The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1945-05-24

seemed to me as I lay there that I'd
never known anything else in my
life. And there are millions Of US.
Spends Night in
Gypsy Hideout
The company commander. Capt.
Julian Dusenbury. said l could have
my choice of two places to spend
the first night with his company.
One was with him in his command
post. The command post was a big.
round Japanese gun emplacement.
made Of sandbags. The Japs had
never occupied it. but they had
stuck a log out of it. pointing toward
the sea and making it look like a
gun to aerial reconnaissance.
Captain Dusenbury and a couple
Of his officers had spread ponchos
on the ground inside the emplace-
ment and had hung their telephone
on a nearby tree and were ready
for business. There was no roof on
the emplacement. 1t was right on
top Of a hill and cold and very
windy.
My other choice was with a cou-
Pile Of enlisted men who had room
for me in a little Gypsy-like hideout
they'd made.
1t was a tiny. level place about
halfway down the hillside, away
from the sea. They'd made a roof
over it by tying ponchos to trees
and had dug up some Japanese
straw mats out Of a farmhouse to
lay on the ground.
I chose the second of these two
places. partly because it was warm
er, and also because I wanted to
be with the men anyhow.
My two "roommates" we're Cpl.
Martin Clayton Jr. Of Dallas. Tex
as. and Pfc. William Gross Of Lam
sing, Mich.
Clayton is nicknamed Bird Dog
and nobody ever calls him anything
else. He is tall. thin and dark. al
most Latin-looking. He sports a
puny little mustache he's been try
ing to grow for weeks and he makes
fun Of it.
Gross is simply called Gross. He
is very quiet. but thoughtful Of little
things and they both sort Of looked
after me for several days. These
two boys have become very close
friends. and after the war they in
tend to 60 to UCLA together and
finish their education.
The boys said we could all three
sleep side by side in the same
bed" So I got out my contribu-
ton to the nights beauty rest. And
it "a a very much appreciated con
tribution. too. For I had carried a
blanket as well as a poncho.
These marines had been sleeping
every night on the ground with no
cover. except their cold. r~ubberized
ponchos, and they had almost frozen
to death. Their packs were so
heavy they hadn't been able to bring
blankets ashore with them.
Our next door neighbors were
about three feet away in a similar
level spot on the hillside. and they
had rooted it similarly with ronchos.
These two men were Sgt. Neil An
derson Of Coronado. Calf. and Sgt
George Waldo of Tampa, Fla.
So W. chummed up and the five Of
US cooked supper under a tree just
in front Of our house" The boys
made a fire out of sticks and we put
canteen cups and X rations right
on the fire.
Other little groups of marines had
similar little fires going all over the
hillside. AS WI were eating. an
other marine came past and gave
Bird Dog a big piece of fresh roast
ed pig they had just cooked. and
Bird Dog gave me some. 1t sure
was good after days Of X rations.
Several of the boys found their K
rations moldy. and mine was too.
1t was the old-fashioned kind and
we finally realized they were 1912
rations and had been stored, prob.
ably in Australia. all this time.
Suddenly downhill a few yards,
we heard somebody yell and start
cussing and then there was a lot
Of laughter. What had happened
was that one marine had heated a
X ration can and. because it was
pressure packed. it exploded wher
he pried it open and there we're hot
egg yolks over him. Usually the
boys open a can a little first. anc
release the pressure before heating
| so the a won't explode.