Densho Digital Archive - Roy Matsumoto Interview (denshovh-mroy

<Begin Segment 8>

JD: Tell us about what you did at Walawbum.

RM: Yeah, that's why I'm going to. See, so we went there, then we were told to make a roadblock there. What happened is as soon as we got out, end of the jungle, there's open place. And there was a road, used to be a trail. But anyway, we set up a roadblock there so that the Japanese wouldn't go through there. And I happened to look up in the tree, there's a wire there. And we just got there, so it couldn't be ours. Of course, we had wire for our observation for our spotter. But anyway, fortunately, we had a heavy weapon platoon, and we had, our wire section happened to have a handset, and Phil Piazza was the platoon leader. So I borrowed his handset to climb up a tree and tap in to the live wire, hot wire. It happened to be enemy, so I tap in and started listening and got some information.

JD: What did you hear?

RM: Pardon?

JD: What did you hear?

RM: Well, the important one was... well, first they're talking about how they're doing and things like that, but all of a sudden, some sergeant came out excited that enemy are around there, and he was guarding the ammunition dump. They don't know what to do, see, they're gonna send a replacement or what, then listened in, and the headquarter asked him which one, mentioned which ammunition depot, place they kept the ammo, says, "Thousand meters," they say, "Sen metoru," "metoru" means "meters," from the river crossing, bridge. So happened that we issued a British map, but they also had a same map captured from a British army before, so we be using the same map. So very easy to, it was [inaudible] thousand meters and see exactly where in the jungle headed. Other part is open, so when we have supply route, mission, escort plane, B-51 came and dropped the bomb and destroyed that. That's one of the information I got. But anyway, listening, then had divisional troop move, and order came from headquarters, 18th Division, tell them what to do and where to do. And so I recorded on the report pad, dropped it, and the sergeant might qualify as a radio operator, so he encoded, then sent it to General Stillwell and General Merrill, and they acted upon my intelligence. So I was able to contribute a little.

Off camera: So were you sitting up in a tree?

RM: Up in a tree.

[Interruption]

RM: Well, see, we had four men, and take turn. I want to take a leak, so you know, I mean, well, they call it piss. But anyway, so I come down and the other guy go up there, and nothing come down because some had no intelligence, they just talk about the private things. And same thing, they talk in the foxhole, same thing, telephone line. Of course, not too many nonsense, but nothing goes on. And sometime, there's private things he understand, so drop them, but no use. But when I... so they told me, I go back again. Now, I cannot go, so I go down, I got to wet my pants and still stay on the tree. And enemy spotted, and we're just observing, they didn't know. And sharpshooter, and ping, hit the tree, so I got to go to the other side. Fortunately, bullet never hit me, or either they're poor marksmanship, I don't know. But anyhow, I was lucky. Then later on, that's when I found out the enemy gonna come toward us. They know we made roadblock. So since we'd been there thirty-six hours, and we spent our ammunition, so we cannot stand the new troop coming. So we got an order to move to a place called Wesu Ga, and so that we got out of there. Those are the things that contributed. So what happened was General Stillwell awarded me with the Legion of Merit. But I think other boys are all envy because I was the only one awarded at the time. But anyway, we were able to get out of there.