The end of World War II, told by my father, Company A, 307 Mortor Platoon, 77th Infantry Division.

There have been many written and filmed accounds of WWII. I have seen many people receiving medals. Medals were received for not accomplishing anything. There have also been numerous stories of the last shot fired in WWII. I will begin to tell you my account of the end of WWII.

Once our troop made it to Okinawa, I surveyed the area for a place to set up the mortar guns. Shortly after the guns were set up, we were in battle with the Japanese. During this time, a navy officer came over to me. He wanted to see what war was about. I only had to tell hime to look straight ahead and you will see what war is. With that three shells from the Japanese dropped within our platoon. It created such a stir and I was no longer able to see the enemy. I borrowed field glasses from a nearby Officer. The enemy appeared so close, yet in reality were several hundred feet away. After seeing how other soldiers were reacting to one of the Japanese men, I knew he had to be a Japanese Officer. He became our target. After many unsuccessful attemps, I told some of our men to move the gun approximately one foot. This still did not accomplish our goal. I then asked the fellow standing next to me to gently touch the gun. That finally did it. The shot came down and fell directly into the Officer's lap. Once he was hit the rest of the Japanese soldiers scattered. The action here was over.

At this point we were commanded to take the machine guns to "Hill 99". As a sergeant, I led the troops to the sight. Although having an uneasy feeling, we still had to follow orders. A lieutenant Starr was the one to order us to move the machine gun to the hill. The area we had to get to was not very high. With the bad feeling I still had, I requested to the Lieutenant that we go around the area instead of climbing. Being stubborn in his approach, Lieutenant Starr continued up the hill, as we continued to move around it. In an instant, a bullet hit his helmet. The force spun him around and another shot hit him in the ear. The Lieutenant had to be rushed to the medics. At this point, we were on our own. To carry our orders, I led the troop to what ended up being an open field. The enemy watched as we made our way. They waited until we were out in the open with no cover. The shots began to fire. Being about 150 feet in front of everyone else, most of the shots seemed to be directed at myself. In response, the platoon fell to the ground. I never thought that the firing would ever stop. In a thought to myself, there was no way anyone could ever live through this. The firing continued for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally, I heard the sounds of click, click, click, click. The machine gun was empty. At this time, I felt it was safe to keep moving further. Within a moment, shots began to fire again. It was just enough time to add another clip. A clip ususlly had 500 to 1000 rounds. I figured at this point what did I have to lose. All of the men had to be dead and I had no intentions of going home alone. Throwing my rifle on my shoulder, I progressed forward. Shots kept firing at me. It was like a swarm of bees passing by my head. Dirt and weeds were flying all around me from the fired shots. The enemy kept firing and firing. Finally click, click, clic, click, the gun was empty again. I was close to the top of the hill. So at this point, I took my rifle off of my shoulder and ran up the hillside. Once I made it to the top I saw the enemy. They were backing down the hillside with their maching guns.

Out of nowhere, I heard the voice of Sergent Mike Rouse. "Come on you guys lets go." I was in shock. Every one of the men stood to their feet. No one even had a scratch. They came to the top of the hill. Never was there such a touching moment, I took "Hill 99", the Japanese retreated, and the platoon was alive.

Next our order sent us to Naha. Knowing that our enemy was still close to our right, I kept the platoon far to the left. I chose to take the lead again, keeping in mind the current danger. We were several hundred feet from Naha. At this point, I debated on where to go. I did not want to go thru the town, for which it had been previously bombed. The enemy could use this to their advantage for hiding places. I hollered back to the platoon and said that if they wanted me go any further, I would need a gas mask. Knowing that they would not get the gas mask, we waited for nearly a half of an hour and were told to come back.

We were close to being back to "Hill 99" and shots began to come at us agin. This time it was our own navy. We hit the ground. As I hit the ground, a shell hit and rolled past me. Luck was with me again as the shell was only a dud. The Lieutenant decided to make camp for the night. We were tired and beat. The platoon fell to the groound and went to sleep. In the morning when I awoke, I opened my eyes to see a Japanese soldier lying next to me. What a picture to see. Almost thinking that I was dreaming, I had to look several times to make sure my eyes were focused correctlly. He was as real as I was. I sat up and looked around. In looking over at the guy on my other side, I realized that a Japanese soldier was at his side as well. I woke up my fellow platoon member. We then woke up the Japanese soldiers. They were in shock and as customary were taken as prisoners. Surprisingly, these two men were the ones that were firing the machine gun at us on "Hill 99".

The ultimate question still remains, how after 500 to 1000 shots did everyone remain unharmed. I know this to be true for I was there. Various other platoon members are still living and can verify it as well. Those two Japanese soldiers that manned the machine gun that day, if they are still alive could verify it as well. The 4th Weapons Platoon could not be killed in war. Yet for this not one person has received a medal nor even a simple thank you. How many people can say they have walked up to a machine gun and survived.

Nancy
02/10/2003