"It's a good thing that typhoon came when it did - it held us up, and took awhile to get things organized again."
Brothers Jerry and Ike, after running a gauntlet of Pacific invasions against the Japanese army, were slated for the actual invasion of the Japanese mainland. Countless vessels were docked in Okinawa, loaded to the hilt with supplies and men, all organized for the inevitable thrust into the heart of the Japanese Empire. Jerry and Ike had fought side by side through Guam, the Philippians, Okinawa, six invasions in all, receiving not a scratch. Of the impending invasion of Japan, Jerry commented, "I knew we wouldn't make it through that - I knew I was going to (get killed)." Little could Jerry realize that forces beyond his control were collaborating, forces that ultimately would prevent undoubtedly the biggest bloodbath in human history. First, a monstrous typhoon hit the staging area:
"We were combat loaded, Ike and I were on the same boat - it was an LSM; a big landing craft, but not like a big ship. Anyway, our outfit was split up amongst some 13 of these LSMs. We had so many trucks, bulldozers, and equipment on 13 boats. Well, this typhoon struck, wiped out the post office on Okinawa among so many other things. Out of 13 boats, my brother and I were on one of the five that didn't get wrecked when this storm hit. I was getting (radio) messages from the other ships: 'We just lost our anchor we're heading toward the beach - we're going to crash!' I have a copy of all those messages. Some of them would say they were heading out to sea to ride it out. Can you imagine? Ike and I were on one of the five that made it! During the storm, that boat was pulling against the anchor and vibrating so hard, that we almost capsized! The whole thing was shaking like you wouldn't believe. I remember the sailors on the ship saying that they had just repaired the anchor cable the week before - they were hoping it held, (lest) we get washed up on the rocks. I stuck my head up through a hatch, and boy I'll tell you, that wind just about tore my head right off my body, it was that strong."
As Jerry pointed out, tragically, only five LSMs made it out of the 13 - just from Jerry's unit alone. During this storm, ships were ripped from their anchors and tossed ashore or into other vessels like toys. Men and equipment plunged into the ocean, some washed up on shore - others simply vanished; swallowed by the terrible storm.
Inevitably, the weather cleared. The Americans only were stalled. The armada regrouped, bound for Japan. Jerry describes how a second force unleashed its fury:
"So then, (after the typhoon) we had to get reorganized again but we were combat-loaded to go into Japan. We'd have never gotten out of that mess - (The Japanese) had all these fortified positions on the cliffs and islands. Anyway, after the typhoon we went in, ready for the invasion. And right then good ol' Harry Truman had that bomb dropped. That right there saved my brother's and my life. It was a terrible, horrible thing, but by Truman dropping those A-bombs, that saved thousands and thousands of Japanese lives, too - whole families, besides all us guys. It would have been a terrible invasion, right there. I still thank ol' Harry Truman for dropping those bombs - he did the right thing."
Rather than storming the beaches via a bloody invasion, Jerry and Ike landed on Japan as a post-war occupation force. After having fought with such determination for so many years, the Japanese had reached their limit; the country had been beaten. Jerry describes a post-war Japan:
"(The remaining Japanese soldiers) were supposed to have all their rifles in one big building, and all their airplanes were in one big field. That building was just filled with field radios - that was interesting to me, to see all their equipment. Our job was to look in all these buildings and make sure everything was accounted for and the papers ready for us - I've got a picture of the airplanes they had left."
I asked about the civilians - did the Americans encounter any resistance? Jerry laughed in response:
"My brother and I did kind of a foolish thing. The first or second night we were there we decided to go down to this little town. He and I got on this streetcar, and quickly realized we could get into a jam! There on the streetcar were a couple Japanese soldiers, and everyone else on the car was Japanese! Man, us two guys could've just gotten grabbed and had the heck knocked out of us! They didn't do anything, but that was a dumb thing for us to do, to go away from our camp like that. You know, we never had any problems with the civilians. A lot of them didn't look too happy, but they were all pretty friendly. I think they were all glad to get that darn war over with. They all cooperated."
For brothers Jerry and Ike, World War II was over. They would return home with souvenirs from the war, but most importantly, with each other. Jerry would continue to tinker with radios and electricity, and Ike would continue to engineer different contraptions. During our interview Jerry said of his brother, "He's still building boats - he built this big 99-foot aluminum-hull paddlewheel houseboat. He's on that right now, out on the Mississippi."
- Dan Wegmueller is a columnist for The Monroe Times. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
Brothers Jerry and Ike, after running a gauntlet of Pacific invasions against the Japanese army, were slated for the actual invasion of the Japanese mainland. Countless vessels were docked in Okinawa, loaded to the hilt with supplies and men, all organized for the inevitable thrust into the heart of the Japanese Empire. Jerry and Ike had fought side by side through Guam, the Philippians, Okinawa, six invasions in all, receiving not a scratch. Of the impending invasion of Japan, Jerry commented, "I knew we wouldn't make it through that - I knew I was going to (get killed)." Little could Jerry realize that forces beyond his control were collaborating, forces that ultimately would prevent undoubtedly the biggest bloodbath in human history. First, a monstrous typhoon hit the staging area:
"We were combat loaded, Ike and I were on the same boat - it was an LSM; a big landing craft, but not like a big ship. Anyway, our outfit was split up amongst some 13 of these LSMs. We had so many trucks, bulldozers, and equipment on 13 boats. Well, this typhoon struck, wiped out the post office on Okinawa among so many other things. Out of 13 boats, my brother and I were on one of the five that didn't get wrecked when this storm hit. I was getting (radio) messages from the other ships: 'We just lost our anchor we're heading toward the beach - we're going to crash!' I have a copy of all those messages. Some of them would say they were heading out to sea to ride it out. Can you imagine? Ike and I were on one of the five that made it! During the storm, that boat was pulling against the anchor and vibrating so hard, that we almost capsized! The whole thing was shaking like you wouldn't believe. I remember the sailors on the ship saying that they had just repaired the anchor cable the week before - they were hoping it held, (lest) we get washed up on the rocks. I stuck my head up through a hatch, and boy I'll tell you, that wind just about tore my head right off my body, it was that strong."
As Jerry pointed out, tragically, only five LSMs made it out of the 13 - just from Jerry's unit alone. During this storm, ships were ripped from their anchors and tossed ashore or into other vessels like toys. Men and equipment plunged into the ocean, some washed up on shore - others simply vanished; swallowed by the terrible storm.
Inevitably, the weather cleared. The Americans only were stalled. The armada regrouped, bound for Japan. Jerry describes how a second force unleashed its fury:
"So then, (after the typhoon) we had to get reorganized again but we were combat-loaded to go into Japan. We'd have never gotten out of that mess - (The Japanese) had all these fortified positions on the cliffs and islands. Anyway, after the typhoon we went in, ready for the invasion. And right then good ol' Harry Truman had that bomb dropped. That right there saved my brother's and my life. It was a terrible, horrible thing, but by Truman dropping those A-bombs, that saved thousands and thousands of Japanese lives, too - whole families, besides all us guys. It would have been a terrible invasion, right there. I still thank ol' Harry Truman for dropping those bombs - he did the right thing."
Rather than storming the beaches via a bloody invasion, Jerry and Ike landed on Japan as a post-war occupation force. After having fought with such determination for so many years, the Japanese had reached their limit; the country had been beaten. Jerry describes a post-war Japan:
"(The remaining Japanese soldiers) were supposed to have all their rifles in one big building, and all their airplanes were in one big field. That building was just filled with field radios - that was interesting to me, to see all their equipment. Our job was to look in all these buildings and make sure everything was accounted for and the papers ready for us - I've got a picture of the airplanes they had left."
I asked about the civilians - did the Americans encounter any resistance? Jerry laughed in response:
"My brother and I did kind of a foolish thing. The first or second night we were there we decided to go down to this little town. He and I got on this streetcar, and quickly realized we could get into a jam! There on the streetcar were a couple Japanese soldiers, and everyone else on the car was Japanese! Man, us two guys could've just gotten grabbed and had the heck knocked out of us! They didn't do anything, but that was a dumb thing for us to do, to go away from our camp like that. You know, we never had any problems with the civilians. A lot of them didn't look too happy, but they were all pretty friendly. I think they were all glad to get that darn war over with. They all cooperated."
For brothers Jerry and Ike, World War II was over. They would return home with souvenirs from the war, but most importantly, with each other. Jerry would continue to tinker with radios and electricity, and Ike would continue to engineer different contraptions. During our interview Jerry said of his brother, "He's still building boats - he built this big 99-foot aluminum-hull paddlewheel houseboat. He's on that right now, out on the Mississippi."
- Dan Wegmueller is a columnist for The Monroe Times. He can be reached at dwegs@tds.net.
