<Begin Segment 61>

TI: So while you were doing your jungle training, at about this time, General Merrill, this was the first time he actually met the unit. And I think at this point your unit was designated 5307, sort of, Composite --

RM: Unit.

TI: Unit, Provisional.

RM: Provisional.

TI: And, do you recall meeting or seeing General Merrill at this point?

RM: No. See, we're training, he didn't come to the camp. Later on he came to, in Burma.

TI: But at this point, was it clear as you were getting your jungle training, what the mission was going to be for your unit?

RM: Well, went down there, then we thought, since they're gonna get the jungle training, then the British one, the unit were there, were veterans from Burma and they were more or less, they been chased out, General Wingate and, British general. And they were gonna use their tactics. But then General Stillwell, he said they gonna do it his way. So we're supposed to be under British command, but then Stillwell just took away from... he hate British, he didn't like the British anyway, so...

TI: And so when you said he wanted to do it his way, how would his tactics --

RM: Under his command.

TI: Okay, but his tactics would probably be similar to what the British were using?

RM: So, similar, but not the same, see, they're gonna do American way because we had Colonel Hunter, came from South Pacific and had training, and they had the jungle fighting. So they do it our own way.

TI: Yeah, my understanding of what one of the missions of the unit was, was one of the allies during World War II fighting the Japanese were the Chinese. And it was difficult to supply the Chinese troops with supplies. One way was to do, sort of, flights over the Himalayas, over the hump to supply them but that was a very difficult trip for airplanes. And so they were trying to establish a land route through Burma from India to China to help supply the routes, but that the Japanese --

RM: Well, Chinese are fighting with, see, General Stillwell had two divisions with Chinese fighting in Burma. But our mission was to open the route to help the Nationalist Army in China fighting Japanese there. So in order to do that we have to make a route to join the Burma Road and that has been occupied by Japanese when the British were chased out of there. So we lost a route to ship equipment and material and rations, so forth. They used to use a truck and hauling but now it was completely taken over by Japanese so now American have to fly by air over the Himalaya, so they call, "over the hump." So it's a cost too much, it couldn't carry too much and so they have to open the roads. In order to do that, we have to chase the Japanese out of there. It's our mission to --

TI: Well, and the other thing, when you, to chase the Japanese, your unit wasn't a really large unit.

RM: No.

TI: It wasn't like you were going to do sort of a face-to-face battle. Your unit was much smaller than what you would expect to meet in Burma. So, so your strategies had to probably be different also in terms of what you would, how you would do this.

RM: Well, the, as far as the fighting goes, the Chinese, two divisions were pushing the Japanese. So what we do is we go through the jungle and behind the enemy line, between, we hit the back of the Japanese fighting Chinese, and hit and then run and then go behind the Japanese frontal attack was the Chinese are doing. And so we are disrupt the communications and...

TI: Exactly. So one of the missions was to really, as part of this large integrated sort of effort, your unit's mission was to really go and make cases behind enemy lines, disrupt communications, supplies...

RM: Yes.

TI: ...to make it really hard for the Japanese so that the Chinese, the two Chinese divisions could make the more frontal attack --

RM: Right.

TI: -- with the weakened Japanese force. And so your mission was to really be in the jungle for months doing this behind-the-scenes, or behind-the-lines activity.

AI: I had a question. When you first found out exactly what your mission was going to be, what was your reaction? What went through your mind?

RM: Well, we have no idea whatsoever. But then went to -- and actually this place, the training place wasn't the jungle, just high plateau and British were, British training camp. Then since we're gonna say they're gonna be a jungle penetration training, we know we gonna go nearby and the enemy were in Burma so we presumed that... exactly they didn't say where we're goin' but we presumed that since close to the place next to India is Burma and that's where enemy is and General Stillwell's intention is that need help, the Chinese group. In order to do that, go behind the Japanese and disrupt the communications so we know we're going to Burma in the jungle.

<End Segment 61> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.