The Pacific (24 page)

Mike flew with his friend Dick Mills. As they cleared the coastline, each pilot and his gunner fired a short burst from their guns as a test. Dick's machine guns, though, had not been properly synchronized with the propeller in front of them, and he shot his prop off. The Dauntless began to lose flying speed quickly. Mike stayed with Dick's plane as it went down in the water near Russell Island. Dick made what looked like a good landing. Mike opened the throttle to catch up with his strike. Over the target area, they saw waves breaking over a reef. Assuming that the air corps bombers at high altitude had mistaken these waves for wakes, the navy pilots called it a fake and flew home.

After reporting the loss of Dick to Ray upon his return, there was not much to do. Micheel did not get around much. He knew enough to stay away from the front lines, and on Guadalcanal the front line lay in any direction he might choose to walk. Much as he would have liked to cool off down at the Lunga River, he refrained. While the "adventurous guys in our squadron" went swimming, he had heard reports of snipers down there, and he wasn't "too anxious to meet up with one of those." A fear of snipers explained only part of his behavior. After ten days on Cactus, he felt the weight of the struggle and realized innately to conserve his energy.

DURING THE PAST FEW NIGHTS THE SOUND OF HEAVY ARTILLERY HAD CARRIED UP to Manila John and the rest of the 1/7, who had returned to the jungle south of the airfield. The enemy had continued landing forces on the other side of the Matanikau and, unsurprisingly, their attacks had come across the river's mouth. Despite all of the supposedly successful U.S. air strikes and naval battles, two nights earlier the IJA had tried to send nine tanks across the mouth of the river. The line had held. The mounting pressure, however, had Topside shifting units within the perimeter. The day before, General Vandegrift had visited the 1/7's line, now known as Sector Three, and declared it a "machine gunner's paradise." This morning he ordered the 2/7 out of Sector Three and up to where it was needed, along the Matanikau River. A number of large holes in the marine perimeter existed over there, and even with the 2/7, the marines would only be holding the high ground. If all those Japanese landing over there crossed the river and found their way through one of the gaps, General Vandegrift ordered his men to "fight as guerrillas."
¹²¹

The order to "fight until you are killed" reached Manila John and the 1/7 loud and clear.
¹²²
By October 23, though, it was old news. The Japanese left no alternatives. Vandegrift's description of Sector Three as a "machine gunner's paradise," however, only applied to parts of it--like the large field in front of Able Company on his left, or the steep sides of Bloody Ridge manned by Baker Company to Basilone's right. Charlie Company, to which John's two machine-gun sections had been attached, held the center of the line in a flat, dense jungle. The hard work of creating a defensible line had been started on their first deployment here a few weeks earlier. As they turned to the task again, it escaped no one's attention that their job required the skills of a World War I infantryman, not those of an amphibious warrior. Short on food and men, facing a rising tide of the enemy, the men of the 1/7 "knew to a certain extent how the boys on . . . Bataan must have felt."
¹²³

Charlie Company's riflemen dug their foxholes and strung a double apron of barbed wire using metal poles. Basilone placed his two sections about forty yards apart and had his men clear more brush to lengthen their firing lanes and dig their machine-gun pits deeper. Each section, comprised of two guns and seven men, could cover the line between them as well as a similar swath to either side.
¹²⁴
The enemy would surely target the water-cooled heavy machine guns, so the gunners framed their firing ports with earth and sandbags, laying coconut logs over the top. The 81mm mortars, well behind them, and the 105mm artillery a mile back, registered a few rounds along the 1/7's front.

A patrol returned in the afternoon having found some IJA equipment on some high ground about a thousand yards south of Bloody Ridge. The news, like that from others in the past few days, counted for little when measured against the infernos raging around the airfield, around the Matanikau, and out at sea. Garland, one of John's men, returned from the hospital, bringing word that Steve Helstowski, Manila's buddy who had been wounded on the last trip across the Matanikau River, had been evacuated by plane.
¹²⁵

The next day brought rain. A hard, soaking rain fell most of October 24, enough to make life in foxholes miserable.
¹²⁶
Movement became difficult and work stopped.
¹²⁷
In the afternoon, Sergeant Briggs from Able Company led his platoon of men to the cheval-de-frise out in front of John's section of line. Made of sharpened sticks and barbed wire on a wooden frame, the cheval acted as a gate across the trail leading south to the observation post (OP), which was on a hill fifteen hundred yards south.
¹²⁸

About four p.m., Charlie Company's skipper began to get uneasy. Captain Moore ordered his men to pull on their heavy gloves and string more barbed wire, "paying particular attention to the area behind the cheval- de-frise." He got them to wire it tight, attaching "as many trip flares as we had time for."
¹²⁹

The rain had died away, but the clouds remained, leaving the marines sitting in cold water in the dark. "At about ten p.m.," as Basilone waited to be relieved of the watch, "the telephone rang. I picked it up and listened to it." Instead of the usual news of another air raid, he heard Sergeant Briggs at the OP reporting to Puller at the CP "that there was a large concentration of japs" moving past his position and "headed our way."
¹³⁰
Chesty ordered his men, particularly his 81mm platoon, to give Briggs a chance to escape by holding their fire for as long as possible.
¹³¹
Before hanging up his connection to his companies, platoon, and sections, Chesty said, "Hold!"
¹³²

Even as Manila put the phone down, "the Japanese were already throwing hand grenades and dynamite."
¹³³
Hundreds of them raced up the Bowling Alley to Able Company's section, to John's immediate left. He and the other gunner yanked the ponchos off their guns, swung them hard to port, and pulled the triggers. The violence swelled quickly. The point of the attack came, as expected, where Able Company's line met that of the soldiers of the U.S. Army at the edge of the Bowling Alley. Most of the battalion's heavy weapons, including three 37mm cannons, commanded this area.
¹³⁴
Charlie Company's guns could only lend support by picking off men on the flank. At long range and with a view limited by the jungle, John would have used the Browning's traverse and elevation (T&E) mechanism to control his bursts.

When finally the wave broke, the enemy soldiers fell back into the jungle. The machine gunners leaned back, unclenching themselves and catching their breaths. From the other side came shouts of "You die tonight, maline!" The low moans and painful cries of wounded would have also been heard.

The next charge, led by men holding rifles affixed with bayonets, came at Charlie Company directly.
¹³⁵
A horde gathered at the cheval-de-frise, lit by trip flares. All of the extra barbed wire there paid off, though, as it delayed them. The artillery, mortars, and machine guns pounced. Basilone watched the bodies jerk and twist painfully as the stream of bullets cut into them. The rising pile of bodies seemed to have no effect on the men who followed, but eventually the charge faded. He noticed that his guns had burned through a lot of ammunition. Rather than order someone else to do it, Manila made a dash for the battalion CP, loaded bandoliers around his neck, and dashed back.
¹³⁶

The next attack came from the right and the left simultaneously. The enemy supported the attack by throwing a lot of grenades. John's machine-gun section pointed their muzzles toward the threat and fired into the mass of bodies. Private LaPointe from John's other machine- gun position appeared at his elbow and yelled in his ear, "Sarge, both right flank guns are knocked out."
¹³⁷
There were dead and wounded, he continued. John figured the guns had just jammed, though "not wanting to take any chances," he picked up one of his machine guns with its tripod--all ninety-one pounds of it--yelled, "Powell, Garland, come with me," and hustled out of the back of the pit.
¹³⁸
Hitting a main trail a dozen yards behind their pit, they turned left and ran for the second section.
¹³⁹

Hustling through the brush Manila "ran smack into a party of japs--about eight of them."
¹⁴⁰
Cradling a bulky machine gun put John at a disadvantage, but he fired, Powell and Garland fired, and the enemy fell. The marines ran on. Tracers and flares and explosions flashed in the darkness.
¹⁴¹

Coming upon his second section, he realized it had been hit by a grenade or a mortar round because most of the guys weren't moving. He could see Cecil Evans firing his rifle and screaming at the Japanese to come and get some more.
¹⁴²
In the bunker, Billie Joe Crumpton fired his rifle as best he could, one arm wet with blood.
¹⁴³
His face betrayed none of the crazy bravery of Evans, who was running around yelling, only a grim determination to hold his position against all comers.

Manila did not put his machine gun into the emplacement near the broken ones, but set it outside. "I didn't want to put it in a hole. The Japs sneak into holes."
¹⁴⁴
He dropped behind the gun. Figures came running across the clearing. John aimed it free hand and pulled the trigger. He knew if he let his fear win, he'd burn out the gun.
¹⁴⁵
He had to trust Crumpton, LaPointe, and Powell to handle some of them. They could not get them all, however. A few of the rushers swept past well to the left or right before the charge broke. Another pause, they noticed. After giving his gun to Powell, Manila crawled over to check on the broken machine guns.

Even in the darkness it was clear the Browning nearest Crumpton had been demolished and its crew killed. John rolled into the hole with the other gun and let his hands fall to their work. He had to forget all the din, ignore the rising number of mortar explosions that signaled the start of another charge. He had to feel it and hear it.

His fingers slipped over the heavy Browning. Beginning with the obvious, he pulled the trigger, yanked the bolt back, then opened the feed cover. By training he divided problems into several major categories: Were the rounds being fed? Yes. So were the rounds being chambered properly? Yes. There was not a broken cartridge in the chamber; both extraction and ejection seemed fine. So the failure to fire likely had something to do with the firing pin, or the sear spring, or maybe the breach lock.
¹⁴⁶
He eliminated those possibilities. The trouble was the head spacing, or the space between the base of the cartridge and the face of the bolt.
¹⁴⁷

Finding and using the gun's tool kit may not have been an option. There was a quick way to set the head space. It was not precise, but then adjusting any settings on a hot gun was not recommended. John pulled the bolt back three-quarters of an inch, screwed the barrel into the barrel extension (without the gun's combination tool, he could use the tip of a bullet) until the action just closed (recoiling parts went fully forward) without being forced. He unscrewed the barrel two notches. He positioned the belt feed lever stud over the cam groove bolt. Had he had time, Basilone would have cocked the weapon and pulled the trigger to hear the firing pin engage, but it's more likely he connected the ammo belt.

The yelling became a chorus. They were coming. He snapped the cover shut. The only distinguishable words in their yelling were "Banzai!" and "You die, maliney!"
¹⁴⁸
The enemy intended to knock out the guns by throwing grenades and firing mortars. He pulled the trigger and the Browning roared to life, its rhythmic pulse steady and reassuring. Bullets smacked around him. Basilone and his men were pinned down, taking fire from all sides now, holding on.
¹⁴⁹
The other machine gun fell silent. Billie Joe Crumpton had been hit again, by grenade fragments in the leg, and had been overcome.
¹⁵⁰

John told LaPointe and Evans to guard the flanks with their rifles. They had to hit the individuals. Manila began rolling from one Browning to the other, keeping them from overheating, aiming for the groups crossing the wire. Sometimes the mud on the belts forced him to stop and clean out the receiver. Sometimes, he'd hear, "Look out!" John would grab his .45 pistol and whirl around to find Japanese sneaking up behind him. He shot them in the only area visible to him: their faces.
¹⁵¹
There were too many, though, and they were everywhere. When the emperor's troops yelled, he and Evans and LaPointe yelled insults back. "We thought," Basilone said, "our time had come."
¹⁵²

The big shells of the marine artillery crashed among the trees on the other side of the line, as did the 81mms, although some seemed to go too far, while others landed short amid the marines.
¹⁵³
John knew the attackers would try to crawl through the grass underneath his line of fire. Only one had to get close enough to hit him. So he made sure to rake the ground regularly.
¹⁵⁴

The ammunition ran low as exhaustion set in. It felt to Manila "like we had fired all night."
¹⁵⁵
Most sergeants would have sent a man to get more and thereby stayed in command at the line. The enemy had run around behind them, though, cutting the marines off.
¹⁵⁶
He told his guys to use their rifles for as long as possible. They had to save the last belts of machine-gun ammo for the next charge.
¹⁵⁷
John picked up his pistol and, with his men providing some covering fire, ran forward toward the enemy, then turned and ran "across the front of his own company in the face of heavy enemy fire."
¹⁵⁸
It shocked everyone who saw him do it. As soon as he could, he cut back through the line and into the jungle toward the CP.