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RM: One time colonel order me to go a certain place there, and, well, this happened to be a machine gun nest, his name is George Rose, he passed away now. He got a machine gun nest, and so I went to go in there. And all of a sudden a machine gun opened up, a Japanese machine gun. But didn't hit me. And the reason was we had it displayed at the army reunion, but nanbu submachine gun there, the Japanese had 25 caliber machine gun sitting, bipod. So this machine gun, just pulled trigger, just jumped up and down, because bipod, two legs. But I was laying sideways, then the bullet hitting one side. But our machine gun, pull the trigger, it goes sideways. So if I were laying there, it would be sideways, I'd be stitch. It's a good thing the enemy one was just up and down. So that saved, so somebody up there helping me, because that was lucky. I just remembered. Then, well, Major Healy, Dick Healy, was the blue combat team, that's where I belonged. And McLogan was green combat team. But while going to green combat team, he saw me, so I was going, and bravery, Major Healy recommended me for Silver Star. But I understand [inaudible] turned down and get a Bronze Star. So downgraded. The reason that people told me... now I can say because he is passed away, I don't want to embarrass him, but he doesn't want anybody to get higher medal than he does. But anyway, I went to machine gun place, George Rose had it, and two man there. Then as soon as I got there, the enemy spotted me walking there, so they, just got there, black thing coming up there. So I thought, oh, hand grenade. Then if it landed there, I have no, could be short fuse. It blow up, so three got killed or wounded, no time to pick 'em, throw up. But fortunately, there's a two-inch size of a tree there, hit there, and bounced back. They're down there, so naturally it goes down there and hit the tree. Then all of a sudden we heard a moan in there, they got wounded or got killed, instead of three of us getting wounded and killed. That lucky, that's remember.

And one other thing how lucky it was, we had a Mexican boy named Leo Espinoza, and I'm going with him because sometime before I called him "wetback," and other people did, too, but that's a derogatory term for a Mexican, illegal immigrant, "wetback." He was Mexican and he said, he told me he sneak into United States. But the wartime, government, even though he's an immigrant, but draft him. But since he doesn't speak English, so, but anyway, made him, can't do anything, so made him company barber. So his name is Leo Espinoza, I call him Leo, and he told me, he cut my hair, and so became friends. Since he didn't know anything about it, I'm going to teach him English. So I go, start off and say, "You know how to count one, two, three?" He could talk, one, two, three, four, five, or, you see, A, B, C, he could say. But he cannot write. So I'm going to teach him, so I said, "One, O-N-E, and two, T-W-O, and three, T-H-R-E-E." And he remembered that. In the meantime, I'm going to share with him, he says, "I'm of Mexican Indian descent." Indian. "So I could see nighttime well." I'm night blind, couldn't see anything, so we're going to hit the, walking around in the dark, hit the stump or something like that, he says, "Watch it, this way." So fortunately, whenever they drop the supplies, I kept the parachute cord. I didn't take the parachute apart, but I just kept the parachute cord there, many of them. So I make a rope, tied it, and let him pull me around, and say, "Watch it, there's stump there." So actually, he sees better than me, anyway. So I said, "Well, in return, I'm gonna do him a favor. So, "Stay with me." So only thing he did was made him company runner, message runner. He carried a message, 'cause he cannot express himself well. So then also, spare time, he's company barber, cut everybody's hair. He had clippers and scissors. But anyway, in the jungle it's rain, nighttime, if you're sleeping, you sleep on the ground, so get wet. So we have a poncho. So if you put it on the top, your back get wet. If you put 'em in the bottom, you get, top be wet. So we decided, "I'm gonna use your poncho as a seat there," then the other poncho got to be tents. So we kept dry, both of 'em. So we're doing all right.

So one day, knee mortar, that's not actually knee mortar. There's a grenade launcher, we call it knee mortar, but a round exploded, and his rear end got wounded. So we're kidding about it, "Your ass got shot off." But actually, just a little wound there, and got a Purple Heart. But me... same place. Here coming around, and a pop, and so then a black scene, and it's slow because grenade launcher. And right in front of me, "Oh," I said, "I got it." Then all of a sudden, fizzle, nothing happened, it's a dud. How many round could be dud out of a hundred? Maybe one or two. So that was lucky but I don't want to kick that, it might explode. So what I did is I dug the trench, then put the parachute cord, wrap around, went behind the tree, then rode, put it there, and it didn't explode. I don't want to kick, nighttime. We can go anywhere, so if you walk there, if you kick 'em, might explode. So then I put the dirt down so that you wouldn't kick. And that lucky I was, that's what I remember. And actual remember is later on came a place called Myitkyina airfield, we captured that. Then I was in [inaudible], then they found out we were occupying the place, so sniper shooting at us. And I see that popping noise, and I didn't see the enemy, but popping noise. Then I was in the bush, see it, so I know the sand kick up, so they are shooting. So I said, next it's going to be this, because doing each bushes because they think we are hiding in the bush. Then I was there, and going to be next to mine, so I put it the other way. And the bush, just move into it. Then Sergeant Fleer, he was a platoon sergeant there, and he's a runner, move in when I was there. Sure enough, they shot at him, then it went through his arm, and went through other guy's arm, and the two got hurt, didn't get killed. But if it was face or head, they'd be dead. But he got wounded, two sergeant and runner. That's what I remember, how lucky I was. Then one bullet get two, could have been killed. If I was there, I may have got killed. That's what I realized. So I just put luck.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.