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9 The Long Journey Home
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9 The Long Journey Home At long last the day for which I had been waiting arrived. It was December 22, 1945. Along with eleven other members of Company I, Smitty and I boarded a train at the station in Fukuyama. We settled in our seats for what was to be an eighteen-hour ride to Nagoya, our port of embarkation. Shortly after our departure, an incident occurred that demonstrated how some Japanese felt about U.S. soldiers. A GI sitting in the seat in front of me was reading a magazine in which there was an advertisement for a war movie. A photograph in the ad showed an AmericansoldierstranglingaJapanesesoldier.Theconductorofthe train, a middle-aged bespectacled Japanese man dressed in a black uniform and cap, noticed the picture as he walked down the aisle. Smiling, he pointed to the Japanese soldier in the photo and said, “Chinaman.” When the GI told the conductor that it was a Japanese soldier, he became very upset and said, “No, no, Chinaman, Chinaman .” He turned away and hurriedly left the car. It seemed inconceivable to me that for almost four years we had been mortal enemies,andnowonlyfourmonthsaftertheendofthewar,this man wanted so badly to be accepted as our friend that he was trying to deny that we had ever been enemies. The next day we arrived at Nagoya, where another countdown began. My third Christmas away from home passed almost without 182 With the 41st Division in the Southwest Pacific notice. There were no religious services, nor was there any other acknowledgement of Christmas. We were housed in a huge bare building furnished with nothing but closely spaced army cots. There was nothingtodobutwait.Theweatherwascoldandrainy.Timeseemed to stand still. After six incredibly long days, my name appeared on a list of men scheduled to embark the next day. On the morning of December 29th, I boarded the troop transport USS Admiral H. T. Mayo to begin the long-awaited voyage to San Francisco. The Admiral Mayowasbyfarthebestshipon whichIhadevertraveled.Thechow was reasonably good and the weather was ¤ne, but the days just dragged. As on most ocean voyages there was not much to do but read, play cards, or watch the waves. I spent most of my time sitting on deck doing nothing but thinking, watching, and waiting. OnDecember 31, 1945,two daysafter I hadboarded the shipfor my voyage home, the 41st Division was deactivated, and the men still with the division were assigned to other out¤ts. It seemed to me that it was a sad and inglorious end for a proud veteran division. The 41sthadbeencalledintofederalserviceonSeptember16,1940.The deactivation ended a period of active service of ¤ve years, three months, and ¤fteen days. The 41st Division was the ¤rst division to go overseas during World War II and spent three years and ten months overseas before its deactivation. Members of the divisionparticipated in the campaigns for Papua New Guinea, Dutch New Guinea, and the southern Philippines and took part in assault landings at Nassau Bay, Hollandia, Aitape, Wakde-Arare-Toem, Biak, Palawan, Zamboanga, Sanga Sanga, Sulu Archipelago, and Jolo. More than 1,000 members of the division lost their lives in battle. More than 4,400 men were wounded in action. The Japanese lost more than 24,000 men in their battles against the 41st Division. The division was one of the most experienced and most highly regarded divisions in the Paci¤c Theater. In an inspection of the division at Zamboanga on June 15, 1945, General MacArthur wrote: Everything is as I expected to see it, in splendid shape. This is one of my oldest and proudest divisions. Its achievements have been of the ¤rst order . I have the greatest affection for and pride in the 41st Division.1 1. McCartney, The Jungleers, Foreword. [44.221.43.88] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 13:02 GMT) 183 The Long Journey Home New Year’s Day came and passed, but the next day we crossed the international date line and had the opportunity to celebrate the new year again. The voyage continued without incident as the ship plowed steadily through the waves on its easterly course until, on the morning of the eighth day, I noticed by observing the position of the sun that we were heading in a southerly direction. I knew that we were not going to reach San Francisco on the course we were following at that time. I was concerned, and I wondered what had happened to cause us to change course. Later...