FORT ORD 1 JAN ‘44 - 9 MAR ‘44
As he yelled those instructions, still prob- ing, he continued, “The idea is to probe the land with your bayonet...” BOOM! The mine detonated and he was killed instantly right before our eyes. We were all shaken. I found out later his wife had traveled to the camp on that same day. DESTINATION CLASSIFIED March 9th ‘44 we reported to Camp Stoneman, an Army staging camp located in San Francis- co. Upon arrival, we were locked down for two weeks. Before long, we found ourselves on board the S.S. Hawaiian Shipper, a converted freighter, destination - classified. Mar. 22nd ‘44, we slipped under the Gold- en Gate Bridge for points unknown. There was no convoy, just a lone fast ship. Guessing by her name, we all thought we were bound for Hawaii. Staring at the open sea, we couldn’t help but to think about enemy submarines. We kept our eyes peeled collectively. In Feb. ‘42, a Jap submarine attacked the mainland of California, blowing up an oil refinery in Santa Barbara. This was kept secret until after the war. Even though we didn’t know about this incident at the time, we knew danger was lurking. A certain amount of apprehension goes with the knowledge that we were head- ing toward a war zone, but you get used to it. As anxious as we were, we saw nothing threatening during our four weeks at sea. What we did see, I’ll never forget. At night, in total blackness, with our lights turned off for safety, I laid on the top deck of the ship with a lifejacket as my pillow and was awed by the breathtaking sight of the countless stars above. During the day we would often watch flying fish skim the warm waters or porpoise follow us for hours, skipping in our wake. I met a fellow who became my best friend. His name was Horowitz. No one had first names in the army. Standing by the rail together on that ship, we were in high spirits. As we cruised along he taught me a song:
Jan ‘44, we relocated to Fort Ord, about fifty miles inland between Monterey, Carmel, and Salinas,. I was assigned to Platoon 2. As we were bused through the area, I noticed beau- tiful towns. Fort Ord was enormous. It consisted of hundreds of sturdy white buildings placed on immaculate grounds. Our job was to keep it that way! You could see the mountains to the east. Frequently, we marched toward them carrying our full backpacks, sometimes sleep- ing there uncomfortably on the ground. I sent a letter home with my A.P.O. Address; this was the key to sending mail to me. By using the A.P.O., any letters sent to me would be routed to my location. Locations of soldiers are classified during war times. Training, training, training, we were beginning to become automatic just the way the Army liked it, ‘Stop the Bleeding, Treat for Shock, Prevent Infection, Move, Triage.’ Entire days were spent in forced marches with heavy field packs planted on our backs. One day near the end of one of those marches, dying of thirst, I got a meal I’ll never forget. Some kids started throwing tomatoes to the troops as we marched past. I reached up and caught one handily, sunk my teeth into it and absolutely thought I was in heaven! Nothing I had ever eaten has tasted so good. That’s how thirsty I was. Training in the cold mountains was brutal. Sleeping in the rain, we toughed it out. Months went by, training every day. One thing is for certain: we were well-conditioned. During one unforgettable exercise, we were marched out to an area where landmin- es had been planted. Once assembled a safe distance away our Captain started to shout how to disarm them. I can still hear his boom- ing voice, “When a hard object is detected, first the ground around it needs to be careful- ly removed to expose the mine. Be very care- ful while doing this. Often mines planted to destroy vehicles are attached to anti-personnel mines just a few feet away.”
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