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Okinawa 75 years ago
Front page of Stars and Stripes, 22 May 1945
By PFC. WILLIAMS LAND | STARS AND STRIPES May 22, 1945
Stars and Stripes presents these archive reports as they were written by the reporters in the field. The graphic and politically incorrect language used may be offensive to some readers.
Editor’s Note: A fortnight ago Bill Land, one of our battlefront reporters, learned that he was a father. Back to us by radio came this story of Oki’s orphans. Unable to go home to see his own daughter in Baton Rouge, La., Bill let himself go on Oki’s orphans – being left to die by the Sons of Heaven. But the GIs wouldn’t let the kids die…
Front page, 15 May 1945
OKINAWA – Here’s a story you could call “The Children’s Hour.” Ever since I got that radio about my new baby daughter I’ve had in mind writing a children’s story, especially since the material is so plentiful.
It is said that there are more children on Okinawa than there are goats, and, brother, that is some statement.
Very rarely does one see a woman who isn’t carrying either a born or unborn child around and most of the time it’s both.
For doughboys and leathernecks, the care of children started on the first day of the invasion, and from the way it keeps on, it looks as though “the Children’s Hour on Okinawa” will outlast Lillian Hellman’s play on Broadway.
Medic on Okinawa, 1945
Military government has even set up an orphanage, probably the first the island has seen.
“Since the natives showed interest only their own babies, we had to do something to care for children whose parents were killed or missing,” said Army Capt. W. W. McAllister of Iowa City, Ia., the officer in charge.
Nipples are made from surgical gloves and the orphans seem to take kindly to their new diet of canned milk through a glove.
In another part of the island, Chief Pharmacist’s Mate Hugh Bell of Iberia, La., found himself playing the role of a mother when his outfit, a Marine reconnaissance unit, was scouting for suspected enemy installations and suddenly came upon a whole colony of natives hiding in a cave. Most of them were starving and sick and 35 children required immediate medical attention.
Bell, being the only “doctor in the house,” had all of them on his hands. For 24 hours he treated them, giving them plenty of food and feeding them canned milk while his buddies drank their coffee black.
“The kids thought I had used magic to fix them up,” he said, “and followed me around whenever I went. The headman of the group of cave dwellers told the unit command later that Bell was called “Mother” whenever they referred to him.
It is not at all a strange sight to see kids running around in cut-off GI woolen underwear or rompers made of fatigues, but Sally’s diapers made of green camouflage cloth really take the cake. Sally’s one of the orphans.
Sitting on the hard coral rock playing with the ration can, it looks as if she selected a soft tuft of grass to place her little behind on.
Pfc. John J. Stroke of Olmsted Falls, Ore., found her. She’s a two-year-old girl, and Stroke supervised her bath and sprinkled her with anti-vermin powder. Then, with the help of marine fatigues, a jungle knife and couple of pins, he went into the diaper business.
Marine First Lieutenant Hart H. Spiegal of Topeka, Kansas, uses sign language as he tries to strike up a conversation with two tiny Japanese soldiers captured on Okinawa. The boy on the left claims he is “18” while his companion boasts “20” years.
With most able-bodied Japs in the Imperial army or navy there seems a definite shortage of obstetricians among civilians and therefore many deliveries have to be performed by American soldiers and medics.
Relating his first attendance at childbirth here, First Class Pharmacist’s Mate Richard P. Scheid of Napoleon, O., warned, “I knock down anybody who calls me a mid-wife.”
As in the play, “The Children’s Hour,” and everywhere else, for that matter, there are good little children and naughty ones.
The other day, Sgt. Elvis Lane, marine combat correspondent from Louisville, Ky., ran across a couple of them who didn’t want to take to the American way of life at first. Dressed in a ragged Jap soldiers’ suits, they kept hoping to fight the “American devils” who were soon to be blasted by superior Japanese power.
That night, enemy units attacked the camp in which the two boys were staying and the air was filled with screams of the Jap wounded, the rat-tat-tat of machine gun fire and explosions of hand grenades. When morning came, the boys stared in horror at the Jap bodies and one of them said:
“Jap is a big liar. I think my brother and I want to be like our father – farmers.”
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Current News –
6th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosives Ordnance Disposal Team
Live missile found at Lakeland, Florida airport.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Lucy Amat – Providence, RI; US Army WAC, WWII
Michael Burke – Montreal, CAN; RC Air Force, WWII, radar mechanic, attached to RAF 106th Squadron
Richard Gentz – Jackson, MI; US Navy, Admiral (Ret. 33 y.), pilot, Naval Academy grad ’57
Warren “Bud” Henke – South Bend, IN; US Army, WWII, ETO, 2 Silver Stars, Bronze Star
Harold Mendes – Cleveland, OH; US Army Air Corps, Japanese Occupation, 11th Airborne Division
Bryan Mount – Parawan, UT; US Army, Iraq & Syria, Calvary scout/gunner, Sgt. KIA
John E. Norman – Powell, TN; US Army, Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division
Patrick Tadina – Fayetteville, NC; US Army, Vietnam, CSgt. Major, 2 Silver Stars
Floyd Welch – Burlington, CT; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Maryland, Pearl Harbor survivor
Henry Zajac – Elyria, OH; US Merchant Marines, WWII, Merchant Marine Academy graduate
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11th Airborne Medic (2)
11th A/B medics
Being as the world situation hasn’t changed much and the previous post was so well received, I decided all of you must be glad I haven’t gotten back to any sad or depressing posts on the Pacific side of the war.
So, here is another story told to us by Ray Sweet of the Medical Detachment/152nd Airborne Anti Aircraft Battalion/11th Airborne Division.
During WWII, aluminum was a fairly precious metal , so iron was used to manufacture beer containers for use overseas. (A beer post will follow this one).
Into the dispensary one day came this small patient accompanied by her frantic mother, who spoke no English. The little one, while playing, had found an empty beer can. For some reason or another, she chose to insert her tongue only to find the can now firmly stuck to the end of her tongue and impossible to remove.
The medics on duty, seeing her big, brown eyes full of fear and a tear upon her tiny cheek, were beside themselves as what to do. After a hurried conference,it was decided to call the motor pool to come with some tin snips and assist. Upon seeing the huge automotive sheers, both mother and child became even more frightened.
Airborne Medic, even in antiaircraft units
After an hour of very careful and painstaking work on the part of the motor pool, all but a jagged, star-shaped piece of metal surrounding the tongue had been removed. Then it was the medics’ turn to address the problem.
Using two pair of forceps, the metal ring around the tongue was slowly bent backwards and forwards. It seemed like a thousand times before it broke and fell free, without a trace of blood. The little one ran to her mother crying and it was over.
The ambulance driver and the big, gruff guy from the motor pool that everyone called “Sarge” were both in tears, but it was over.
There were definitely advantages to being a medic, that made up for all the bloody and boring bits!
This story was originally published in “The Voice of the Angels”, 11th A/B Division newspaper.
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Military Humor – 
CPR exhibited by one who knows…..
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Corona virus – on the lighter side –
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Farewell Salutes –
Edward Bloch – Philadelphia, PA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO
Milik J. Craig – USA; US Army, Spec., 1/501st Infantry Regiment
Andy Frasieur (101) – Yoncalla, OR; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Chirf Warrant Officer, Purple Heart
Titus Hagy – Harpers Ferry, WV; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT
Arlyn V. Mathewson – Bailey, OH; US Army, Korea, 11th Airborne Division
John Prine – Chicago, IL; US Army / singer
Lloyd Puett – Etowah, TN; US Navy, WWII, Seaman 1st Class
Cody L. Randall – Wasilla, AK; US Army, Sgt., Co. C/307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion
Donald D. Stoddard – Boulder, CO; USMC, WWII, ETO & PTO, 2nd, 6th & 8th Marines, Sgt., KIA (Tarawa)
Jason A. Thomas – Philadelphia, PA; US Army, Spec., 1st Squadron/40th Cavalry Regiment
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11th Airborne Medic
Combat Medic pin
Leaving out all the bloody and boring bits, being an 11th Airborne Medic wasn’t all that bad ___ by: Ray Sweet, Medical Detachment/ 152nd Airborne Anti Aircraft Battalion/ 11th Airborne Division
Starting late 1945 and leaving out the bloody and boring bits, being and 11th Airborne Medic wasn’t all that bad. The officers handled medics with silk gloves because they knew from who cometh their future immune booster injections as ordered by the higher command.
Medics ate better than most. The cooks all knew who had the 190-proof alcohol to put in that lousy canned grapefruit juice.
Airborne Medic
They never had bed checks, curfews and all that other crap (like standing guard over a useless pile of junk that no one in their right mind would ever dream of stealing.) They had a good life.
Sergeants were never a bother. They all knew their battery could always stand for a short arm inspection. It was actually quite nice to be a medic. If the captain said trooper Jones must do something yucky and a medic said he was not able, trooper Jones didn’t do it.
Playing cards with the geishas while on pro station duty was rather pleasant. It was a fun way for them to meet a lot of friendly girls.
When, as a courier transporting drugs from base hospitals to battalion, they had a rail care just like a general.
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Military Medic Humor –
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Corona Shortages –
Contrary to popular belief, duct tape does NOT fix ALL problems !!!!
Duct tape toilet paper
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Farewell Salutes –
Bob Bechtold – Martinsville, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Sgt. # 194GIF/ Medical Tech, 1/17th Airborne, Bronze Star
Thomas G. Delaney – Hartford, CT; US Army, Vietnam, 173rd A/B, 10th Special Forces A/B Group, Major (Ret. 20 y.)
THANK YOU
William Frankland (108) – Battle, England; Royal Army Medical Corps, WWII, CBI, POW, doctor/researcher
Richard Griffin – Franklin, NH; US Army, Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division
Douglas L. Hickok – Norman Air Force Base, OK; US Army, Captain, Medical Corps
Donald D. Johnson – Clarkston, MI; US Army, Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division, (Ret. 21 y.)
James B. Morrison – San Antonio, TX; US Army, Korea, Medical Corps/187th RCT
Edmound M. Parker – Ahoskie, NC; US Army, Medical Corps/188/11th Airborne Division
Don Schweitzer – Los Angeles, CA; US Merchant Marines, WWII / US Army, Japan Occupation, 11th Airborne Division
Bill Withers – Beckley, WV; US Navy / Douglas Aircraft / singer
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First-Hand Account – corpsman
USS Solace
James F. Anderson
Hospital corpsman, USS Solace
James Anderson of Fort Worth, Texas was aboard the USS Solace looking out across the bay on 7 December as he awaited a liberty boat to take him to shore as 5 planes flew overhead. He spotted the red balls on the wings, “My God, those are Japanese. Let’s get this damn hatch shut!, he said. “Normally it took an electric winch to pull it shut. How 3 of us did it I’ll never know.”
“I remember very clearly what looked like a dive-bomber coming in over the Arizona and dropping a bomb. It rose out of the water and settled. I could see flames, fire and smoke…and I saw 2 men flying in the air…and screaming as they went. Then we went into the ward and checked everything and made ready for patients to arrive. Four of us set to with plaster-of-Paris.
Japanese view
“At this point, the Japanese planes were coming in alongside us… We could look straight into the cockpits and see the pilots as they went by us. Almost immediately we started getting casualties…only one of the men could tell us his name. He did not have a stitch of clothing on. The only thing left was a web belt with his chief’s buckle, his Chief-master-at-arms badge and the letters ‘USS Nevada.’ He survived…
Surgery aboard ship
“We were using tannic acid for the burns… All we could do for these poor fellows was to give them morphine and pour the tannic acid over them. We were making it from tea, boiling it up as strong as we could get it and bringing it straight to the ward from the galley.
“I think we must have gone through 48 hours without any sleep – all spent tending to our patients. There was so much adrenalin pumped into the body, a person couldn’t sleep… I got to the point I was staggering around… Nobody ever thought of asking for relief.”
Patient ward aboard ship
James Anderson made his career as an enlisted man and continued his service until his retirement in 1960 when he returned to Texas.
This story was taken and condensed from, “The Pacific War Remembered” edited by John T. Mason Jr. and published by the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. Photos are courtesy of the USS Solace website.
TO SEE WHAT THESE MEN ACTUALLY WITNESSED – Fellow blogger, Koji was kind enough to send a link for us to do just that – watch the short video from – the Naval History $ Heritage
Click on images to enlarge.
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Humor –
Bill Mauldin cartoons
Just give me the aspirin, I already got the Purple Heart.
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Farewell Salutes –
Walter Bailey – Jupiter, FL; US Army, WWII & Korea, Major (Ret. 25 years)
Irene Brainerd – Prairie Village, MO; US Army WACS, WWII, Quartermaster Corps
Harvey A. Chesley, Sr. – Clinton, ME; USMC, Vietnam
Gordon Conquergood – Toronto, CAN; RC Army, WWII
Richard Haas – Freeport, IL; US Army, Korea
Kenneth Irving Sr. – Clinton, ME; USMC, Korea
Michael Martin – Palm Bch Gardens, FL; US Army, WWII
Theodore Perry – Petaluma, CA; US Army, Rangers, Sgt.
Mark Priestly – Masterton, NZ; RNZ Navy # E746216
Fred Schrager – Brooklyn & Miami; US Army, WWII, POW, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Charles (Bud) Willis – Bastrop, LA; US Army, Vietnam
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Eroni Kumana – Obituary
One of the Solomon Islands scouts who assisted in the rescue of the PT-109 crew passed away exactly 71 years after JFK’s boat was rammed while in the Pacific. Mr. Kumana was 96 years old. Kumana and fellow scout Biuku Gasa had discovered the Naval crew on Naru and Olasana islands.
Eroni Kumana
A more complete story of this event will be posted when this series reaches August 1943.
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Intermission Stories (15)
Earl Hufford in Korea
Private First Class, Earl R. Hufford
11th Evacuation Hospital, Medical Corps, Korea
Earl R. Hufford hailed from Perrysburg, Ohio. He went to Bowling Green State University and received his preacher’s license for the Methodist church after high school and then found himself drafted into the U.S. Army destined for Korea. The following article is condensed from an interview he gave the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project.
At one point, he was sent to a MASH unit: “If you ever watch M*A*S*H* on television, that’s the way it is.” Earl’s aptitude for things medical landed him in a series of courses and even learned how to do autopsies. We even had a Klinger.” Earl R. Hufford was a medic.
Earl Hufford w/ the 11th Evac hospital
It took several days to get to Korea aboard ship. He had a tendency to become so seasick, he buddies would bring him fruit to eat. He would then have to be tied in to stand his guard or he’d fall overboard. At first, he was sent to Inchon, but the army still wasn’t quite certain what to do with him; they made him a chaplain’s assistant and he started a newspaper for the 11th Evac. hospital.
After Inchon, he was sent to Wonju along with the rest of the 11th and even ran the first dialysis machine invented (the other one was in Germany). “I felt bad for the — real bad for the wounded and I felt bad for their families. But I just did my job and I thought I did it pretty good. You have to move on to the next person…there’s no time for sentiment…I always said a prayer for them.”
Hufford (on right) w/ friend at the the 11th
The 11th Evacuation hospital also went North and took care of the North Korean wounded because they had no facilities, the wounded were left to die. They even built them a hospital, but they didn’t return the favor. Hufford spoke of having to remove their Red Cross sign because it made them too much of a target for the enemy.
There were a lot of hemorrhagic fever patients to take care of too. (the fever, caused by rats, makes a person bleed internally). “I felt very fortunate on saving those boy’s lives. We had a lot of rats.
a later photo of Earl Hufford
After 15 months, Earl Hufford returned home. “And it was wonderful to see the Golden Gate Bridge. But, I’m not sorry that I was there, because I’d do it all over again.
The final line of his interview stated, “I dedicate this tape to all the veterans and servicemen and women in service today and may God bless them all.
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Farewell Salutes –
A Farewell Salute
Clarence Anderson – Ogden, Iowa; US Army Air Corps, WWII, Lt. Col. (Ret.)
Maurice Archer – Greenbay, VA; US Army, WWII
John Debalek, Jr. – Chicago, IL; US Army, WWII, ETO, 745th Tank Battalion/1st Infantry Division
Larry DeCelles – Kansas City & Phoenix, AZ; US Army Air Corps, WWII
Dennis Gavin – Wanganui, NZ; RNZ Navy # C/SSX16068, WWII, ETO
John Hogel – Sultan, WA; USMC, WWII, PTO
Fred Moss – Holiday Island, AR; USMC, WWII
Dante Romano – Sun City W., AZ; US Army Air Corps, WWII
John Spinella – W.Palm Beach, FL; US Army, Vietnam
John Towers – Oak Brook, IL; US Air Force, Korea
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Intermission Stories (7)
Harold Selley receiving his Bronze Star
Medic, Harold Selley
Harold Selley was in the Medical Company of the 7th Cavalry Regiment from the time time he arrived in Korea, July 1950. He would remain there for 11 months as a medic in a Forward Collecting Station.
Selley related in an interview,” Several times my collecting station was surrounded by the enemy and we were unable to get our wounded to the rear. Most of the time, we medics provided our own perimeter security for the station. That meant we took turns in staying in foxholes guarding our station. Usually we were far enough to the rear of the actual small arms fire that we could operate the station without the enemy invading the area. Since we received wounded from the entire regiment, we saw practically everyone who was wounded in the entire regiment.”
A medical HQ in Korea
Selley was the main person who saw that the proper tag was given to each casualty. The tag was for identification, brief explanation of the injuries and a record for the regiment. Such records were essential for future medals, disability pensions, statistics, Army files and family information.
Emphasis was on teamwork. “All of us medics in the station were part of a team,” he said. “We knew what to do when a wounded man was sent to us. Often I performed emergency treatment and procedures that the assigned doctor in our station could not do. He was too busy to do it all. We had to pitch in and do everything we could. Often the doctor went from one casualty to another giving advice to the medic as to what should be done.
Medics Crit Nash, Harry Kane & Harold Selley in Korea
“The doctor knew the medic’s capabilities. This is not meant to be arrogant in nature. It simply means that we medics treated so many casualties (hundreds) that we became rather proficient. We performed emergency amputations, treated spinal injuries, worked on *pneumothoraxes, did emergency repairs on fractured bones, stopped bleeding, removed shrapnel and attended to shock (most were in shock!).
” Many died before we could get them evacuated to the rear. Dead and wounded were all around us daily. Often we went without sleep during a heavy fighting. I went without sleep for 4 days once, working continuously on wounded.” Selley knew of course that the infantrymen in the frontline battles also went long periods without sleep – for days on end!
“My medical company lost several aid stations, including the doctors and medical personnel. We were always in danger of being attacked by the enemy. The medics assigned to the aid stations in the battalions knew their life expectancy was short. Memory of these men should always heralded as valor and total allegiance to the fighting men, Army and United States.”
doctor and medic w/ wounded soldier
For Selley, the memories of being under artillery fire, strafed by planes several times and close to small arms fire will always be remembered. But for him, the most memorable thoughts are the wounded. “I saw about every possible injury that could happen. I got to the point that no injury was too tough to handle, that is, too tough to examine or treat. But, when the wounded died in my hands, that is when I realized I was so inadequate in helping someone. I was drenched in blood most of the time. I tried with all my being to help people live, and when they died, I felt so helpless. I didn’t have time to feel sad or even weep over them. That came later, much later, after I returned from Korea – and still to this day.”
Selley returned to his home and college only to find the younger students did not share his thoughts on America. They had not been through a war and were conditioned to be isolated from the unpleasantries of life. The final line of his story reads – “Let us not make this a forgotten war!”____Harold Selley 2001
*pneumothoraxes: an abnormal collection of air in the area between the lung and chest wall; usually caused by blunt force trauma during combat.
This story was taken and condensed from HERE>
This site is large enough and interesting enough to get lost in for days – enjoy!
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Farewell Salutes –
Alwyn Berland – Toronto, Canada & Chicago, IL; US Navy, WWII
George Allen – Bethesda, MD; US Army, WWII, ETO
U.S. Navy emblem
Leonard Coleman – Delray Beach, FL; US Army, WWII
Walter “Mick” Hocker – Portland, ME; US Navy, Capt. (Ret.)
Colin G. Mitchel – New Zealand; Australian Imperial Force, WWII # 120010, Cpl., Sig. 35th Infantry Battalion
Raymond Monte – Chicago, IL; US Army, WWII
William Ridenour – Wilshire, OH & Lake Worth, FL; US Navy, WWII
James Skene – Fairview, TX; US Navy, Korea
Edward K. Steffen – Ahwatukee, AZ; US Navy, Vietnam
Andrew A. Turner – Auckland, NZ; Regt. # 596141v, SA Air Force
Nicholas Vitucci – Riverhead, NY; US Navy, SeaBee
Richard J. Watkins – Papatoetoe, NZ; RAF # 4078049, Korea
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Pacific Paratrooper 