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Battles That Missed The HeadlinesWe TSeded A Nameless Hillemphatic: (arrived. We pooled our ammuni-i“Damn. I think any man *ve*’~;tion and set up a line of what was1 seas, single or married, should left of the company.have the right to go home first. ( tw*vOur Last GI to speak was M/Sgt.i They Hear The BugleAlexander Schultz, 35, married, no Pfc. Richard Downing of Phoe-, ’ ‘ children, of Chicago, 111. jnix. Ariz. took up the story. j[ , “Overseas duty is usually pretty j The artiUery barrage lifted l rugged. The nature of a man’siund we heard a bugle call and duties overseas should warrant his; we knew we were facing an alb, . return to the States. Generally no out attack. It came, all-right j ’ man should be kept away from The Japs charged us with hand jhome to serve in the armed serv-i grenades, machine guns, and 5; ices overseas for more than tv/o everything in the book.; years.” j it was a separate, little warBy SOT. JOHN W. THOMUINsun and Stripe* SUfl WriterWITH 27TH INF. DIV.t OKINAWA—Thw i* the story ofa hill and the men who fought on it. There is little about this particular hill to distinguish it from countless others in southernOkinawa. Unlike Kakazu Ridge or Hill 187, it has neithera name nor a number.Toward the end of a murky afternoon, Capt. Howard E. Betts, Jr., of San Diego, stood with his men of Company “IC, 165th Infantry regiment, lookingtime he has certain privileges and! precedec! by a terrific barrage pleasures. What do we have outjo£ artiUery and mortar fire. Wehere? Nothing!” knew reinforcements were try-jS/Sgt. E. W. Rjpper, 2H, single,; Jng ^ ge£ £o ug ancj we w€»re|and from Schulenberg, lex., was? determined hold out till thevthe company only 10 minutes to reach the top. Not all of them made it.The hill was thickly wooded and over its surface were the Jans and a string of fortified positions. A machine gun fired directly into the path of Sgt, Pen-well*s platoon. The sergeant crawled within 30 yards of the position, knocked it out with a bazooka. The other platoons jrtished over the crest of the hill, hastily forming s line. Attack met attack In the first five minutes of the action, two leadscouts and a squad leader werekilled.The full weight of the Japing the single man a break if it lets the married one go first. The maried man already has established his home. At the present!said. Their attackthis time wasI. JOHNSTON counterattack began to crack a-]!rt c*rr««p**aeai round the company. For moreCo. K Bou sht It With Blood' all ranks, and the question of 1 piped up:present critical score, but let's ou think that a single man with.JNAWA—This writer hoppedfoxholes to sweat out another. California Bullish On • nobody knew. The Japs charged1 arc* if i j' m f vhe right-front of the company!» L .Sm ImIoMMB Control )itie with a small force, divert-.that had broken loose on a hilljday refused to reconsider its! the attack depended a possible s adoption of a resolution declaring 'break-through of the regimental_ that the U. S. should retain con-; lines. If Co. K broke, days oft irol of all the Pacific islands hard, bitter going were goinge taken from Japan. j to have to be fought all over| Assemblyman John Pelletier, again.Los Angeles said a foreign policy; On the other side of the hill, based on such a resolution would making their way toward the5 sow the seeds of another and battle were reinforcements- worse war. ‘There was uo break-through.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (UP) — ing their mam attack to the The California assembly Thurs-! flank of the line. Upon repelling#InticVtlohCfiup at an almost straight climb that reached a summit 150 feet away. Scrub-brush mingling with pine growths concealed enemy caves housing machine-gun emplacements.Start Through SmskeNow the smoke screen that would give the men cover thickened and S/Sgt. Russell Penwel!of Hamilton, O., walked with his platoon toward the hill. It tookhs1IiI€ItIilt;Discharger1Ims Out Athan an hour, they smashed each assault. Darkness came and the company had dwindled to 60 men,“We decided to hold the ground we had gained, Capt, Betts said. We*dug in with our fingernails, shovels, helmets, anything that could make a hole, and piled up rocks and logs.That night we could hear them assembling In large numbers— 300 or 400 of them, Capt. Betts'1
Newspaper Details
Middle Pacific Stars and Stripes
Honolulu, Hawaii, US
Wed, Jun 20, 1945
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
OH, USA 23 Oct 2018
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