<Begin Segment 27>

TI: Now, so as men were wounded, was there a way for them to get help?

GH: Yes. Initially, they had no plans, but what happened was they did have liaison planes bring in orders and some messages etcetera, and rather than going back empty, they took on the wounded, the sick and wounded. And as a matter of fact, after Nhpum Ga, I did fly out myself.

TI: So how would they land in the jungle? Were there...

GH: Actually, this particular plane landed on a rice paddy, and surrounded by bamboo. And when I arrived they were tying the plane to a tree with the discarded parachute rope. And I was curious, but I was too tired and they lifted me on the plane, and shortly thereafter, there was another patient that was boarded. And then we were told by the pilot that the plane would not take off until sundown, because we were behind enemy lines. And at sundown, they got the motor started and it was purring. But I could see the pilot with the eye focused on the dial, I think it said RPM, and the plane was just jumping up and down. And finally I saw him stick his left hand out and I think the machete went down, and the plane just took off. [Laughs]

TI: [Laughs] Because the runway was so short or something, they had to get enough power going, cut it, and then it would just take off really fast.

GH: Just shoot. And I could say it was a very close call, but when I looked, I could see the bamboo.

TI: Wow.

GH: So we meandered and we finally got to Ledo.

TI: And from there, that's where you would then recuperate a little bit more?

GH: Yes. I, after I recuperated, I did interrogate some POWs.

TI: At, at Ledo?

GH: Yeah. And then flew back into Burma.

TI: So how long were you at Ledo recuperating?

GH: About a month.

TI: And then you rejoined the unit?

GH: Yes.

TI: And so why don't you talk about that, how you rejoined the unit.

GH: Yeah. I flew back in again, and it was very demoralizing because when the... well, to go back to Nhpum Ga, after Nhpum Ga with the, the unit half-size, so to speak, they had to reorganize, they got some Chinese, the Kachins, the natives, and they formed another unit and then they struck the Myitkyina airfield and they took the Japanese by surprise. And I think it was in early May that they captured the airfield.

TI: The Myitkyina airfield was, like, one of the prizes? That was one of the goals of the mission, to capture this.

GH: Because Myitkyina, by capturing the airfield, it served two purposes: it enabled the American planes to land on the way to China, also it deprived the Japanese from harassing the cargo ships. But...

TI: So the Marauders were able to capture this, this airfield.

GH: Yes, uh-huh.

TI: And that's where, that's when you rejoined them?

GH: Yeah. But when the, we captured the airfield, I mean, there... from one estimate, there was less than two hundred people who was (...) fit to fight. If they were forced to fight, maybe for, they could fight for another week or two, that's how bad it was. And most of 'em were casualties to disease, fatigue, malnutrition, and, but when the enemy regrouped and struck back, it became desperate, and it was very demoralizing because people who were ready to be shipped back, their tags were snatched and even those who were recuperating were classified fit to fight and were flown back in. And...

TI: And that's people like you, who were recuperating.

GH: Yeah, yeah.

TI: Because you were, because there were no other soldiers available nearby? So they had to just bring, bring...

GH: That's right. And so it was very demoralizing because we were told that when we captured Myitkyina, we would be replaced by the Chinese and then we would be withdrawn. But there were some unfortunate incidents where the Chinese who were supposed to take over, they fought each other and the plans did not go according to...

TI: So there was infighting amongst the Chinese.

GH: Chinese, yeah. No, by mistake, they fought each other, so they had heavy casualties. So the unit that was supposed to take over were diminished, yeah. And also, the planned supply was delayed, so the battle went on 'til August, the early part of August, and that's when General Mizukami committed hara kiri.

<End Segment 27> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.