Monday, November 9, 2009 9:17 PM CST
COLUMN: Retired general recalls life's most stressful event — combat
By JOHN R. PHIPPS, Major General (Ret.)
This is the story of perhaps the most stressful event of my early life — my first days in combat.
But, first, a little background. I was a member of the ROTC at the University of Illinois, (as was every other male student), getting ready to graduate in the spring of 1941.
My roommate, Roy Carlson, and I decided we would rather go fly in the “wild blue yonder.” So we went to Chanute Field which was 20 miles north of Champaign and volunteered.
Roy passed the physical without a blemish. However, my left eye kept me out. That was the most depressing day I had ever had. However, I recovered fast and went on to Fort Sill, the Artillery School for training.
Meantime, Roy went to Randolph Field, became a fighter pilot and was sent to Guadalcanal. That fall he took off on a mission and has never been heard of since. So I learned a very difficult lesson — what seemed so terrible at the time may not be so bad in the long run.
I became an artillery instructor but wanted to go to Europe. For two years the Artillery School would not release me. Finally I was told that I was going to France and report to the Pentagon. I got my orders — go on to San Francisco.
I was a captain by then and sailed through the Golden Gate on a troop ship headed south.
We went first to Guadalcanal, then Finschhaven and Hollandia in New Guinea and after 37 days, arrived in the Philippines. By then, MacArthur was headed back there too.
I waded ashore a few days after he did on Leyte Island.
My assignment was as battery commander with the 148th Field Artillery, part of the First Cavalry Division.
Military doctrine calls for the infantry to hold the front line with the artillery close behind.
However, in this case a lack of troops forced the artillery to defend its share of the “main line of resistance” so we were up front about 10 miles northeast of Manila.
I had my position properly laid out (remember I had been an artillery instructor) with a listening post a mile ahead in the jungle.
In the middle of the night I got a call, the sergeant in charge of the listening post had suddenly (using military terms) gone off the rocker — screaming and crying. He had to be relieved.
I had to make a command decision. I called for volunteers to go with me. Four good men responded.
I faced three major concerns:
One — I was going to deliberately disobey orders which were very clear. No one moved at night. Since this was a war zone in war time, this was quite serious.
Two — I had taken my oath and I was well aware of the responsibility a commander had for his men.
Three — I was physically scared for myself. But, I knew what I had to do so down that winding, overgrown jungle path we slowly proceeded.
At the outpost we restored order and remained the rest of that long night. I remember that dawn, when it finally came, as one of the most beautiful I ever saw in the mountains.
We knew by now that the Japs would surely retaliate — but I rechecked our defenses. Every man was in a two-man foxhole, barb wire was in place.
The machine guns were sighted for grazing fire which means they were not pointed at the enemy but about a man’s height above the ground, and the machine guns were laid to fire across, right or left, so that the fire was interlocking and anyone out in the open would be caught.
As a matter of interest, those tactics were used in France in World War I at the battle of Verdun and 1 million men died there.
The Japanese used what they called Banzai attacks. That meant they got their troops worked up into a frenzy where they screamed, fired their weapons, and charged the enemy with no concern for themselves.
Using whatever they had — swords, rifles, spears and clubs — they charged! And theoretically, continued charging until they died (for their Emperor).
A banzai attack came that night. I remember it very clearly — as if it were yesterday.
It was 4 a.m. Feb. 19, 1945.
But we were ready. We answered with all we had. They never quite reached our lines.
Meantime, the first sergeant and I took over one of the guns and lowered the muzzle so that our shells went off directly into the valley below.
The contest went on for some 30 or so minutes and finally the Japs fell back. Checking in the morning, was a bloody mess.
We counted 13 dead though that was questionable as the bodies were blown to pieces. We had no casualties except scratches.
We used our bulldozers to bury the mess. As far as I know they are still there.
Results: a few of my soldiers received Bronze Stars for courageous action.
Me, I was verbally dressed down for having disobeyed written orders.
However, I knew I had done what duty called for and my consciences was clear. Therefore, I said nothing.
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Mama says wrote on Nov 10, 2009 10:36 PM:
Well written and showed me a lot about the feelings of the General.
Thank you for all the years you served.
You beat the odds and lived to tell us.
I find your story amazing. "