If you had the chance to talk to a WWII vet......

[eddie]

I talk to a WWII vet everyday, I look after my father who is 90 years old now. He was in the 4th Marine Division, and while he was fighting on Tinian, they had dug in for the night. (He carried a Browning Automatic Rifle) To protect themselves from Japanese infiltrators at night, they strung up wire out in front of their foxholes. They attached cans from their C-Rations to the wire and put some pebbles in them so they would make noise if they were moved.

Well, later that night someone walked into the trip wires and made a bunch of racket out there, they called out for a password incase it was a Marine night patrol returning to their lines, but got no answer. So everyone along the line opened fire. A short time later they were ordered to stop firing, and after they did, they heard nothing, no noise from out front. Of course they didn't sleep the rest of the night. But when the sun finally came up so they could see what was out there, come to find out they had shot the crap out of a water buffalo who walked into the wrong place at the wrong time!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by eddie

I talk to a WWII vet everyday, I look after my father who is 90 years old now. He was in the 4th Marine Division, and while he was fighting on Tinian, they had dug in for the night. (He carried a Browning Automatic Rifle) To protect themselves from Japanese infiltrators at night, they strung up wire out in front of their foxholes. They attached cans from their C-Rations to the wire and put some pebbles in them so they would make noise if they were moved.

Well, later that night someone walked into the trip wires and made a bunch of racket out there, they called out for a password incase it was a Marine night patrol returning to their lines, but got no answer. So everyone along the line opened fire. A short time later they were ordered to stop firing, and after they did, they heard nothing, no noise from out front. Of course they didn't sleep the rest of the night. But when the sun finally came up so they could see what was out there, come to find out they had shot the crap out of a water buffalo who walked into the wrong place at the wrong time!

Better safe than sorry

[eddie]

Got that right,lol

[eddie]

He told me besides being worried at night about an infiltrator getting into your foxhole and slitting your throat, were the snipers who would be in trees. He said the jungle was so thick at times, that a sniper would kill someone in his platoon and they had no idea where the shot came from. Sometimes another Marine would lose their life or be wounded before they could tell where the shot came from. Then they would literally shred the tree with gun fire to make sure they got him. Sometimes a body would fall from the tree, or they would eventually find the body slumped over still tied to the tree trunk. They were going to stay in that tree killing as many GI's as they could before they were killed.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by CCIP

Here's a story + a whole pile of pics from a great encounter I had a couple of years ago

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=181795

One of the finer photo displays I've seen of the ol' boat actually THANKS FOR RE-UPPIN THAT!

[Cybermat47]

My Pa served on HMAS Norman in WWII. Most of the time he was in the Indian Ocean. Didn't see much action, apart from a Japanese air attack and some submarine scares.