Evening star., 1943-12-07

| ana TO shovel, but had to let tn,
pack go when fell in another shell
hole. 1t looked like it was the pacl
or me, SO I Quit worrying about tn,
pack.
Finally we got into shallow water
We kept down and most of the gun
| fire was above us yard or so. I be.
gan to think maybe we were coins
to make it after all. Then we saw
the barbed wire.
That was one Of those minute.
when you feel about as low as vol
can. Just to see that beach and NJ
way OF getting to it. But we did ge'
to it. The Jap wire was but little
above water level at that tide. so VIZ
crawled between the strands Just a,
the surface.
Made Fox Holes in Sand.
when we got ashore I was glac
Id saved the shovel. A marine hac
a pickaXe Between us We dug a fo,
hole for the wounded man and lit.
tie hole for each of us.
my wave was the last one in fol
hours. The Jap fire on the landing
boats was too tough for the others
and at least one wandered aroune
on the water for l8 hours before II
got to the beach.
When I opened the cameras IL
brought, water and sand ran out o1
them so they werens much good. Il
was too bad because l think I may
have had some good pix made or
the way in
Il still had some water in two
canteens but one got lost still
don't know how it got of my belt
and l was afraid to drink the water
in the other because I didn't think
there would be any more for al
least "a hours. Nobody had any
rations.
For the first day nobody got
beyond the beach. Some Of oul
mechanical equipment got to the
barricades, but most of 1t with deac
men inside, burned out there.
Living Men Sleep With Dead.
Il moved about some on the
beach, but was so damn sick about
wrecking my cameras that I didn't
even want to see all those possible
pictures I could have made. The
first night We just slept on the
beach, dead men alongside living
men.
THE firing went on all night anc
during the darkness some of the
Japs got out to our wrecked boat!
and equipment and hid in them
In the morning they opened fire
from those positions. We were beins
fired at from both piers, from shore
and from the wrecked boats.
Finally some marines went ou
and killed all the Japs on thu
wrecked boats and a small warshir
moved in to shell one of the pier,
and destroyed it. That was bae
because their shells were landins
on the pier only a short distance
from the beach.
"A dozen marines lay in front
OF Jap machine gun they vert
trying. to take and finally some
of them did. The others didnI
make it.
There was one Jap blockhoust
which still had some Japs in it
but they couldn't fire out. So one
OF the marine officers set up E
command post right at one corne,
of 1t. We had guards all aroune
the house. All of a sudden there
was Jap in our Headquarters
He had his hands crossed on hi!
chest. Everybody was so surprises
they scattered away from that on.
little Jap. Somebody yelled, loo.
out, he may have a grenade Bu
one OF the marines rushed up tt
him, grabbed his hands and trippee
MIN but found no grenade. The,
made him take off his shoes. too
but still didn't find anything. Final.
ly they led him away as a prisoner
Blast Kills Other Japs.
In a few minutes there was ar
explosion inside the house and il
sort of came apart. 1 guess that
was the rest of the Japs inside com.
mitting hara-kiri.
IT heard about lots of other sim.
liar instances and saw some Japs
who had held grenades against theil
chests as they did at Attu. I saw
one rifle which Jap major fixec
up with a string on the trigger se
he could shoot himself easily.
Anyhow, I stayed around fol
three days before I managed to Dor.
row a camera. did it by shown.
Coast Guard Lieutenant Williams
my wrecked cameras and workins
on his sympathy. In the meantim,
I helped carry some of the wounded
out to the end of the long pier from
where they were being evacuated.
"On the second night a marin,
had can of G. rations which HI