<Begin Segment 21>

TI: So when you got, so where did you land when you went across the Pacific?

GH: We landed, we went to Bombay via Australia. We did pick up some soldiers who were trained, or who had actually fought in the South Pacific, and then we landed at Bombay, India.

TI: So this is where you did your, sort of, final training before...

GH: No, from Bombay we went to a place called Deogarh, where we trained.

TI: And how large was the unit at this point?

GH: Three thousand.

TI: Okay, so three thousand of you?

GH: Uh-huh.

TI: Okay. And then after you finished training, then what happened?

GH: After training, we were taken by train and by ship and by foot to a place called Ledo, it's in Assam, India. And from there, Margherita and the staging point. We got our, our ammos, all the necessary gear, and I think it consisted of two blankets. I had four hand grenades, a belt of ammunition, carbine, machete, jungle shoes, shovel, and I had a pouch carrying a dictionary and maps. But when I tried to get up, I couldn't get up.

TI: 'Cause it was so heavy, everything?

GH: So I had to hang onto a tree to pull myself up. So as we start marching, the next stop, I dropped off some ammunition, a blanket, and then the next stop I dropped some more, until I was able to handle. So they had another truck following us picking up all the things we discarded.

TI: Because everyone, everyone else was doing the same thing.

GH: Yeah, same thing.

TI: Because you, you realized that what you, you had, you carried, how long did you think you would be sort of in the jungle? How long did you have to...

GH: We had no idea.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.