December 1944 (3) – 11th Airborne Div.
Pfc John Chiesa, E Company/188th Regiment/11th Airborne and Privates Davis and Duncan were on the point going up, what would become known as, Purple Heart Hill on 26 December 1944. Chiesa recalled:
“We just got to the top of this hill when all hell broke loose. The Japs opened up with their wood peckers and rifles. Duncan got hit in the rump and he went tumbling down the hill. I hit the ground and prayed. Finally, Davis and i jumped up and went diving over the ridge. We could not see the Japs because they hide pretty good in the jungle. They were firing and we were trying to fire back, but we could not see them to know where to shoot at.
“Finally, our Platoon leader, Sgt. Kelly, got up on one knee and started to point to show us where to shoot. About that time, the Japs got him and he was dead. He was one hell of a soldier, believe me.
“Me, Pvt. Hodges and three other guys in our company went up to the side of the hill and we laid there waiting for someone to tell us what our next move was. While we waited, I got hungry so i turned around facing down the hill and got out one of my K rations. I was opening up the can when 20 feet from me this Jap jumped out of the bushes. He looked at me and I looked at him. I think he was as surprised as I was.
“I had an M1 rifle laying across my lap. Everything was done automatically. (Our training came in handy.) I grabbed the rifle, turned and pulled the trigger. He was doing the same thing, but I was luckier. I hit him smack in his Adam’s apple. I can still see the surprised look on his face… The thing that will always be on my mind is that if I didn’t stop to eat, those Japs woulda killed all 5 of us.
“When we came back down the hill, Col. Soule came to me and asked what I would do to get those Japs and take the hill. I thought he was joking. Here is a colonel, and a damned good one, asking his pfc how to take a hill.
“I told him, ‘Just bomb the hell out of them, blow the hill up.’ We went up the hill the next morning, and after a good bombardment, we took the hill.”
The “good bombardment” had come from A Battery of the 457th. Capt. Bobo Holloway of the 188th moved within 25 yards of the Japanese position and directed the firing of the artillery, and some 105mm howitzer and 155mm guns.
On 27 December, when they stormed Purple Heart Hill, they encountered hand-to-hand combat, then proceeded to occupy the old enemy holes as the Japanese evicted them. Those of the enemy that escaped and headed north, ran into part of Col. Pearsons’ 187th Regiment. The bloody battle for Purple Heart Hill had lasted for almost 5 weeks.
Information is from “The Angels: A History of the 11th Airborne Division” by Gen. E.M. Flanagan (Ret.)
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Frederick Crosby – San Diego, CA; US Navy, Vietnam, pilot, Lt.Comdr., KIA
Norman Fraser – North York, CAN; RC Navy, WWII
Henry Glenn Jr. – Largo, FL; US Army, 11th Airborne Division
Temple Hill – Marshville, NC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-24 top turret gunner
Freddie Knight – Panama City, FL; US Air Force, WWII, Korea & Vietnam,Night Fighter (Ret. 27 years)
Tommy Manns – Abilene, TX; US Navy, WWII, radioman, USS Telfair
Remington Peters – CO; US Navy SEAL, 2 deployments, SWO 1st Class
Thomas Sherman – Chagrin Falls, OH; USMC, WWII, PTO, Bronze Star
Joseph Valderrama – brn: SPN/NJ; US Coast Guard, WWII, ETO, USS Faunce & Breckenridge
Frances Weill – Donora, PA; civilian, WWII, torpedo construction
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Posted on June 1, 2017, in SMITTY, Uncategorized, WWII and tagged family history, History, Leyte, Military, Military History, Pacific War, Philippines, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 93 Comments.
That is an interesting story of how a simple decision like stopping to eat can be the difference between life and death. Pfc John Chiesa was a very lucky man.
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And he sure seemed to know it!! Curt says that he’d have that can of K-rations bronzed!!
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An interesting name for the Hill, Purple Heart gp, gives some idea of why it was so named, that is a very vivid first hand account by Pfc John Chiesa.
Always appreciate your efforts in sharing first hand accounts mate.
Ian
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There has been more than one Purple Heart Hill and not just this war, but as you say – it is a description in itself. I’m glad you found it interesting and appreciate you reading the story.
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Had never heard of the “Woodpecker” (HMG). I did guess that it got its name from it’s sound, My scant knowledge of WWII weaponry was gained from my father who fought in the European War against the Germans. But I popped over to YouTube and found this clip:
Obviously an effective armament.
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Thank you very much for the link. I hadn’t thought to get a video of it!!
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How frightening … but the training carried them through.
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I’ll bet he’s told that story a hundred times. I know I know I’d never forget it!!
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Hair-raising.
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I Thank you very much for bearing up enough to view two posts, Anna.
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Reblogged this on Musings of a Penpusher and commented:
Written so vividly it might have happened yesterday.
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These eye-witness accounts are informative, they bring the war into perspective, I believe. Thank you, Maureen!
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As I was reading how the Colonel asked the private for advice, it made me think about large businesses and the “missing piece” in many of their success stories that could have been fulfilled in they had only asked their “WORKERS” (in the “trenches”) for their advice.
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Exactly, the same principle. A good leader, no matter what the career. Thank you for reading here Doc!
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Reblogged this on Ancien Hippie.
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You are always there to help these memories to be remembered. Thank you!
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A very moving story from Pfc Chiesa, GP, thanks for sharing it. It humbled me.
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I appreciate you reading the story, Jet. We never know what one simple action by us will affect us or those near us, eh?
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That was true then, and still is true in our daily lives today. We never know who we are going to touch.
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So true, Bev.
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Just proves you should never tangle with a hungry soldier.
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Good one. Trying to get back to lunch made him quicker on the draw, eh?! Poor guy, we never did find out if that can of K-rations ever survived the incident.
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Hopefully they did. Some might even say they’re indestructible.
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Wow…he stopped to eat. Makes sense but it paints a reality so very far from my experience. If I’m under stress, I can’t eat. I can’t get anything down my throat because I can’t calm down long enough to make myself chew and swallow.
I suppose when you’re in a combat type of situation, you have to overcome that sort of thing in order to keep yourself functioning. You can’t go around shaking or fainting from lack of food (if you’ve got access to it).
I once read an account of a soldier in Vietnam who found himself alone, contentedly sitting in the midst of the enemy dead eating a meal. At some point it occurred to him how odd that was and he reflected on how much he’d changed since being there. I can’t remember what it was I was reading but that particular passage stayed with me.
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I know a few that changed drastically after living through Vietnam. I’m certain your experience can have you imagining toll every war takes on people. Thank you for your opinion and feelings on this story, Lynn. It is always a pleasure hearing from you!!
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What a lucky snack. I assume a woodpecker is a machine gun?
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Yes, I added a picture of one near the bottom of the article. Thanks for visiting, Derrick.
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Of course. Sorry I missed it
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Not too appetizing!! haha
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I bet Sergeant Kelly, “one hell of a soldier”, didn’t get any medals for giving his life to the cause. Men like that seldom do, sadly.
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I do believe you’re right, John. I went into a number of sites and have been unable to locate a medal for him for this action of saving those men. You have to wonder just how many others went and their bravery unknown….
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I think part of the reason the colonel needed the advice is I think they are not always where the action is.So sometimes they need to hear from they guys that have been in the heat of battle.
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I think all great leaders do that. Even MacArthur and dad’s General Swing listened to their men. [by the time the Korean War came around, Soule was a Major General himself.]
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I think I would have bronzed my K-ration can and kept it as a momento! –Curt
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haha – and rightly so, Curt!!
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These personal recollections of close combat are frightening to read. Imagine how much worse it must have been to actually be there.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It makes me realize why Dad never wanted to tell me about them.
Have a great weekend, Pete.
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Wow, an amazing story!
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Yes it is, and only one out so many others. Dad’s unit had quite a number of unknowns on those ridges.
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I can only imagine.
I’m glad your Dad talked to you about his time in service. My Dad never would talk about his service, except for 1 or 2 funny stories when he was stateside.
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Those are always good! Dad would only talk if I constantly pushed, but I could tell he was editing in his head before he spoke. Thanks for coming by.
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You are welcome!
Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by my blog, too!
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Always a pleasure.
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I read this historic story with a lot of respect for all these soldiers
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Thank you so much, Mary Lou. You always have a lot of respect for the military. 🙂
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Very beautiful blog , as usual. Thanks. Great vignette abt backpack. Ciao from Italy.
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Thank you.
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Whew. This was tense, GP. Talk about luck and a K-ration break
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I was saying to others, I wonder how many came home with a “What if I didn’t” or “What if I did.” on their minds?
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I know right?
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I don’t know if the troops in the Pacific used this term or not – when the Allies were trying to wrest Monte Cassino from the Nazis in the Italian campaign, the artillery bombardments were called “giving the Krauts a STRONK”. I don’t know the origin of the term. One photo I saw taken at first light of an artillery assault on Monte Cassino showed the hills lit up like the Milky Way from artillery fire …
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I had never heard or read that expression, so I looked it up…
Stronk is an eastern European/Russian pronunciation of the word “strong.” Most commonly used in the context of mocking or showing reverence towards something brutish or powerful that is of eastern European/Russian origin.
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Your post shows again that history comes alive with personal experiences and eye witness accounts like this one in your post by John Chiesa.
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Thank you, Peter. I like knowing that not only do I read these recollections, but others read and learn from them!! Thank you.
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Reblogged this on Chasing Unicorns and commented:
Here’s a narrative from World War II combat that I found pretty exciting. It’s from “Pacific Paratrooper” which is an interesting blog about World War II action in the Pacific Theater.
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Thank you very much for sharing this story with your readers.
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This post reads like an action novel, though I’m sure it’s nonfiction. What an exciting narrative! And that seems like a savvy colonel to me, asking someone who’s been up on the hill what to do about it. I think I’ll repost this one, GP.
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I’m so glad you found it interesting. Having some of these eye-witness accounts helps us to understand what others would not or could not tell us brings the history to light.
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Ha ha love your cartoon of the soldier using a trolley bag. Our national service men are being teased for being “moddle coddled” as they all have trolley bags now instead of hauling a duffle bag when they book out of camp. National service is mandatory for all boys at 19 years to 21 years. Parents molly coddle them and will picks their sons at camp and domestic helpers or maids will carry their bags. Just like parents or maids or domestic helpers carry their children’s school bag or back pack. ☺
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Wow! I haven’t seen that here, but I’m sure it does in the richer parts. It sure fits your description of your army.
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Another harrowing story of the everyday life of an Army grunt. God’s hand definitely seems to play a part.
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It sure does seem like it, uh? I’m sure many of them came home wondering the same thing.
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Your post is exciting as ever. It is like reading a fiction novel only that this is for real
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Thank you very much. That is quite a compliment!!
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Such heroes. As we read these articles our conversations always come back to the strength and valor of these fighting men and women astound us and would we be a be able to show such courage in the heat of the battle.
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Dad, [Smitty], used to say though, “You were either scared or stupid.”
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LOL. I bet they were scared but I don’t think stupid. They were brave and knew what they were signed up to do… serve and protect this great USA.
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There were those who didn’t fear combat – until they lived through it. The paratroopers were all volunteers but sometimes their cocky-ness made them reckless.
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I think there is truth to “until they lived through it”. In my work it was after the situation that I realized it could of been bad. We do what we gotta do I guess.
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That’s about the size of it.
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I am constantly amazed in life how one little gut instinct on our part, changes things – in this case dramatically. It’s more than coincidence!
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Some say God, others say ‘the butterfly effect’ – no matter how you look at it, I think it’s unexplainable. Thanks for dropping by, Bev.
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So many bloody battles. I can’t imagine fighting like that for 5 days. I notice your last fallen hero was from Donora, PA. Conditions there in the late 40s weren’t much better than wartime conditions. It’s the scene of the famous Donora Fog, and acid rain incident that ultimately killed over 50 people – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Donora_smog
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That link was quite interesting, Dan. I had never heard of that incident. So many awful reactions to the steel plant, that probably provided jobs for most of the town!!
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We had relatives in that area. We visited them for a family function once, during a minor inversion. A man who was old enough that I called him ‘uncle’ (although he was probably a cousin) said the smoke meant that they had jobs to go to on Monday. My father explained that that’s why he wanted my brother and I to get an education.
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I can certainly understand your father’s reasoning!
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“Blow the hill up.” Definitely not subtle, but if it works, you can’t argue with success!
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You got that right!! [why didn’t the colonel think of that?]
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I like to think he was testing the privates. Though, maybe that’s wishful thinking.
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You might be right!
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That is one graphic story and shows how war dehumanizes people. Referring to his victim as a Jap must have made it somehow easier to kill him and accept killing him. Not blaming the soldier—he had to stay alive. But it sure demonstrates the evil of war.
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you for helping out. All these memories bare repeating.
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Such a vivid recollection.
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He’s probably repeated this story a hundred times at the VFW too. Thank you for reading it, Pierre.
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You and I are always talking history, but I saw this and had to pass it on…..
https://thebalticstatespost.wordpress.com/2017/06/01/why-the-canadian-air-force-are-the-arctic-experts-video/
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The reality of war. I can imagine the images in his mind stay with him always. What an experience 🙏🏼
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I wish Smitty had talked more about this, he was in the 187th. Thank you for stopping by today!
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It’s a wonderful share. I think we always wish they had said more and we took more notes! 🙂
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You do speak the truth Michelle!!
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Thank you!
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