An evening some years ago I was reading letters to my father, old letters my mother had written. His eyes brightened as he recognized her voice in each one. Then as I reached for another from among the tightly packed envelopes, I found this coarse piece of tablet paper wedged between. As I read, his eyes riveted on the long lost remembrance, and as mine questioned, latent thoughts and memories forbidden the light of day for almost 70 years, came gushing forth in a torrent.
That late September 1942 evening, Company M, 128th Infantry, 32D was ordered to gather their few archaic munitions, strip, and toss their fatigues, if they could be called that, into vats of green dye. As they jettisoned everything else, my father found a scrap of paper and quickly scribbled one last letter, dripping dye on it as the shirt on his back continued to dry. Later as they were waiting in line and planes were revving in the predawn mist, a guy in his company broke the silence: “Sweet Tooth," tell us something’ funny.” “This is not funny," my father, sternly reproved. Those last words must have echoed in every mind as they went into the night.
An Australian sentry guards an American Boeing B-17 in the early morning as soldiers of the 128TH Infantry, 32D Division, in the distance load munitions and supplies into planes bound for Port Moresby at Amberly Field, Ipswich, Australia, on 18 September, 1942.3
Later that morning as they approached the emerald coast the pilot frantically ordered everyone to crowd close to the cockpit to prevent the small but heavily loaded plane from stalling as they ascended into the cloud enshrouded Seven Mile Field, an improvised air field seven miles inland from Port Moresby. They survived the cratered airstrip landing, but that was little consolation. Japanese ground forces were within 32 miles of the port and were encroaching further.
Every morning and evening "the rising sun" insignia emblazoned Zeros throttled out of the blinding sun strafing and bombing the airfield, and then retreated into the sun. And every night, Japanese bombers rained their lethal cargo, over the airfield. Each new arrival was lucky to be deprived of nothing more than sleep. The Japanese had no intention of allowing an American expeditionary force to establish a foothold in Port Moresby. They required Port Moresby as a base of operation for an invasion of Australia and the subjugation of the remainder of the pacific arena.
After two months of fighting their way through the haunting stagnant malaria infested waters of the impenetrable rain forests of New Guinea, then came the ultimate challenge: Buna!
As the battle for the beachhead at Buna continued against strategically superior entrenched fortifications and well supplied and numerically superior Japanese defenders, it was also waged on a "second" more deadly front. The politically astute publicity seeking General MacArthur demanded: “All columns will be driven through to the objectives regardless of losses,” "Take Buna today at all costs," and to General Eichelberger, the corps commander, "Take Buna or don't come back alive!" MacArthur wanted to exhibit Buna as his trophy on or before the "infamous" December 7th anniversary.
Therefore, the malnourished, diseased, and exhausted Allied remnant was irrationally ordered over and over again for six weeks to attack the impenetrable and virtually invisible Japanese bunkers with essentially nothing more than a hand grenade. They attempted to crawl or wade thru swamp and stream, and interlocking fields of enemy fire to each bunker and jam a grenade into the firing slit, i.e., if anyone was ever able to to get that far....
"MacArthur," what an amazing contrast to the King of the armies of Israel:
“David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD. And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it.” (2 Samuel 23:14-17).
Epilog:
Company E, 126th and Company M, 128th were the very first U.S. units to be to be airborne into combat.1As part of the 32D ‘Red Arrow’ Infantry Division, they initiated the Division’s unenviable record of more days in combat than any other U.S. division during World War II.1 During the Papuan Campaign they also had the unenviable distinction of a casualty count that exceeded the division's entire battle strength.1 But in doing so they wrote first chapter in the book of jungle warfare for all who would follow:
“The 32D Division, during this difficult time at Buna, was writing the book for combat against the Japanese in the jungles of the Pacific with their sweat and blood. All of the Pacific battles yet to come were able to benefit from the lessons learned by the 32D Division at Buna, and also the Marines and Army Infantry concurrently fighting at Guadalcanal.”1
3 "Papuan Campaign – Strategic Situation & the Advance to Buna". The 32D Infantry Division in World War II The ‘Red Arrow’.
