Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 112



Only Noblemtl

#112

The fact that one day we would have to fight Japan was something that every Navy member had thought about at least once.

In the immediate aftermath of the last war in Europe, Japan made no secret of its ambitions for the Pacific.

Even though they had not contributed to the war in any particular way, they coveted the Pacific islands that Germany had, and then they ended up taking the South Sea Islands as a mandate.

“If you’re not greedy, why would you need to take the Nanyang Islands?”

“That’s right. It was a long time ago even at that disarmament conference.”

So, what this meant was that the war with Japan was not that surprising to the US Navy.

rather,

“Our chance has finally come.”

“There’s no need to feel bad seeing only the land dogs prosper.”

When Japan started the war by sending a ridiculous declaration of war to the Philippines, everyone cheered.

Wasn’t war originally a sweeter and more brutal opportunity for a soldier than anything else?

“What? What are those groundhogs doing?”

“shit!”

“Aren’t those kids going too far?”

“They even have Europe!!!”

But soon after, when news of the bombing of Tokyo arrived, I couldn’t help but be just as angry as the Japanese.

The Navy considered Europe to be a battlefield for land dogs, but the Pacific was definitely theirs.

Of course, the Philippines is a land dog’s territory,

“How could they cross the Pacific without our help?”

“No, honestly, if those Japs guys attack, can you protect the Philippines?”

“No. How can you guard it?”

But that wasn’t all there was to the Army’s exploits.

“You haven’t taken it away yet?”

“Yes, they laid so many mines around the island···.”

“The air power is also more sound than expected···.”

So, according to the Washington Naval Treaty agreed upon by the victorious nations immediately after the end of the last war, no forts or defensive bases could be built on islands in the Pacific, except for Hawaii.

“Wasn’t the Philippines also under the sphere of influence of that treaty?”

“Yes. But I don’t know what kind of harmony it is.”

The Philippines was actually a land that had more meaning to the Army guys than to the United States.

In any case, the great success of the Mitchell Special Forces and the struggle on Luzon Island gave a great shock to the US Navy, which had been cheering and rejoicing at the start of the Pacific War.

“We can’t afford to get pushed around by those land dogs here either!”

“of course!”

“Michelle, I can’t hear the sound that I can’t hear it than a baby to eat !!!”

In particular, the fact that Mitchell was the one who pushed the Navy’s panic button and successfully carried out the bombing operation over Tokyo was a major factor.

What can I say about Mitchell and the Navy’s bad relationship?

“We must do whatever it takes to erase that bastard Mitchell’s name from the Pacific Ocean!”

Admiral Husband Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, and everyone under his command were of the same mind and spirit.

For the sake of the pride of the great United States Navy, the entire fleet was burning with the desire to achieve a better feat than that bastard Mitchell.

And there was an incident that poured gasoline on this mood of the navy, which was none other than the atrocities committed by the Japanese military in Guam.

So, immediately after the outbreak of the war, Guam was one of the fiercest battlegrounds.

Unlike the previous history where only 153 Marines were stationed there, Guam’s defenses were considerably strengthened due to the butterfly effect of my actions.

There, the early US Navy had to defend Guam to the death, and it was because of none other than Mitchell.

“Is it likely that Mitchell, who bombed Tokyo, will return to Guam?”

“Then we can’t let those Japs guys take it away from us until they get here.”

They say that the important thing is an unwavering will, but in war, you can’t always win with will alone.

As a result, unlike Luzon, which was holding its own well, Guam fell into the hands of the Japanese military.

“Unfortunately, now is not the time to be concerned about Guam.”

“Yes, saving the Philippines is more important than saving Guam.”

The Philippines had significant strategic value due to its location. That was also the reason why Japan made such a great effort to occupy the Philippines.

Like the Mitchell Special Forces, it is possible to immediately attack the Japanese mainland, and above all,

“If we operate submarines and aircraft from Luzon, we can cut off the supply line from Southeast Asia to Japan.”

“The image and position that the Philippines has in Southeast Asia is also too good to be given up.”

Thanks to Japan, which lost popularity faster than the original history and was exposed for its true colors, the Philippines was benefiting in return. Since the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Philippines has been playing a great role as a meeting place for Southeast Asian intellectuals and independence activists.

Thanks to this, even in an isolated situation, various goods were secretly procured through smuggling with other countries in the Indochina Peninsula, such as Vietnam and Thailand.

Militarily and politically, the Philippines was an important stronghold, and it was land that could not be given up.

By comparison, Guam was now a land of somewhat lesser importance. Therefore, the recapture of Guam was put on the back burner in the Navy’s plans.

The fleet heading to the Philippines happened to hear news from Guam. A destroyer that had gone on a reconnaissance mission near Guam to monitor the movements of the Japanese military received a communication from Guam.

“This is Guam. I am George Ray Tweed, a signal officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. If anyone can hear me, please spread the word about the Japs.”

Sergeant Tweed, who was among the Guam Marines who refused to surrender and went into the jungle to wage guerrilla warfare, brought shocking news.

“You killed the prisoners?”

“They didn’t just kill him, they played with him like a toy···.”

“You damn bastards. You want to take revenge on prisoners when the battle is fierce.”

Everyone was shaking with anger. Some were so excited that they had to rush to Guam right away to rescue the surviving prisoners.

“Are there any prisoners left?”

“None. They were all executed.”

In response to the offer to send a rescue party, Sergeant Tweed responded that he and the five other American soldiers remaining on the island were the last, and that all the prisoners had long since been killed.

“We must rescue Sergeant Tweed as well.”

“How about sending a destroyer-based ship?”

Realistically, it was impossible to recapture Guam.

The goal of the Pacific Fleet, which departed from Pearl Harbor, was to wrest control of the Philippine Sea from Japan’s grasp. More precisely, the goal was to put the brakes on Japan, which was visiting Southeast Asia as if it were its own home.

This was because the current fleet had no troops capable of conducting an amphibious landing.

Fortunately, the ship succeeds in rescuing five people, including the sergeant.

And the information about the atrocities committed by the Japanese military that the rescued people passed on added fuel to the anger of the already enthusiastic Navy.

“Kill jabs, kill jabs, kill more jabs!”

“Let’s kill them all!!!”

But for Private First Class Doris Miller, a sailor serving in West Virginia, it was someone else’s business.

“It’s not really a mess.”

“I know.”

“Should I go pick up the laundry?”

“huh.”

This was because he was a cook who had nothing to do with combat.

The U.S. Navy had very limited enlistment for people of color, and the culinary branch he chose was one of the few open to blacks.

“Isn’t this damn dishwashing thing never going to end?”

“Isn’t it time to get used to it?”

“No. Tsk. I joined the Navy because the uniform was cool, but if I’d known I’d be stuck in this cramped kitchen, I would’ve joined the Army instead.”

“Oh my. Watch your mouth. You don’t know the mood these days.”

“I know. I know. I’ll go do the laundry.”

What would a sergeant do?

I was never able to touch a gun and was stuck doing dishes and laundry in a dark cabin all day long.

Kookung.

“Oh, what is it?”

Miller, who was walking around the cabin to collect laundry with a disgruntled expression, almost fell over due to a sudden noise and shaking.

“All troops, all troops, all troops.”

Wayang. Wayang.

Miller barely managed to straighten his body when the alarm and siren blared so loudly that he threw down the laundry he was holding and ran.

His role during the battle was to supply anti-aircraft ammunition.

“Hey, what is this?”

But the ammunition depot where he was supposed to go was gone.

match.

Miller, who had slapped his cheeks with both hands, ran to the stern with a hardened face.

He moved to Times Square, where the stern and port passages intersected, and reported to any officer he saw.

“Sergeant Doris Miller. The anti-aircraft ammunition depot has been lost and is currently out of commission. Please give me orders so I can be deployed to another mission.”

“Hmm.”

The officer, seeing Miller for the first time, looked him up and down, nodded, and gave an order.

“Go up to the bridge and take charge of rescuing the captain. Follow Lieutenant White over there.”

“Old story.”

As the officer’s orders were being relayed to the bridge, the sound of explosions continued. The ship’s hull also rocked back and forth as if it had been hit by a storm.

Miller, who ran without stopping despite almost falling several times, barely made it to the bridge.

“oh my god.”

The bridge was a mess. People who would normally not have made eye contact were lying on the broken and shattered bridge.

“Here is the captain.”

“Ugh.”

“What should I do? I don’t think moving far will be possible.”

Captain Bennion, who had been stabbed in the abdomen by shrapnel, was in critical condition at first glance.

“Let’s move to the back first.”

“Okay. Be careful, be careful.”

“No, I’ll stay here. I’ll check on the others.”

“Captain.”

“This… we can’t back down like this. We have to defend and fight somehow.”

Miller and his crew bit their lips tightly in response to the captain’s order not to leave the combat position and began moving the other wounded first.

That was when.

Whirring. Whirring.

Again, the sirens began to sound, indicating that a Japanese plane was approaching.

“Everyone, take out your machine guns over there and put them in place. You heard the captain’s last orders.”

“Old story.”

At Lieutenant White’s command, Miller quickly ran and grabbed the machine gun. It was his first time holding a machine gun. He had seen other sailors train many times, but today was the first time he had set up and handled a gun like them.

why?

Because he was a black man. The only people allowed to be real soldiers, handling weapons and fighting the enemy, were white men. The only things black men like him were allowed to do were in the dark cabins down there, carrying ammunition, doing laundry, and washing dishes.

It’s amazing that you can take up arms and face your enemies in such a bright space.

As I pulled the trigger with a somewhat excited feeling, I felt a vibration along with a heavy noise.

Miller pulled the trigger without thinking, enjoying the sensation he felt for the first time in his life.

Dada dadada. Boom.

“Wow! Hit, hit.”

“oh my god!”

“Who, who shot that?”

The sailors screamed in excitement as they saw Japs’ plane crash through the broken glass.

“We shot down the plane with a machine gun!”

And I couldn’t hold back my mouth from dropping open when I saw the person who had done that amazing thing.

“oh my god!”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“no way.”

How can a black person do that?

But once again, when Miller took out Japs’s plane with a machine gun, everyone had to admit it.

That the black man in front of them was not ordinary.

“Ha, really. If I tell this to someone, no one might believe me.”

“Well, that’s good. I’m not the only one here.”

“What’s his name?”

“Mill… Miller.”

That day, West Virginia sank after being hit by nine torpedoes thrown by the Japanese.

But he gave us a hero to take his place: Doris Miller.

The Navy’s Disaster and the Testimonies of Guam Marine Survivors.

All of this was enough to arouse anger and fear toward Japan among Americans.

And it was Miller who turned these angry men into courageous warriors.

The story of Miller, who stood tall as a hero despite being black and displayed incredible bravery, played a big role in both black and white circles.

“We too can become heroes of the battlefield.”

“Yes. In the Mitchell Special Forces and in the Navy, people of color like us played a huge role.”

“This is my chance to be recognized as a true citizen.”

If black people and other people of color wanted to use the war as an opportunity to be recognized as proud members of society,

“There’s no way we’re worse than those black kids.”

“Yeah. If that kid could do it, I can too.”

White men also enlisted with the dream that they too could become war heroes like Miller.

So once again, with the nation boiling over with chants of ‘Kill Jabs, Kill More Jabs’, the bastard is back.

The U.S. Navy’s greatest thug returned to Washington from the Atlantic and was still there.

“There are three conditions.”

Right now, the seals are causing a major accident and the Army is busy dealing with it, so when I called him to be the Chief of Naval Operations, all he could say was, “I’m going to do it.” It was a shame.

“First, please change the acronym for Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet. And I will not appear before Congress unless absolutely necessary. Lastly···.”

It must have been because he was so dumbfounded that Roosevelt continued to listen to King without interrupting.

The hero who protected the last pride of the Navy