That is a great picture ! Thank you for posting it.

Were you ever on the recieving end of a Japanese knee mortar ? I saw one at a museum in Austin Texas and thought it was a pretty good weapon since it was small but could still send out a good punch. I don't think the Allies had anything like it but I could be wrong.

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Work Harder ! Millions on welfare are depending on you.

Hello TA,

I think we were on the receiving end of just about everything the japs could throw at us at one time or another, over the years my wife had picked enough shrapnel out of me to shoe a horse. Never could tell if it was ours or theirs.

Those knee mortars were pretty common, we had been briefed never to
attempt to fire one against your leg or you would end up with a broken thigh bone. We used a 60mm mortar tube when we had one available.

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All the Best
Jack

Nice picture indeed. It must be a very dear belonging for you. Thanks for sharing this with us.

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Great picture! I am really honored that you have chosen this forum to share your experiences with us.

My sentiments exactly Falcon!

Thanks Jack!!

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Members of the Dutch Resistance with 101st AB, Eindhoven. Operation Market Garden.

Scott

Thanks Fellas,

I didn't see that photo until after the war, in about '46 or '47. The Ensign with the camera asked if I wanted a copy, so I gave him my folks address. My dad told me later on that my mother would sit and stare at that photo at night when they listened to the radio for war news.

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All the Best
Jack

Mr. Jack,

While you were overseas and before you met your wife, did you exchange letters with any of the young ladies from back home?

How was the PT boat? Was it smooth moving on the water? Were they loud or did they just seem that way since you were on the boat?

Did you ever see any American PoWs?

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Best Regards,
JW

Hello Jeff,

No, I left most of the swooning small town girls heart broken when I joined up in '40, my steady girl from school ended up with the grocery clerk's flat footed 4F son. My sister's and youngest brother would write, as would my mother, sometimes asking if I liked the package they had sent, I would always thank them in the return letter for the package, despite the fact I had never received any packages the entire time I was overseas.

The PT boats were very quiet a low speed with engines muffled, when they opened them up they were as loud as an aircraft taking off. They would pound a fair bit at speed, and bounce you around when they crossed wakes, or choppy water. Below deck they were more like a pleasure boat if you compare them with a few of the Aussie patrol boats I was on.

I don't remember seeing or knowing any American POW's until after the war, as well as some Aussie POW's. I remember some in hospital stateside in '45 can't quite remember where.

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All the Best
Jack

Hi Jack,
My dad, an Iowa farmboy, served in WWII doing a brief stint in Australia and after his New Guinea days served as a tech Sergeant training recruits in Ft. McClellan, AL. He than farmed in Iowa for the rest of his life til he passed away in 1997. He was a member of the 41st. Division, 186th. Infantry Regiment and spent a lot of time on New Guinea. Thankfully, he survived to tell about it and related many things to me that are similar to your stories. He told of digging into foxholes at night, in a circle facing out, at arms length to one another so no Jap could infiltrate the circle. Also told of having the natives physically check his tags during the night. Good thing they were on our side. He said they were almost like animals in the jungle and swore they could smell Japs. Talked of firing tracers at night to illuminate targets. He said they were given new passwords every day and when they heard a sound in the undergrowth they would bark the password, to which there was a designated reply. When I asked him "What if no one replied?" he said they sent the natives after him and they came back with his head. I was skeptical when he said he saw a comrade pick up a live grenade that came flying near him and out of desperation heave it back before it went off. He witnessed a starving Jap come out of the jungle with his hands up and file into the Army chow line. They captured him and fed him. Only after he got back to the states did the malaria hit and the fevers were severe. I have a question: How many men were in a regiment, batallion, etc. ?? I know dad was directly in charge of 16 men. Jack, which division, regiment, etc. were you a part of? I do find this site really interesting. I have just ordered the book called the history of the 41st Division and am eager to read it.
Thanks!
lefty

Hello Lefty,

Your post made the hair on arms and on the back of my neck stand up as I read. I was with the 41st Div. 186th Infantry Regiment in '44 I led a rifle platoon. If our paths didn't cross somewhere along the line, we at some of the same places at the same time. If I may ask, what is your father's first name? Did your dad ever mention any names? Most had nicknames; Irish, Shorty, Smokey, Slim, Red, Blondie. I had a Sargent named Macrobe with me for quite some time if that rings a bell.

We always had passwords with R's and L's, the japs had trouble pronouncing those letters, some of them did speak very clear English when they would call out "hey Joe" or "help me", we did very little talking in those days.

Don't be skeptical of your dad speaking about grenades getting tossed back, that did happen, there was enough time to smell a jap grenade after you heard it land. Jap grenades had a slow fuse, after they removed the pin they would stike it in order to activate it, most of the time against their helmet, and you could hear them do it.

Getting back to the passwords, if there was no reply, tossing a rock
would make many of them move or break cover thinking it was a grenade, your dad, and the rest of us got wise to the jap tricks very quickly.

Hands are giving out, all for now,
Oh, and I was a South Dakota farmboy.

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All the Best
Jack

Jack,
My dad's first name was Edward. Everyone called him Ed, but his nickname was "Dutch" as we are dutchmen by descent. When he was in Australia he was a corporal. Later in the states his rank was Tech Sergeant. I know he often referred to a "Cowboy Quirk" from Ft. Worth, TX and of a Jake Coleman who was a sharpshooter. Dad coached a rifle team in competitions and Jake was the top shooter. Later in life Jake settled in Perham, MN. I do have a list of men with addresses that were in the same tent or tents as my dad. There are maybe 20 on the list, with many being from Oregon. What company were you in?
Very interesting!
lefty

Lefty,

I was a Corporal when we first landed in Australia in '41 with the 147th, I do know the Name Dutch, my nick name was Irish before they called me Sir. I can't remember the Company I was with in the 186th maybe either Dog or Fox, long time ago now. I was with the 1st Cav, 32nd, 41st, 147th. Let me get some sleep on this, and I'll put my thinking cap on in the morning,Very interesting indeed.

Did your dad ever mention Toem, or Wakde Island

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All the Best
Jack

Excellent story telling.
Its good to hear from you every time you type.

Did you ever see one of the bigger battle ships or carriers?

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Time is only enemy you'll never get rid of.

This story is more and more interesting are we glad we attracted Lefty here! Lefty were from Holland are your ancestors? Jack can you tell us more about the two islands you mentionned? (Toem, or Wakde Island). Also among the buddies you mention are those the ones on the picture?

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Hawkerace,

Well, there were the ships of battleship row at Pearl Harbor, the South Dakota crossed my path several times, I called in fire from her one time. There were fleet carriers, battleships, and heavy cruisers in the distance covering our convoys, I don't remember which. At night you could watch flashes that would light up the sky on the horizon, from naval gunfire back and fourth, too far away to know what the engagement was.

Skipper,

I'm trying to narrow down where Lefty's dad had been, Toem was a New Guinea Native village we made a landing on which was pretty quiet as I remember, Wakde was a little Island a mile or so in size where we took very heavy fire coming ashore, the japs had set up 20mm aircraft guns as beach defense and shot up a lot of our boats, both were 41st Div. operations just prior to Biak.

Those were all navy fellas in the snapshot. My mother was Dutch/German, she used to say that's where I got all my good looks from.

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All the Best
Jack

Thanks Jack, now I can locate those places. I was wondering where they were. It is interesting to notice that some small islands were so heavily defended whereas larger places were almost undefended. Was there any special strategic reason why the Japanese would defend such a small island or was it just a bottleneck you had to get through?

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Skip,

Many of the objectives were to take one more airstrip from the japs as part of the strategy, the CB's would then clear the wreckage, create a bigger and better one, while moving our supply chain that much further ahead. Each time an island was secured meant X number fewer japs to deal with. The prime Hollandia objective was in fact to secure the airfield's.

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All the Best
Jack

Don't remember if you said you ever had contact with Japanese POWs.

If you did, what was their demeanor? Meek, defiant, resigned to their fate, glad it was over with for them?

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Best Regards,
JW

I am only able to post in the evenings most days. My grandfather came to the US through Ellis Island early 1900's from the Woudenberg, Holland area.

Jack, a few curious questions:
1. What exactly were the c-rations? Sorry. Dad not-so-fondly referred to them as "Sh-- on a shingle." Were they really bad?
2. Where and when did you fill your canteens with fresh water? I imagine it was in short supply?
3. How many men in your rifle platoon? M-1 rifles I presume.
4. What was the object or goal of snipers for either side?
I'll stop with that for now...I have lots more. I would like to be able to track the 186h through New Guinea as well.
By the way, I marvel at your computer expertise! Dad would have never been able to get that done. Thanks for the info!
lefty

Lefty,

We had K-rations back then, tinned food, crackers, canned biscuit sandwiches: 1 ham, 1 jam, 1 cheese. Rations boxes would have matches, small pack of cigarettes, a beverage mix, salt, pepper etc.

Anything that was creamed, stewed, or unrecognizable plopped down in your mess kit with or without a piece of bread was called S.O.S.

We used what water that was available, a moving stream after a rain storm was good, we lost men collecting water, it was a job that was rotated, running water is a bad place to be, very hard to hear anything else moving around, and it was likely you would run into japs with the same idea, or waiting for you.

We had tablets to cleanse the water which tasted like Epsom salt and sulfur, that didn't have a good affect on the dysentery situation.

A rifle platoon could be as many 30-40 men depending on the situation, typically a couple dozen or less, more often less, we could move quickly and quietly as squads. communication was eyes and ears, hand gestures, body posture, or a look.

We went in to Buna with '03 Springfield's in '42, M1 rifles were not plentiful until the early part of '43.

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All the Best
Jack

Sorry lefty,

I missed the question about snipers, well NCO's and Officers were very popular targets of the japs, anyone that might be giving a gesture of command, or just happen to be in the open for a clear shot for that matter.

Thank you for that compliment Lefty, if I appear to have computer
expertise quite the reverse is true, I get myself in a corner now and again, then have to pick up the phone to have one of the kids talk me through it, or even make a house call.

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All the Best
Jack