Mindanao 1945

My dad fought in the Philippines during WW II as an infantryman in the 24th Infantry Division. He left some nice memorabilia behind; my son William has really become interested in it lately—you ought to see him with a Japanese fighter pilot’s fur-lined leather helmet strapped to his head!

So that got me searching around the Internet for information about my dad’s service. I found the story below my dad wrote about Private First Class James Diamond, who was awarded (posthumously) the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in May 1945.

My dad can be seen in the photo to the right. It was taken during better times, in the winter of 1945-46 in Okayama, Japan, where my dad was part of the occupation forces in Japan. The story he wrote below, however, took place earlier in 1945 when he was at Mintal, on the island of Mindanao. The campaign on Mindanao ran just about up to the war’s end. As you’ll read, he witnessed some of the events that earned PFC Diamond his Medal of Honor, since my dad’s foxhole was right next to Diamond’s.

This is a picture of Diamond. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but his home when he went off to war was in Gulfport, Mississippi. Here is an excerpt about his actions taken from his Congressional Medal of Honor citation: “When a Japanese sniper rose from his foxhole to throw a grenade into their midst, this valiant soldier charged and killed the enemy with a burst from his submachine gun; then, by delivering sustained fire from his personal arm and simultaneously directing the fire of 105-mm. and .50 caliber weapons upon the enemy pillboxes immobilizing this and another machinegun section, he enabled them to put their guns into action. When two infantry companies established a bridgehead, he voluntarily assisted in evacuating the wounded under heavy fire; and then, securing an abandoned vehicle, transported casualties to the rear through mortar and artillery fire so intense as to render the vehicle inoperative and despite the fact he was suffering from a painful wound. The following day he again volunteered, this time for the hazardous job of repairing a bridge under heavy enemy fire. On 14 May 1945, when leading a patrol to evacuate casualties from his battalion, which was cut off, he ran through a virtual hail of Japanese fire to secure an abandoned machine gun. Though mortally wounded as he reached the gun, he succeeded in drawing sufficient fire upon himself so that the remaining members of the patrol could reach safety. Private First Class Diamond’s indomitable spirit, constant disregard of danger, and eagerness to assist his comrades, will ever remain a symbol of selflessness and heroic sacrifice to those for whom he gave his life.”

Below is the story my dad wrote about Diamond. He sent it at some point to the Taro Leaf, which is the publication of the 24^th Infantry Division Association. It was published in 1993. It mentions that my dad was evacuated to a hospital. He wasn’t wounded, though. He had amoebic dysentery, and though he was six feet tall, he continued to lose weight until he weighed only about 140 pounds. He finally got to the point he couldn’t function anymore, much less carry his gun and ammo. Here is the story: