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Josephy, Alvin_Z41_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_public.mp3

Josephy, Alvin_Z41_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_transcript.pdf. Alvin Josephy Jr., resident of Greenwich, Connecticut, arrived in Guam with the Third Marine Division in July 1944 to retake the island from the Japanese. At the time, he was attached to the Third Weapons Company of the Third Marines of the Third Marine Division as they came up from Guadalcanal after the Bougainville Campaign in the Solomon Islands. Mr. Josephy and his Division were originally held in reserve to see whether they were needed at Saipan and because they were not they invaded Guam near Asan Beach Head.

Mr. Josephy landed three regiments abreast, the Third Division, his Division, on the left coming in at Adelup Point, the 21st Marines in the center and then the Ninth Marines over on the right near Asan Point. There was another invasion taking place simultaneously over on the Agat Beach Head carried out by the First Marine Provisional Brigade of two Marine regiments, 22nd Marines and the Fourth Marines, assisted by the 77th Army Division, and they eventually all linked up together.

Mr. Josephy, although trained at Parris Island as a Marine, was brought in as a Combat Correspondent because he had been in journalism before World War II. He was requisitioned by the Public Relations Department of the Marine Corps and Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington to join the Combat Correspondent Corps, which seemed to have no more than about 200 people in it, 200 Marines, throughout the whole war. Mr. Josephy was instructed by the Library of Congress that he was to go out into the field with all this recording equipment, which was quite cumbersome back then, and cover the different war songs that the servicemen were singing.

When one commander was approached, he said no way because Mr. Josephy would just be in the way and they had a war to fight. Being a Marine himself, he understood this and felt like quite a nuisance. However, when General Denig was approached he agreed. But once Mr. Josephy was aboard, he was told to forget about the war songs that he would be recording the combat. Before he knew it, he was crouched in the well of a halftrack, the machines used to transport the troops ashore, and was speaking into a microphone when they arrived on the beach and the fighting began. He remembers thinking, as gunfire was going all around him and dead bodies were lying on the ground, that it almost didn’t seem real. Finally, they were commanded to leave the halftrack, as that seemed to be what was drawing the gunfire, and they all ran into the jungle. Throughout all of the battles, Mr. Josephy never stopped recording and the information was then sent back to the United States to be played on the radio networks.

Now Mr. Josephy and others have come back to Guam, this time on a vacation to enjoy the beautiful island, and are very proud to see and hear the local Chamorro people speak of their gratitude for the changes the Americans made in taking back control of the Island. These people spent years under the control of the Japanese living in deplorable conditions and being tortured and brutalized daily.

However, Mr. Josephy has been quite vocal about his disappointment regarding the lack of information posted around historic sites about the contributions the Americans made. There seemed to be more about the Japanese. Yes, there were some, but they didn’t really convey what really went on back in July 1944 and he strongly believes this should be done. His hopes are that the U.S. troops are better recognized for their war efforts with significant monuments put in place before the 50th Anniversary of the Pacific War.

Josephy, Alvin_Z41_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_transcript.pdf