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Show Sun Advocate Price, Utah Thursday November 7, 2002 3B ission of mercy and the breakup of the forth Raiders REXGUYMON Guest writer vilians, natives and government employees. I will never forget in about half an hour after we took command, we saw a sailor in whites.' He t V My platoon landed in the first wave on Guam between Agat and Bangi Point We encountered t B , up to our Lieutenant McNeil and saluted him. Seaman so and so reporting for duty, Sir This sailer had managed to hide his uniform all during the occupation. All of the prisoners had stories to tell of atrocities committed against them during the oc- obstacles the first day, is not the story I am about n. to tell. On the second day, our was pulled .out of the line and briefed on making a forced march across the island to Com-pany.- We were told an internment camp was there and to take it as fast as we could, to keep the Japanese from retaliating against the people interned. It was under stood there were about 5000 pris-- y; f . -- : v' v V V ; I'' - - .j- rf. cupation. When we went on this mission of mercy. We didn't take enough chow or cigarettes with us for as long as it took us to do the job. We were there longer than was expected so we ran out of everything. The first things we gave away were our cigarettes and They hadn't had candy for a long time. So even those old Right from the start it was a mission of destiny. We went on forced march dear across the island without encountering any D-bar-s. enemy resistance which was During other operations we had chow dropped to us but with- amazing. When we arrived at Thlafofo Bay we saw many houses and shads. We started going through the houses systematically to find foe Japanese who were guarding this camp. Luck was with us against There were only nine Japanese in charge of it. We found them all in (me house and killed them, without suffering even one casualty. The internees realized at once theywere free. We were immediately mobbed by hundreds of out parachutes. The planes times there was a great deal and the troops suffered many casualties. a south Pacific beach during Sometimes there was little opposition, other American troops landing on .World War II. was sing "Star Spangled Banner," Ma'God Bless America," "1 rine Corps Hymn," etc. There ntadiyieye in the crowd. It was die most inspiring thing that ever happened to me. happy people. It was a good thing we had gotten rid ofthe Japanese all at once, because we couldn't move for thepress of prisoners around us. Their reaction was uplifting. The first thing they did After things calmed down we started to find out about these people. Some were servicemen who had passed themselves off as Guam natives, while others were wives of servicemen, nurses, ci- - Our doctors and corpsmen tended to the ill and wounded people back behind the lines, lb d show again how lucky an tion this was we only had to kill two more Japanese, who were walking up a road at night As I recall, we woe about four days getting back behind the lines with our charges. Some had been wounded during the bombardment. We put those who couldn't walk in carts, which were pulled by their water buffalo. We were quite a procession going back across the opera-walke- on two-wheel- ed island When we got behind our lines, there was more rejoicing and praying for the safe return of these people. I heard later that within a few days ofour return our doctors delivered several babies to some of the women we had brought back. When we got back behind our lines we continued to help take the rest of Guam. I was a member of the 4th would come over and shove cases ' Raiders from the start, and we of out, and there would be a couple of cans that were not landed on Five different islands broken. They also dropped as4th Raiders, 4th Battalion. 1st Provisional Brigade and 6th DiChelsea cigarettes to us. . The people in this camp were vision. In all this time I saw a lot forced to raise food for the Japaof men killed and wounded, but nese. After we liberated them this was one time that must have they broke into the granaries and been watched over by a Higher distributed the grain to the Being, for we got thnxh this mispeople. They even killed a water sion of mercy without any casualtiesat all. buffalo and barbecued it for us. Stories from the theatres Stories from the theatres of war; World War 1 1 of war: The Gulf War v . (Continued from page 1A) and became kn6w as the Deception Force. He explained that their job was to draw the Iraqi units towards them giving the enemy the feeling that the area on the border was where the battle would be fought. In the mean time other units were circling the Iraqi troops. This strategy was used from December to the beginning of the war in Januaiy. While Wilkinsons company was doing deception at- (Continued from page 1A) entire three and a half years in the war as a radio operator and mechanic. From French Morocco his troupe crossed Northern Africa heading east and also served in Southern Europe. Ibwards the very end of the war while his unit was stationed in Po Valley, Italy, Grako remembers over hearing an air force pilot as he listened to his radio. The pilot was about 20 miles from Milan, Italy, and was observing the German soldiers their equipment with jrnllmg "They were out of fuel and out of oil and the pilot said, this war is basically over, says Grako. The Germans were disorganized and disoriented. They neither had the took nor the supplies to fight on any longer. He served in the 425th Army Air Force Base Unit and was awarded a medal asamarksman. The battles and campaigns his unit engaged in included Algeria, Tlinisia, French Morocco, Rome, Italy; Southern France, North Naples, Foggia, Apennines, and Po ley. All toll he was in the service three years and six months but was overseas involved in the World War II efforts for about threeyears. He was awarded medals for good conduct as well as decoration for serving in the European,. African, and Middle Eastern : vice. ' Once he returned to America, Grako thought he would get to go home, but instead he was sent to Mountain Home, Idaho, where he served until the war was officially over in August of 1945. Then he was able to return to Utah and eventually buying his convertible. first car, a four-door ... mm :T wm tacks in Bradley Fighting Vehicles, which were infantry, fighting transports thacanbe compared to a light tank, they got hit by a missile and lost two of the machines in the fight The battle was known as the Ruqi Pocket. His unit lost five soldiers with another seven, including Wilkinson, wounded. But plans changed and just as Wilkinsons division was preparing to roll into Baghdad, even though they had broken Suddams troops, word of a M WgL 4UP- Of-. 1 i & V i J . . Steve Wilkinson stands with another soldier in front of an unexploded racket in the middle of the Iraqi desert during Operation Desert Storm. Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more eNe solder who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by bnd, sm, or ak I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country aqiects me to move furthet; faster and fight harden than any olher Never shal I fal my comtades. I wi always keep myself mentaly alert physi-tal- y strong and moraly straight and I wi shoulder more than my share of the task whatever I may be. One Hundred-perceand then some. ifykDffi wi Galtantty show the world that Im a specially selected and wel trained I sokiec My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shal set Vie example tor othera to todow. United States troops cleaning up their mess kits while stationed in North Africa. Depending on where a service man was stationed and what he was doing, the conditions they lived under were quite different from one another. and stop Suddam Hussein, Wilkinson shakes his head and says, We would have had far less casualties if we could have completed our task when we were there in 1991. I vokrteered as a Rangac My knowing tta hazards at my chosen profession, I wi always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of my Ranger Regiment. - r." We could have disposed of him but we pulled back and now have given him 1 1 more years to harden his people and further turn them against United States, he says. Today as President George W. Bush urges the United Nations to go back into Saudi Arabia Recognizing Out g-- j. ' was declared and the e The Ranger Creed jMQqgag: nwnrrnty fa cease-fir- war was over. wi I meet the enemies of my country I shal defeat them on the Md of battle for I am better trained and wi fight wlhal my might Surrender is. not a Ranger wonL I wi never leave a taken comrade to fail into the hands of the . enemy and under no ckcumstances Rbatfy wi I wi I ever embarrass my country. objective and compMe toe mission, though ; vuietan&lwtneit UVs&tAtitana Thank you to all our local . . to fight onto the Ranger be the tone survivor. dteptoy the intestfnaT fortitude required I We areso Steven, otiso ' V?. . ,5 , :v: , jX j'.' ; " i H .I . i: ; ;v'-- "U v - ;. fT ;.i, IjI s t ' V - V 0 " i classified ads! . 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