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Armstrong, Arthur_Z44_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_public.mp3

Armstrong, Arthur_Z44_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_transcript.pdf. Arthur Alvin Armstrong Sr., originally from Laurel, Montana, was with a friend heading into town when they heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and President Roosevelt officially declared war. That same evening they boarded a train at Billings and proceeded to Butte, Montana for their first physical. While there, Arthur found out he was the youngest recruit who had ever enlisted in the Marine Corps. He got sworn in and was sent to San Diego to the Marine Corps base for rigorous training.

Following boot camp training, Arthur was with the Rifle Range Detachment at Army Base of San Luis Obispo for about three-and-a-half months. Then from San Luis Obispo, returned to Marine Corps Base, the Casual Company, waiting for orders. In three or four days he ended up at Camp Elliott north of San Diego trying to get into the Second Raider Battalion. Arthur didn’t have what they wanted so he was then assigned to K Company Third Battalion Ninth Marines, which he served with since March 21 to July 15, 1942. He was then transferred to Company S Second Battalion Ninth Marines where he served from July 15 to May 3, 1945.

Arthur’s tour of duty with Company S Second Battalion began when he headed overseas on January 24th. He left San Diego for Auckland, New Zealand. He served there for 5 ½ months and from New Zealand then we went to Guadalcanal for advanced jungle warfare training in preparation for the Bougainville operation on November 1, 1943 and was there until the 27th of December.

When Arthur arrived in Guam, he was with four marines, four sailors and two naval officers assigned to bringing equipment and supplies ship to shore to supply the troops already on the beach. Arthur recalls the first big shells that whistled overhead the night before. He was out of his blanket roll standing aboard a ship watching the fireworks. That’s about as near as he could describe it. Arthur recalls wondering how anything or anyone could survive after a shelling and dive bombing like that straight through the beach and surrounding area.

The first day they made five trips into the beach with jeeps and various other pieces of equipment, heavy equipment, and rations of all makes and size and form That was Arthur’s job working with the supply section. Being a cook was another one of his many jobs along with stretcher-bearer, pack mule for ammunition and everything for the troops on the frontlines.

They would put everything, battle ears and ammunition, around their necks, grenades in their pockets and a water can in one hand while you helped somebody else carry a case of hand grenades and machine gun ammunition and take off up the trail to wherever they had to go. They did make it up with the supplies to Fonte Ridge the morning after the big battle. Every two to four days they would move up behind the troops and supply them with the much needed ammunition, food and water. They were basically general labor. They took orders from whoever was in charge. But also being on the frontlines meant that Arthur had to kill just like everybody else.

Arthur describes the scene as being very grisly. Gruesome to see. He remembers there must have been thousands of bodies piled up laying around, Japanese and American.

After the Americans conquered the Ridge, they got word that the Japanese were all heading north so they headed that way. After finishing in the north they moved back to Agana. From there, they went down to a new training area between Ylig and Talofofo Bay, where they cleared the area and set up a nice camp. They were there until the 9th or 10th of February and then went down to Sumay and boarded a transport to Iwo Jima.

After Arthur’s return to the States, he spent 19 ½ years with the active Reserves in his hometown and retired as a career Reservist on May 1, 1972. On November 13th, on his 60th birthday, he was officially retired in a proper ceremony at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball with a total of 39 years, eight months and seven days of satisfactory service. Despite all the hardships, Arthur liked the Marine Corps and states if he had to do it all over again, he would.

Now it has been a 40-year dream of his to come back to Guam to see the changes and try to retrace his footsteps on the island from when he was on his tour of duty in the invasion and occupation of Guam

Armstrong, Arthur_Z44_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_transcript.pdf