Co. L, 3rd BN. 35th INF Reg. – 25th Inf. Div.
I was inducted into the Army October 17, 1944 at Denver, Colorado. I spent a short time at Ft. Logan and was then sent to Ft. Hood Texas for Basic Training for 17 weeks.
There were 9 of us out of 265 that were held back for Officer Candidate School Training. Just a couple of weeks after the Battle of the Bulge they needed replacements so badly they took 2 of the 9 that were held for OCS. Because of the fact that we were 19 and the others were 18 we didn't get to go with the guys we trained with.
We were then shipped to Ft. Ord California for further training and then sent to San Francisco to board a troop ship- The General John Pope. There were 6500 GI's aboard and sent in a convoy to the Philippines Island of Luzon. We were in a replacement camp just out of Manilla and some were sent as replacements to the front lines just beyond Belete Pass which had just been recaptured. In that battle there is a marker showing that on May 13, 1945, 7403 Japs were counted dead and 2365 25th Div soldiers were killed and wounded. We were replacing some of those soldiers. We were sent to the front and stayed there 33 straight days before falling back to Crow Valley. While on the front I was sent to the field Hospital. I returned to the front 4 days later on June 12th my 20th birthday. I had malaria in Luzon and again in Japan.
In Crow Valley, near the town of Tarlac, we continued our training and would be taken to Lingayan Gulf to go over the sides of ships on a rope ladder and climb into landing barges to hit the beach in preparation for the invasion in Japan. They estimated that 85%-90% of those hitting Japan would be killed or wounded. The atomic bomb was dropped and saved thousands of lives.
We were then sent to Japan to pull occupation duty, and I was assigned to help in the kitchen to remodel and prepare meals. I was sent to Osaka to Mess Sargent school. I was soon in charge of one shift in cooking for those pulling MP duty and later rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant and made Mess Sargent for Co. L.
While in Japan they took the top three grades of Non-Commissioned Officers to rest camp on the Island of Kyushu. On that trip we went through Nagasaki, which was hit by an atomic bomb, and the under ocean railroad, which were both real experiences.
We were at a small arms factory near Nayoya and later sent to Nakamaizaru help destroy ships at a navel station there.
I was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star, Asiatic Pacific Medal, Philippine Freedom Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Philippine Independence Medal
I wouldn't take a million dollars for the experience and comradery with fellow soldiers. I just talked to two of them from Texas and one from Kansas in the last two weeks. War is hell, and I would never want to do it again, but I'm glad I was part of the experience.
