troops and unloading freight. Tonight 10 of us were picked as a guide detail to assist in loading about 350 Filipino troops. Worked until 9:00 PM.

2 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:36:00.002-08:00

Our guide detail was up at 0400 this morning and back to work loading more Filipino troops. These small brown men appear to be very good soldiers. They are happy, used to roughing it, and will give you a big smile with the least encouragement. A lot of them are from the States, a great number from California. Whether or not they will be used in the liberation of their homeland is still to be seen.

It appears we will be taking quite a cruise. Rumors have our next stop at Hollandia* on the northern coast of Dutch Guinea. Whether or not we will debark there is still speculative. Our chances of getting back to Brisbane seem to be diminishing rapidly. One thing this trip has brought to mind is the tremendous transportation problem faced here in the Pacific. It takes so long to move troops from one place to another that great numbers of men and equipment that could be used in an offensive are tied up in ports like this awaiting to be moved. As in our own case, we have been nearly 4 months on the way from our former stations and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that we will be on the way that much again. As one of the boys put it, we seem to be stuck as permanent party aboard this vessel. Hope we get out of Buna today.

Got under way at 0400 this day and headed up the northeast coast of New Guinea. About 1100 after an uneventful run we arrived at the port of Finschhafen. A number of ships were in the harbor which is excellent. Over the range of hills that circle the bay there is an airfield which handles much traffic. C-47, B-25, and P-38 type aircraft were quite numerous. We stayed in port all day unloading troops and materials. Rumors are still rampant.

* Present day Jayapura, Papua New Guinea. The area was host to a large naval base during WWII. Occupied by the Japanese in April 1942, it was liberated by U.S. forces on April 22, 1944 and served as General Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters until the conquest of the Phillipines in March 1945.

4 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:36:00.001-08:00

Still in port this morning. More troops disembarked and more loaded. Don’t know when we will get out of here. Believe next stop is Hollandia, rumored to be a 4 day trip, but I doubt it

5 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:34:00.002-08:00

Cleared Finschhafen at 0500 and continued up the North coast of New Guinea toward Hollandia. It rained early this morning and the sun has only shown through the low hanging clouds at infrequent intervals. It is easy to deduce that we are coming close to the Equator again. The air is heavy, warm and muggy. Our compartment is almost unbearable. Dinner tonight and a Sunday dinner at that, was poor. Consisted of rice with a thin stew poured over it, bread, gingerbread, and coffee. Rumor has it we hit Hollandia in the morning.

6 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:34:00.001-08:00

About 0730 we came within sight of the harbor at Hollandia, Netherlands Guinea. This Dutch port is the busiest we have seen. There are hundreds of ships in the large harbor. Freighters from everywhere, although the large majority are flying the Stars and Stripes. A number of naval vessels, destroyers, cruisers, DE’s, 4Ds, SCs, and many others I can’t identify with their gaudy striped camouflage. No orders have been received as to who is to disembark there. Rumors again are rampant. My personal opinion is the same as it has been all along; that we will remain aboard ship and return with it to Brisbane. We will see

7 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:33:00.001-08:00

Guess I am not a very good prognosticator. This morning they gave everyone on the ship orders to be ready to move off. We debarked about noon and climbed into trucks and were driven 20 miles inland to the 22^nd Air Replacement depot where we were assigned tents and proceeded to get the dust off us with the first fresh water shower we have had since leaving the States. Facilities here are rugged, food very plain and not much of it.

8 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

Pulled K.P. all day today. HQ of the 68^th AACS* group is down the road and some of the fellows were over there today to get the lowdown. Lt. Col. Gordon who used to be RCO of the first comm. is here. They said we would soon be interviewed and then sent out to a station. Said we shouldn’t be here more than a week.

Took in the outdoor movies tonight. First movie I ever stood up through. Theater consists of a clearing in the jungle, a projection booth on coconut palm platform. Picture was “Janie”** and we enjoyed it.

* Army Airways Communications System, responsible for communications electronics support (radio, radar, etc.) for the U.S. Army Air Force.

** 1944 release starring Joyce Reynolds and Robert Hutton. Described as a “delightful screwball romp through teenage middle America circa 1944”.

9 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:14:00.000-08:00

Had a lecture this morning on orientation. Didn’t catch any details. Heard Ray Pinn was in the hospital here. Went over and visited him. He had an infected leg from an insect bite. Stopped at the Red Cross for chocolate (hot) and came back and erected my mosquito bar over my cot. Have had several tropical downpours the last day or so.

10-15 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:11:00.000-08:00

Have been here nearly a week and our duties have consisted of detail and lots of heavy work. On the 14^th we received our orders and some of the boys are moving out to other stations in this region. We are slated to be assigned to this station, APO 565. We will probably be assigned to one of the strips here for further training. Will be glad when we get out of here and back on the job.

In a place like this, where many rotation men are coming back from combat theaters, there is a wealth of material for stories. I plan to keep a list of a few good ones so that I can refresh my memory later.

In the northern portion of Australia there are a great number of snakes. One of the AACS boys was sleeping in his tent one night and his arm got outside of his mosquito bar. He awakened during the night and thought his arm was asleep. He shook it and then looked. There on the end of his arm was a 20 foot boa constrictor. It had swallowed his arm up to the elbow. The boa constrictor has no teeth but swallows its prey whole and depends on its digestive juices to complete the job. The follow let out a blood curdling yell and wakened the whole camp. The boys took to the big snake with axes and machetes and cut it to pieces. It took an army doctor 30 minutes to lance open the snake’s throat and get the man’s arm out. It wasn’t even scratched, but the kid just about died of heart failure.

Many Jap atrocity stories are told in the States, but over here it is believed the Aussies have them beat ten different ways. An American Red Cross pilot tells the story of how he landed at an airstrip on southern New Guinea and an Aussie soldier met the ship and asked the pilot if he would like to shoot a Jap. The pilot said sure. It will cost you £10 said the Aussie. The pilot gave him the money thinking it was a gag, and followed the Aussie into the woods. There in a clearing stood a lone Jap tied to a tree with a rope. The Aussie handed the pilot his rifle and said, “Go ahead, shoot”. At this point in the game, the pilot got cold feet and told the Aussie to keep the £10, and so he (the Aussie) picked up the rifle and shot the Jap, picked him up, and carried him back into the jungle. He had been going out on the prowl, capturing Japs and charging visiting pilots the fee for the privilege of ridding the country of one more yellow “barstad”.

Japanese prisoners are something the Australians don’t care to have. During the first part of the New Guinea campaign when the allies were cleaning up Port Moresby the prisoners were flown back to Australia for questioning. Several times the pilots would start out with 14 or 15 Japs, but when they arrived there would be only 2 or 3 left. Subsequent investigations proved that the playful Aussies were getting out over the ocean, dangling the Japs over the side of the ship and dropping them in the ocean. This practice was stopped by imposing a £100 fine for each Jap the pilots lost on each trip

17 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

On November 15 we moved over to Detachment 39, 140^th AACS which will be our home for the present. Most of the gang we came over with have been scattered in all directions. Morati, Orvi, Finschhafen, Nadzab, Kocufoor, Admuraltip, etc. Five of us, Joe Hill, Steward, James, Hanson, and myself will work in the tower at Sentani strip. Spent our first and second day building a mess hall and getting our tent organized.

Yesterday we started working. Was good to be back on the job. Lots to learn as this is a very busy strip. ATC* and troop carrier ships coming and going all the time. Worked the mike yesterday and long today. Will be put on a regular shift soon.

Living conditions are more or less temporary, as the detachment is expected to move down to a new area soon.

* Air Transport Command

18 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

Rainy today. Continuous downpour. Worked this AM and am now debating what to do with the afternoon. No mail for 4 days.

23 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving in New Guinea. Usual routine broken by turkey, fresh potatoes, corn and dressing for dinner. Worked the afternoon shift. Very uneventful day. No mail since we’ve been here. Getting anxious to hear. Hope things improve. One of the boys, Jones, had a centipede bite him on the toe. It had crawled in his shoe during the night and bit him while he was in the mess hall eating.

26 November 1944

2007-12-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea is quite a supply depot for all the action which is going on in the Philippines. General MacArthur’s GHQ was located here and the task force that invaded Leyte originated here. GHQ is still located here, although their field HQ is on Leyte. We have both MacArthur’s and Lt. Gen. Kenney’s* planes on the field. They are B-17s. MacArthur’s is named “Bataan” and Kenney’s “Sally”. Lots of high ranking generals come and go all the time from our strip. There are 3 air strips here. Ours is called Senteni strip after the huge lake which lies to the SE. The other is Cyclops named after a 7000 foot mountain behind here, and the third is called Hollandia. We handle chiefly transports both ATC and troop carrier.This place is also HQ for the Far East Air Force. FEAF consists of the 13^th and 5^th Air Forces. The 308^th Bomb Squadron, and 3^rd attack outfits are based here. Our neighbors in the area next to ours are the 2^nd Filipino battalion who came up on the Lurline with us from Ora Bay. They are a hard working bunch and have built up a beautiful area. They are great gamblers and very generous. Hanson, one of the Sgts. in the tent had met one on the ship. He ran into him the other day and was talking to him. He happened to mention that he needed some airmail envelopes and that our PO was out. When he returned from chow that evening, there on his bunk was a portfolio of stationery, 6 airmail envelopes, 6 airmail stamps, a bar of candy and no sign of the Filipino. They are (that is, a lot of them) very intelligent, speak precise, perfect English and great gamblers, musicians, lovers, and extremely generous

* General George Kenney, commander of the Allied Air Forces in the SW Pacific under General MacArthur.

16 December 1944

2007-12-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

We have been getting our full share of tropical downpours lately. This is the beginning of the rainy season in New Guinea. The rain comes in showers never lasting for more than an hour and usually less. But when it comes down it seems as if the clouds have opened up and spilled a whole lake on us. A few minutes ago I set a 2 gallon tin can which we use to wash clothes outside the tent. In 10 minutes it was full and running over the top. It takes about 15 minutes for the water to come down Cyclops mountain and then the ditches, streams, even roads are rivers of rushing water. Our tent area is situated on a hill so the water does not bother us as it rushes by our door. We have a deep trench dug around our tent for drainage and we certainly do need it.

18 January 1945

2007-12-19T11:55:00.000-08:00

The rains are letting up slightly these days, and instead of our daily downpours we are only getting them about every other day, and not in the huge doses to which we have been accustomed. The saddest news to date was posted on the bulletin board this morning to the effect that there will be no beer ration this month and that there is no relief in the drought in sight. War is hell!

Although I have had little first hand contact with the local natives (mainly because their villages are off limits) some of the boys who have been stationed elsewhere where restrictions have been less severe have come up with some interesting sidelights on their customs. First of all, the man of the house is the big boss. He doesn’t do any of the menial household tasks, this is left to the women. In the coastal villages, the young girls do all the fishing. The old man principally hunts, does some labor in order to support his family and as soon as the children grow up, he retires and does nothing. The average New Guinea native is small, averaging about 5 feet. It is very difficult to judge their age. Some have mustaches, the children are skinny and have pot bellies. I have seen whole families of them out scavenging. The husband goes first, carrying nothing but a machete or spear. The children are strung out behind the mother who is usually burdened down like a truck horse as are the older children. The other day about 25 of them walked down the airstrip armed with spears and bow and arrows bound for a wild boar hunt. This vicious tusked animal abounds in this locality. In fact, returning from chow this morning, two of them ran directly across the road in front of the jeep. In hunting them, the natives head through the brush and upon discovering the pig try to encircle it, and then close in by making a racket and driving it to the center of the circle where it is killed with spears and arrows and then impaled on a pole and carried home. The party mentioned above returned in about an hour with two large pigs strung up thusly. I have not tasted the meat as yet, but understand it tastes quite similar to pork and is very delicious.

The natives marry very young, about 11 or 12 for the girls and 14 for the boys. In order to marry they must stand up before the tribe, announce their intentions, the bridegroom must prove he can support a wife---and that’s all there is to it. A man can take as many wives as he can support.

A few have been educated in mission schools. Pidgin English is used primarily when dealing with whites. One little shaver about 9 astounded the boys the other day by singing “Pistol Packin’ Mama” in a curiously accented English. One of the boys, Jack Stein, was down at Port Moresby last year and he had studied the New Guinea guide book and proceeded to try out his efforts on the No. 1 boy of a bunch of natives employed cutting Kunai grass.* After opening up with a few well rehearsed phrases on the native, he was really taken aback when the bloke replied, “That is quite good Sergeant. Where did you learn to speak our language?” He had been educated in Australia, and was Jack’s face red!

* Long grass native to New Guinea used for thatching huts. Sometimes called “sword grass” because of its sharp, serrated edges.

4 February 1945, Nadzab, New Guinea

2007-12-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, R.J. Carbonne and myself got orders to report to Nadzab with haste. Yesterday at 4:00 PM after sweating out a plane ride all day we got aboard a C-46 XA-38 and headed south. Ordinarily, Nadzab is a 3 ½ hour trip. After flying 2 hours we were radioed that the weather was bad down the Markham valley and suggested we land at Tadji. This was fine except the pilot didn’t know just where he was and it was dark and no moon and we couldn’t tell if we were over land or sea. On top of that the radio compass went out. We flew another hour and began to get worried. We still couldn’t distinguish the coastline. After another half hour, the pilot began figuring on how many passengers we had aboard, how many life rafts and Mae Wests in case we had to ditch the ship in the drink. We had 4 crew members and 8 passengers aboard. And 4 parachutes!

The best deal would be to crash land in the ocean if we ran out of gas. The ship, empty, would float for about 20 minutes. You can imagine what a state of consternation we were in!. Our AAF captain, who was a non-flying officer of about 40 was really scared---we all were for that matter—and said “this is the last time I’ll ride in one of these damn things”.

The pilot, Lt. James of Baton Rouge, La. , stationed me beside him on the floor of the pilot compartment to watch for lights or any visible landmarks which might show up through the clouds. Carbonne, who was going to Nadzab with me, was aiding the radio operator and helping the co-pilot follow the map. When we had about 2 hours gas left, we discovered the shoreline through the low clouds. We were down to 2500 feet and recognized a peninsula and 2 islands. This, we discovered upon checking the chart, put us directly over Jap held Wewak on the North Coast of New Guinea. The pilot immediately had the lights doused and had us watch for flak and tracer bullets as there were still several Jap anti-aircraft units operating there. We got over there without any trouble and started looking for Tadji (Aitape). We finally got in contact with their tower and they said they would shoot up green flares. After about 30 minutes we spotted lights on the shore and then saw the flares and runway lights. We landed safely and the Aussies that operated the strip fed us and put us up for the night.

In the morning after breakfast (which consisted of cold salmon, peaches, and cocoa) we discovered they had no gasoline on the strip. We didn’t have enough fuel to make Nadzab, so we had to return to Hollandia for gas. At 9:00 we started out again and arrived in Nadzab at 11:30 after no further mishap.

Coming down the Markham Valley was quite an experience. This valley goes for miles between two mountain ranges and is flat as a table top, mainly covered with kunai grass, a few coconut and banana groves, and scattered native villages. The pilot covered about 40 miles of this, flying the big transport at tree top level. At no time were we more than 50 feet above the grass. We buzzed a couple of abandoned Jap airfields and saw many native villages with their queer looking huts.

We were flying about 200 and the ground really flew past. Compared to it, my last flight from Minneapolis to Sacramento seems very tame indeed, although I will take the former any time.

29 March 1945

2007-12-19T11:41:00.000-08:00

Time, since the last entry, has passed without much of anything going on except the usual routine of work, sleep, and eat. An occasional movie breaks the monotony. We are now living in our new shack which is quite comfortable and the luxury of a screened in structure makes the evenings much more enjoyable, as the bugs, attracted by the light, were an awful nuisance. We have put in a flower garden in front and are awaiting developments. The food has been generally poor with canned meat and beans, bully beef*, corned beef hash and dehydrated vegetables predominating on the menu. Parcels from home help to alleviate the shortcomings of the mess and our evening snacks have become a great help in reducing the empty feeling after an unusually poor meal.

Nadzab is more or less on the downgrade. Our traffic has fallen off to around 40 contacts a day. Most of us are looking for a change to a busier place as the time goes much faster when you are busy.

The war news is good. We look for the European end to be cleaned up this spring so we can really bear down on the Japs, although this theatre has been giving a good account of itself too.

And so the days pass by. Thoughts of home and what we will do when we get there are always on our mind and we wonder how long it will be before they are realized.

* Canned beef provided to troops in the field.

24 April 1945

2007-12-19T11:40:00.002-08:00

Time marches on. Today I moved over to Strip #1 which is the busy strip. Don’t know what the deal is but will see what happens. There are a pretty good bunch of boys there, but their shack isn’t as nice as it is here. Will be busier and they have no night shifts, which is nice. They run a few strikes out of there. Sent 72 planes out today. Everything else is proceeding according to the old routine

9 May 1945

2007-12-19T11:40:00.001-08:00

Half the battle is won! Got news today of the unconditional surrender of Germany, which was good. Some units still fighting, refusing to recognize the peace, but they are pretty well isolated and will be cleaned up in a hurry.

12 May 1945

2007-12-19T11:38:00.002-08:00

I received orders for a change of station, so once again I was on the move. Nolan, Rafferty and I flew to Finschhafen in the squadron B-25 and reported to HQ. There we learned that Nolan was to go to Los Negros in the Admiralties and Raff and I were slated for Clark Field near Manila.

We left Finsch[hafen] the morning of the 13^th at about 1030 and arrived at Biak Island off the NE coast of Dutch New Guinea at 1523. We flew in a C-46 and the trip was uneventful. Slept most of the way. We were able to keep our places on the plane and planned to leave that night, but the air freight boys took so long in loading a cargo of belly tanks* we stayed overnight at the casual camp and left at 6 AM. About 7 that night we had a yellow air alert, but the all clear sounded without incident. In the morning a 3 hour flight landed us at Morotai, southern tip of the Philippines. Here we gassed up and in 3 more hours came into Zamboanga on Mindanao. Another 5 hours brought us to Nielson Field at Manila. After having quite a time finding accommodations we were put up at the Detachment AACS. They were living in a house that was owned by the late President Quezon’s** bodyguard. Before the war it must have been a beautiful place. Stucco, Spanish style, walled in patio, swimming pool, etc. The house escaped bombing, but there is no water system or power in Manila, and there are no furnishings other than GI. The boys pay rent, have a Filipino house boy and live quite a life. We wanted to stay over a day and see Manila, but we were told we had better continue on to Clark.

From what we did see of the city—we flew over most of it—it must have been a beautiful city. The remains of fine hotels, churches, and public buildings could be seen everywhere. The Japs certainly ruined it when they evacuated it. The civilians are living in squalor in anything they could construct from the materials salvaged. Naturally dirty—quite similar to Mexicans—they are now at their worst. It will take about 10 years to rebuild Manila to peacetime levels.

We finally sweated out a ride in a C-47 and made the trip to Clark in 23 minutes. There are 4 strips here now operating and it is a busy place. Spread out over a valley there is a conglomeration of Bomb Groups, fighters, troop carriers, ATC, service groups, a little bit of everything.

We were put in the casual area at the HQ 141^st AACS and spent a rather damp night as it poured cats and dogs. We are here for reassignment which will probably mean a few days of details, etc.

* Auxiliary fuel tanks attached to the bottom of military aircraft.

** President Manuel Quezon died the previous year. He fled to exile in the United States when the Japanese invaded the Philippines.

17 May 1945

2007-12-19T11:38:00.001-08:00

Today I was assigned to the tower at Strip 1, Clark Field, Philippine Islands. Borax tower to be explicit. Went over to look at the set up. It is a very busy strip running about 600 contacts per day. The tower is a good one, constructed better than any I have seen over here. Will move up into the Detachment. Area as soon as there is a vacancy in one of the tents.

20 May 1945

2007-12-19T11:37:00.000-08:00

Lenny Chertok told me I could move in his tent tonight, which I did. My tent mates are Chertok, M/Sgt. From Philadelphia, M/Sgt. Bice Blythe from Manitowok, Wisconsin and T/Sgt. J.J. O’Brian from E. Greenwood, Connecticut. They are a good bunch of boys and I think I will like it here. Entertainment is nil. The tents do not have floors and are not built up like they were in Guinea which means it is hard to keep things clean. There is a movie across the road at the Navy, but they are running through a series of very old pictures. Most of our time is spent in the tent writing letters and batting the breeze.

8 August 1945

2007-12-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

Time since the last entry has passed rather quickly. The weather has been very hot and we have had quite a little rain but not as much as we would expect, as this is the rainy season.

The last couple of days have seen a tremendous upsurge in morale. Plans for the invasion of Japan have been progressing and I am sure we will be in on it. There are to be some infantry officers brought in to train us which means we will hit the beach with the rest of them. Then news of the new atomic bomb* came and the possibility that the Japs would give up before an invasion was necessary. Then today, the news that the Russians had declared war made our hopes for an early end to the war even more feasible. My guess is that the war would be over by the end of the year is more than a hope now. I feel pretty safe in saying it will come before that, but the chances of getting home by next summer look pretty good.

* The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima August 6, 1945, two days before this entry.

10 August 1945

2007-12-19T11:35:00.002-08:00

Today Japan offered to accept the unconditional surrender ultimatum offered by the allies with the reservation that the Emperor be allowed to keep his sovereignty. It looks like the beginning of the end. When the news hit here everyone went nuts. Much shooting of rockets, flares, etc. and lots of noise. Of course this is nothing final, but it looks good

19 August 1945

2007-12-19T11:35:00.001-08:00

After much delay, the Japs returned Sec. of State Byrnes’ note accepting the provisions for unconditional surrender and officially hostilities have ceased.

Tonight at 2300 I was roused out of the sack and told to call the squadron HQ. There I was told to pack my bag and be ready to leave in the AM on an emergency war mission (secret). Then Rafferty and I packed our bags and were ready at 7 AM. We were told our destination was Tokyo which we would enter ahead of all Allied troops and set up control towers at 3 strips to land the occupational troops. This announcement was the beginning of the biggest comedy of errors I have ever seen. We loaded our equipment on C-47s of the 317^th Troop Carrier Squadron Jungle Skippers and after numerous dry runs to test equipment we stayed on the strip for 3 days sleeping at the plane and riding to chow in trucks. Then on Tuesday we finally left Clark Field for Okinawa, arriving at about 1425 after our stop at Laoag. Here we were placed in a casual camp and spent 5 days waiting for peace arrangements to be made. At the end of that time, they tore down the casual camp and some of the boys moved up to the AACS Detachment and a few of us stayed on the line with the plane. Today the planes are leaving for another strip where they will load the equipment on C-54s at Kodena strip.

28 August 1945

2007-12-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight the first bunch left for Japan. They will arrive there in the morning and set up the tower. We are to follow 48 hours later.

30 August 1945

2007-12-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

We left Noba at 10:30 PM for Tokyo. We flew all night and about 1500 on the 31^st we sighted the Japanese coast. A little later we passed Fujiyama and passed over Yokohama Naval Base, which is in ruins. Had a little trouble locating the airfield because of some low clouds, but finally landed at Atsugi at 0600. We immediately went to work unloading equipment and set up the radio range. About 0900 we were taken up to the tower and relieved the boys that had been up there. Traffic was heavy with C-54 Sky Masters bringing occupational troops from Okinawa. We averaged one plane a minute all day. The planes land, discharge their load, and return without refueling. Majority of personnel was the 11^th Airborne Infantry Division.

At 1400 the big wheels began to arrive. Gen. MacArthur’s C-54, Gen. Kenney, Gen, Spaatz*, Gen. Sutherland**, and many others came in and were driven into Yokohama which is about 9 miles away and is where they will make their HQ. We are about 20 miles from Tokyo. The field was in good condition. Jap army personnel on the field are being used as guards and drivers. A lot of Jap vehicles have been commandeered for use until we can get our own here by ship. We are saluted to death by the Japs and there has been no sign of trouble. The tower is the focal point of all activity. There are usually 3 or 4 colonels standing around up there watching the proceedings. C-54s are lined up on the ramp 25 and 30 at a time, coming and going in a continuous stream. Eating is sporadic, 10 in 1 rations being our diet, catch as catch can. We slept the first night in Operations beneath the tower. I worked from about 9 AM until 6 PM with an hour off for chow. Then worked the following afternoon and the following morning.

* Gen. Carl Spaatz commanded the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, with headquarters on Guam. There he supervised Richard K. Sutherland, MacArthur’s Chief of Staff

** Lt. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland, MacArthur’s Chief of Staff

1 September 1945

2007-12-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

Today we move into a former Jap naval barracks. We have the upper bay and the lower floor will house a mess hall and dayroom. Washing and toilet facilities will have to be fixed up but we have some Jap work details cleaning things up so we should be very comfortable when things get squared away.

The weather the first day was bright and warm, but the next afternoon it clouded up, rained all night and is still raining. It is also cold. Quite a sudden change from the heat of the Philippines and Okinawa. Used two blankets last night and working the tower this AM was quite miserable.

The country looks interesting. Many groves of evergreens and very intensive cultivation of the fields. Vegetable gardens everywhere. We are restricted to the field at present, but these bans will probably be lifted when the peace is signed, which is to take place tomorrow on the battleship Missouri in honor of the President.*

[Journal ends here]

* Harry S. Truman, native of Missouri.