D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan

Appendix B

a p p e n d i x b Coming home Although the Battle of Saipan ended in July 1944 and Japan surrendered in August 1945, the war did not end for some of the veterans of the Pacific battles. Most received treatment for their wounds and physical ailments, but few were treated for the psychological effects of their wartime experiences . Although many marines and soldiers spoke with me or wrote to me over a period of several years, many hesitated at first to discuss the details of their battle experiences. Their reluctance in this area was understandable, as articulating a personal account of battle forces a person to relive and to see the picture again in his mind. Some marines indicated that they tried to forget the battles as soon as the war ended but that this proved impossible . As Sergeant Eugene V. Taylor of A Company, 4th Tank Division, 4th Marine Division, wrote: “I have tried to answer some of your questions as they appear in your email, in that order. As for the rest of your questions, I have tried to forget every subject you asked for the last 58 years. It would do me no good to delve into those subjects now or ever.”1 When marines or soldiers did share their battle stories with me, they often described friends dying violently. Sometimes death came quickly, but just as often it was slow and difficult. Wounds were ugly, brains and guts were spilled, and men suffered in agony. Dead bodies turned black and bloated in the sun; flies and maggots filled every body cavity. The odor was horrific. No one can blame a veteran for not wanting to remember those scenes. Several times, after a marine left my interview table, his 230 appendix B wife of perhaps forty or fifty years would take me aside and ask for details of his experiences. For good reasons, the marines did not want to inflict the pain of their memories on their families. They lived alone with their images of war, only feeling comfortable at reunions where they could share their stories with other marines or soldiers who had been through similar experiences. Post-traumatic stress syndrome, which is now known to have been in evidence after all wars, was not studied seriously until after the Vietnam War. With all veterans returning from World War II as heroes, the idea that stress might result in nightmares, alcoholism, depression, or other health problems was simply not part of the national discussion in the war’s aftermath. Studies have suggested that close to 19 percent of combat troops experience some form of traumatic stress and that about 9 percent suffer from more serious disorders. Many of the veterans discussed here fall into the former category, those who experience short-term stress-related symptoms and then make a full recovery. World War II veterans had won a great victory; they won the good war. Figure 24. Bidding farewell to marines killed in action, July 1944; courtesy of Private Rod Sandburg (USMC). coming home 231 Although they came home to a welcoming nation, it was never that simple. While they had used many long-distance weapons—naval bombardment, artillery, mortars, and airplane strafing and bombing—much of the fighting was close and personal and nasty. Sometimes it was hand-to-hand combat with knives and bayonets. The troops did a fabulous job under unimag­ inable circumstances. The vast majority adapted well to civilian life and modestly accepted the accolades of a grateful nation. Private First Class Walter Bailey of Lynn, Massachusetts, served with C Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines. As a BAR man, he was a brave and tough marine. When asked how he endured the heat, hills, and slippery slopes they confronted every day, Bailey’s explanation was simple: “We were young, we were in good shape, and we didn’t know any better.” Before landing on Saipan he had participated in the battle for Roi-Namur, where he witnessed an event that changed his attitude toward the marines. As Bailey and three other marines advanced, a marine tank came up from behind and killed Bailey’s buddies. After this incident, Bailey never felt the same about the Corps. In fact, he questioned marine tactics, and he related the story of one of his officers who was killed because he insisted on standing up and charging straight toward enemy machine...