Enaineer Memoirs
Finally, they sent us off to Yap on
[landing ships, tanks]. I was then troop quartermaster
for each line company plus two for headquarters
charged to load five
company.
The Yap battle was deferred, so we went into Guam instead. It took us 16 days-turtles swam
It was a long trip. At any rate, we got there.
faster than those
We dropped our front ramp, unloaded all our stuff, went ashore, passed by the 3d Marine
Battalion-which had just fought the Battle of Santa Rosa, Mount Santa Rosa-went into our
area and started to set up our camp. After a week or so, I was sent out by the battalion commander
with a bulldozer, a photographer, and one rifleman to start building North Field-now Anderson
Air Force Base, Guam.
We broke the trail into the construction site, unloaded the tractor, knocked down a few gum trees
and some other stuff, made a few pictures, loaded the tractor back up, and went back to camp. We
didn't return to the airfield for another three weeks or so.
That picture was to show we had started on time. Nevertheless,our mission was to build this
airfield and have it finished in six months by the first of February.
I was responsible for quite a few things. Of course, everybody had clearing. I worked the quarry.
Then I had the job of putting in the electrical work for the runway 1 ighting system.
In mid-December, I came from work about 5:00 A.M. after I'd been up all night, in a disgusted
mood for some reason or another. I remember that Lieutenant Ken West was in the mess and
asked me, "What're you so unhappy about? You're going home today." I said, "Don't kid me,
today's not the day to play games." It turned out I was going home. There was another Morris on
the island who was a battalion commander, but I was the one tapped to rotate.
Q:
That would have been
A:
1944, Christmas, the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. took all the patches off my shirts-those old
Third Air Force patches from MacDill Field. I was sure I wouldn't go again, but I was sent back
Field. Had to sew all the patches back on. I was also sent right back to Dale Mabry,
to
the same place I'd been before. Lived in the same barracks. We were shipped out and went right
back to Guam! That's unbelievable, but that's what happened.
We landed in Guam, and the old battalion was out to meet us. They knew we were coming, and
somehow or other, they knew I was with the new battalion. The second battalion was not very
good. We had some pretty good officers, but many of the soldiers were poor.
Q:
So that was the
A:
Yes, the night before we left Florida there was a riot in Tallahassee, and one local girl raped. I
was troop train commander and had to take two or three of the accused overseas under guard. It
was just a bad deal. As soon as we got to Guam, the prisoners had to go home to be tried.
Also, this battalion was not nearly as proficient as the 1895th. This time they didn't have the
trained people to call on. Attitudes were bad. It was a tough battalion. The war ended shortly after
I got to Guam the second time. I was ordered to the United States Army Strategic Air Force,
USASTAF. That was the forerunner of the Strategic Air Command, and I was a charter member.
I was in USASTAF when it was set up in Guam. Another engineer, Colonel [Bob]
was
out there along with many other engineer friends on the island
[Jim] Betts, [Bill]
Roos.
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