Combat Infantry: A Soldier's Story

Combat Infantry: A Soldier's Story

Filling an essential gap in the understanding of warfare during World War II, author Donald E. Anderson describes life as a young enlisted man in Hawaii prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor when he had only six months left in his tour. In Combat Infantry, he provides an emotional and firsthand account of the Pearl Harbor bombing and his next four years of service as he fought disease and injury, spending time in New Caledonia and New Zealand. A member of the 35th Regiment, 25th Division, he captures in vivid detail the fighting in the jungles of Guadalcanal and later, five months of continuous combat on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Anderson describes the grueling combats and deprivations faced by army infantrymen to liberate the islands. Anderson tells of a soldier's world that was confined to muddy foxholes, a dustclouded stretch of mined road, or a rocky, fog-shrouded mountain ridge where fear and fatigue took its toll. In Combat Infantry, he pays tribute to those who were killed in action. They are not just names carved on a stone monument, but living, breathing souls who gave their lives for freedom. Combat Infantry A Soldier's Story By Donald E. Anderson D.E. Anderson Jr. Trafford Publishing Copyright © 2011 Donald E. Anderson and D.E. Anderson Jr. All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4269-6877-8 Contents Foreword.................................................ixAcknowledgments..........................................xiii1. Rising Sun............................................12. To the Shores of Paradise.............................213. The 'Canal............................................394. Into the Green Hell...................................515. Devil's Den...........................................776. Dust to Dust..........................................897. Jungle Juice, Typhoons and Cigars.....................958. Deliverance...........................................1139. Warriors Go Forth.....................................13310. Valley of Shadows....................................14911. In the Midst of Lions................................17312. Blood and Steel......................................19313. Victory at the Quarter-Moon..........................21114. Whirlwind............................................21715. Attrition............................................23516. Unsung...............................................24317. The Siege of Balete Pass.............................25718. Fire from the Heavens................................27319. Last Journey.........................................28520. New Beginning........................................301Epilogue.................................................305 Chapter One Rising Sun She emerged from the cloud layer and swept past us and over the lagoon, a magnificent white flying boat. Banking slightly, her engines changed pitch as the pilots brought her in for a landing on the blue-grey water. We anxiously waited; the only sounds were the idling engines, the lapping of waves against the low concrete seawall and the scuffing of the watchers' shoes as they snuffed out cigarettes that joined a carpet of others. The sense of foreboding was as thick as the clouds blanketing the island's rim and the surrounding ocean. We impatiently crowded the dock, as fledgling chicks might await their mother, clamoring to receive the first morsels, snapping them up with expectation of more. Our waiting band of soldiers and sailors sought valuable global news. On this day, there was none. The Philippine Clipper was one of three flying boats with passenger routes between the West Coast of the United States and the Pacific Islands: Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, Wake Island to the west of the Hawaiian Islands and on to the Philippines. In July 1941, we had been training and preparing for a possible conflict with Japan, but when and where? There was never enough news or information to be had. Of course, everyone had an opinion or knew the latest "straight dope" from on high. Rife with rumor and wild speculation, these tidbits were mostly guesswork pieced together from other speculation, embellished as it made the rounds. Our outfit, the 25th Infantry Division, stationed at Schofield Barracks outside Honolulu would be facing the Japanese somewhere in the vast Pacific. As a driver for my company commander, I had embarked on an extensive survey of our fighting positions with Captain James Dalton. We sat eating lunch in silence, high on a ridge, overlooking Honolulu and the naval base at Pearl Harbor. I asked him the question that had been gnawing at me for months. "Sir, are we going to war with Japan?" He looked me in the eye and nodded, sadness clouding his face. "Yes, there's no way around it." "When, do you think?" I asked, dreading an answer. "By Christmas. Intelligence reports that Germany is trying twenty-four hours a day to convince Japan to enter the war. The War Depa