I spent almost 3 months there in training, going through several schools for equipment repair training. Weekends were great on Waikiki beach, sunning and snorkeling in the warm water. The fish were like the tiny ones people have in aquariums, only they were much bigger.
The last school I attended was called escape, evasion and survival. All pilots and aircrews had to go through that before taking to the air. We were taken to a desolate beach on the north end of Oahu. The first 3 days were classes on what to do if the plane went down in hostile territory, how to evade an enemy, how to build shelters and what to eat or not eat. Some things I remember were anything a monkey can eat, so can we. Another thing was insects are high in needed protein if a man's stomach could take it. Another was mushrooms and they should avoided because so many are poisonous and they had very little nutritional value. After classes, we were on our own. The only tools we had were a knife and some parachute chord that we had to use to get our food. We did catch a few toads and some few fish and some sea weed. I could not handle the sea weed and the few toads were skinned and cooked on a stick over an open fire. The 3 days of little food left a lot of empty bellies.
The next 2 days were spent in the mountains. It was beautiful up there. We got lucky there because the mountains were full of guava trees. Everyone filled up on ripe guava and everyone ended up with diarrhea from the overload of fresh fruit. We were each given an old parachute to use for an individual shelter. On day 5 we were told that on day 6 we would be paired up and sent to navigate to a rally point for the last 2 days of surviving in a prison camp. The night before that 6th day it rained all night long and sleeping in the rain was miserable. What we were not told was in the middle of that night our enemy soldiers (played well by U.S. marines) rushed the campsite to capture whomever they could and truck them away to the prison camp early. Several of the group were caught and had I been able to sleep I probably would have been caught too. As soon as I heard the ruckus, I left my shelter and hid in the woods.
Day 6 we got up and were given directions to the rally point and were told the enemy would be searching for us and it was our job to evade them and get to the rally point. I was paired with a marine who just happened to be a Navajo. He led me through the gauntlet to the rally point. His plan was to crawl on our bellies through the worst terrain available. We crawled through thickets were a rabbit would have a rough time traversing. We popped up within 10 yards of the rally point and the enemy was surprised at how close we were to them. They still shoved us into the trucks where everyone else in our group was. Going down from the mountains to the flat where the prison camp was, there was a marine captain who was going through the school with us. Those marine privates and corporals delighted having open season on an officer. It was part of the school training and by focusing on him, we poor enlisted were left alone.
Once we arrived at the prison camp we were dumped onto a flat barren piece of land with guard towers and barbed wire surrounding the camp. After the diarrhea in the mountains, everybody had empty stomachs again and it didn't get any better trekking to the rally point. We were all hungry again. During that day and into the evening we were interrogated and then put into a small wooden box. They were lined up against a wall. They were so small that me at 138 pounds had my knees pressed up against my chest. We would be cramped in there for what seemed like hours with the lid latched down. Every 20 minutes or so a guard would come by and kick the boxes and we were required to shout out our prisoner number. After that we were pulled out and taken for another interrogation. My legs were so cramped I could not stand. I was dragged into interrogation again and that time I was placed on the concrete floor on my knees. They then put a broom handle behind my knees and forced me backwards to a laying position as I assume everyone else was. It is difficult to describe the pain that was caused. If you doubt it, try it at home and experience what it feels like. Late evening the guards came around with some water and nothing but onions to eat. I had never liked onions, but after boiling those onions into a soup for an hour or so they made the best soup I ever had and I have loved onions ever since. The commandant of the prison came around after dark and told us everyone had to take a shower and give the guard our prisoner number so they could ensure we were bathed. I felt sure something would happen in the middle of that. I didn't know what it would be, but I thought somebody was going to be naked and wet when it happened. I held back, waiting until I was the last one to shower. Nothing had happened so far, so I thought I was going to be in the clear. I gave my number to the guard and stepped into the shower. It being late November the nights were maybe 60 degrees. I stripped down stepped into the shower and was flooded with icy-cold water. Standing there, soaking wet, the air-raid warning siren went off and guards herded everyone into underground shelters with dirt floors. In I went still naked, soaking wet and the last one in. The dust cloud from the dry earth covered and stuck to me and I still had my clothes in my hand. The all clear was sounded and we left the shelter and were herded into a building with nothing but a concrete floor. We were handed manuals of communist doctrine and told we were to spend the night studying the manuals. Anyone caught sleeping would be punished.
On the 7th morning the commandant walked in and berated us. He said we were so pitiful that he would no longer feed us. And then came a surprise. After he said they would no linger feed us, he said your next meal will be at naval air station Barber's point and we were done. One thing I learned in the school was I never wanted to be in a real prison camp in the Pacific area.
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2019 and beyond.
The last school I attended was called escape, evasion and survival. All pilots and aircrews had to go through that before taking to the air. We were taken to a desolate beach on the north end of Oahu. The first 3 days were classes on what to do if the plane went down in hostile territory, how to evade an enemy, how to build shelters and what to eat or not eat. Some things I remember were anything a monkey can eat, so can we. Another thing was insects are high in needed protein if a man's stomach could take it. Another was mushrooms and they should avoided because so many are poisonous and they had very little nutritional value. After classes, we were on our own. The only tools we had were a knife and some parachute chord that we had to use to get our food. We did catch a few toads and some few fish and some sea weed. I could not handle the sea weed and the few toads were skinned and cooked on a stick over an open fire. The 3 days of little food left a lot of empty bellies.
The next 2 days were spent in the mountains. It was beautiful up there. We got lucky there because the mountains were full of guava trees. Everyone filled up on ripe guava and everyone ended up with diarrhea from the overload of fresh fruit. We were each given an old parachute to use for an individual shelter. On day 5 we were told that on day 6 we would be paired up and sent to navigate to a rally point for the last 2 days of surviving in a prison camp. The night before that 6th day it rained all night long and sleeping in the rain was miserable. What we were not told was in the middle of that night our enemy soldiers (played well by U.S. marines) rushed the campsite to capture whomever they could and truck them away to the prison camp early. Several of the group were caught and had I been able to sleep I probably would have been caught too. As soon as I heard the ruckus, I left my shelter and hid in the woods.
Day 6 we got up and were given directions to the rally point and were told the enemy would be searching for us and it was our job to evade them and get to the rally point. I was paired with a marine who just happened to be a Navajo. He led me through the gauntlet to the rally point. His plan was to crawl on our bellies through the worst terrain available. We crawled through thickets were a rabbit would have a rough time traversing. We popped up within 10 yards of the rally point and the enemy was surprised at how close we were to them. They still shoved us into the trucks where everyone else in our group was. Going down from the mountains to the flat where the prison camp was, there was a marine captain who was going through the school with us. Those marine privates and corporals delighted having open season on an officer. It was part of the school training and by focusing on him, we poor enlisted were left alone.
Once we arrived at the prison camp we were dumped onto a flat barren piece of land with guard towers and barbed wire surrounding the camp. After the diarrhea in the mountains, everybody had empty stomachs again and it didn't get any better trekking to the rally point. We were all hungry again. During that day and into the evening we were interrogated and then put into a small wooden box. They were lined up against a wall. They were so small that me at 138 pounds had my knees pressed up against my chest. We would be cramped in there for what seemed like hours with the lid latched down. Every 20 minutes or so a guard would come by and kick the boxes and we were required to shout out our prisoner number. After that we were pulled out and taken for another interrogation. My legs were so cramped I could not stand. I was dragged into interrogation again and that time I was placed on the concrete floor on my knees. They then put a broom handle behind my knees and forced me backwards to a laying position as I assume everyone else was. It is difficult to describe the pain that was caused. If you doubt it, try it at home and experience what it feels like. Late evening the guards came around with some water and nothing but onions to eat. I had never liked onions, but after boiling those onions into a soup for an hour or so they made the best soup I ever had and I have loved onions ever since. The commandant of the prison came around after dark and told us everyone had to take a shower and give the guard our prisoner number so they could ensure we were bathed. I felt sure something would happen in the middle of that. I didn't know what it would be, but I thought somebody was going to be naked and wet when it happened. I held back, waiting until I was the last one to shower. Nothing had happened so far, so I thought I was going to be in the clear. I gave my number to the guard and stepped into the shower. It being late November the nights were maybe 60 degrees. I stripped down stepped into the shower and was flooded with icy-cold water. Standing there, soaking wet, the air-raid warning siren went off and guards herded everyone into underground shelters with dirt floors. In I went still naked, soaking wet and the last one in. The dust cloud from the dry earth covered and stuck to me and I still had my clothes in my hand. The all clear was sounded and we left the shelter and were herded into a building with nothing but a concrete floor. We were handed manuals of communist doctrine and told we were to spend the night studying the manuals. Anyone caught sleeping would be punished.
On the 7th morning the commandant walked in and berated us. He said we were so pitiful that he would no longer feed us. And then came a surprise. After he said they would no linger feed us, he said your next meal will be at naval air station Barber's point and we were done. One thing I learned in the school was I never wanted to be in a real prison camp in the Pacific area.
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2019 and beyond.
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