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Perez, Juan Namaulea_Z36_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_public.mp3

Perez, Juan Namaulea_Z36_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_transcript.pdf. Juan Manuel Perez was 71 years old at the time of this interview. On December 8th, 1941, he was chief boatman for Pan American Airways. The upper manager told the maintenance crew that Pearl Harbor had been bombed and briefly told them what to do if a bomb was dropped, to lie down flat. Shortly after that shrapnel from a bomb hit Perez. He went home to pick up his family and went to the cave behind the church in Sumay with about half the residents in the area. After the planes left that afternoon he returned to work and found that the boat he operated was not hit. That night they heard the Japanese were ready to invade the island. Perez was picked up by the Japanese and held in Sumay for three days to train some of the crew on how to operate the boat. He tried to sabotage the boat and learned a week or two later that the transmission was not working. Perez made some trips to steal dynamite and distributed it to friends and family to use it to fish. The last trip he made with two friends to steal dynamite, they got caught and threw sticks of dynamite in front of the guards, then jumped over a cliff and swam across the channel to escape. They successfully hid from the Japanese that day but were arrested the next day and taken to the barracks in Sumay, where they were interrogated and tortured. That night they were fed and watched a movie with the Japanese. The next day they were taken to Agana and watched a firing squad in the cemetery, but still would not confess. They were taken to court; Perez was sentenced to five years, one of his friends was sentenced to ten years, and the other friend was sentenced to ten years to life. The prison where they were held was damaged and they would usually escape at night and return by morning. They had small rations but got some help from civilians in the area. This continuation of Juan Perez’s interview starts with him talking about how he wants his children to learn to forgive and not to forget. Juan talks about being brought to Agat, to a camp where the local people were stationed. The following day, he went the 59 Battalion and spoke to Lieutenant Commander Jenkin and told him he knew where the Japanese Army are concentrating – where they are now. He was interviewed at Island Command in Apra and they filmed him as he spoke. He pointed to the area where he knew the Japanese were moving. Up in Yigo, by Dededo, going to the northwest field. Juan explains how he was never able to return to his town, Sumay. When the Americans invaded the island, they were told that they made an arrangement for the people of Sumay to move to Ypan, but people of Sumay rejected that. They ended up in Santa Rita. Juan describes the beauty of Sumay before the war and tells about how the people in the town worked together and helped each other.

Perez, Juan Namaulea_Z36_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_transcript.pdf

Audio
Reyes, Rafael_Z35_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_public.mp3

Reyes, Rafael_Z35_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_transcript.pdf. Ralph Reges was fifteen, the youngest child and an errand boy at his home in 1941. His errand on December 8th was to take his niece to church for the lady of the Immaculate Conception day. About halfway through the mass they heard planes and then an explosion, and the priest ended the mass and told them to go home because Sumay was just bombed by the Japanese. Everybody went berserk, running and screaming. Ralph got his niece to his sister in Agana and ran back to his home in Agana Heights where his family was gathered. They loaded household items, provisions, and clothing onto the bull carts and prepared to go to the boonies. Ralph’s father sent him to help his aunt, a widower, who he stayed with throughout the war. When he and his aunt walked down San Ramon Hill to secure their surrender badges, it was like a different world with soldiers all over the place. Ralph was known as a hardworking boy and was selected for forced work details. He replaced his brother-in-law on the manganese mining crew for a couple of days. Toward the end of the war Ralph’s civilian group dug tunnels and foxholes. They hustled and had little rest. The only way to escape being hit, slapped, poked or struck with a bayonet was through good behavior. The experience reminded him of slavery in the South. Ralph was also chosen to lay mines on the shores as tank barriers. While on this detail it began to rain very hard and the American bombardment began, and he and four friends took cover under a raised hut. A shell hit the hut and one friend died immediately, another later that day. Ralph told his detail supervisor that he was not well and would be burying his friends, and he was told to be at home because soon people would be sent to the concentration camps. Ralph’s area was sent to the camp called Mata, in Talafofo, where they built shelters and were able to hunt and forage for food. He was climbing a coconut tree when he saw Americans. They did not realize he spoke English and at first tried to communicate with him like Tarzan, saying “You Guam, me American.” Marines worked to secure the area and led people out, and then Ralph learned that his brother had been brutally beheaded and his father was in a concentration camp elsewhere cooking for Japanese officers. From then on they knew they were in safe positions and started picking up where they left off. After the war Ralph served as a superintendent at the park in Asan where the emplacements [sp?] he built were located. At the tenth anniversary in August 1988 he made a statement about being the only superintendent in the National Park Service helping to protect and preserve what he unwillingly helped construct. The structures are deteriorating fast because they were meant for temporary protection from invading troops. When he was superintendent he was asked how he felt about the Japanese, and while he hated the one who beheaded his brother, he knows the Japanese were working under strict orders.

Reyes, Rafael_Z35_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_transcript.pdf

Birds-eye view of bombs dropping from U.S. plane over Kiska. Japanese ships in water below directly underneath.

U.S. bombs falling towards Japanese ships

This is a print of an engraving from 1863 depicting the April 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter.

Engraving of the 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter

West, Fraser_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Transcript.pdf. Fraser E. West was born March 1st, 1918, in Washington, DC and was raised in Reno, Nevada from 1926 on. He attended The University of Nevada with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, graduating in 1940. He turned down an appointment to go to West Point and enlisted in the Marine Corps in October of 1940. He became the first boy out of Nevada and the first Marine officer’s candidate class in World War II, under Colonel Shepard who later became the combat of the Marine Corps. The first Marine officer’s candidates’ class was an experimental unit for Marine officers and it was conducted at Quantico. There were over 500 in the class and they ended up 215 after a very physical boot camp. They practiced amphibious landings at Quantico, in the old Higgins boats. Fraser was into rodeoing growing up, and had very curled up toes from the small boots they wore in the rodeo. Because of this, the marching for 15 miles or so in boot camp gave him bloody feet and it took weeks to recover. He was also coached by a master gunner, Sergeant Peachy, a coordinates expert. They then went on to the reserves officer course; all made first commission officers in the US Marine Corps reserve. Just before that, he went skiing and broke his back. Because of this, Fraser was delayed so instead of going to the fourth ROC, went to the fifth ROC and came out as a second lieutenant. On December 7th, 1941 Fraser was at his uncle’s house in Washington DC. He heard on the radio about the bombing and immediately left to get back to Quantico. At that time he was still in a reserves officer’s class and then subsequent to that was ordered the FMF and reported to K35, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. And then subsequent to that, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines was the first ordered out from the west coast in World War II. They had the defense battalion on Samoa. But they didn’t have enough officers; so they transferred all the company officers from the 5th Marines over to the 7th Marines so they would have a full compliment going out. They landed first at Samoa and hung around there for a month in the harbor, marching all over the island. Then they were ordered to go over and take Wallace Island. That was supposedly the first combat landing in World War II. Their job there was to build a bomber strip there and Fraser’s job was to defend the airport with his weapons platoon. They were there about three months. Then they went over the bridge Samoa and we were there about 60 days before going to Guadalcanal. The whole regiment went to Guadalcanal. They had landed the 1st and 5th Marines there; the 7th Marines came in later. Fraser recalls that after landing, the first thing was that they got a naval bombardment, which he found to be the scariest thing he experienced in World War II. On Guadalcanal, they were short of rations because after the ships landed them, they had to pull way out because the Japanese had command of the waters. While there, they were put up on Bloody Ridge, the first infantry attack that Fraser participated in. When the attack came, Fraser was directed to fire his mortars. And finally he fired 100 rounds for effect and knowing they were short of ammunition, he hated to accept that order. Fraser describes what mortars are and how they are fired. Those second lieutenants, who were out early, were then promoted to Captain and Fraser turned down going back to the States twice and finally they said, you have to go, they need experienced officers and you are probably going to come out again. At this point Fraser went back and joined the 9th regiment with General Sheppard, he was now the commanding officer of the 9th Marine regiment. He trained the men in regimental weapons and then the General insisted on everybody going to scout sniper school. Fraser was sent to George Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines and from there to New Zealand, then to Guadalcanal. In preparation for the landings in Guam, in Guadalcanal they made practice landings with the first LVTs, which did not have a ramp and they had to come over the sides. Then used the landing craft vehicle personnel boats, which had a ramp. When they got to Guam, they would offload off of the APAs, Fraser was on the President Jackson about seven times in World War II. When they landed, the procedure was to go down the landing nets, the cargo nets, get into a boat, you would rendezvous and then the tractors would pick you up, take you to shore and then they would make another trip back to pick up somebody else. The 3rd Battalion was first to shore. The officers had excellent maps; they knew what was to be expected. They knew Tumon Bay was probably more heavily defended, that’s why they didn’t land there and landed between Asan and Adelup Point. The objective was the forced beach headline, was going to go clear to join up with the 1st provisional brigade; they made the objective the first day. They made that with Asan Point and swinging around to Adelup Point. In Fraser’s battalion, after the initial landing was committed on the attacking right. There were people in trenches and they suffered casualties, but it was light resistance. The most of their casualties were coming from artillery and mortar fire. The Japanese were good tactical soldiers and they had been pulled back into the reverse slope to take protection. And they were primarily using artillery and mortars and from their higher ground, the machine guns. They had bonzai attacks at night. The division marched towards the PD Navy Yard, over to join up and went up through to link up with the 1st Battalion 3rd Marines. Fraser describes the bonzai attacks and who was involved and how they managed to get through it. He explains that carried a carbine and a .45. The reason most all company officers carried a carbine was so you wouldn’t be identified as an officer. If you just carried a pistol, you are a marked man. Fraser was so exhausted at one point during the attack that he slept for two hours and during that time two additional bonzai attacks occurred. At the end of the attack, when they finally got to the top of Fonte Ridge, Fraser estimates that they killed 600 or 800 Japanese. After 50 years and looking back, Fraser’s says that the Japanese were good, dedicated soldiers, but they were not as flexible as Americans. He came back to the 50th anniversary at Guam with his good friend Obie, who he fought with. They wanted to see the island again and “refight the war” and see what progress had been made. He was very happy with the Park that was made there. Fraser’s lesson to the young people of today is that war could happen again and they need to be prepared. Fraser retired as a colonel. He got Presidential Unit citation from Guadalcanal as part of the 1st Marine Division in Guam, the 3rd Marines and the 2nd Battalion 9th Marines received the Presidential Unit citation. Because he was wounded, he got a Purple Heart. He got a Silver Star and was recommended for a Navy Cross.

West, Fraser_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Transcript.pdf

West, Fraser_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Video.mp4. Fraser E. West was born March 1st, 1918, in Washington, DC and was raised in Reno, Nevada from 1926 on. He attended The University of Nevada with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, graduating in 1940. He turned down an appointment to go to West Point and enlisted in the Marine Corps in October of 1940. He became the first boy out of Nevada and the first Marine officer’s candidate class in World War II, under Colonel Shepard who later became the combat of the Marine Corps. The first Marine officer’s candidates’ class was an experimental unit for Marine officers and it was conducted at Quantico. There were over 500 in the class and they ended up 215 after a very physical boot camp. They practiced amphibious landings at Quantico, in the old Higgins boats. Fraser was into rodeoing growing up, and had very curled up toes from the small boots they wore in the rodeo. Because of this, the marching for 15 miles or so in boot camp gave him bloody feet and it took weeks to recover. He was also coached by a master gunner, Sergeant Peachy, a coordinates expert. They then went on to the reserves officer course; all made first commission officers in the US Marine Corps reserve. Just before that, he went skiing and broke his back. Because of this, Fraser was delayed so instead of going to the fourth ROC, went to the fifth ROC and came out as a second lieutenant. On December 7th, 1941 Fraser was at his uncle’s house in Washington DC. He heard on the radio about the bombing and immediately left to get back to Quantico. At that time he was still in a reserves officer’s class and then subsequent to that was ordered the FMF and reported to K35, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. And then subsequent to that, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines was the first ordered out from the west coast in World War II. They had the defense battalion on Samoa. But they didn’t have enough officers; so they transferred all the company officers from the 5th Marines over to the 7th Marines so they would have a full compliment going out. They landed first at Samoa and hung around there for a month in the harbor, marching all over the island. Then they were ordered to go over and take Wallace Island. That was supposedly the first combat landing in World War II. Their job there was to build a bomber strip there and Fraser’s job was to defend the airport with his weapons platoon. They were there about three months. Then they went over the bridge Samoa and we were there about 60 days before going to Guadalcanal. The whole regiment went to Guadalcanal. They had landed the 1st and 5th Marines there; the 7th Marines came in later. Fraser recalls that after landing, the first thing was that they got a naval bombardment, which he found to be the scariest thing he experienced in World War II. On Guadalcanal, they were short of rations because after the ships landed them, they had to pull way out because the Japanese had command of the waters. While there, they were put up on Bloody Ridge, the first infantry attack that Fraser participated in. When the attack came, Fraser was directed to fire his mortars. And finally he fired 100 rounds for effect and knowing they were short of ammunition, he hated to accept that order. Fraser describes what mortars are and how they are fired. Those second lieutenants, who were out early, were then promoted to Captain and Fraser turned down going back to the States twice and finally they said, you have to go, they need experienced officers and you are probably going to come out again. At this point Fraser went back and joined the 9th regiment with General Sheppard, he was now the commanding officer of the 9th Marine regiment. He trained the men in regimental weapons and then the General insisted on everybody going to scout sniper school. Fraser was sent to George Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines and from there to New Zealand, then to Guadalcanal. In preparation for the landings in Guam, in Guadalcanal they made practice landings with the first LVTs, which did not have a ramp and they had to come over the sides. Then used the landing craft vehicle personnel boats, which had a ramp. When they got to Guam, they would offload off of the APAs, Fraser was on the President Jackson about seven times in World War II. When they landed, the procedure was to go down the landing nets, the cargo nets, get into a boat, you would rendezvous and then the tractors would pick you up, take you to shore and then they would make another trip back to pick up somebody else. The 3rd Battalion was first to shore. The officers had excellent maps; they knew what was to be expected. They knew Tumon Bay was probably more heavily defended, that’s why they didn’t land there and landed between Asan and Adelup Point. The objective was the forced beach headline, was going to go clear to join up with the 1st provisional brigade; they made the objective the first day. They made that with Asan Point and swinging around to Adelup Point. In Fraser’s battalion, after the initial landing was committed on the attacking right. There were people in trenches and they suffered casualties, but it was light resistance. The most of their casualties were coming from artillery and mortar fire. The Japanese were good tactical soldiers and they had been pulled back into the reverse slope to take protection. And they were primarily using artillery and mortars and from their higher ground, the machine guns. They had bonzai attacks at night. The division marched towards the PD Navy Yard, over to join up and went up through to link up with the 1st Battalion 3rd Marines. Fraser describes the bonzai attacks and who was involved and how they managed to get through it. He explains that carried a carbine and a .45. The reason most all company officers carried a carbine was so you wouldn’t be identified as an officer. If you just carried a pistol, you are a marked man. Fraser was so exhausted at one point during the attack that he slept for two hours and during that time two additional bonzai attacks occurred. At the end of the attack, when they finally got to the top of Fonte Ridge, Fraser estimates that they killed 600 or 800 Japanese. After 50 years and looking back, Fraser’s says that the Japanese were good, dedicated soldiers, but they were not as flexible as Americans. He came back to the 50th anniversary at Guam with his good friend Obie, who he fought with. They wanted to see the island again and “refight the war” and see what progress had been made. He was very happy with the Park that was made there. Fraser’s lesson to the young people of today is that war could happen again and they need to be prepared. Fraser retired as a colonel. He got Presidential Unit citation from Guadalcanal as part of the 1st Marine Division in Guam, the 3rd Marines and the 2nd Battalion 9th Marines received the Presidential Unit citation. Because he was wounded, he got a Purple Heart. He got a Silver Star and was recommended for a Navy Cross.

Video
West, Fraser_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Video.mp4


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