Bernard John Holmquist

World War II

Bud was working on his apprenticeship under two occupational deferments from military duty during the war because of the need for machinists in industry. He served two years on an apprenticeship as a tool and die maker (machinist) from June 1942 to August 1944 though he confessed that he did not really like the work. Bud continued his apprenticeship in August of 1951 while going to school. He did eventually, however, receive a Certificate of Completion as a tool and die maker from the United States Department of Labor's Washington D.C. Apprenticeship Program. The apprenticeship was actually four years in duration, but Bud work longer hours during the war (1942-44) and shorter hours while going to Northern Baptist Seminary on Washington Boulevard in Chicago (June 1950 - August 1951). Protectoseal applied for a third for Bud, but it was refused. The company wanted to appeal this, but Bud said not to. All his friends were in the service. He felt he wanted to do his part.

Signing Up

Bud first reported to the Rush Street Induction Center in Chicago on Friday August 21, 1944. He went down to the train at 6:05 in the morning with his father. His sister Elaine and his mother went along to the Rock Island Station on 111th Street. They thought that would be the last they would see of him for a long time.

At the induction center Bud was given the choice of army or navy. Someone at the center asked if anyone wanted to join the marines. Bud didn't think about it. Said it was either the Lord's leading or he was just stupid. If it was the Lord's leading, it was because of his meeting his future wife in China. Since high school Bud wanted to be a missionary in China. This was in the back of his mind. He thought perhaps he could be stationed in China; he knew there had always been marines in China.

The guy next to him in line, also, wanted to join the marines. He said to Bud, "Put up your hand for the marines!" and Bud did. For one not wanting to make fast decisions, this was most unusual.

The marine recruiter said, "Sign on the bottom line."

"Could I read it first."

"Oh, smart guy, huh."

He handed the contract to Bud and he read it.

"Says here I am signed up for 4 years. I don't want to be in for 4 years."

"Then sign here, this says for duration and 6 months and reserve for 10 years. You have to sign one or the other."

"Before I sign could I make a phone call."

"What do you want to do, phone your congressman?"

"Yes sir. As a matter of fact, he's also an attorney and he's my uncle."

"Your uncles is a congressman?"

"Yes sir. He is. He is State Representative David I. Swanson."

Uncle Dave always had been very kind to Bud, treating him almost as a son, and buying him Christmas presents among other acts of kindness. Bud could trust Uncle Dave. Bud called Uncle Dave who said it was true it was one way or the other, but it doesn't mean really that he would have to go into the reserves for 10 years afterwards. This would only be true in case of war or threat of war.

Bud told the recruiter that he decided to join the marines.

The recruiter, a navy petty officer, stamped USMC across Bud's records and said, "Now you're in! Just try to get out!"

Bud joined marines on August 22, 1944.

Afterwards, at boot camp and other places people seemed to show respect to Bud. He always wondered if the fact Uncle Dave was in state legislature was written into Bud's papers. Perhaps they confused Uncle Dave with the U.S. Congress. The military was careful to have good relations with congress.

At 11:40 AM, much to the surprise of his family, Bud called and said he would be home for the evening. That night he was back at home.

The next day on August 22 he left by train. His father, mother and his two brothers, Russ and Al, tried to see of Bud to say good-bye at one of the train stations at which his train would be making a brief stop, but they were not able to find Bud nor he them during the short time the train was stopped.

Bud's mother recorded this time on a some small note paper. She labeled it, Diary of Bud's leave for service.

1944

Friday Aug 18th ¹³

Left on 6:05 AM train with dad. Elaine and I went along to Rock Island Station, 111th St. Felt very sad to see him go but sadness was turned to gladness when he called up at 11:40 A.M. and said he would be home for the night. I[t] was answer to prayer that God would give me peace and courage. Bud, Elaine, Dad and I went to tent meeting that evening and later to Vendlu ¹⁴ for coffee.

Saturday, Aug 19th Bud left again for Induction Center - 166 W. Van Buren St. Dad went along to Station at 111th St. I felt a lot better this morning. Had more courage to face his going.¹⁵

Hurrah.

10:30 AM Bud calls up again and says he will be home again until Monday morning. He enlisted in the marines Monday, Aug 21st at 7:00am we took Dad and Bud to train again. Dad went with him downtown.¹⁶

Bud came home again. but only for a few hours. He had to be back at 9PM to catch train at 10:15PM on the Baltimore and Ohio for Parris Island, South Carolina. We couldn't see him off downtown, but we went to So. Chicago Station at 95th and Commercial Ave[nue] thinking probably we could see him once more but we did not see him. We were very disappointed.¹⁷

The going of Bud was almost impossible to bear. It is a feeling no one can explain. But we pray to God to give us courage to bear these burdens and guide & protect Bud. Bud surely needs God's protection, guidance & courage to go thru what was before him.

There was no band, no flags, no ceremonial. The car was outside in front of the house. "I guess, I will have to go." Bud picks up his bag, not even a hat or cap. The bag was very small, only necessities could he take. He kissed me and held out his hand to me. "Well, so long," he said. I took his hand, but all I could say was "Good luck."

The door slammed and that was that - another boy gone to war.

The next day I went up to his room. I just wanted to touch his clothes and look at his collection on the wall. I went and looked up his pictures as a boy - the same boy who had taken my hand and said "Well, so long."

Not much time, I thought between the making of those pictures and the slamming of the front door. Then I got a great pleasure looking in folders, stamp albums, report cards, pictures taken out in Grovertown and many other treasures of Bud's. Best of all I looked in his Bible and found notes and markings. Now I realize that God would be watching over you. You have gone out as a Christian. Oh what a comfort that was.

I[t] really was in a dream. I thought how time has flown. Why, it was only yesterday I had held him in my arms.

Thurs - Aug 24 - got a card from Bud from Washington, D.C. We sure were glad to hear from him.

Friday Aug 25 - got a pack of scenery cards of Richmond. Va.

Monday - Aug 28 - received card, giving us his correct and full address.

Wed. Aug 30 - got a very interesting letter from Bud.

On the train most soldiers had to sit in their seats across several states.¹⁸ But Bud pulled the right straw for a bed in a compartment. Once they got to the east coast they switched to the Atlantic Coast Line - an old, rickety, uncomfortable train. Destination: Parris Island, South Carolina for basic training.

Parris Island (P.I.), South Carolina

They arrived in their "civvies" (civilian cloths), were first given a "beanie" haircut, showered, given uniforms, and told to ship their civilian cloths home in bags which were provided. To get their uniforms they were sent to the quarter master who would eye each prospective marine, guess his uniform size, give him a uniform which certainly would not fit, and give him boots which he made sure fit. Then they were fed and assigned a platoon and barracks. Bud's was Platoon #497 and his Dog tag #985360.¹⁹ He later gave the dog tag to his girlfriend, Doris Rinell in China, but she lost it.²⁰

In boot camp Bud was unfortunate enough to be given Sergeant Kreggie who he disliked though Bud says he was just doing his job as a USMC drill sergeant. He was, however, a bit sadistic and swore constantly at his men. The sergeant once found dust in Bud's rifle. He threw the rifle at Bud. Bud had cleaned the rifle earlier, but with a long march to the Grinder (an asphalt field) it had picked up some dust. Bud's punishment was to clean out the barracks urinals with his toothbrush. Pfc. Cloud who apparently reported to the sergeant was, unlike Sergeant Kreggie, a very nice person.

During training the recruits had to get up at 4:30AM as Bud remembers, have exercises and breakfast and showers though not necessarily in that order. They then might go out onto the 'Grinder' and taught to march.

Bud and others were given rifle training. He learned how to take apart an M1 rifle in the dark, clean it and shoot it. A 22 was sometimes used for rifle practice to begin with. Some marines also practiced shooting a 45 and a carbine. Bud was eventually 'qualified' or in other words passed the test, and got an emblem for having passed rifle training.

One of Bud's friends at Parris Island was Morty Berlin, a Jewish fellow who Bud knew in Chicago.

In about four to six weeks, Bud did not remember later how long it was exactly, boot training was over and they were all able to go to the Post Exchange (PX) for the first time. Bud bought a pint of ice cream, and immediately ate it all. "Believe me, at hot P.I., that was a real treat!", he said. With training completed the marines were given furlough before heading off to another base for further training. His mom recorded this.

Bud came home Nov 4th 12:30PM his first furlough. He will be going to Camp Lejeune, N[orth] C[arolina]. He came home on the Pennsylvania train. It was grand to see. He left for Camp Lejeune, Saturday Nov. 11th at 3:10PM. Alden, Elaine ²¹ & I saw him off. It was hard to see him off again.

Nov. 20, I got 1st card from Bud. 9 days after he left for Camp Lejeune. That, somehow, made me remember all the scoldings I had given him, the preachings, the exhortations to virtue and wisdom. I did not myself profess. But I did profess Jesus Christ and how I had read and taught him.

Back home Bud visited, of course, with friends and family including his mom and dad, little sister Elaine, uncle Rusty, Fran and Joan. Sixteen days later when his leave was over his mother, Elaine and uncle Alden saw him off at the train station.

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

Camp Lejeune was a beautiful camp with red brick colonial architecture, and the men were treated more humanly than at Parris Island. At Camp Lejeune the marines were given advanced training, marching, target practice, and war games. Bud was assigned to the engineering battalion and sent to the engineering stockade where he was supposed to go to machine shop school, which possibly meant he would not be seeing combat. The machine shop school was not scheduled to start immediately, however, so Bud was sent to demolition school to learn to use explosives.

"The best thing I learned about explosives was not to fool around with them," he said. He did learn a lot more about demolitions though including how to set demolitions underwater. Later when Bud was shipped to the south Pacific the marines lost his records. He did not let it be known that he was trained in demolitions. They were just too dangerous, he thought.

Only good thing about engineering battalion at Camp Lejeune, he remembered, were the delicious fried oysters served every Friday in the mess hall at the engineering battalion stockade. The mess hall must have been from WW I. The floor boards were rotten allowing wind to blow in. His tent was not much better. It too had a wood floor, and was very cold. Later the recruits were billeted in metal huts with big potbelly stoves. Goofing around one day, a friend chased Bud around the stove. Bud stepped in a bucket and received the first "battle injury" of the war, he joked, when a chip was knocked out of his shin.

When they had leave Bud would went out to with some friends to the bars. He was reluctant to go because he didn't like bars and didn't drink. His friends though did not want to leave him out, so convinced him to go with them. They treated him to soft drinks and food.

Bud never did get to machine shop school. The marine suffered many casualties at Iwo Jima. More marines were needed for America's assault on another Pacific island, so they scooped up all the marines they could and shipped them to Camp Pendelton in California.

Camp Pendleton, California

They traveled the southern route by train through the pan-handle of Texas. Along the route, the food delivery was messed up. Breakfast was not available at one train station. Lunch not at another. At the third station there was no dinner. But dinner was waiting for an army transport. An announcement was given, "the army transport will arrive in five minutes. That's all the time you have." The marines swarmed out of the train, and grabbed the food. As their train pulled out, the army train pulled in.

Later in California their train stopped by an orange grove. Some of the marines jumped out of the train and started picking oranges off the trees. A supervisor from a processing plant nearby motioned to all the marines to come to the plant and grab all the orange crates they wanted, which they did.

A few miles from Camp Pendelton Bud saw in the distance a bus inexplicably drive over a cliff. He reported the incident to his supervisors on the train, and later tried to find out about it. It was hard finding newspapers at the base. He never did find out what happen or whether it was a military or civilian bus or if anyone had been injured or killed.

Camp Pendelton was bleak with no trees and hardly a blade of grass. After a few days they got on board ship. This was either on the day Roosevelt died or possibly the following day as Bud remembers. Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945.

Every night on bow of ship Bud met with other Christians for prayer and giving of testimony. 'Giving testimony' meant that one of the men might tell how he found God or new life in Jesus Christ, or what God had done for him in his life. The bow of the ship usually was out of bounds to passengers. Special permission was given to the Christians. Most, like Bud were members of the Navigators, a Christian organization which encouraged the memorizing of verses from the Bible. These Navigators were a great inspiration to Bud, and encouraged him to memorize more scripture. One Navigator in particular encouraged Bud, a Robert Boreman, Bud believes was his name.²²

Guam

When the ship reached the island of Guam the marines had to climb down the ship's side on cargo nets carrying their rifles and backpacks, and into the troop landing crafts. The water here was shallow and the ships could not dock near to shore.

Guam was beautiful. Green with trees. The marines lived in tents on wooden platforms. They had no running water. They shaved using their helmets as sinks. They showered when it rained hoping to get the soap rinsed off before the rain stopped.

On Guam the marines were given more training. Lieutenant Day trained Bud's unit. Later Day was killed on Okinawa.

Bud's best friend before, on Guam was Warren (Dusty) Lobdel. Dusty and Bud had gone through boot camp, advance training, demolition school, and had been shipped overseas together. Bud and Dusty sat under a palm tree on Guam one beautiful evening reading a Bible. During that evening Dusty became a Christian. Though now a Christian Dusty was not confident he would always act like a Christian if on his own. So, when the marines had liberty Dusty took Bud with him so he'd stay out of trouble.

Troop Ship

After some time, they put the marines on a troop ship, but did not tell them where they were going. While on the ship they were warned about Kamikaze planes so they could be ready to abandon ship should the need arise. What the marines may not have been told at the time was that on May 11 kamikaze had crashed into the aircraft career Bunker Hill killing more the 300, and on May 13 a kamikaze plunged into the flight deck of the USS Enterprise.

They had no trouble with Kamikazes between Guam and and their destination, which they found out was Okinawa.

Again they were told to climb down cargo nets draped over the side of the ship. These nets were two to three stories high. Each marine was carrying a lot of weight including pack, rifle, and bandoliers of bullets crisscrossed over their chests. They were all hot due to their clothing and heavy gear.

They lined up into one long line. The line of marines snaked through ship, up ladders and stairs and down again, like a giant well-armed millipede. Besides climbing down the side of the ship in full cambat gear, and into the landing craft with all this weight, they also had to do so fast. When it was Bud's turn he climbed over the bow, down the nets and into a bobbing landing craft, thankfully without mishap. He remembered the journey from the deck of the ship to the landing craft to be very steep and very long.

Okinawa

Upon reaching the island the marines ran out of their landing crafts and charged ashore expecting Japs, and expecting to be shot at and perhaps killed at any second. Instead they found U.S. marines. The marines already on shore laughed at these fresh green troops charging at them up the sloping shore. The initial landing had already occurred on April 1 with more marines landing in subsequent days. Bud and his cohorts were replacements for the casualties already suffered on Okinawa. The date of Bud's landing on Okinawa was May 27, 1945, his birthday. He was 22 years old.

After Bud and his fellow marines had all landed they assembled on the beach by the storage dump waiting to be assigned. Bud saw a long lump under a tarp. He pulled back the tarp and saw the body of a lieutenant. Across the lieutenant's chest was a line of bloody holes caused by machine gun. The lieutenant was liked by his men. They spoke well of him. This was the unit Bud to which Bud was assigned.²³

Bud was impressed at how young the marines were who had already seen combat, but how old they now appeared. They had seen a lot of action. He could see the strain on their faces. Also, their reactions were not normal. In dealing with people and everyday situations they either overreacted or under-reacted.

Okinawa was an island of green hills, rice paddies, goats on every hill, and a lot of rain, and more was coming. To avoid the rain Bud dug a fox hole and pitched his one man tent over it. He then put on his poncho, climbed into the fox hole and spread the poncho over himself and the hole. When the storm arrived he kept nice and dry, but his buddies were soaked and grumpy by morning.

Bud was in Charlie Company, comprising forty or fifty men, 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiment, 6th Marine Division. Eventually, of the originals and replacements, only three will not have been killed or wounded. Bud would be one of those three.

Bud was a rifleman and later mortar man (60mm or 80mm?). He got the mortar man job because a mortar man had been killed and Bud volunteered for his place. Being a mortar man meant he would be in a safer position not having to be directly on the front lines.

Death of Girl and her Grandfather

One day Claude saw two figures moving by a cliff near the beach. He raised his rifle, aimed and fired. Claude and others went to see who it was that Claude had shot. One was a a beautiful little 8 to 10 year old Okinawan girl wearing a traditional Okinawan dress. She was dead. Claude took it hard. He had children of his own. A man was with the girl. The man was her grandfather, and he was wounded. The marine corpsman refused to treat him. Next day Bud saw the grandfather dead.

The Stump

One night Bud was on watch in his foxhole in the middle of the night. It was a dark night and difficult to see. Periodically, marines shot flares in the air to light the terrain. While he stared out into the night he noticed a solitary tree stump on the landscape. As occasional flares lit the landscape he thought he saw the tree in a new position. Later, again he thought it was in another place than where it was last. It was not that the silhouette moved when he saw it, only that it seemed to be in a slightly different place.

He woke his good friend Dusty. They stared out into the blackness from their V shaped foxhole (in case a grenade landed in foxhole only one would get hit). Dusty saw the shadow coming. Upon command, they fired at the silhouette and waited. Soon they heard moanings. The moaning continued.

Thinking that the Japanese soldier may have been faking being injured or not injured severely, Bud felt he had to go out onto the dark field and finish him off. Trying to take him prisoner was out of the question. Bud whispered to the other marines his intentions, telling them not to shoot while he made his way across the empty space between himself and the soldier. Bud crawled out with his carbine while flares lit the sky from time to time above him. Bud got up close to the figure, put his rifle to the man's head and pulled the trigger.

The next morning, the commander asked who it was who spotted and killed the Japanese soldier. Bud said that he was that person.

"I want to thank you," the commander, Lt. Col. Stevenson, said. "You probably saved my life. That Jap was probably after me." The commander said that as a reward he could bury the Jap. The commander was joking about the reward, but he was serious that Bud had to bury the Japanese soldier.

The soldier was no doubt on a suicide mission to kill the ranking officer in the tent command post whom Bud and his fellow marines were guarding.

Naha

In southern Okinawa they made their way through a rice paddy. They could hardly see it was so dark. They put their rifles over their heads to keep them dry. The Colonel was trying to get them through as fast as possible, probably to keep them from getting shot at since they were such easy targets.

Bud asked the colonel "Where are we going, sir?."

Colonel said, "Keep quiet and get going." Bud often did not know where exactly they were going, and it was the same for his fellow marines.

At the south end of the island they approached a river in the distance, which they could see from the heights of a mesa-like hill. All the buildings near the capital city of Naha were destroyed. All there was left were trees, bushes, and lots of goats. The marines rested on the side of hill for two to three days. Every day at the same time the Japs shelled them from across the river in the direction of Naha. The marines would get into their foxholes. A chimney of a destroyed building was next to Bud's foxhole. Bud would get into his foxhole behind the chimney. It made him feel a bit safer.

One day a fellow marine was talking to Bud behind the chimney when the shelling began so he stayed with Bud. Afterwards he went to his own foxhole. He came running back to Bud. A shell had landed dead square in his foxhole, destroying all his things. Had he not been visiting Bud, he would have been killed. No one happened to be killed or wounded that day.

After a few days rest they continued on down the road to Naha. Finding safe ground was difficult because of the shelling. They made their way to Okinawan tombs.on the side of a nearby hill. The tombs were neatly whitewashed inside and out and were made of reinforced concrete. The doorways into the tombs were small. The marines broke down the doors, crawled in, moved the funeral jars, which contained the bones and ashes of the deceased, out of the way and hunkered down in the tomb for protection.

Afterwards the shelling stopped they preceded down into Naha in one long column. Bud was about the fifth marine in the column. Right near the edge of Naha they were ordered to stop. The marines had received word that Naha had been taken by the army, but it had not. In fact, the army had said earlier that Naha could not be taken. Looking over the town, Bud could see nothing but rubble. Hardly a building was standing.

While the marines were waiting for orders Bud felt very restless. He had a premonition that he had to get out of that spot, so he thought he would go see how Dusty was doing. Bud walked back about 100 yards, found Dusty and stayed to talk with while the sound of shelling continued in the background. After a while they heard a jeep ambulance drive up, and they checked to see what was going on. Shells had landed almost where Bud had been standing. The ambulance picked up those were hit and drove off. As soon as Bud got back to his place, they were told to move on. Bud didn't know if anybody was killed. "In combat you don't ask too many questions unless you are asking about a good friend. You really don't know what is going on, and don't want to know. You don't think ahead. You don't make plans." Spoken by Bernard Holmquist, to his son, Lennart, circa 1987, Ventura, California.

The marines got down to the river. Engineers had constructed a platoon bridge. Only one person was allowed on the bridge at a time because of bullets and shelling. One marine would be at the beginning of bridge, one in middle and one at end as they crossed.

There was a good vantage point on a hill beyond Naha for viewing the entire area. On the side of the hill was a large Okinawan thatched roof. The marines were concerned there might be snipers inside. An interpreter told residents to leave the house, but they were reluctant to do so which was unusual. The Okinawan people were normally cooperative. The marines set fire to opposite end of house to smoke the people out. Civilians did come out - old, young, women. One person though came out and ran down hill, but was captured by the marines. He was a Jap soldier. As the house burned a popping sound was heard. Later Dusty and Bud check out the remains of the house and found a dead Jap soldier inside. He had killed himself with a grenade. The civilians were taken to an intern camp where they would have been well treated.²⁴

Later Bud heard that General Butner of the U.S. Army may have been killed in Naha, shot by a sniper, but actually Butner had been killed by a Japanese artillery barrage. Butner had commanded all the military forces in Okinawa including the marines. (Bud never actually saw him personally). "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell ²⁵ took his place.

Motor Attack by the Sea

They proceeded from Naha down to south end of the island. They wanted to take a position on a mountain there, and had to climb a cliff to get to the high ground. As the marines were climbing the cliff the Japanese launched and attack against their position. The marines' sergeant named Shanasee [may not be spelt right - Irish name] was killed with a bullet through the forehead.

The marines were ordered to get down off cliff and get out of there. The marines managed to get down to the bottom but the Japs on their heels.

At the bottom of the cliffs, Bud saw the corpsman get shot by a sniper. His arms flayed out just like in the movies, and he dropped dead. This was the same corpsman who refused first aid to the old Okinawan grandfather.

At the bottom of cliff Gill was shot in the shoulder while trying to get the corpsman out of danger, but the corpsman was already dead.

Bud went out thinking sniper wouldn't be ready to shoot again. Bud ran over to Gill and the corpsman. He saw that the corpsman was dead, grabbed Gill's leg and pulled him out of line of fire. The sniper shot again, but the bullet struck the coral rock near Bud's knee, shattering the coral. Fragments of coral sprayed out putting a hole in Bud's pants and skinning his knee. Bud was not correct; the sniper was ready.

They waited out of the line of fire for some time. Gill who was a Christian buddy of Bud's and with whom he would get together with for Bible reading and prayer, asked Bud to read to him from the New Testament. Bud pulled out his Bible and read to Gill from the Psalms instead. The Psalms was a more appropriate part of the Bible to read from, Bud thought, in their present circumstances. After Bud read a passage, Gill fell into unconsciousness.

The marines were being shot at from cliffs with rifles and motors. They had to get out of there. They started running down from the slopes from their positions, dropping rifles and packs as they ran. Bud grabbed Gill and managed to find a stretcher. He enlisted three other marines to help him carry it.

Bud and the other three marines moved Gill on the stretcher from boulder to boulder hoping not to get shot. With mortars soon hitting the ground around them though, they took off at a run over the uneven ground. While running they saw dead marines lying here and there including the body of the demolitions man Graham, and image forever burned into Bud's mind. The mortar barrage became so fierce and frightening that the two marines in front, after conferring with each other, dropped the stretcher and ran as fast as they could.

Bud took out his kabar marine knife and told the remaining marine that if he tried to run too that he would surely be killed with the knife he held in his hand. The marine said not to worry, that he wasn't planning on running out on Bud and the wounded marine. Later when Bud was asked if he would have killed this marine he said that given the circumstances, he very well might have.

With only two carrying the wounded marine, it was difficult trying to get away. Then Bud heard a voice behind them. It was Dusty! What was he doing here, Bud thought. Dusty said he would cover for them and he began shooting toward the cliffs.

Other marines in the mean time at another position had called on ships to send in smoke shells to cover their retreat. Bud heard explosions. Two to four shells from destroyers off the coast fell perfectly just short of the cliffs. A big cloud of smoke rose between the marines and the Japs. This gave them cover. Bud yelled, "Let's go!" They all ran as fast and as far as they could go. Dusty kept an eye to the rear for snipers. Eventually other marines saw them coming and took over carrying the stretcher.

Immediately after his escape, Bud, came across a large pond fed by a stream. Hot, tired, and dirty, he stripped and jumped in. After all, a bath was a rare luxury during these days on Okinawa. Refreshed, he got out and walked further down the length of the pond. There floating in the pond, were dead Japs.

Many marines were killed trying to outrun the snipers and mortars. An unwritten rule of the marines was never to leave wounded or dead. Later, the marines went back to retrieve the bodies of their dead. The corpsman's body was retrieved after two or three days.

Gill was safe, but it was the last time they saw Gill. Gill had been the type of guy who would take chances. He would, for instance, go into caves where Jap soldiers could very well be hiding, to get souvenirs. Once Gill heard a click in the cave. A Jap officer had pointed his pistol at him and pulled the trigger, but the pistol misfired. Gill shot him. Gill was lucky that time. His luck had run out at the cliffs.

Bud managed to be transferred, unofficially, to 60mm mortars which could possibly keep him away further back from the more intense fighting. Then again, the Japs were eager to take out any mortors whenever possible.

In the mean time the marines launched an attack against the Japs on the cliff, approaching them from the other side of the hill. When it got dark orders were given to lay a mortar screen in back of the Japanese so they couldn't run. The marines then pressed on to get the Japs from the other side of the hill. The Japs, seeing the marines coming up the hill, pulled a banzai attack.

A marine came up and told Bud that his friend Dusty was wounded in the banzai attack. Bud told the marine in charge that Dusty was his best buddy and asked to be dismissed. He was given the OK to go. Bud took off to find him. Eventually he saw Dusty being carried between two marines with Dusty's arms over each marine's shoulders. Dusty had been wounded by shrapnel from a grenade and was bleeding from various places of his body. Bud said to one of the marines that he would take over for him. He and the other marine carried Dusty off the battlefield. Eventually Dusty was placed on a tank and carried away to the rear.

The Japs on the high ground and in the ensuing banzai attack were all killed.

After the battle was the 'mop up' where any hidden or wounded Japanese soldiers were dealt with and the battlefield was cleaned up of bodies and body parts.

Bud didn't have to do much of that because he was now in mortars. Bud's friend, Claude English, became Graham's replacement as demolitions man.

Suicide Cave

Japanese soldiers would hide out in caves weeks and months after their parts of the island had all but been taken over by the Americans. These soldiers were always a real source of danger to marines. Bud sometimes was ordered to assist in blowing up the entrance of these caves after trying to get whatever Japs were inside out by persuation, which usually was not successful. The Japs considerd surrender a major dishonor. Japs in caves often killed themselves rather than give up, were burned to death by marines wtih flamethrowers or trapped when the cave entrance was blown shut.

On one occasion the marines came upon a cave were several Jap soldiers were hiding. The marines rimmed the cave entrance, hoping the Japs would give themselves up. The Japs came partly outside of the cave, and it looked like they may give up. The Japanese soldiers started chattering among themselves and walked partly back into the cave. There they took grenades, tapped the grenades on their helmets to arm them, and held the grenades to their own chests. In a few seconds all the Japanese soldiers were scattered about dead, except one.

Bud went over to the soldier to see if he could help him. When he reached the Japanese soldier Bud could see the Japanese soldier's exposed heart in his chest cavity. The heart was still throbbing, but the throbbing grew weaker and weaker and then stopped.

These were new Japanese recruits probably. They wore clean, new green uniforms with red stripes, on the arm, giving their rank.

Bud and the other marines felt terrible about the Japanese soldiers killing themselves. None of the marines wanted these Japs to be harmed in any way and certainly didn't want them killed. Indeed the marines respected the Japs as fellow professional soldiers, and would not have harmed them if they had only surrendered.

Questionable Dead

A few days later Bud was walking over the terrain alone carrying supplies and mortar shells. As he was walking along the path he came across a group of Japs who were strewn on each side of the path in various positions of death. This not being unusual in these days of war, he continued on.

After walking for about 5 minutes Bud stopped in his tracks and thought for a minute. He didn't remember any of those Japs stained with blood. He did not go back to check it out, but thought it very likely that those soldiers were not actually dead, but were pretending. Having him come down the path unexpectedly, and not wanting to get into a fire fight, they faked being dead until Bud had gone by. Bud reported this to the commanding officer who said that the Japs would be gone by then anyway, so there was nothing to do about it.

Other Memories

Bud had other memories of his time on Okinawa. He did not place these memories in any sequence. The sequence of events in times of war are sometimes a blur or stick out as scattered islands in a dark sea.

"A couple of memories," he said. "I once passed a burnt-out Okinawan house. I looked inside and saw a woman and two little children dead and charred."

"I was once told by Lt. Moine [Mo-ine-nee - don't know how to spell his name] to take a long shot to kill a woman "spy" who was crossing our lines.

I said "No! If she is to be shot, you do it."

"I disobeyed orders. It turned out that marines in another unit had given her food that she kept in a can for her children."

"One morning half our platoon was told to capture a mortar position on a high hill. I was in the half not chosen to go. Shortly, our half received word the other half had been hit by our own 80mm mortars which had fallen short of the target."

The sergeant and corporal were spared because they were looking over the Jap position, and did not even know what had happened to their men. The sergeant sent a runner down to get reinforcements to join him. The runner came back and said they were all dead. The sergeant went half crazy and went to see for himself. When he saw what was left of his men he went shooting up the hill and took out the mortar position himself.

"Dusty and I had to clean up the mess - heads, arms, feet, a foot and part of a leg sticking out of a boot - of other members of our platoon. Dusty and I put the body parts on stretchers and left them to be picked up by other marines who put the stretchers onto their jeep."

"Even today I can see it in my mind like it happened yesterday," Bud said over forty years later.

Peace of Mind

Bud writes of a time near the end of his stay in Okinawa.

"We were walking along the South-eastern shores of Okinawa in single file - less chance of being hit. I was very apprehensive. I knew that many of us would be killed in a day or two.

"It was my custom to walk along and have fellowship with the Lord - pray more than just asking for things.

"All at once a great peace settled over me and the words in Psalm 37:4-5 came to mind. I had memorized many verses of scripture, but never these. I didn't even know initially where to find the reference. But I accepted it as God's way of saying all is well, and that I would come through combat unharmed. From then on I had a great peace of mind and heart."

What were the verses? In the Revised Standard Version they are:

On June 18 marine Major General Roy Geiger assumed command of Tenth Army and on 21 June announces Okinawa was secure. On June 23 Stilwell assumed command of the Tenth Army.

Other friends of Bud on Okinawa were Gordon A. Barker and Eugene Chemeries (or Chemeries). They all went with from boot camp and later on to China together. Then there was also Charles Fruetel, Claude English, John R. Luther who Bud knew later on Okinawa and in China, and Eugene B. Lee whom he knew in Youth For Christ in China.

In the battle for Okinawa the Japanese suffered more loses than in any previous Pacific battle. An estimated 107,539 Japanese soldiers and seaman were counted as dead, 23,764 sealed off in caves and 10,755 taken prisoner. Many civilians also died. Total loss of Japanese planes was 7,830 and 16 combatant ships lost.

The Marine Corps had 3,430 killed and 15,723 wounded. In addition 560 Navy doctors and hospital corpsmen fighting with the Marines were wounded or killed. The overall American losses for the battle of Okinawa were 7,374 killed, 31,807 wounded and 239 missing in action.

At sea the navy reported 4,907 seamen killed or missing in action and 4,824 wounded. Thirty-six U.S. ships were sunk, 368 damaged and 763 aircraft lost. ²⁶

On June 30 Bud's unit was shipped back to Guam.

Guam

First thing that Bud wanted to do was find his buddy Dusty. He kept looking until he found him in the field hospital. Dusty had survived his injuries after going through surgery. Bud found him with a group of patients around his bed. He was reading the New Testament to them.

On Guam Bud was in charge of building an Officer's Club - nothing fancy - one floor, thatch siding. He hardly knew one end of the hammer from the other, he said. A friend of his was in charge, but he had to have knee surgery and told Bud what to do for a few days.

One day Capt. Santon came by and said the man in charge wouldn't be back (he had to have surgery) and that Bud should take charge of the crew of carpenters. Bud was only a private while some of the crew were sergeants. No one knew he was only a private. Bud said he'd do it.

Every night he had the company carpenter Pvt. Homer Welsh, look over the construction and tell him what to do the next day. Finally the officer's club was finished.

Captain Santon rewarded each carpenter with his own ration of beer - about 6 cans. But, for being in charge, Bud got a case. He told the Captain, "Thank you, but I don't drink." the captain said, "Neither do I. Do what you want with it."

Bud was perplexed about what to do with the beer. He did not want to give it away, and the possession of the stuff gave him a bad conscience. So, Bud raffled it off and received $30 for the beer (as far as he remembers). He then felt guilty having "booze money," so he sent the money to his parents for missions offering with the statement, "I guess that is kicking the devil in the pants."

This detail of constructing the officer's club was important for activities in China. Lt. Coy of Special Services later asked Bud, on the basis of work done on the club, to construct athletic equipment in China. This later gave him flexibility to move around and start Youth for Christ in Tsingtao. All along it seemed the Lord's leading.

While on Guam on August 6 the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The men on Guam broke into celebration, but were order back to their tents for fear that they would get out of hand. On August 8 an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered unconditionally on September 2nd.

Bud made Pfc. (private first class) on Guam and was nominated to go to officers school, but the war ended before the papers could be put through.

Bud and his fellow marines were were eager to get back home to the States. They could just imagine themselves marching down a broad avenue in a victory parade.

See also:

On the Point of the Spear: experinces of a marine rifleman during the battle for the island of Okinawa in April, May and June of 1945 by James S. Whitel

Footnotes