Askov American., 1943-05-20
The Suffering
On Cuadalcanal

Without witnessing it or being
a part of it, individuals have
difficulty in fully realizing the
great trials and untold suffering
that the men at war fronts eX-
perience.
It is a case of life or death,
and though life may be saved,
the soldier is sometimes phys
ically wrecked. During the days,
weeks and months when the going
is toughest, war is as Sherman
described it, hell on earth"
Howard w Blakeslee, science
editor of the Associated Press,
wrote an article relating the story
of suffering by American men
on Guadalcanal as told by a
naval surgeon, which was pub
lished in the daily press and is
here reproduced.
But ahead of the longer story
with its revelations by the naval
surgeon it is interesting, and to
the point, to note what former
Governor Phillip F. La Toilette
of Wisconsin, who is stationed in
the South Pacific, said of the
American boys:
With few eXceptions-startlin
few-our boys are grand. No false
heroicS, feet on the ground, heads
in the air, wistfully brave smiles, and
good clear eyes. Let's never forget
that these are the boys-that young
er generation that the editors be-
hind their desks, the columnists at
their typewriterS, and the radio COM
mentatorS at their mikeS-were call
ing soft l read an excerpt in the
New York Times of a few days ago
the one that said that our lads in
Tunisia must face up to the fight
ing The crust and mental gall OF
a chap who can write from a soft
chair 5000 miles from the front wha,
the boys there ought to do But
whatever anybody said or says, OF
wrote or writes, the boys themselves
are doing, and it's acts that are facts
when all is said and DONE"
Here follows the Blakeslee ar
ticle, quoting the naval surgeon:
The medical story of the hell or
Guadalcanal which broke strong men
until they gibbered was told to the
American Psychiatric association al
Detroit by 1t. Comm. E. Rogers Smith
of Mare island, naval surgeon.
DR.. Smith said the strain on the
marines produced nervous symptoms
that never have been seen before
and may never be seen again.
These men broke down mostly
after the fight was over, not in the
course of it.
Men who had been proud of abil-
ity to carry alcohol found they NO
longer tolerated it. A couple of short
beers would make them cry like
babies, or they would want to fight
everyone in sight.
+ Terrible Conditions.
I'VE believe" said Commander
Smith, describing some of these ma
rines treated at the naval hospital
that never before in history has
such group of healthy, toughened
well-trained men been subjected to
such conditions as the combat troops
of the marine corps faced during the
days following Aug 7, 1912.
"These men do not like to exag-
gerate their trials-in fact, do moi
like to talk about them.
"One cannot but help thinking
that the enemy made careful study
of our psychology and ways of think
ing and living and used this knowl.
edge against us in this campaign
Most of us consider night as time
for rest and sleep, and the Japs CEN
tered their activities on this period
Almost Without Sleep.
''They were taught a few Amer.
lean words or phrases, chiefly threat.
ening or profane, and the dark hours
were filled with this abuse. They
were Machiavellian in their cleverly
timed bombings and raids. Sleep wa
impossible or negligible.
'All these marines lost weight, anC
none of them had been pudgy wher
they landed on the beach. Weigh
losses in muscular, toughened young
adults ran as high as As pounds.
"Rain, heat, insects, dysentery
malaria, all contributed-but the ent
result was not blood stream infection
nor gastrointestinal disease but ;
disturbance of the whole organism
"a disorder of thinking and living
of even wanting to live. And thi
incredible strain lasted not one o.