Mahlon Sharp's WW2 Memoirs

8/3/2019 Mahlon Sharp's WW2 Memoirs

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Wlar Euucuee

: ll ) , " ' , t f i' : -Sr*'... f iMARY..1gri.*-"lltjttl;'.i;


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PREF'ACE

The etter mmediatelyollowing waswrittenby my wife,Mary,onDecember th o herparentsNathanandCarolinePotterwho were iving in Lansing,Michigan n thePorterHotel,whereMarysubsequentlyoined hem n her ownaparfment. he etterwentouton a clipperplaneTuesdayihe ninthof December eforeherewasanycensorshipof mail in place.Natecopiedhe etterand t waspublishedin theLansingState ournalshortly hereafter.t is his copywhich s reproduced.


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^T/efh_Dec. $, 1941.n/hDearest Qfother & Dad:

Siish there were some way I could reaasurs you that lr lx okay 6 such.Doutt know when, i f everr you get this part icular let ter , but here goesfor the story an]tray. Uakes me out kind of foolish, doesaft it, havingJust written you that oahu would, never be bonbed, bu t not quite aefoolish ae the Arny & Navy wbo got caught with thcir pants ciowa ifanyone over did. J dara say you know a great deal norc about aII ofit than we do, as ou r radio only broadcasts official bulletins frolcArny headquartors every once in a while. Rumors ar e rifc, especiallywere tbey yesterday when things were being organizedr so f shal l etar tat tbe beginni ng as beet f caa.Yf e had a lovely tise at Be e & Harlanr s dinner party and the fine cabaretshow put on at the Officersr Club Saturday night. General Shor* waetherc aLarong a-nyother high ranking officers. Hom6 and ia bed by 1 or1:30. At about 7:30 or af ter J awoke to the sound of gun f iro--machineguns and comos dropping. Thought rii lhat a hell of a tine fo r gunnerypract ice". Then hear i rhe airplaneo and ciecj-c ied t was an "aler t" ofthe best k ino. ?Ient to the toi let anci went oack to bed to see if Icould get back to sleep. Har lan (cireesed in uniforn as he had plannedto go to a lecture in town on "Traunt i t ic Surgery") knocked on the door,burgt in an d gaid, "Cone on out and watch th.e Japaneee planes. Thcyare bombi:rg "Wheeler Fiold"-- the aircirome aci jacont to Schof ield. ' iTeIaughed and said "cion't k ic i us". Brt he iasisted--not t ruly beLrevingit hJ.nse1f, so we robod and dashed ou t into the streot. Sure enuf therewere--how men:I? -50? planee in the air anci def initely zooning andattacking YJbeeler. They were so low we coulci seo the re d suns on theirwings. StiII half believing ir to be soo kind of nock attach we atoodand watched. SIowIy it dawaed oa us that they were uaj-ng rad.l bulletsand wc could sea the tracer bul lets 'aad the great cloud of black smokerisJ-ng fron lfheel-or.By non (15 -;n. or less) se wera joined by aII tho people f l iv ing on Gorgasroad in al l etates of dregs and undress. Standing there like goops voeu


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woundg on head. Both were cheerful and anxious to se t "back at theJapB" --said. L2 of their "bud.dies" had been ki[edJand told, eaanusing story of one boy who dove under the P.X. when attack connoncedand said he saentt scared--give hin a cigaret te. But, ae the boyspu t it, he was rrbare aekkedn After they left Listcned to soncnainl,and broadcasts and then went to bed. AIeo called the [1 . an dIcft word for !d.ke I was home.Thie noraing havo cleaned up--read thc crtrar vErT litt1e news really--listened to the neighbor storiee, and looked at the ehcll bolo i:rFindeisente dr ive-- i t te a beau.t , canrt gce thc bottoo--about a footacross and on an anglc Tomorrow will report for voluateer sorkat Queene as ugual and horeafter do rhat f am to1d.- OLive Arthurs iscom.ing to stay with me, so vill not be aloae. Send al l ou r love, &wo wi l l be 0.K.

Itary


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ReminiscencesBy Mahlon S. Sharp, MD


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MYPARENTSMy Father: Fred Newmnn SharP

I, Mahlon SamuelSharp, he youngersonof FredNewman Sharp Feb. 14, 1878 Aprillg4g) was lesscloseto my father thanwas my "first born" brother,Edward. Edward wasassociatedn businesswith my fatherduring the astyearsof his life and believe hat they hada most pleasantassociation.Edward inherited the hardwarebusinessand did quite well with it, Ibelieve. I think he could havewritten a much better biographyof our father - having known himlonger and more intimately. He was elevenyearsolder than I.

Anyway I heard requentlyfrom my father how difficult his earlyyearswere.He grew upabout 50 miles southwestof Ohio - in Edgerton.He was the eldestof 7 children. After him,therewere threebrothers. I believe in order of age hey were Herbert. Tom, and Harlan. Thentherewere 3 girls: Esther,Helen, and Madory. The youngestwas anotherboy, Wayne. Waynestayed he longest on the family farm andthen acquireda farm of his own. My paternalgrandmotherwasAugusta Gusta)Newman Sharp 1851- 1911).My grandfatherwas HerbertSharp 1851 1940).

Wayne's wife Catherinewas not a very happywoman and had only one child, Robert, aboy. Sheraised chickensand,I believeneeded he money. However I attendedhis funeral.Wayne shothis own head off with a shotgun. His sonwas very nice looking and I think, smart,but was terribly lacking in self confidence. He flew in one day to an airport that was near E.Lansing. He wantedto makecontactwith me and I would have been happy o entertainhim fora few days,but he arrived unannouncedand on a day that I was frantically busy. I told him that Iwas late and had an office full of patients. If I had known his need, would have et my patientswait. I heard ndirectly that he settled n Chicago and continued o own and fly his own air plane.Neither I nor anyone else n the family ever heard rom him again.It is one of my many sorrows.

My father recalledat a very early ageplowing fields that first hadto be rid of stumpsandlargestones. The living conditionswerecrowded. All the children were hard working and thefamily cut and split wood and delivered t to a poor family in town. With all the children helpingthey did eventuallyhavea largebrick house the bricks waremadeon the site of red clay. Irememberalarge windmill that pumpedwater into a gravity flow system n the big house. I waswith my father one hot summerday and dug out of the sawdusthugecakesof ice and.wonderfully cold watermelon. The ice hadbeenharvestedout of the nearbyriver in midwinter.The building which held the ice was one room and hadbeen he original first home of hisparents. Dad added hat at first they had to carry water from the river acrossa large field. Myfather told the story that there were families that went into debt to buy their own homes. Mvfather's family believedthat the home cameafter the bam.

Prosperity apparentlycame n time to this early Ohio farm family. Largebarnshad beenbuilt and there were cafile, pigs,and sheep. Carriagehorseswere bred for the market in FortPase2


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back he stopped o seeherandgaveher $20.00,almostall of what he had sold he truck loadfor.He needed he moneybadly but felt that sheneeded t more. Dad was honest o a fault. Hetrustedeveryoneand usuallyhad many un-collectible accounts o charge off at the end of eachyear.My mother would call this to his attention from time to time.

My father was a very goodand kind man or he probably would have clobberedmymother when shewould remind him that she had a better education. Sheoften thought that sheknew better how to run their affairs than he did andtold him so. She may often have beenright.Shewas deeplyhurt at the time of her maniageto Dad when sheheard some of his family say"Fred will probablyhaveall of Angie's (Angeline Conant Sharp) family to supportsomeday."Of course t wasall the sweeterwhen my mother inherited enough rom her family to help manyofthe Sharps.

I was a "pain-in-the-ass"ort of son. My two- year-oldersisterwas fond of telling methat sheheard my father say hat I was an unwantedand unnecessary fterthought . He alreadyhad his son and daughter. I think that he was dismayedat my taking piano lessonsatmymother's nsistencewhen he thought I should be playing football. Athletics ware never my bagand my father took greatpride in my brother'sstaring n track, baseball and basketball. He alsowas quarterback or Flint Central two years n a row.

I was neversure hat he thought it worthwhile for me to go to college for somany (8years)and then work 120 hoursa week for $0.85a day n meal tickets which was what HaqperHospitalpaid at that time, in 1939-1940.One couldsend shirt a week to the laundryand allthe uniforms you could dirty. Both Mary, my wife, and I lived on it until with her prestigiousJD degreeshegot a blessedob at Hudson's for $13.00a weeksellingcostumeewelry.My mother is anotherstoryand I will come to her later. A sidelight on my Dad waswhen I was n the SouthPacific my mother couldn't write to me evenwhen I beggedher to.Apparently it wasdistressingo her to think of my being thereas sheconsideredit an unhealthyplace -- especially f you werewith a combat infantry unit. My father, bless him, wrote andexplained t to me. He spelledalmostaspoorly as I do; his lettershoweverwerepure gold. Ionce rememberedone of my toughold sergeants reaking nto concealed earswhen aftermonthsand the end of "Mail Call" therewas nothing for him.Coming back to their home n Flint from Floridain 1949my father and mother stoppedat

our houseon Oxford Rd. in EastLansing. I hadn'tseeneitherof them sincefall. They had nointention of stayingbut for a minute. His much belovedSpringerSpaniel ran awayso they hadto staythe night- The effrcientEastLansingPolice found the dog the next morning. Becauseofthe layover,my father and I visited my brandnew office . But foi that, I would neverhavehadthe wonderful experienceof hearingmy father say "Kid I am very proud of your hangingoutyour shingleand all thosehashmarksand stuff that you got in the Southpacific." H-avenlymusic to my earsand I didn't know how much I wantedto hearuntil I found myself wiping a tearPase4


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My Mother:Mary AngelineConantSharp

My motherwas born in October 21, (or 24) 1878at Ashtabula, Ohio (died about 1968 atFlint, Mich.). Sheandher win brother,my Uncle Sam,were he youngest f the family. Therewere threeolder brothersand one older sister. The youngestbrother died shortly aftershe andher twin were born. It isn't exactly clear what took the family to Ashtabula from Maumee whereher paternalgrandparentswere well established In fact the main streetof Maumee, ConantStreet,was namedafter her grandfather. My mother consideredhe move to Ashtabuia asseriousa mistakeas was the subsequentmove to Tennessee.Her father was Austin BenezetConant(about 1830 1924) and was a veteran of the civilwar as a member of the Union Army. I onceaskedher if there was much hostility in Tennesseetoward a Northem soldier. Shesaidno, that they were not only acceptedwell but sincehe wasextremelywell educatedand also had grown up in the householdof a very active practicingDoctor. As a result,Austin Benezet reely sortof practicedmedicinewithout havinga licenseorany real recognizedqualification. They lived there in Tennessee uite happily for a few years. Itwas an old plantationand sheand I visited it manyyears ater,when I was driving her to Florida.Sherecognized he houseand remembered he slavequarters; he remnantsof the foundationswere still identifiable. The few years hat they lived there were most pleasantuntil it wasdiscovered hat her fatherhad paid cash or a heavily mortgagedpropertyand he lost both hismoneyand the properly They had a gardenbut did not farm. He was happyas the medicaladviserof the little community of McMinville and probablydid better than the "Bleed, Purge,

Blister" conventional choolof the time. Oneof Mom's seldom-told toriesof the time wasoftheir leaving sorrowfully in an old wagon with all of their furniture.Therewas much to do with all of the children and thingswent well until they arrived in the trainstation n Cincinnati and found that they weredeadbroke. Her Mother had given her coat tosomepoor freezingwoman. They stayed herefor what seemedo her un u*fully long time andmany telegramswere sent and received. After this agonizingwait the private railroad car of Mr.Swainarrived and they boarded t and weretakento Toledo and then on to Maumee. Mr. Swain(first name not certain ) was Presidentof the PennsylvaniaRailroad and had married mymother's aunt. The aunt was a half sisterof Austin BenezetConant,my grandfather.

My grandfather,Austin BenezetConant,married Mary Charles,whosefamily werefarmers n northernOhio, near Parisburg,Ohio, right across he river from Maumee_ MaryCharleshad taught schoolall through the civil war and was schoolsuperintendentand inheritedthe flag that flew over the schoolduring the civil war. The flag was made nto a quilt which Ioncesaw, but it was falling apart.

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-^nal ",nhnol o hat shecould each,which shedid

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for a short ime and ound hat shedidn'tmeotheractivitY. At the imeio o learn he rade' Themostrge,oftenostrich-Plumed,at, Oiaaowell until all of the SharP

: shePlaYedheold PumPeedorgane PlaYed ell but therewasno one

wn Homecominghat shewasbY ar' i in heroPinionweremuch hemostlestand hehardestworkingandsheor twelve)hada reunion' TheYhad.d3 boYs' dimlY ememberromlongskirts,andstiff collars'vedbYall. MYmother ememberedrnshediedshortlY fter heir

. delivered thome. n hermiddle/ womenof that ime suffered.She;regardedhebleedingfor long imethatshehadan advancedancerof

le. He thought hat herewas ittlett to leaveoff scrubbingmilk canshata to start n theHardwarebusinesslerewasa happy ime and heyhealthybabyand heywere yPicalyswhich continuedwhen wasa smalllsnow n the briskair. I thought t ared.Mother'sonlycommentwas, youLe rother'swere heyhad arguments

: businessndopened numberofre. Dad ovedpeopleand oved othenwith a Dr. andMrs.Dyer( he;tinguished t the ime by beinga'Michigan. A sonof the Graham's,

Dr-.f!Q_R{r_!o0NANT\ r r( j3- tl519 t ot Mauhe, OhtoPRACTICEDMEDICINEFOR 67 YEARSTNU LIVED OTHEAGEOF94-ALTI]OU6II SAft'fuIER ANDwlyrER H OFTEHHADTotytl Hts H2PfiEACROSSAS I4ANYAS8 RIVECf-ON A STCK CALL _

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World War IIMahlon S. SharPMD

Maior M.C. U.S.ArmY(reserve)C.O.Company D"MedicalBattalion24thlnfantry Division

As a freshmanat University of Cincinnati in 193 I elected o take ROTC insteadof therequiredgymnasiumperiod. I stayedwith, or ratherrestarted, t at the University of MichiganMedical School. At graduation wascommissionedst Lt. in the Medical Reserves.At the timeI thought, as did manyothers, hat all it would meanwas that I was committing myself possiblyto two weeksayearat some rainingbasewith PAY duringmy hospital esidency ears.

Finishing my rotation year atHarperHospital in 7940,I applied for the approvedresidency here. I was told by the seniorresident hat I probably would havehad it exceptthat Iwas beat out by the sonof a very dear, ife time friend of the Department Chief, Dr.Kamperman. I consequentlyappliedat Woman's which atthe time was the teachinghospital forthe University of Michigan. I was acceptedalong with sevenother eageryoung2nd year men.The group includedmy long time friend, GeorgeSmith, from GraceHospital. Much later Ilearned rom Don Beaver,chairman of the residentcommittee and an outstandingpathologistthat my recommendation rom Harper describedme as oneof their most outstanding1styearmen. At that time andplaceone would almost kill for an approvedresidency.When I wastraining, it wascustomary or people o take 3 yearsof pre-medand thenfour yearsof medical school. I took four yearsbefore medical schoolwith one year attheUniversity of Cincinnati, two yearsat a unior college n Flint, and then a summer semesterandone full yearat the University of Michigan. I hada typical collegeexperience. The firstsemester t the Universityof Cincinnati got all A's. The secondsemester discovered irls andbeer. I got an A in trigonometryand in ecologyand failed everythingelse.With that kind of a record I could not be admittedanywhereexceptat someJr. College.Fortunately herewas avery goodone in Flint and I started o be seriousaboutwanting to go tomedical school. I worked hardand was admittedto summerschoolat the U of M and then did afull Sr.year with nearly perfect gradesand was admittedto Medical School n 1935. TheMedical School at the U of Mich. was organizedalong the GermanTradition and the motivationwas to scareyou into working hard. Many years ater Michigan StateMedical school wasorganizedsomewhatdifferently and felt that it wasacceptable or the faculty to even be friendsof and admiredby the students a much more popularatmosphereamongthe studentbody. Idid qualify for a desirable nternshipat HarperHospitar n Detroit.

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Frequent ivouacswere n orderand t seemedn mportantpartof training o sleeponthehard rozengroundaroundKalamazoo ndBattleCreekand o missmeals I-ater was oencounterhisagainn Australia.Relyingonmy medical tatus, discussedhiswith thehighbrass, bjectinghatonecouldn't rainfor hungerand hat necessity as he onlyacceptablereasonor it. i had ittle success.Soon, thigh evel, t wasdecidedhatas ongasEurope eemedo beheating p, someof us should avemoreOfficer rainingat CarlisleBarracks, enn.MedicalFieldOfficerTrainingSchool). wasamonghe first to be choseno go. Up to this time it wasalmostentirely egulararmy hatweresent.

A "regular"Army officerwhoseapartment e hadsublet n BattleCreekhadbeen hereandadvised s o apply mmediatelyo "Mrs.Brigs'sBoardingHouse"as t wasby far the mostreasonablendbesidest hadgood ood. We wereearlyandwereaccepted ndevengot hebestFRONTROOM.Thiswas n Marchof 1941.A picturecomeso mindof Mary andme ookingout n the middleof the nightat aheavydown-pour f raindrenchinghequaintcobble-stonedtreetand he old fashioned, utbeautifulbuildings. t wassupposedhat t was n this ittle village hatan old lady,MollyPitcher,hadstuckher headout of a second torywindowshouting,shoot f youmust his oldgrayheadbut et standmy country'slag.". Wehada convenient arnamedafterMolly Pitcherandspent ome ime there.

The rainingthatwe weresupposedo be receivingncludedmuch close rder"drill andevacuation f endlessmockcasualtiesrom a mockbattle ield. It musthavebeengood or ussinceater,much ater,I andmy companywona freeday n Honolulu. It was heprize n abattalioncompetition f the fourcompanies.It wascustomary hileat Carlisle o havea freeweekend ndmostof us went oWashington C- This proved or us o bea mostsignificantevent.Maryand hadbeen herebeforebut we oved heopportunity f doingall theusual TouristyThings":WashingtonMonument, incolnMemorial,panAm Center.while walkingmanymileswe p1ss9d notvery mposing uilding. t hada sortof signon t: "ColonelLull, officer in Charge f all Rese*" offi"rrs". Mary mriediatelysaid, .good,let'sgo n andseehim. Hemightbesomeoneice o know.,, I, in my usual on-pushy ay,said, really,Mary,abrand resh,newlycommissioned,ow downtsi rt. doesn,t suallygocrashingnto theofficeof thehighandmightyBRASS.I don'tknowmuchbut I doknowthatl,,Wewent n anywayandnot only washenicebutalsowarmand riendly. He seemed, ndprobablywas,slightlyboredanddelightedo visitwith us. Score nother '100plus,,or mydear,wonderful'selfassured, ate-crashingife. This umedout to be anotherof theaccidentaland ortuitousevents f our uckycharmedives.

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Effort,, wasreplace he rings ree. Which he did. The car had cost he enormous umof$375.00whenwe acquired t.

In Coloradowherewe hadgoneespecially o hatwe coulddrive the "Sky Line Drive'"We found that in May it wasn'topenyet so we stopped n EstesPark, this sideof the divide, andstayed n a wondertgi tittte log cibin with a big fireplace and the pleasantsmell of wood smokein ihe chill air. The following day we rode horsesn the beautiful mountain forests. The nextday we heard hat the roadwas openand we setoff, soon inding ourselvesdriving throughsnow drifts that weremuch higher than the heightof our liule car. Neither of us at that point inour lives hadeverseensnowthat deep .

Eventuallywe arrived in good old SanFrancisco. We had both beentherebefore andknew the city slightly. I reported"in" to Ft. Masonand found that they, like the rest of the Army,were all ro b.6y thatno one really had time to explain how long it would be that we were to coolour heels n the fascinatingCity that we both loved. Eventually rumor reachedus that all of thearmy shipswere in the Atlantic carryingpersonnel o islandsand outposts hat had a higherpriority ihan anything n the Pacific. We were told to gal!, a common enoughmaneuver. It wasusedvery frequently n all of the military servicesand what one did was to accustom one's selfto doing ust that. We found an old hotel that gaveenonnousdiscounts o servicepeople andwas quite full of them, also "waiting". We became amiliar wrth Golden GatePark and itslovely Japanese arden. We did art museumsand window-shoppedall over the magnificenttown.

We went back frequently to Fort Mason and were told to "\ /ait" which we did. We founda reasonableplaceto eat,"Reily's FrenchRestaurant". It was family style,which meant that youcould refill your soupplate from the tureen on the table as ong as t lasted. We met many nicepeoplethere. Years ater we took our two oldestchildren thereand remember heir comments:"it's no "Forum of the 12Caesars"",said Caroline who hadrecentlybeen n New York with hermother. Michael'scomment,"you call this a salad?". Someof the shine hat it had for us on ourfirst visit had worn off. The patronswere no longer the grateful survivorsof the 30s depressionaswe had been. Our other meal wasbreakfast n the drug store for $0.15. For a break we droveout to Palo Alto to see he campus. While we weretherewe found a difficult-to-resist bargainand bought a Packard-Bell adio with a record player. Somestudenthad hocked t and weacquired t very cheaply.The salesmanwas so delighted o sell it that he threw in a single "longplay" record:one side was "Frankyand JohnnieWere Lovers"and on the other side was: "thePoet and PeasantOverture". Somenights we played t until the wee hoursand then listened tothe "War News" in our dinky little hotel room.We were very happyand felt that we werereally on the thresholdof "ADVENTURE", asindeed we were. Finally the orderscameand I wasto sail on the brandnew luxury ship that theMatson Line had ust commissioned.Mary wasto stay n SanFranciscoand follow me toHawaii shortly. I found that I was listed asassistanto a CaptainHoward Taylor who was C.O.of troops, the troopsbeingsome30 odd freshlycommissioned nd Lts. n the Air Corps. Thismeantthat I had no greatbig job or responsibility. It did, however, qualify me for pretty

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OnJuly7 in mypositionasPort Surgeon wasable o goout with thepilot andboardMary'sship. While shewas ookingsearchingly t the dock or meI slippedup behindherandkissed eras put heLeisoverhead. hadgivena nice ittleJapaneseana couple f dollarsto put flowers n thehouse s" Missywascoming".TherewereGardeniasn the bedroom.MountainGinger ll over he ivingroomand osesn thekitchen.Following eacetimecustoms f the service hadalready alledonthe Commanding fficer athis home.Very soonafterMaryhadanivedwewereentertainedy the Colonelandhis ovely wife; webecame eryfondof them. Eatingwith thembecamemy first experience ith l3 boychickencurry."Thirteen oy"meanthat herewere13dishes f nuts, aisins, hutney, ndothergoodies.

Soont wasour urn to entertainhe Colonel,his motherandhis wife.Mary hadalreadyleamed o shop n the commissaryndserved wonderful egof lamb. I dorememberhatwehad a magnificent ilverbowland t lookedbeautiful n the centerof the ablewith 3 hugeWaterLilies in it. Beforewe satdown heyhadclosednto tiny greenbuds.Horsd'oeuwesweresquare rackerscommissary)nddyedblackcaviar. Thecrackers adbecome lackstainedslobsof dough hatonecouldn'tpick up. Ourguestsweregreatlyamused ndcouldn'thavebeenmore orgiving. We all hada verygood ime andbecame erygood riends.Because f themwebothwere nvited o a greatmanypartieson thepostandelsewhere.

I wasdancing nenight with a Mrs. "Colonel"Howard. She urned o me surreptitiouslyandsaid, isn'ta it a pity whathashappenedo the "OldArmy", whatwith all of thereserveofficersandsomeof thempreviously oncoms?" couldn't esistand eplied, youknow, Mrs.Howard, 'm reallya reserve fficer!" Shewasonlyminimallyembarrassed,oh,of course,didn'tmeanDoctors."After the warbegan, t wasn'tongbefore succeededaptainArnold n all of thedutiesthat hadpreviously oneashisassistant. still remained Lt. andsangwith the restof themabout, there'llbe nopromotionshis sideof theOceans." knew thatatmy unior gradeandyoungage hat wasn'tgoing o remainat my cushypost or long. Sureenough was ransferredto the24thlnfantryDivision'sMedicalBattalionandappointedCommandingOfficerof Co. "A",whichwas ocated ut n themiddleof aPineapple ield. I again elt carefree sMary wassafelyback n Michigan. I hada few daysof intense nxietyon the7thwhen didn'tknowwhereshewasor for sure hatshewassafe.I also elt comfortable s hadan "enormous,,insurance olicyof $25,000.00 hichI knewwould akegoodcareof herand hebaby or everand ever; what oolswemorlalsbe."It was hen hatall thatclose-orderrill camento use. Weeasilywon hecontest

among he ourcompaniesn thebattalion. was heonlyone hathad"Carlisle"n mybackground.nitially I foundCo. "A" poorlyorgaruzed,andbecame C.O. (CommandineOfficer) hatcouldbedescribedsa GI's hell.ThepreviousC.O.hadbeena gynecologstromChicago.About heonlymen hatknew heir obs were he 1stSergeant,he iess Sergeantndthe SupplySergeant. ended phavinga truly excellent taffof officers:Lt. Moe Harris, Capt.Tuttle,andLt. James.The atterhadcompleted am coursen "TraumaticSurgery" ndersome amous loke hat hadheardof thenbuthavenowforgotten."Jamie"aswe calledhimPaee 6


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officers better. I also think greatresponsibilitygoeswith authority. I alsofound that unlessyouwere willing to do it, don't expect hose underyour command o do it. A small incident that Irememberwell occurredon Leyte. We had receiveda largegoup of casualtiesrom the 19thinfantry - they had beencut off. Their battalion surgeonhad done heroic ob of stoppingbleedinggiving good,although nadequate, reatment n a foxhole of sorts. I went out to meetthe evacuatingunit with my Co."A". I told them what a good ob I thought they were doing. Irememberopeningthe doors of an ambulanceand the driver and another soldierwere unloadingthe litters. Onewoundedman was bleedingfrom his scalp onto the litter below him. Almostreflexly the one man hung a helmet on the handle of the litter so that it would catchthe bloodand not drip on the other's ace. I would havepreferred or him to haveplaceda pressurebandagebut he was in a hurry. This was my old company doing the evacuation o my ClearingCompany(the highest medical unit inside the division.)

This groupof casualtieswere ined up alongside f the road. We were ocated n achurchwithout a roof. We hadbeen heresince he big blow (Typhoon) and it was still rainingand after dark. The action wasa last-ditchstand of the Japswho hadbeen reinforced fromLuzon and were in temporarycontrol. Most of the woundedhad been wet and, if conscious,hungry as well as n shock. Many hada greatdeal of blood loss. Both platoonswere togetheratthis time and there were 12 MDs and plenty of somewhat rained men to take care of them. I feltthat there wasa big need for bol soup and told the messsergeant o light the field range andproducesome,even f it was madefrom cannedmeatand beans. He refused. I had never hadthis occur before. The reasonwas that he thoughtthat it might draw enemy ire in the blacknessof night. He was immediately relievedof his sergeant's tripes. I found anotherman to do it butthat meantthat I had to stand herewhile the range lared up. I think that it could be seen or amile. Active small arms mechanical ire was going on at not a very greatdistance. I fullyunderstoodwhy the messsergeantesigned nd or a momentwished hat I couldtoo. i will getto a much fuller story of Leyte beginningwith D day and H hour after going back to Dec. 7thalittle more fully.

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DECEMBER 7th,1941On the6thof December ewereput onRED ALERTat FortArmstrong. called heTaylorsaswe hadbeennvitedsomeime before o a partyat theSchofieldOfficer'sClubandhai plannedo spendhenightwith themat theirquartersmedical ow) on GorgasRd.,Sctrofieta. toldHowardhow disappointed e wereandwe agreedto arly hereat someatertime. No sooner ad finishedmy call and theALERTwas lifted. I calledbackand oldhimthatwe werecomingafter ll. Hooray!I hurriedhomeandquicklydressedn myWHITESandwe wereoff for thebig parfyoftheyear.Thereasonhat t wassospecialwas hat someof thewiveswereputtingona floorshowandall of thehighbrasswouldbe here. It wasaverygoodpartyandwe bothhadawonderfullygood ime. Mary dancedwith both GeneralShortandAdmiralKimbleduring hatmemorable vening.Marywasa beautifuldancer ndwasverypopularatmostparties. All themenpickedher outasshewasveryvibrantlybeautiful.I beingayoung st. Lt andnot a terriblygooddancer truggledwith theirmostlyquiteolderwives.I think that t wasabout03:00whenwe gotback o theTaylorsandhadscrambledeggsand inally went o bed. It seemed lmost mmediatelyhatwe wereawakened. said o Mary,"Damn,wouldn'tyouknow hat SundayMorningwheneveryone eeds ndwants o sleepheblankety lankcoast rtillery woulddecideo practice?"TheTaylors,ike mostof us,borrowed smuchQuartermasterquipment spossibleo fill in and furnish heir house.Weweresleeping n wo regulararmycotsmiserable nough ven houghwe hadpushedhemtogether.We talked or a whileand he resounding oiseandvibrations ontinued.Evensomeplasterdustseemedo shiftdown romtheceiling. Thereweresoundsas houghour hostswerestirringandwedecidedo getup andseewhatwashappening.Weheardplanes nddecidedogooutsideandseewhat n theworld wasgoingon. Therewereplaneslying very ow and,unbelievably, adbright edsunspaintedon theirwings. I remarkedhat thought t wascarryinghingsa little too far for a drill. The ourof usgotunderaverysmallMulberry reeasaplane urnedsharply ndcamebackwith its gunsblazing.Shells emovedater rom the eavesbecame aluablemementos.Soona soldiercameby with his rifle on ts shoulder trapandannounced,thecommandingGeneral ays hatwE ARE AT WAR! --TFIEJAPANESEHAVE ATTACKED.All wivesandchildrenare o go o thehospital.Everyones to report or duty mmediately,'.hadalreadydecidedhat mustgetback o my assigned ost. BeaTaylor,dear ady,was n theprocess f serving s coffee. I noticedhat for some eason r other hecupclatteredn its finechinasaucer. tookoff in our ittle black'37FORD. My assignmentn ciseof attackwas oestablishhreeaid stations roundheHarborof Honolulu. As I left Schofield y thegatenearestWheelerField discoveredhe reasonor all of the noiseandvibrations It wasaPase19


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Maryreturnedo themainland nFebruary 8,1942.Shehadbeenworkingasavolunteern eueensHospital.Shewouldeasilyhaveobtained ermissiono remainn theIslands ut shewaspregnantwith our first child! Wedecidedt wasbest or her o return oLansingMichiganwhereherparentswere. She raveledromHawaii o Californiaon a trooptriptheLurline,transformedrom a luxurycruiseship,now outfittedwith triplebunks. spenttherestof 1942 ndmostof 1943 n Hawaiiexceptor averybriefvisit home n Marchof 1,943becausemy fatherhada heartattackandwasnot expectedo live.Ever since could emember,hadhatediver. I neverunderstood hy, butmy mothersaved llhermeatcoupons ndduring his preciousime home,servedme iver! It was sowonderfuloseemy belovedwife andchild. Marywas iving in thePorterHotel n Lansingwhereherparentshadbeen esident uringall of thewar. Her fatherhadworked n a factorybuildingairplanepropellers.He hadbeen lected nionSteward he consideredearing is Steward adgeothe DetroitCity Club- a poshupperclassclubwhere he memberselt laborunionswere heirenemy.Carolinehadbeenborn n Augustof 1942andwas6 monthsold when arrived. I havea vivid memoryof walkingmy family,baby n pram, hrough he city parknext o thePorterHotel. I was n full dress niform, he babywasbeautiful,he baby'smotherwasbeautiful,andpeoplestoppedo admire hiswonderful amily. I was ull of pride.

I foundmy fatherhad comehome romthe hospitalandwasno longerconsideredcritically ll although eoccupied hospitalbed n thehouseheyhad ecentlybuilt in thecountry. My Dadsaidhe washappy o seemebut our contactwasbrief andshadowedy thefact that soonhad o return o Hawaii. As I recall, washomeabouta week.Mary and occupied n upperbirth in a train rip to SanFrancisco aberthwe werelucky o getas he rain was ull of soldiers.Wehad eft with our mindsverymuchoccupied yourcomingseparationnd he mmediate robability hat wouldsoonbe n combat.peoplewerevery earfi:lsaying ood-byeo the Army ship traveled n. I saidgood-byeo Mary at theTopof the MarkHopkinswherewe hadgone o the rotating oof bar. Thiswasa special lacefor usand wehavegone hereeversincewheneverwe are n SanFrancisco.Thesorrowof ourseparation as essenedy the fact hat n crossinghestreetwe encounteredfriend romCollegewhowas6 feet all andMaryborrowed israincoat s t hadbeen ainingduringourentire ime there.Thecoatwasmuch oo ong or Mary andwe aughed bout t. Carolinehadstayed omewith ababysitter Mrs.Sugden, neof themanywivesof Mr. Sugden, nArmyband eaderandwho hadbeenmarriedo my auntEstheratone imeandwas he fatherof mycousins'Maryremembersur partingwith theconfidencehat wouldreturn.

I wasconcemed ecauseknew wouldbe n combat hortly.

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New GuineaIn Augustof 1943we leftHawaiiand raveledo NorthAustralia.We feared hat wemightstay here orever. even requestedransfero theParatroops. was urneddown and

told thatI wasneededn thepresent rea. hadexhausted y ideason how to keep120men atleastsomewhat usy. Wedid an hourof calisthenics achmorningat day ight and otganizedcross-country arches.Oneof myOfficerswasevenworkingon evacuation versteepavineswith li6erssuspendedrom cableshatwerepartof all of our big trucks. We all werebored.With onlyonesmall own,Rockhampton, earby,herewas ittle activityexceptof our ownmaking. I remember neseveral-hour arch hroughhedesolate orthNew Queenslandcrubbrushandstuntedrees.The andwassobarren hat oneof the men emarkedhat t would akeseveral creso support necow. I washeadinghe columnand several f ushadstepped veralarge allen ree runkwhena man rom the rural southwho wasaccustomedo usinghis eyesnwild wooded ountrycalledout,"Captain, idyounotice hat hat allen"tree" is reallya hugesnake?"As a "city boy",I had,of course, ot recognizedt. Thisgave hemall a good aughwhich everyone eeded.A few of the menkilled it anddraggedt manymilesback o camp.Foryears had aphotographf it draped ver he shoulders f ten menwith it touchinghegroundon eachside. Wegotused o seeinghesehuge eptilesandwere old by thenatives hattheywerecalledBrown Snakes r Rug Snakes ndwerea species f Boa Constrictor.We hadgottenused o thestrange ookaburrabird whose all wasvery much ike a mulebraying. Thefirst greenizard hat ranon ts hind egs hrough hecampwaschased p a tree and inallycaptured ndkilled so hat t couldbeexamined losely. After that heywere gnored.We hadaday oomof sortsbut nothing n it except omehomemade urnitwe.My blessedMother n Law sentme a wonderfuleather ase ontaining everaldecksofcards. chess et,checkers, nddominos.For troopswaiting or combataswe were, t wasagodsend.Wehad hebestday oom n thebattalion.Wewere A" company nd ikedto thinkwewere he best.To haveplayingcardsandchess etshelpedo confirm t. Therealsowas nthis wonderfi.rl ackage metalcanteen o ull of whiskey hat t wouldn't gurgle, hatonly I anda few of my closeofficerfriendseverknewabout.The ew bars n the areihadno liquor,notevenbeer.Rockhampton's ainsaloon addouble,half length,wo-wayswingingdoorsmuch ikethestage et n an old westernmovie. Thebarattendanihadheupp"-uni oia retiredschoolteacher rMinister'swife. Sheannouncedadly hat heyhadnothing o drinkand he yankshaddrunk t all.In mostarmies ince imebeganherehasalwaysbeenanunofficialundergroundupplyof information alledvariously scuttlebutt"or "lafrine-o-grams." t wasspread t all levelsevenamongofficers hatshouldhaveknownbetter.Besidisow 24thdivision herewasanotherin thesameextensive rea. believehat t was heRedArrowDivisionmadeup of primarilyreserveegimentsrom Wisconsin nd ts neighboringegions.Althoughwell trainedathometheywere irst,I believe,o engageheenemyn theequatorial, teamiig,mountainousungleofPaee22


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I well remembered he heavypromiscuous ire all over the Island of Oahuon Dec. 7th andmany days after. In one incident, I wascalled from Ft. Armstrong where I was stationed o thenext door Immigration Station. I wisely chosean Ambulanceas east ikely to draw fire. Iremembervividly the showerof tracershellsacross he streetaheadof the ambulanceandsimilar fire after the ambulancehad passed.Green roopsoften, I knew, had more casualties rom their own weapons han from theenemy. I announced o the company hat anyone iring purposefullyor accidentallywould havehis weapon taken away. It did occur and the offenders were relieved of their rifles until afterthey had received nstruction.Fortunately had a sergeant hat could capably nstruct in fieldstripping and firing

Medical soldiers,according o the GenevaConvention, were to be armedwrth Red Crossarm bands andhere we were with arms and ammunition, responsible or our own security.Worst of all mostof the menhad no trainins in their use. Soonafter oadine he bow doorswereclosed and we put out to sea.We presumed hat we were soon off shoreof New Guinea and proceedingNorth West.The naval crew were asyoungand greenas we were. Howeverthey were friendly and realizedthat we wereall on the sameside n this war. Their chartsweremadefrom air photosandlackedmuch in the way of navigational nformation. We approachedhe shoreand the bigdoors swungopen and a few trucks went down the ramp to completelydisappearunder water.Their drivers fortunately escaped.We didn't looseany men but the rumor wasthat there wasenough artillery ammunition and equipmenton this mucky shoredeepout of sight to fight asmall battle. We sensiblymovedon anddid nose nto an areawith more substantialbeach.Infantry platoonsand vehiclesmovedoff the ship and onto land. Our companyassembledandone platoon was instructed o follow and maintain contactwith the Battalion Aid station. Mostlythey were litter bearers,handcarryingmedical equipment n addition to their newlv acquiredfireanns.

We had been warned hat in the tall kunni grass herewould be deadlysnakes;not very bigbut deadly (Pit Adders). I stoodfor a few minutesnearDivision Headquarters.The Commanderof our Division, General rving, was there . Confusionwas rampant. General rving was doinghis best o establishorderout of chaos. The greatGeneralMacArthur cameup to him as I stoodthereand said,"Irvin q, otganizeyour ground!" of course he lesserGeneralwas doing ust thatto the extentof his abilities. I movedon inland with my headquarters.Here and therewere criesof "snake bite" which I had to attend. This was especially requentas t started o get dark.None of the bitescould be confirmed.It was so dark that we were sliding and slipping on a mountaintrail and I decided o stop. Itwas beastlyhot and I noticed someof the heaviermedical equipmentwas being abandonedalong the trail. we met two Nuns coming out to the shore.Theywere with a sikh, curly beardand mountainous urban and all. I wonderedwhat we would seenext. The Sikhs, I later heard,

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mightbea springsomewhere eedingour dirty stream ndoneof themen ocatedt. With lotsof manpowerwe coulddo almostanything,f wehada plan. A smalldetachment assent o cutlargebamboo,ike 6 or 8 feet all andmaybe4 or 5 inchesn diameter.Startingwith the springthe-bamboo asstrungat decreasingeightanda gradual ownslope.Thecleancoldwaterwasbroughto the bankof thestream nda long ine of menstoodwaiting o getwet. Prettysoonalargepuddleof muddevelopednder hepopularshower.We side-trackedhebamboo treamatnight o preventerosionof thestream ank.Thecompany's upplysergeant as amiliarwitheverything f importance oingon n thearea.Heknew hat heair corpsunit nearbyhadcemlnt. ihry *.t. not forced o wearshirtsaswe wereandwe resentedhat. Anyway, anighttimerequisitiongotus abagof cement nda platformwasbuilt under he ittle 6 ft high bamboowater all and t continuedo batha long ine of hot, dusty,sweat-soiled en.

Sometimesut n the ield it is felt thathigherechelons f command xistust to makethe ives of lowerechelons bit miserable.TheMedicalBattalionhadan Adjutantwho fell intothecategory.Hehad ield grade ankandwasnotparticularly elovedby the Captainscommandinghe companiesn theBattalion. He felt that somethingmustbe done o control heswannsof flies that ollowedmenwhereverheywent n the Jungle.He went rom company ocompany nspectingheir atrineswheremostof the lies bred. He had developedhe nasty rickof lighting a pieceof toiletpaperanddroppingt into thepit. He did thisto ourpit andboomwent he aviationgas.Thekitchen ly flew off like a hot air balloon. The box waswreckedandthe hing hatnoneof us wouldhavehadhappened as hat hreemenusing he atrinewerebadlyburnedandhad o be sentofffor a while to thehospital.Bums n this terriblyhot humidclimatewerenot minormatters s nfectionwasalmosta certainty. t was trnny,however,o usall to see he canvas quareloatingoff intothe Jungle.Whenwewereearlyonourway nto this arealsaw he only ive Japsoldier hat saw nthe Pacific. He wasbeingbrought rom theair field wherehe hadbeen oundby litter bearers.askedhemwhy theywerecarryinghim and heysaid hat apparently ecouldn't' move. Iprickedhim slightlywith my trenchknifeandhemovedandstoodup. Headquartersadexpressedstrongdesire or aprisoner nd wo of my medicalsoldiersook him on back.

By now a highwayhadbeenconstructedromHumboldtBay (Hollandia)o theairfieldandon to the beachwherewehad anded.Rumorsagainfloatedreely. "MacAfihurhasa castleup on the op of thatmountain." Themen hatbelievedhis werewholesale ancelingheirwarbonds- found hisout fromcensoringhemail of thecompany. I hatedo readotheipeoplesprivatemail,but orderswereorders. tookmy firstsergeantnd wo members f the"o.punyith me n a eep andwe wentup themountain.Wedrove hrougha campverymuch ike ourown. Their atrinedidn't seem o be nearlyasniceasCo A's . Theydid havearefrigeratorhatapparentlyunctioned ngas.Themenweresatisfied nd eturned.iking our owncampsomewhatbetter. I readof nomorewarbondcancellations.Early n thisoperationwhenwefirst reachedhe landingstripswe hadonlythe rationsthatwehadcarriedwith us. Bothour rationsandwewereexhausted.Suddenly widespreadyell brokeout, ourplanesweredroppinga newkindof grubandwe all seizedi madlv. We

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function n combatand woulO eer rrl I hadabandonedhem.Further, ackwith civilians

wouldbeuncomfortabieaftercoming,o.i**seeingwhatitwasaliabout.50Yearslatter,writ ingthis,I,mgladlstayed.WithD-dayonLel'teandMindoro,Iwas

sivenanother hance I grabbedtt

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LEYTE''i SiiALL RET-LJ-RN'' MaiorGeneraiMacArthur

"D day", hedayof landing,October T,1944, nLeyte "-Ii-hour"s thehourof theianding)wenta iittle moresmoothiyhanon ourprevious perationn TanamaraBay nNewGuinea.We left fromHumboldtBay n the centerof the northcoastof New Guineawith all ofthe excitement f whatwe knewwasgoing o bea majoroperation nd t was ncieeci. li of themedicalunitswereaccustomedo theirarmamentsnd herewasno accidentaliring as herehaci eenon theprevious peration.My companyhis timewasstili quitenew o me. Ourmissionwas o establish beach id station.On eavingNew Guinea I thought hatwe mustbethemostenorrnousrmada ver o be assembieciniy o be oinedby oneof equai ize rom heAdmiraltiescontaininghe irst Calvary ivision,MacArthur'savorite.He andedust northofus. Thestorygoes and believet, although didn'tseet, thathe andedwice, the secondtime for thecameras.My company D" hadbeen ransportedhis far n a bigArmy Transportship. Previouslywe hadaiwaysbeenon andingcrafts;only n cirili hadweciimbeddowncargonets rom sucha largeship. As we neared eyteHarborour enonnousleet was oinedby anequally arge orce rom the Hawaiiansiancis.TheNavy, biessheir hearts, acibeenpoundingthe beachongahead f us ncluding he useof rockets hat we hadn'tseen efore.All personnelhaci een iearedrom hebowof theshipbecauseithe possibiiity f mines n theharbor.Weall had he reatof freshwatershowers; custom eforean assaultanding. As we scrubbed urbodiesn the uxurywecouldn'thelp but think that hiswasa treat o perhapsessenheprobabilityof infection f woundsweresoon o occur.

My companywasprececieciy infantrybut t wasnowour turn. Insteaci f the usuaiLSIswewereexpecting, bigger ampqpe boatarrived oadedwith wounded.Theywerebeingunloaciedsweciimbeddown n andwith a minimumof equipment reparedo getour feetwetin goingashore.After we anded well remember neof theearlycasualties howalked n. I couldn'tbelievehehadbeenshot ightbetweenheeyeswith the woundof exit ust behindhis right ear.Therightopticnervewasobviously evereci. is righteye eflectedhebrightsun ight. I wasto meet hismanagainn threemonths a life time n that imeandplace.

On our shore tationwe were mmobiiizedwith 30to 50 itter cases ncia goodlynumberof walkingwoundedwaiting or transportationack o ihe ship. I remember lot ofnoisy ire nearby andmostof ouradmissions ere iom verynearby where heyhadbeenhurt.A22 ton ruck appeared,otours. It was oadedwith corpses tackedike fire wood. Thepoordriver eallydidn'tknowwhere o go. I told him that didn'tcarewherehedumped hembuttheydidn'tbelongn my aid station. would ike them ar away.Page29


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hesitate. He askecione of my mento


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Time flew by, but before ieave his scene must e ll of onemore ncident. The flood ofcasualties hat were so hungry and shockingly exposed or days o rain, having lain part of thetime in water, were heroically cared or by a battalion Surgeonby the name of Rosencranz,aJew. He shouldhavehad somekind of award for working under he worst possibleconditionsand undoubtedly aveda numberof lives. i pointed his out to someof my friends hatwere socritical of the two JewishMDs that had hungpsychoneurosisags on themselvesand didn't comewith us on the operation.

In early December, wo monthsafter arriving on Leyte, I receivedorders hat oneplatoon(one half of the company) was to report aboard an LST in the harbor. Fortunately he iargershipswere the ones eceivingmost of attention from the Jap airplanes. I decided hat I had to gowith the platoon on this new operation called the Western VasayanTask Force. It turned out tobe the most exciting and nterestingof all the military action n which I participated n thePacific.I didn't tell Mary until a long time afterwards,but I had turneddown rotation home that I waslong overdo for while in New Guineaso that two officers from the Battalion couid go home. Iwas old that it would only be a monthand would comeup again. Thatmonthturnedout to bemore like six. After all of the training and preparation or combat t would be an unbearableanti-climax o comehomewhile therewasstill so much action n this theater. I had, ike mostmen in the military, steeledmyself for action, I wonderedsincerelyhow I would standup when areal fire-fight involved me and my men,much as I deploredeverythingaboutwar and theunfortunate oss of our generation'sinest.

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WESTERN WSAYAN TASKFORCEEarly December, 944Thenew "Portable urgical" admovednto an area lose o usandhadquickly earnedtheycouldn'tspend hreehoursona laparotomywhen herewereothermenwith openguts yingaround. We wereprimarilyconcerned ith caring or casualtieshat hadpreviously ademergencyreatment.Onedayafter he newunit hadarrived,an ordercame o immediatelymovea platoon o boardship n LeyteHarborandprepareor a task orceaction. I decidedhatI mustgoandpreffymuchchose otherofficersby theirprevious urgicalraining. Thisincludeda Captain ameso whom havepreviouslyeferred.He had ecentlyhada refreshercoursen traumatic urgery ndera "hot shot" n New York. He alsowasshowing ignsofcomingdownwith theblahs.Someof thealcohol hatwe had andedwith wasdisappearingndI knew what washappeningo it. Jamiehad ound hat t wentsplendidlywith the"batteryacid"which s how wereferred o thecanned rangeuice whichwaspartof ourprovisions ndwhichweall drankasour nearlyonlysource f vitamin"C".I do not remember xactlyhow wegotback o thestaging reabut we did and oadedhalf of thecompany upplies ndpersonnel. do recallasking amie, how shallwe go?', tseems hada choiceas o howI wasgoing o dishibutemy company.Manyhad o go *ith ou.vehicles ut the wo of uscouldgoon eitheran LCI whichwasa verysmall targetfromheairor anLST, whichwassome300or more eet n lengthcarryingaviaiion asand ots of Ammo.Wehadpracticed nbothso hatweknew heircharacterisiicsTheLCII standingor LandingCraft Infantry,was iule with scarcelyoom o lie downevenonthenarrowdeckand whentheypoked heirbow ntothebeachheywouldrun two narrow amps,not unlike adders ntothesandor waterdependingnhowclose he ittle shipgot o shore.we voted hesedownanddecidedo go for it with the LSTand he possibilityof bunkwith possiblya sheet n it, solidcomfort' Not thatsleeping na litter wasthatbad, but,comewhatmay. We knew hatwewereabig anddesirableargetfromheair andalsowereveryexplosive,a quickway o goand essmessy'Wesat n theharbor or several aysand ound hut *" wereoneof thirtyverysimilarLSTs' we reallydidn'tmindaswewereout of themudand f our premonitions ereat allcorrectsomething xcitingwasabout o happen. think thatwe carriedour own ..iron,,chow,meaning anned, ndof course adour canteensndmess its on our webbelts.Medicalofficersalsohadsidearms'at east did, aswell asa modicumof medicalequipment. maderoundsof my menand heirvehicles.Theymostlyslept n theirtrucksandusLtty theyhad

somecomfortarticlesstowed way- havingabigvehicleat timewasa definiteadvantage.At lastwe weresignaledo getunderway.A hugecruiserhove nto sight. I was old byouryoungand nexperiencedaptainhat t was o beour flagshipandall of tte armyandNavyBrassnvolved n theoperationwasaboard er. when wemovedout we ookednot unlikeamother uck ollowedby her ittleones.our shipwasoneofthebigger ,littleones.,,wewatchedheshoreline f Leytegoby andknew hat hestraits,a rather ongnarrowpassagePage 4


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manwith my clamponhis femoralarteryaisinghisheadalreadywith a cigaretten hismouthandaplasma nit runningnto hisveins. He almosthada smileon his face'Wewere soonsetup on shoreand heshipsall left. Mattingwas apidlybeingput downand t wasn'tongbeforewe sawsomeof ourownplanesandingand akingoff. Our casualties

werenot heavyandwe growledaboutbeingonhalf rations. Not long afterwe setup, a bigblondeSwede ame n with some ind of minor nj.ry and don'tknowhow I foundout thathewasa bakerandknewhow o makebread. Hestarted aking,we did have lour andyeast. Thearomaspread ndnot ongbeforemen rom otheroutfitscamecalling. We did hangon tohim as ongaspossible swe hadafield rangeandplentyof flour andyeast. think thathewasan anti-airCraftunnerand don't ememberheirknockingdowna singleJAPaircraft,althoughtheymayhaveand t went nto thedrink so hat I didn't see t.We seldomwerewithoutattentionrom the Zeros, mallbombers arryingsmallbombs.Theyflew day andnight and,except or thesoundof our firing at them, herewasno alarm oranti-aircraft irenswhichelsewhere e hadaccustomedurselveso expectasa signal o seekshelter.Therealwayswasa cold chill associated ith the soundof the anti-aircraftire, be t onshipboard r land. In a few weekswe gotsowe didn't eallypayenough ttentiono the usuallysolitaryJapplanes.Oneof our worstcasualties,owever,wasapilot whocrawledundersomethingnstead f intoa hole anda smallbombburstnearhim. A fragmentwounded imbadly n the eft sideof his abdomen.We did a laparotomyna sugarcaneut that was aisedona cement ase everaleetabove heground.Jamiewas he eadsurgeon ndAl from Mayohelpedhim. The ield was loodingwith bloodasoneof themannouncedhat he splenicarterywasclampedand he eft kidneywasa fragmentedmessand heywere rying o get he eft renalartery. Therewasno bloodpressure.We had nfuseda unit or two of plasma nd drew a fewhundred csof blood rom oneof thecompany's enwho gladlygave t. With nocrossmatch,only the dog ags o goby, he ransfusionacedwith his failing heartbeatsand esuscitationfailed. He wasa nice ooking ntelligentappearing oungmana 2ndLt. in theAir Force.Christmas, 944,appearedhortlyand herewasno way hat couldcomfortablyigureto keep heofficersout of the medicalalcoholso decidedo get id of it. It waspartof thelandingsupplies; ntendedor the manufacturef tinctureand onics or whichwe hadno realneedand often hought hatsome ighup MedicalSupplyOfficer hadhis tonguen cheekwhen t wasaddedo the basic andingsupply.What did with it was o havealarge ield kettlefilled with theproverbial battery cid"and dumpedheremaining lcohol nto it so hat heentireplatooncouldhaveabout heequivalent f a smallglassof wine. I preferredhat odumpingt on theground.Theplatoonhadsortof a festiveair -- more romthe dea, think,than rom anysignificantalcohol ngestion.Almost mmediatelyhough regrettedhereeverbeinganyalcohol.A tankercame n andbefore herecouldbeaneffort to unload heaviation uel it washit by oneof those applaneshatbttzzedaboutike mosquitoes. t blazedmightily n the nightsky.

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jealousyby thehospitalauthoritieswho werenot goinghome,unlike he rest of us and hewounded.Themuddidn'tmattermuch o us aswewereused o eating rom ourmessgearandstandingn therain. We wereecstatic bout eaving. After about hreeweeksan old ship, ThePresident ierce",pulled n andwe startedoading hecasualties.Onboard herewere hreedeepbunksall on opendeck.Therewereabout6 physiciansachcaring or about50patients.The soldierwho hadbeen he irst casualty n Leeytewith thewound n the middle of hisforehead ndhis severedOpticnervewasagainoneof my patients. wasglad o seehim ashadoftenwondered ow hegotalong.His visionwasgood n his remaining ye.

Therewasalmostno bitchingaseveryonewassohappy o beheaded tateside.Theaircorpswhichwasoftengivenpreferentialreatmentwerequarteredegardlessf rank n the holdof the ship. Shortlyafter eavingNewGuinea,we encounteredstorm. sawAir Corpsquartersthemorningafter he ship, op heavywith guns,nearly olled over.All wasa tangledmess.Mostof them eft it thatway.Theywereso ecstatic bout heading ome. The captain ater old methathad he ship olled a few moredegrees,t would not havebeenable o right itself.

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Rest ndRecuPeration

Our landfall was in SanFrancisco. We arrived after the postexchangehad closed. Wecouldn,t obtain a city uniform. Army policy requiredus to be in city uniform for traveling in thecity. Another field grademedical officer and I were determined o bar hop. The first thing Idid, however,was go to the lower floor of the St.FrancisHotel and called Mary. My friend andI decided o havedinner across he street. Still in our fatigues,an elderly couple sitting at a tablenear he entrance nvited us to be seatedwith them and bought our dinners. During dinner, theytold us of their only sonbeing ost in the SouthPacific. Theyrecognized hatwe had ust comefrom there. There was little that we could say o comfort them'

We went on to visit many otherplaces n the city. Becauseof our rank we were wellreceived in spiteof our appearance.

Soon was appointedcommandingofficer of a troop train headed or Chicago. Duringone stop in route I left the train to get abeer and when I returnedexpectingto board discoveredthree rains hat all looked exactlyalike. I had visionsof being courtmartialedbut I luckilyboarded he right train and we were soon n Chicago.Mary met me there. Transportationwasalmost mpossible or civilians but shehadfinagled herself there somehow. We met at the Palmer House- a hotel we had been n beforeand havestayedat many imes since. The meetingwassweet, ntenseandpassionate.Shortlywe went on to Lansingwhere I met my 2 ll2 yearold child for the first time sinceher birth

except for the brief week when shewas six monthsold.Caroline wasaccustomed o the full time attentionof her mother. Shewas an adorablechild but we discoveredhatour relationshipwasgoing o takesome ime to develop.After justa few daysshe said, "daddy why don'tyou go back to the war -- we don't needyou aroundhere?"I realizedthat I had quite a waysto go before this 2 7/2 yearold was going to havemuch of anyaffection for me and I must make a specialeffort towards her. It was apparent hat in the eyesoflittle Caroline I was getting too much attentionfrom her Mother.To make life more complex at the moment I hadorders o go to Miami for rest andrecuperation. We decided o get out of the apartmenton Walnut St. in Lansingwhich Mary had

moved into from the PorterHotel. We bought an old Buick. I think we paid $375.00-- almostno cars were availableat that time. Mury had saved hat much out of the rathermeagerallotment that was my salary. Fortunately, had not beenableto spendmoney. We were paid inDutch Guilders andthere was little to spend t on -- a wild expensewas $0.50to get a Native toclimb a tall tree for a coconut. I had evenboughta waterBuffalo for the companycook onLeyte. We all wanted meatand lo and behold the Army came hroughwith turkeys-- forPage39


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Commandant.You are ust theman. With yourexperience,ou'rewhat he Col commandingthe Convalescentnit wants. Thenew Colonelgreetedmeagainwith: "Good, seeyou'vehadsome ield experience.You will bemy ExecutiveOfficer". I knew hen hat as ong as worethe mufti uniform would neverseea live andbreathing atientasaphysician.The Colonel riedto convinceme o become regularArmy. It wasattractive ecause f myrank and hesecurityof the service. decided, owever,hat wantedndependencend nSeptember f 1945,Iwasdischargedrom the Army and e-entered y Ob-Gyn esidency tWomen'sHospital n Detroit. I wasglad o be a civilianagain.

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Good nterveningYearsI look at my beloved79 yearold wife having ust placeda recentpicture of her on acorner of a photographof her in her weddingdress aken on the stairs of her parents'BartonHills Home. I think for a nostalgicmomentof all the years hat have ntervened. Good years,mostly, and the good so largely came rom her.We were married,September17,l938,at St. Andrews Churchby an old friend of hersand her family's. Her very dearparentsacceptedme as houghI had been heir own born son.Her parentswere as I wishedmy own parents o be. My Fatherand I had neverbeen closeand Icringeda little at the contrastof this dear hard working and honestman in his unaccustomedeveningwear and my Mother trying to look at home in an evening dress. My brother,young andhandsome ctingasmy bestman sortof redeemedhe family.Our "extensive" honeymoonwas nearby,a night at the Dearborn Inn sothat I could beback Monday to work on the line. The line waswhere senior medical studentsgave physicalexaminations o incoming freshman. I needed o earn he $10.00. If my belovedhad gottenupand stalkedout of the room I wouldn't haveblamedher. The first night at the Inn we occupiedadeluxe room andI drank a bit too much. The difference between he reality and the anticipatedeventwasrather considerable ndnoneof the short comingswere her's n the least.In 1938-39,we lived in a one room aparfment in ObservatoryLodge one block from theHospital and two miles from the Law School- this was to become somethingof a patterntounfold. The yearwent weli. My gradeswere good and hers were superlativeand sheworked

part time for a ProfessorSimes as a researchassistantand was mentionedon the fly leaf of hissubsequent ew book.

It was June 1939my wife was wearing the Black velvet stripes of the law school and Iwas wearing Green rom the University of Michigan Medical School andboth of our parentswere attending he GraduationExercises. It was a typical hot summer day and even he flowerswereblooming more brightly than usual.We graduatedand moved to a one room apartment n Detroit. It was unusual hen for afirst year lntern to be married. Two of my goo4 long-time classmateswerealso looking forplaces o live with their wives. One waswith me at Harper and the other was at Grace,a blockaway. We were all in the sameboat financially speaking. We weregoing to be paid $0.85a dayin meal tickets and it waspossible o haveone civilian shirt included in the laundry with anynumberof uniforms eachweek. We were expected o live in the quarterswhen on call. We allhopedmightily that we would have ime to sneakoff to our wives for a nieht or two durine theweek.

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were o be allowed.Weexpressedurwillingnesso greet lackneighborsut o no avail. Wemustmove.Thewindsof war wereblowingmorestronglyand in February 941 he War Dept. sentgreetings nd became firstLt. in theMedical Corpsof theUnitedstates rmy. My

assignment as o theFifth InfantryDivisionbeingbroughtup to strength t the nearbyFortCuster.Fouryearsater,aftermy wife and survivedPearlHarborand had hree "D" Days nthe SouthPacificwith the TwentyFourth nfantryDivision, cameback o Woman's.Little hadchanged xcepthat herewasno competition. I havenever elt asold as hefirst dayback. Iwasshowering nda medicalstudentn the "hurryup" program lanced t meandsaid, "Hey,for a manof yourage, ou're airly well preserved." was hirly threeandhewasmaybe wentyone.My residencyastedromSeptember945 o September947.My secondhild, irst bornson,wasborn n Julyof 1946.Aftermy residency,started racticen Lansing,Michigann 1947,ime or thebabyboom. I couldn'tbelieve hatpatientswould want o seeme. I hadgained greatdealofexperiencen my residencyn "caudal nesthesia"hichbecamehecurrentage n Lansing.Patientsoved t andsoon wasgiving wo or threeat a time o thepatients f thebusiestObstetriciansn town. Soon decidedo only do t for my ownpatients.My practice welledand wasgoingata fastpacedayandnight. I alsogaveotherblocks.Theseweredesirable sthe babieswerenot narcotized.It wasstill thefirstyearandmy cheerful oung eceptionist anging p the elephoneannouncedhat shehad ust madeappointmentshat morning or ten newpatients. recallquitevividly the first vacation bout wo yearsater. I signed ut for a weekend ndwhen camebackMonday, he relievingdoctorhaddelivered13patients.Heasked, is it always ike this?" I

repliedwith a small ie, "yes, f course." n reality wascaring or 30 o 50deliveriesa month.I foundmy first office nurseat theApestHouse, swe oncecalled he nfectiousDiseaseHospital. Shewasnursing he"iron lung" patients nddoinga splendidob of it. Two of themweremine,both well along n to the ast rimester. Poliowasa dreaded isease f childrenandit alsoseemedo pickbusyhardworkingstudent's ives. published paper nBulbarpolio inpregnancy ndgave t before heprestigiousCentralAssociationOf Obstetrics ndGynecolory".Thebottom ine was hatbetweenwritingthepaperand hemonthsater hatgave t, Salkhadproducedhisvaccine. was elegatedo a Saturdaymorningearlywhen herewasa verysmallattendance.It was hebabyboom ime asa fewhundredhousand thermen eturnedrom thetheaters f war. President annah normously nlargedheUniversityo accommodatehem asdid manyother nstitutions f higher earning.QuonsetHutswerebuilt to accommodatehemany newly married eterans nxiouso catchup onboth amily andeducation.Thisareawasknownas: FertileVallev".

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C-Sections. thergoupscame ndwent. I campaignedor a "ReadySection oom"andSparrowurnishedt, finally. We thencouldbrag hata hemonhagingmothercouldbe admittedandoftensaveboth ivesby having hebaby n minutes. Ourgroupwas he first to useepiduralwhich believes still consideredheanestheticf choice.

Thepracticehrivedandsodid we. Onedaya youngassistanto Dr. Kirshbaum,chairman f theOb-GynDepartment t the Medical School, ame o us andsaid hat he wastired of teaching ndwanted o do "PrivatePractice", ncomebeingafactor. We accepted imand ound hatnot only washe brilliantbut alsoverystreet-wise. he hreeof us hadneverquestionedhe deduction f medical xpensesor our amilies ndweprobably hould avemadesome ulesbut we hadn't.Theyoungambitious onHazen ooktheofficefor thecostof astaticair conditioneror eachof two houses- andby offeringdoublesalary o oneof ourexcellent ursesookher anda copyof all of ourrecords longwhenheestablishedimself nsolopractice!It wasust a short ime ago,possibly1996, hat was nvited o a Christmas arty. Thepartywasvery niceand hadattended numberof similarones or several ears.Thepartywasbeinggivenby what used o be myold Ob-Gynofficestaff. I only knew hreeof thewomenashavingbeenoncemy employees. othof my old, also etired,partnerswere n attendance.nthe sixteen earssince had eft we threemenhadbeen eplaced y freshsparkly oungpeople,threemenand wo womenwith a muchextended taff. The ive BoardCertifieddoctorsweresupported y a Ph.D.motherlywomanwhoalsowasan expertn Ultrasound ndanotherhatdid mostlyMammography. hereweresurgicalnurses,eceptionists,ppointment ndbookkeeping eople. liked heir ooks,only heyseemedo lookat me as hough werea fossilspecimen.Theyaskedme o speak. thoughtwhatcould say hat would nteresthese oungpeople ndso declined..On theway home madea "speech"o myself.You,youngwell trainedpeoplehaveall lived n theageof antibioticsanddon't eallyknowhow t waswhenwehad hecareof thatmost mportant erson: motherat termwithrupturedmembranes.f therehadbeena few dayssince hemembranesroke, thereoftenwouldbe a spiking emperature.Wedarednot do a C-Section s atal peritonitiswasalmostacertainty. f the fetuswasdeadand hecervixdilatedwith a uterusunresponsiveo oxytosicswedid the dreadedmorcelation rocedure.Thisrequired s o mutilate hebaby o deliver t andwasa horribleexperienceor all.If the etuswas iving weused orceps.Wespent earsn learninghe Pipersmaneuverandothercomplexhigh orceps rocedures. xis tractionwas n usesomeplaces. learnedodoextra-peritoneal. Sections unheard f in the present ra. When e did thison aninfectedpatientwe heldourbreathor fear hat wemight accidentally pen heperitoneumwhichcouldmake hedifference etween long-drainingaginalabscessndpossiblya deathfromwide-spread eritonitis.

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Becausemy practicewasvery arge hadopportunityo seemany arities. A generalpracticedoctor n anearby illagewhomadehouse allssentme agreatmanycases.Hepracticedn a ruralcommunity f largelysecond eneration ermanCatholics.Onedayhisofficesaid hat anemergency ason t'sway nto St.LawrenceHospitalandshewashemorrhaging. arrived hereust as shedid. Shewason thetable n amatterof minutesandhadher abdomen penandanorder or blood. I found heperitoneumull of blood,a ruptureduterusandababyafloatin hemass f fluid. I hauled he nfantout andhandedt squallingotheassistant.. he surgery isterelt it washerprayerhat savedt and or sure t wouldhavebeendeadn a fewmoreseconds

My enormousractice lso ielded number f possibly istantlyelatedwomen hathaddoubleuteri. In onemultiparouswomen he duplicationextendedo includea septatsvagina.Hercleverhusbandaddiscoveredhis onhis own. Onesidehad ailed o developullyand ntercourseherewasnot productive f pregnancy,he otherwassure ire. Fortunatelyheydesiredalarge amily. Thewasno complication t the ime of delivery. AnotherDoctor n asmall own senta 14yr.old girl who hadbeenmenstruatingor little more hanayearandhaddevelopedpainfulpelvicmass.Examinationevealedenital uplication ndno openingorthe onevagtrna.An officeprocedurender ocalanesthesiaolvedhatproblemand put her onanantibioticas he oldcollectionof bloodprovidedan dealculturemedium.The situationwasexplainedo the family doctorand o thepatient'smotherandpremarital xamination asrecommended.I wasextremelyortunaten this day of flourishing million-dollar aw suits o haveonlytwo caseshatprovokeditigation- Onewaswith a SouthAmericanstudent'swife that hadattendedwith an uneventfulermpregnancyndhadsubsequentlyonea postpartumsterilization.During hesterilization had oundmassive dhesionsroundhe site of the eft

fallopian ube hathadbeenpreviouslyemoved nd herewasno possibilityof doinga properprocedurehere. Her understandingf Englishwasquite imitedbut I thoughtsure hat sheunderstoodhat herewasstill a small ikelihood hat shecouldgetpregnant.Shedid laterbecome regnant ndboth sheandher husband eresuprised ndangry. Herhusbandwasawarded few hundred ollarsby my insuranceompany.They elt that wascheaperhandefendinghesuit.My othercase nvolved heart teacherhat wo of my childrenhadnot particularlyikedin EastLansingHigh School. Shewasabeautifulyoungwomanmarriedo a compulsivegamblerhat iked nothingbetter hana weekor two in Los Vegas.He had ost heavily ecentlyandwasabout o loose heir house. All of thisI leamedmuch atter. I received oticeone day

that wasbeingsued or $500,000.00 nda lawyer romthe nearby ity of Saginawwashandling t for the eacher. had riendswho were awyers ndalsoone hat wasa udge n thecommunity nd hey reassured e hat heplaintiffs lawyerwasof the owestpossiblemoralstanding. This didn't eassure eonebit! It wasof some omfort hat hephysicianhathadreferred er o me wasalsobeingsued.Sheclaimed hathe had old her hatshehadgonorrheaand t had uinedher marriage.Herclaim againstmewas hat hadbungledhersurgery ausingherprolongedecuperationnd ossofherjob.Page48


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For a long ime thewarbuggedme. hadnightmaresecurrentlyor years. t seemedohappenwhenmy shoulders ecame ncovered ndcold. I wokeup screaming nd wasagainsleeping n thewetgroundof the unglewith my helmeton anda cloth screen vermy face oprevent omeof the many nsectsrom biting andbothering.The reeswere ull of well armedenemy.The wardamaged greatmanypeoplepermanently. wasmore ortunatehanmost nthat hewar experiencehat had,seemedo makemegrow n the knowledge f the humanreactionunderstress ndgrouppsychology. am still amazedhat 120 o 140nearly ull grownmencanbecome family of sorts.Theycan eel hat he companyareas home. There s aresponsibilityor commandor the eader o do andbe able o do anythinghey ask heir men odo. TheArmy wasa gowth experienceor me but of course estroyed anypeople. wasdriven o write this account ecausehe warwasso ormative or me. I think I wasable o domany hingsafter he warbecause f theseexperiences. heexperiences erenot,of course,alwaysapplicable.My childrenwereoften o remindme that wasnot the amily Captain.

July15,1998

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ADDENDIIM

When I read his article n thepaper t broughtbacka flood of memoriesas his wasthe last combatoperation n which I participated.The cruiserwasour flagship whichwas not sunkbut sobadly damaged t was out of action and replacedby a destroyer.The two barges eferred o were two LSTs, eachover 300 hundred eet long,andwerethe end shipsof threecolumnsof ten LSTs each. wason the lastship n the centercolumn. The Japanese lane attackingour ship washit by anti-air ammunition, andarrived in fragmentson our ship. The helmsmanwasour worst casualty osing aleg,and gushingblood when I reachedhim. He survived!

WORLDWARI50YEARSGOIODAY . :Pearlromnewspapersf Dec.12194+,apan ayssuicideilots ave unktwo U.S. ansport ships,acruiseror largedesfoyer, andtwo bargessorlh of Leytelsland n he Philippines.hereis no U.S.commenlOn Leyte,tapped Japanesesoldiersare

being iquidatedn fightingGen.DouglasMacArhurdescribesas "of the mostdesperatecharacter." hewadssinglegreatestleetof bombers1,600FlyingFortressesandLiberators f theU.S. th AirForceattacksGerman ailandtransport argets.Germany'sforeignminister ayshis nationwill neversurrenderhough hewar mightcost "the bloodofour bestandbravest"AGreek-American elegationasks the StateDeparfnenttomediate he batdebetweenBritish orcesandGreekresistance roups.Thedelegationallson London o"cease ts bloodyattempt oshackle$e Greekpeopleoncemorewithdictatorship."

Harbor stillbwdenfortwo men: WASHINGTON - Rejectingthe pleasof families and support:crs,ihe PentagonWednesday e-fused to clear-thenames and re-store the ranks of the two seniorU.S. militarv commanders at.-?earlHarboi during the 1941.*JaDanesearcl.: A Pentagon reDort said Rear.Adm. HusbandKimmel and Maj.;Gen.Walter Short were not sole-.try to blame for the disaster,fvhich cost 2,403American lives,qnd had suffered greatly for it.I "Thev lost men f6r whbm thevrvere rLsponsible," the report+aid. "Thev felt too much of theblame was placedon them. Theirrhildren and grandchildrencon-iinue to be ha--unted v it all. For'-aUthis, there can be sidness. But'there can be no official remedv."'From wire reports

Mahlon Sharp's WW2 Memoirs

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Transcript of Mahlon Sharp's WW2 Memoirs