Book 9, Page 13
HQ 136th AAA group
June 19, 1945
Luke
[excerpts]
Since arriving here, my mother knows where I’m located, I’ve found the war an altogether different proposition than it was in Honolulu where nothing is rationed except gasoline and liquor, and where the greatest danger comes in crossing the street, where everyone seems to be flush with cash, and where most people hold constant open house. I don’t know of any other place in the world where people are more hospitable or enjoy living more, unless it’s the Mississippi delta in general and Indianola in particular.
Recently I’ve seen a lot and learned a lot about things I’ve heard about and at times suffered a tinge of fright over. I knew for instance that artillery shells sounded bad and I knew they did a lot of damage when they landed, but I didn’t understand exactly how bad nor how much until some of them began sailing over my head and landing around me, back of me, and not many yards in front of me. I can tell you it “aint good”; as the hermit of shark tooth shoals said, quote “the cold sweat froze on the tip of my nose” unquote. I thought I was scared the day my daddy caught me playing poker at Mississippi State but compared to this I was in a happy frame of mind.
We were shelled practically once very twenty four hours for nearly two weeks, and then thank goodness, we were ordered to move. The S-3 and I picked a nice, safe?, clean and pretty spot for the group and our outfit moved in. We settled down, ate dinner, had an appetizer before our wonderful “K” ration dinner, crawled into our pup tents and went to sleep. No one thought to dig a foxhole for we knew we were out of range of any or all artillery. About two o-clock in the morning there was a loud explosion nearby. I found myself a few minutes later sharing a twelve foot shell hole with about fifty five other people. At a time like that I personally prefer the bottom. Don’t know how I got there, might have been sleep running, but it didn’t matter for there I was. It seems that no one including myself had taken into account the fact that the Japanese still had an air force - and bombs.
[…]
Between dodging bombs and shells we have been working too. Our main mission naturally is anti-aircraft and I think we have made a record any AA outfit would be proud to have. We’ve shot down over forty planes and have damaged many others. It’s both a wonderful and thrilling sight to see a plane go down in flames at night, or to see one of these kamikaze suicide jobs get shot to hell in mid-air just before it crash dives a ship. Sometimes I think the [Japanese] are crazy, and the rest of the time I know they are.
Mother wrote me that Hugh, Christine, and your granddaughter had moved. It’s difficult to remember the good times we had together before the war and not indulge in a small amount of wishful thinking. I’d give anything to be back home with my former friends with nothing to worry about except supporting my family and income taxes. Of course I might jump out of bed some night when the fire siren blows and head for a ditch, but I think my wife would forgive me.
Virginia, by the way, and my young son are coming to Indianola in August. She is looking forward to it with both pleasure and apprehension. I know she has no reason to be afraid, but she hasn’t been away from the islands since she was four years old, and as a result isn’t quite sure how life is lived in the States. She’s never ridden a real train nor gone to a real hotel by herself, and in addition she doesn’t know anyone in Indianola including her mother-in-law. However, because Honolulu is such a cosmopolitan city, and because I married a pretty smart gal, and since Indianola has such a big heart, I’m not the least bit concerned. She will like Indianola, and I truly hope they will like her.
Book 9, Page 39
July 17, 1945
Lt. John L. Embry, USN
[excerpt]
I sure am glad to read about the hometown boys getting home and some getting out. I’ve 4 years in now and 20 months since last seeing Mississippi with 8 to 14 to go before getting back. I’m ready to trade my sailor suit for a civilian suit but since the Navy has no discharge system as yet I don’t expect to be out till Japan quits and unless I suddenly break a leg or something I intend to stay in to see this thing through. The boys that fought in Europe have my profound admiration and for those who were injured were in constant danger. I certainly think they’ve had their share. Still there are troops in the Pacific with over 40 months duty on little God forsaken islands with nothing but miles of water to see and several types of disease, [Japanese], boredom to fight.
Book 9, Page 70
September 30, 1945
Manila, Philippines
Whitty Wall
[excerpt]
On the third of August, I left the good ole U.S.A., my port of embarkation being Los Angeles. For 32 days I traveled the blue pacific on a troop transport, going through everything a land-lubber goes through his first night at sea – I believe I was the sickest man on board. On our way, we stopped at Pearl Harbor, [Eniwetok], and Ulithi, but not until our 30th day at sea did the Skipper tell us our destination which was Manila. BY the way, there is one thing I forgot to mention. Peace was declared while we were on the way over and have you ever tried to celebrate on a troop ship containing 2,000 troops, sitting out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Well, I saw it happen and it is something I will never forget – there they were, all 2,000 of them, limited to a space about as big as our back yards, each one celebrating as much as he could. Some prayed, some sang, some danced, and other just walked around in a daze as if afraid to believe the good news. The first thing I did was thank God, and I imagine sooner or later, ever man on board di the same thing.
We arrived in Manila Harbor on the 3rd of Sept. but due to the congestion of sea traffic, we did not debark until the 5th. The first people to greet us were Filipino kids giving us the “V” sign with their small hands and calling us “Joe”. Each one had a hand full of Mickey Mouse [Japanese] money, trying to sell it and if they couldn’t sell it, they would give it to us. The Filipino women were also on hand with coconuts, bananas, and other island fruits.
As for the City of Manila, it has truly felt the horrors of war. Only a few buildings remain that were not fully damaged and those have already been taken over by the Army. The rest of Manila is known as the “Walled City”—nothing but the walls of the buildings are standing. But in the past two weeks since I have been here, Manila has grown considerably—small stores have sprung up all over the city and now inflation has hit—prices are sky high. One coke: 2 pesos ($1.00), 6 bananas: 1 peso, a pair of shoes: 30 pesos, and today I priced a Chinese robe which was 350 pesos.
Book 9, Page 73
Augsburg, Germany
August 3, 1945
Doe Mancill
Dear Mr. French,
I have a little spare time on my hands this afternoon so I thought I’d sit down and get a letter of to you. I might say before hand that if you can’t read this letter when I’ve finished it, its won’t be my fault, but the fault of this crazy typewriter I’m using. The typewriter is a “Liberated” Italian job, and the keyboard is so mixed up that it would drive an American typewriter manufacturer or repairer crazy trying to figure it out.
Well Mr. French, for the past couple of months I’ve been here in the city of Augsburg doing occupational work, the work being mostly guard on vital instillations in the city. It isn’t too bad tho, because the city itself is pretty large and there is generally always something going on that is of interest. At the present we’re living in some very nice apartments which we “borrowed” from the Krauts for a while. For my money that’s O.K., because for awhile over here we were living in pup tents while they were living in all the good houses. Don’t know how long I’m going to be over here in occupation, but the rumors have it that we’ll leave here sometime in February for the States. Can assure you that February can’t come too soon to suit me because this lad had had enough of this Kraut country to last him for a long, long time. What I want to do now is plant these doggies of mine on some good old delta soil again.
[…]
Since I’ve been here in Augsburg, I’ve been fortunate enough to take a few trips around the country over here. I’ve been to Munich several times, to [Berchtesgaden] once, and to some more of the lesser known places. Not long ago I had the opportunity to visit the famous Dachau concentration camp, which is located a short distance out of Munich. I can assure you now, after having seen it that the things our newspapers at home said about it were true. It really was a mass murder house
