MY REMINISCES OF WW II

Frank Lauderdale Saffarrans, Jr.
US Army 39701417 

The war had moved on to the west so we were relocated to set up an intercept station and RDF on the island of Guam that had recently been taken from the Japanese. Most of the men for this task were from the 119th SRI but the unit name was changed to the 130th SRI. We boarded the USS Cape Mears in Pearl Harbor. The Cape Mears was bringing fresh infantry units from the states and had stopped in Hawai'i to pick us up. We boarded carrying our Thompson submachine guns slung over our shoulders. We made quite an impression on the troops already on board. Little did they know.

There was little seasickness as we sailed from Hawai'i. The troops aboard already had found their sea legs on the voyage to Hawai'i and our unit already had theirs from their first voyage to Hawai'i. The first day out I was not hungry so I skipped breakfast and later that morning I became hungry so I ate an entire giant Hershey chocolate bar. I became sick to my stomach and went to the latrine (head) to throw up. When it came up it was dark brown - the color of blood in vomit. A medical corpsman saw it and became very excited. He insisted on taking me to the sickbay to see the doctor. The corpsman had me almost believing it was blood. The doctor listened patiently and then said it was probably the chocolate but if I threw up any more of it to feel free to return to the sickbay.

The next day I was assigned guard duty. It was uneventful for the first few days but then I was assigned to guard the cold water drinking fountain. The fountain was located in a small alcove in a passageway between the sick bay and the officers (passenger) ward room. There was no guard mount, a formal meeting between the officer of the day (OD), sergeant of the guard and guards where orders are given. The sergeant just met us at a designated location and led the group to each post, dropping off a man at each post. When we got to the water fountain, he assigned me to the post. I asked what the orders were. He replied that I was to prevent anyone from drinking at the fountain except members of the ship's company and medics from the sickbay. Fresh water is always a problem on troop ships and the troops were on water rations. I believe it was one canteen a day plus all you wanted to drink at the two meals that were served each day. I asked if I could allow myself to drink from the fountain and he replied that it was OK. I had been on duty about ten minutes when I saw an officer leave the ward room and walk down the passage way toward me. He completely ignored me and without making eye contact bent over to take a drink. As he was not ships company I placed the baton between his face and the water fountain and told him: "Sorry Sir. Only ships company and medical corpsmen from the sick bay are allowed to drink from this fountain". The baton and my words obviously angered him. He replied very sharply that he was an officer and that he had been drinking from this fountain ever since he left the states. I replied that those were the orders given to me and that I would not allow him to drink. (ROTC, duties of a guard). He replied that he knew the officer of the day (OD) and he was going to report me, whereupon he departed. He soon returned with a Lieutenant who he identified as the OD. The Lieutenant told me the correct order was to also allow officers to drink the water. I told the Lieutenant that I could not accept his change to my orders, as I did not recognize him as OD as the OD was not present to be introduced at Guard Mount. Consequently, only the Sergeant of the Guard who gave my orders could change them (ROTC, duties of a guard). The Lieutenant had apparently played this game before so he just smiled and left. The thirsty officer strode back down the passageway and entered the wardroom amid some guffaws. The Lieutenant soon returned with the Sergeant of the Guard who introduced him as the OD, whereupon he gave me the new orders. Immediately upon his departure the thirsty officer was back - other officers in the wardroom were watching. Again, he did not make eye contact, bent over to take a drink. Again I placed the baton between his face and the fountain and repeated my orders: "Only ships company, officers from the wardroom and medics from the sick bay are allowed to drink from this fountain." He protested very angrily: "I am an officer from the wardroom". I replied: "Sorry Sir but I did not recognize you as an officer as you have no insignia (he was wearing a white tee shirt). May I please see your identification" (ROTC, duties of a guard). As luck would have it, he had no identification. He stomped back to the wardroom. Again much laughter from the wardroom. I never saw him again. He definitely did not enjoy playing the game.

The next day when I reported to guard mount a new OD was present as well as the same sergeant of the guard. The sergeant again led the guards to the posts, dropping one at each post. The OD accompanied the group and gave each man his orders. I was assigned the post at the ship's brig that contained three prisoners, each in separate cells. The OD asked me if I knew what the orders were for the brig post. I replied that I did not. He then said that it was very simple orders. There were three prisoners in the brig and I was to see that there were three prisoners whenever he checked and that there would be three prisoners to turn over to my relief at the end of my tour. He also gave me instructions as to what to do during lifeboat and general quarters drills. At mealtime a mess attendant would bring them bread and water and the Chaplain was to be allowed to visit.

Two of the prisoners were in the brig for minor offences relating to physical violence that occurred the previous day. The other had been there since the ship left Pearl Harbor about ten days before. He had been one of the few lucky men that had boarded the ship in San Francisco and had been given shore leave while the ship stopped in Pearl Harbor. He returned to the ship very drunk and attempted to carry a case of beer aboard -on his shoulder in plain sight. He became belligerent when the beer was taken away from him. He was sentenced to the brig, on bread and water for the remainder of the trip to Guam.

I had always imagined that a ship's brig would be located in the bowels of the ship in a stuffy cell near the engine room. The brig on this ship was located on the upper deck level on a passageway that ran from one side of the ship to the other side. The hatches on each side were left open and a nice breeze made the cells very comfortable. Much nicer that the stuffy, smelly and cramped sleeping area below decks assigned to the troops. . A mess attendant brought the prisoners their ration of "bread" in a large juice can. It appeared stuffed with bread but when I inspected it, I found that under the bread were some nice chunks of cheese and generous slices of lunchmeat.

During a drill, I took the prisoners to our designated location on the open deck. There the "beer prisoner" met some of his friends. He then promoted the idea that as my orders were to have three prisoners it would be OK for me to let him exchanges places with one of his friends. I would still have three prisoners and he could walk around the deck and get some exercise. His friend and I agreed to the arrangement with the provision that he would take his walk around the deck and on each round would check with us to see if it was OK to make another round. Just after we had given him the Ok to make a third round, the OD came by the brig to see if the prisoners had been returned after the drill. I told him: "Yes Sir, I have the required three prisoners in their cells." He gave them a casual glance and started walking off then he turned and looked back. He started to speak but instead walked away. In a few minutes, he returned with the "beer prisoner's" Company Commander. Fortunately we had made the exchange again and the correct man was in the brig. I am sure both the OD and the CO knew exactly what was going on but chose play the game with us - so they ignore it - just as they played the "bread and water" game. The CO told his man that he was just checking to see if the prisoner needed some exercise but that he seemed fit enough.

The ship docked late in the afternoon and we walked down a gangplank, carrying our duffel bags, field backpacks and guns to waiting trucks. The trucks were to carry us to the Quonset huts that were prepared for us in the Joint Communications Activity (JCA) A problem developed immediately upon arrival to the JCA. The map showing the location of our barracks area was the planning map for the JCA - not the actual present status of construction. Construction of our barracks had not yet been started. It was well after dark when we were directed to a plot down a jungle road from the JCA where an infantry unit had bivouacked a few days before. We were told to pitch our pup tents and in a few days the Navy Construction Battalion (CBs) would construct our quarters.

Each man is issued one half of a pup tent and set of stakes and poles for erecting the tent. John Scanlan and I immediately had our tent erected and were inside when as it began to rain - fortunately not very hard but it was wet. John and I had learned how to pitch a tent in the dark without flashlights during night training at Camp Roberts. We had also kept our backpacks packed the infantry way. The tent, poles, pegs, blanket, and poncho and toilet articles were standard. The rest of the men had never pitched a tent in the dark and some of them had never pitched a pup tent at all. Adding to the confusion was the fact that they did not have the necessary items packed in their field packs. Instead of the tent and its parts they had cameras, baseball gloves, magazines, food, etc., packed in their field packs. The tent items were packed in their duffel bags. Many of them had put the tent pegs in the very bottom of the bag as they made a nice platform so their duffel bag would stand up straight. There they were in the jungle in the dark of night, most without flashlights, in the rain, dumping the entire contents of their duffel on the ground. The full extent of the disaster was not evident until dawn.

John and I did not enjoy the benefits of our dry tent for long as we were sought out for guard duty. By now it was about 11:00 p.m. and they asked us to take the entire tour until daybreak. We knew that although the island was declared secure there were many Japanese holdouts hiding in the jungle - and there we were in the same jungle. We selected a spot from which we could view the entire bivouac, sat down back to back to protect each other and spent a sleepless night watching the jungle around us. It would have taken a dozen trained men to properly protect an area like this in the jungle. By the way, the officers quarters had been completed so most of them missed the fun. The next morning the area looked as if it had been in the path of a tornado - clothing, equipment and personal effects were scattered over the entire area.

The next day after cleaning up the mess at our bivouac most of the men went to the JCA (Joint Communications Activity) to help the CBs erect our barracks. The barracks went up fast; the entire construction took about two days. Fortunately, a local infantry unit provided guards for the bivouac area the remaining nights we were there.

The Joint Communications Area was the main communications center for the Island of Guam that was the seat of the Pacific Ocean Area Command. The communications Activities center was a joint effort of the Navy and Army Signal Corps. The Navy CBs handled the facility construction work and an Army Signal Service Battalion did most of the radio, Teletype and telephone installation and operation. The Navy was in charge of the operation and provided a large mess hall for everyone's use. The complex of Quonset Huts (prefabricated buildings) were located in a jungle area that had been cleared by bulldozers pushing the undergrowth and most of the trees into huge piles of debris that left a wall, 16 feet high, around about half of the area's circumference

Our Company Commander had to issue an unusual order shortly after we arrived on Guam. He ordered every man to turn in his bayonet to supply. Many of his men had been severely cutting themselves with their bayonets while trying to open coconuts. Coconut palm trees grew throughout the JCA complex as the bulldozers had spared many of them. Plentiful coconuts, nothing to do and bayonets does make a good combination. You were trusted with a loaded Thompson submachine gun but not with a bayonet.

Our radio intercept station was located within the JCA complex. The RDF station was located in the jungle a few miles from the JCA. A bulldozer cleared an area of about 100 yards in diameter and the RDF was installed in the center. A hut was constructed next to the one lane road that was the East Side of the clearing for use as a shelter for the off duty operators. It was necessary to locate the RDF in a remote area away from natural and manmade structures in order to obtain accurate bearings of target radio transmitters. So, the RDF station was a clear target set in the center of a small clearing in the jungle 5 miles from any other unit.

At night, with the door open for ventilation, lit by one small light bulb, we would be an easy target.

I was a RDF operator. A truck would take three of us to the site each morning. We would remain there for 24 hours when another crew would relieve us. The theory was that one man would man the RDF, one man serves as guard and the third man would rest. We would alternate duties every four hours. For the first couple of weeks, they sent an infantry guard to do the guard work. When they found that that we only used the guard as another hand to play cards, they decided that we could do without him. We had a hot plate to prepare snacks and a bunk to sleep in. Unfortunately it was necessary for one man to actually be on duty at the RDF at all times so we did not have enough people to play a good game of poker. It was usually uneventful except for one night when the RDF operator opened up with his Thompson submachine gun at a wild pig. He mistook the pig for a Japanese holdout sneaking up on him in the dark. We were told that we should NEVER go roaming around in the jungle. If you left the Japanese holdouts alone they would leave you alone. I never ventured more than 10 feet into the jungle the entire time I had duty there.

I had observed a sort of special relationship between our CO and his driver. One evening in the barracks I found out why when his driver suffered an epileptic seizure. He was one of the men considered for discharge for medical reasons when the company was making ready to go overseas. He had persuaded the CO to let him remain with the company, as his seizures did not occur very often. The CO wanted to keep him nearby so he could keep him out of trouble therefore he made him his driver. Many of the men knew of his condition but protected him. After his seizure in the barracks, I became one of his protectors.

The only time I was really scared was when one dark night I was on a walking guard post on the perimeter of the JCA near the debris wall. I had heard the expression "My blood ran cold" but I experienced it that night. I was in the second hour of a four hour tour when suddenly right behind me there was a very loud thud. My blood ran cold as I wheeled around with my gun ready to fire. I thought it was too late to do anything but I was going to try anyway. There was nothing there but the darkness. Then I looked down and there lay a coconut. It had fallen just as I walked under the tree. It would have been really exciting had it hit me on the helmet. On another occasion on a night guard tour I saw what looked in the dark like a man standing behind a palm tree Ever once in a while he would slowly move his head around the tree to look at me and then slowly move behind the tree. I kept walking toward the tree with my gun ready to fire the next time he showed himself. Just in the nick of time I found that the "man" was a broken palm branch that was hanging down. The wind was slowly moving it back and forth on the side of the tree away from me.

The JCA was sometimes infiltrated at night by Japanese holdouts looking for food. On several occasions, they were seen inside a barracks but they never harmed anyone. They easily escaped through the debris wall. They owned the jungle on the other side of the wall as far as we were concerned.

Marine detachments were regularly moved in and out of the JCA, usually serving as guards while they were there. . One such detachment had some men that held deep personal grudges against the Japanese Army in general. They hatched a plan to kill some of the Japanese holdouts. They "dropped" a box of food along the road that paralleled the debris wall and then set up an ambush that night. JCA Command Headquarters got wind of the operation and immediately put a stop to it. There were no regular efforts made to eliminate the holdouts. They were left alone unless there was an act of violence whereupon a company of Marines would "sweep the area."

 Going to the movies was a welcome respite from the mostly uneventful days. The "theatre" was established on slightly downward sloping ground. Coconut palm tree trunks, retrieved from the debris wall were arranged to provide somewhat comfortable seating. One evening, a couple of weeks after we arrived at JCA, the movie, as usual, did not start at the posted time. This evening the Army guys started unison clapping of hands. After about a minute someone came on the public address system and informed them that the unison clapping of hands was a very rude act according to Navy etiquette. Movies in the Navy do not start until the Navy Captain arrived or sent word that he would not attend. It was also stated that no one should get up to leave the theatre until the Captain had left and was well on his way to his quarters. The PA announcer also added that he had noted that several Army GIs were seen, on previous occasions, walking between the Captain and his quarters. The Navy would not tolerate such rude behavior. The crowd quieted down and shortly later the movie began as the Captain had arrived and taken his seat. At the end of the movie it seemed that every GI left his seat immediately at the end of the movie and made a point to walk between the Captain and his quarters. The next day a notice was posted on the Navy side of the bulletin board advising that all movies were cancelled until further notice due to unruly behavior of movie attendees. The next day there was a notice posted on the Army side of the bulletin board giving the title of a movie and further stating that it would begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. The movies were shown at the same theatre but with an Army projector and operator. I do not recall that I ever saw a Navy officer attend the Army movie although there were numerous "swabbies" in attendance.

Working the 24-hour on and 24 hours off shift, we had a lot of spare time to fill. We regularly hitched a ride to Tumon Bay. Our favorite place was a large cove that had a rather small beach but was excellent for diving for shells in the shallow water. The water was waste deep with a coral bottom that had numerous holes about fifteen feet across and five to ten feet deep. I do not know if they were natural holes or they were make by exploding artillery shells or bombs. I would wade in the water, wearing my combat boots to defeat the sharp coral, up to the edge of a hole and then dive, with face mask, down to the bottom looking for shells that could be used to make necklaces to send home. Interesting colorful fish were abundant. I remember a school of small four-inch fish, jet black with a bright yellow band around their belly, that would followed me as I searched the bottom. When I would turn over a rock or shell one of them would sally forth from the school and make a pass at the spot I had just disturbed. I wondered as to how they kept up with whose turn it was. On one occasion, I saw what I thought was a section of brightly colored cloth. As I reached out it suddenly occurred to me that it was a savage voracious moray eel. I withdrew my proffered hand and departed that hole in a flash. Once, after I had been searching for shells for some time, I dove into a hole and did not immediately see the far side so I gave another kick or two. Not finding the other side I turned and looked back. I had gone beyond the reef into deep water. When I looked down, I was looking back at a wall of coral with many crevices and spooky cave like holes that disappeared into the depth below. First of all, I felt frightened because of the deep water. There I was wearing combat boots in deep water about one hundred fifty yards off shore; then I thought that there was no telling what may be concealed in those crevices and caves; then I remembered I had been warned not to go into deep water because of the barracuda. The convergence of these thoughts sent me into a panic. I instantly started swimming for the beach at full speed. Full speed with combat boots seemed like no speed at all. I was completely exhausted when I reached the beach. One of my buddies on the beach asked if I was trying to set some sort of record. I was too exhausted and winded to think of an appropriate reply. I still have a necklace I made with the shells from this cove.

We were looking forward to Christmas day as we were promised a magnificent Christmas dinner in the mess hall. On Christmas day, we went to the mess hall in great anticipation and sure enough, as I went down the serving line I was offered large helpings of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, English peas, Cranberry sauce, bread stuffing and gravy. Then I got to the Navy mess attendant that was serving the turkey. He placed a turkey neck on my tray. I thought he was kidding - we all laughed. When he went ahead and served the man behind me with a big helping of turkey I asked him for some real turkey. He told me I had all the turkey I was going to get. I told him in a voice that could be heard all over the mess hall: "Take that blank turkey neck off this tray and give me some real turkey." He told me to move on; whereupon I took my tray in both hands and hit him on the head with it - sending him to the floor covered with gravy, potatoes and cranberry relish. I then turned and started walking toward door. A Shore Patrol (SP) and Military Police (MP) team started toward me but an officer waved them back and I was allowed to leave. I do not believe I have ever been as angry as I was that day - before or after till this day. I met our CO on the way back to my barracks. He stopped me and asked what the matter was as he could see that I was very angry. When I told him what happened he suggested that I go back to the mess hall with him and have my Christmas dinner. I declined saying that I could eat only iron nails at this time. He said that he would send me some dinner later. A couple of hours later his driver brought me a box with a generous serving of turkey with all the trimmings. I finally felt like eating it about 10:00 that night. It was cold but tasty. I never heard anything about the incident from any of my officers although I noted that mess hall servers treated me with respect. I never saw the turkey neck server again.

I continued to operate the RDF on a regular basis. - 24 hours on duty, 24 hrs off duty with occasional tours as a JCA perimeter guard until March 1945. In early March, I was selected to be a member of a six man RDF team that would setup and operate a RDF station on Iwo Jima Island. We would first go to Saipan Island and then take another ship on to Iwo Jima. A RDF located at Iwo Jima would allow more accurate determination of all enemy radio transmitters located throughout the Pacific Ocean Theatre of Operations.