Ernest L. Secrest

“ Our main job was what we had been trained for - handling cargo from ship to shore, shore to ship and ship to ship. As there were not any loading docks on the island large enough for ships to dock by, nor that had an area on land for storage nearby, all cargo had to be moved by barge from one place to another.
Everything the troops used on the island from toothpicks to 32-ton Sherman Tanks had to be brought in, as well as supplies for the fighting ships. These ships wanted a supply base as near as possible to the front line or where their action was to eliminate travel time for supplies. ”

“ I began to wonder if I really did have a train. About an hour later the third section pulled in — this was it! But it was not the limited special that my ticket had led me to believe. No doubt these obsolete day coaches had been retired at least twenty years or longer before the war.
We finally settled down for a long ride home with about six more people than seats in each car. With half a dozen people standing around, you can bet your life you would lose your seat when it became necessary to go eat or use the rest room. ”

“ We landed on Puruata, a very small island in the bay which was about one half mile in diameter and one half mile offshore, as the water was too shallow for the LCI to go into Torokina Beach which was located on the main island of Bougainville.
While the ships were being unloaded all guns were manned as a precautionary measure. I was assigned to a 50 caliber machine gun on the bow, that I had target practice on the first day out. About the time we sat down to eat breakfast the PA system blared out, "A plane has been picked up on radar; all gunners man your guns on the double." ”

“ It was very hot below deck, particularly in the day time, and a half way decent seat on deck of the ship was always at a premium. One day "Utah" Johnson and I had good ones in the shade, so George Miller walks up in a hurry and said, "Johnson, you are wanted at the OD's Office" (Officer of the Day) . Away he went, but he was back shortly and calling Miller names I can't print here. Of course, Miller wanted his seat.
After ten days at sea, as we were about to cross the Equator, the honorable "King Neptune" came aboard. He is King of the ship while there and no one dares cross his path. ”

“ When I told my company commander (a second lieutenant) what I had done to have the doctors perform the physicals, immediately he became nervous and shaky at the very thought of an enlisted man going to the Captain of the base to solve his problem. ”

“ He and his natives were moved to Fassarai, a near-by island, as we needed this group of islands, along with the well protected harbor for a Naval Supply Base. The Chief, paralyzed from his waist down, was carried around in a wheelbarrow by the natives.
These islands and the coral reef connecting them formed a circle of about 15 miles in diameter. There were only two places deep enough for ship passage into the harbor. Those were kept closed by nets (under water) when not being used. At low tide one could almost walk from one island to another. ”

“ Some of these protruding rocks in the water reminded me of huge cypress knees, that could wreck a ship if it did hit one. Oahu Island had the same type of huge boulders sticking out of the water on the southern side. ”

“ With the use of these Ducks we were able to save time since we did not have to transfer the cargo onto a truck at the beach. Still it was difficult to load these ducks by the ship, as the water there was never very calm. They were about the size of a heavy truck and almost impossible to set the load down in the cargo area, as they were continually bobbing up and down and sideways like a cork. On one occasion we had a load come down on one side of the duck as it was coming up caused the vehicle to turn over and sink. ”

“ In starting back across the road I was halted by a marine guard who asked: "Where are you going?" I told him. He said, "You are not going to cross that road, you may start across but I am going to shoot you." ”

“ They were continuously chattering and flying around carefree in the trees as any wild birds would.
We were there for about two weeks without much to do; so this gave us a chance to look around at all the wrecked planes around Henderson Field and the burned out ships on the beach. We visited a native village and, also, "Bloody Knoll", which overlooked Henderson Field. This knoll was a network of fox-holes, that had exchanged hands several times a day when the Japanese were trying to retake this airfield. Whichever side controlled Bloody Knoll controlled the airfield. ”

“ It is inconceivable how much work is involved in unloading an average size Cargo Ship, for it is capable of carrying about 7000 tons (depending on the type of cargo) in her 5 Holes or Hatches - two of which are forward of the Bridge and the other three aft. When necessary we could assign around the clock a crew (18 or 20 men) to each hole to move a lot of cargo. ”

“ One of the booms is rigged to hold the cable approximately over the center of the ship's Hatch and the other one is set to hang out over the side over the barge. The winch operator who sits in the center of the ship by the controls right near the ship's hatch, cannot see the load once he lets it over the outside of the ship, where the average deck is 30 or 40 feet above the water. ”

“ Both Guadalcanal and Bougainville are very mountainous, the latter had two active volcanoes. One of those, Mt. Bogona, over a mile high, was only about ten miles from our camp. It steamed and smoked continually; a number of times at night we were awakened by its rumbling and shaking the ground. ”

“ The majority of us not having crossed the Equator before were known as Polliwogs. As Polliwogs we had to go through the initiation ceremony performed by the more experienced voyagers, known as Shellbacks, that had been through this initiation before. ”

“ The Huns call him a seadog - but he's really a Seabee.
He came to sea with one idea - to work at a trade he knew.
A rating he got to fit the trade, but the training was something new.
He trained down at Camp Peary, the land that God forgot,
Where the mud is 14 inches deep, and the rain just doesn't stop.
Where it's cold as ice one day and mighty warm the next
Where he hears about the Civil War and learns the fight was fixed.
Where he stands in line most everyday from early morn 'til night
Where he learns to march - throw hand grenades and ends full of fight. ”

“ They had electric trolley buses (like street cars) running between the camp and town. Going to town one day the bus driver pulled over to the curb to pick up a passenger. Another bus behind us decided to go on past, forgetting that his overhead trolley pole was on the same line as ours, causing the fire to fly from the trolley line, and from our bus driver, also. He called the other bus driver names I had never heard of before. ”

“ If I happen to be at anchor in the harbor at meal time one of the men from camp would come out to take me ashore. One evening during a bad thunderstorm my ride who was using a small boat came half way out into the bay - became frightened and returned to camp. ”

“ During this time I was with the Special U.S.N. Seabee Construction Battalion. I served time in the Fijis, Guadalcanal, Bougainville and the Ulithi in the Western Carolines. Part of the time we were attached to the famous 3RD Marine Division in the Pacific. ”

“ Spending a few days at home in Virginia, and taking my 1941 Dodge out of storage, I headed back to Tampa and returned to work at Continental Can on 11-20-45.
I was glad to be back at work, but I felt that I didn't fit in at the plant as well as I did when I had left. So many changes had taken place, mostly in personnel. ”

“ They had a big airbase 300 miles west of us on Rabaul, plus a huge naval base 900 miles north of us at Truk Lagoon.
Our real danger was from flak or shrapnel falling from the exploding 90 millimeter shells being thrown at the planes. To protect ourselves we built bunk-size shelves over our bunks and stored our sea bags, duffle bags and all our gear there to protect us in case we were not able to make it to the foxhole in time. ”

“ In most places the undergrowth was so dense it never dried out and the humidity stayed close to 100 percent. It would rain for a few minutes, then the clouds would move on and the sun would bear down causing the steam to actually rise from the jungles. ”

“ II. CALIFORNIA BOUND
On 4-5-43 our battalion boarded two trains for the west coast. After a five-day ride in a day coach and hardly enough to eat, we arrived at Port Hueneme, California, 50 miles north of Los Angeles, the naval embarkation point. They used two trains because of fear of sabotage, and, in addition, we were routed differently, as we traveled across the states. At chow time they would stop and connect onto two diner cars (all of which was planned ahead) . Being afraid of someone deserting, we were not allowed off of the train for any exercise. ”

“ There was no place to go and nothing to do there, so life became rather monotonous. I kept myself busy by carving out a checkerboard with my pocket knife and making a footlocker, both of which I brought home. ”

“ While standing there talking and surveying out into enemy territory, we turned around and to our surprise we were looking directly into the muzzle of a 105 gun, camouflaged in the edge of the bushes.
The 90MM ammunition is a high power shell and is used principally against enemy aircrafts. The 105MM is a standard shell and is used in surface combact. ”

“ Prisoners were a very valuable source to learn information from about their strategy, but it was extremely difficult to capture them, as the majority would fight until death or commit harikari before being taken prisoner. There was a bounty at one time of a hundred dollars on each one brought in alive. The Fijian soldiers were great Scouts, as they had a way of sneaking up and taking them alive. ”

“ After approximately 8 or 10 days they would head out to sea again to blast anything and everything that belonged to the enemy. While out on these missions the men were constantly on alert and badly needed the rest. ”

“ It had a load capacity of 125 tons which we could load up to 650 four hundred pound oil drums, or four 32-ton tanks and take this load onto just about any sandy beach area. It was necessary to go in at a speed of about 5 knots to position the barge far enough onto the beach that a truck could go in or out after lowering the ramp. ”

“ We set this load down on the steel deck of the barge; the men there would disconnect the slings from one side of the cradle and have the winch operator raise the cradle spilling the shells rather than removing them by hand one by one. ”