The Pacific (82 page)

LEGACIES

JAPAN'S LEADERS HAD BET THAT IF THEY MADE THE COST OF THE WAR HIGH enough, the United States would relent on its goal of unconditional surrender. The kamikaze represented the logical extension of that policy. The second atomic blast convinced Emperor Hirohito to overrule the other members of the junta and surrender his country. An alternative future became possible. A U.S. invasion of Japan would have had all the savagery of Okinawa or Iwo Jima at five times the scale. The absence of this apocalypse allowed the United States of America to be magnanimous to her defeated foe. Her combat veterans reacted differently, of course, to the peace and prosperity that followed. A man's capacity to let go of his pain, or to recognize the advancement of human civilization that America's victory enabled, was not solely a function of his personality, but also of where, when, and how he had served.

ON THE SAME DAY ADMIRAL NIMITZ ORDERED OFFENSIVE ACTIONS AGAINST the Japanese to cease, August 14, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Shofner and other senior officers learned that the 1st Marine Division would sail for China at the end of September. The marines had to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces in China; secure the cities controlled by the Japanese and the stockpiles of Japanese weapons and equipment; and turn it all over to the nationalist forces. The communists in China would be denied these key locations and essential equipment. Shofner's enlisted men could be expected to hate this assignment; many of them had already begun to assert that the 1st Marine Division--as the first in and the last out--merited a ticker-tape parade in New York City. Others said Tokyo. A lot of the division's officers could also be expected to covet a quick ticket stateside. They certainly had the points for rotation.

It would have been impossible for any marine or soldier on Okinawa to have served in combat for a longer period than Austin "Shifty" Shofner. He had been there the day it all began. He did not wish, however, to go home. Commanding the 1st Battalion, First Marines, had given him enormous satisfaction. He was a professional marine and he had a black mark on his record. Serving in China would bring him back to where he started and give him another chance to excel. His record changed markedly, however, a few days later. General del Valle awarded Lieutenant Colonel Austin Shofner the Legion of Merit for "exceptionally meritorious conduct." The citation read, in part:

Assuming command of his battalion in the midst of a critical battle, Lieutenant Shofner, by his tactical skill, untiring determination and outstanding personal courage, directed the activities of his unit to the successful completion of numerous assigned tasks. Although his battalion was reduced in efficiency by severe casualties, his continued personal leadership and supervision in the face of fierce enemy resistance . . . was an inspiration to his men in his command.

His regimental commander, Colonel Mason, followed up the medal with an excellent fitness report. Although in a two areas, like "cooperation with others," Shofner's performance dipped to the "very good" category, Mason described him in the comments section as "a particularly aggressive officer of the go-getter type." Shifty was back because he had never given up.

EUGENE SLEDGE REPRESENTED THE MAJORITY OF ENLISTED MARINES WHEN HE wrote in late August, "I got in the Corps to help win the war--it's won and I can't get out any too fast to suit me." The point system for rotation had been changed recently to fit the army's system. Gene received 1 point for each month of service, 1 point for each month of being overseas, 5 points for each decoration, and 5 points for each campaign in which a battle star was issued. A few other factors, like dependent children, added points. The magic number was 85. Gene informed his parents that he had 60 points. "Small compared to Ed, eh?" His older brother was already on his way back home. His buddy R. V. Burgin would depart soon. Gene faced the prospect of being overseas awhile. Remaining on Okinawa would have been acceptable--Gene liked it there and thought so highly of its people he was known to bow to elderly Okinawans.
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He had fought the IJA too long, though, to forgive the Japanese, whom he called "blackhearted." He fervently hoped he would not be sent to Tokyo. On September 1, he submitted his request for a discharge from the USMC, just in case.

The news of late August and early September--on radio, in newsprint, and in the newsreels--often featured the name of Douglas MacArthur. In a daring move, the general landed at an airfield outside Tokyo in his personal airplane, the word "Bataan" stenciled on its nose, on August 30.
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Millions of Japanese soldiers in the vicinity had not yet officially surrendered. He had stepped down onto the tarmac in a khaki uniform, without a jacket, tie, or medals. He wore aviator glasses and carried a corncob pipe. His cap, famous around the world, was that of the field marshal of the Philippines National Army. Standing on Japanese soil, he said simply, "Melbourne to Tokyo was a long road, but this looks like the payoff."
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A few days later, MacArthur presided over the ceremony in which the representatives of Japan's military government signed the instrument of unconditional surrender. The legal documents that they and the leaders of the Allied powers signed had been printed on a rare parchment found amid the wreckage of Manila. The ceremony took place on the deck of the battleship USS
Missouri
, lying at anchor in Tokyo Bay and surrounded by the vast U.S. fleet. MacArthur's statements affixed no blame; instead he offered a prayer that "peace be now restored to the world." He expressed the hope that "out of the blood and carnage of the past" a better world would emerge. "Nor is it for us here to meet . . . in a spirit of distrust, malice or hatred. But rather it is for us, both victors and vanquished, to rise to that higher dignity which alone befits the sacred purpose we are about to serve."
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"Well, now that the war is won," Eugene exclaimed, "who has completely taken over? MacArthur. Nimitz, Halsey, and the Marine generals won the war. Now it's all an army show and the Navy & Corps sit back and smirk while all the Army brass hats eat up the credit." Like many marines, Eugene believed the Central Pacific Campaign, led by Admiral Nimitz, had been more important than the South Pacific Campaign, led by MacArthur.
^ao
The newsreels of MacArthur wading through the surf to return to the Philippines or presiding over the surrender were therefore interpreted as grandstanding by many marines in the field. "I think the Corps has gotten its share of the credit and so has the Air Force, but not the Navy. We sure have a good Navy too. We all hate to see Nimitz left out in the cold after the fine job he and the Navy have done."

The armed services of the United States, with the enemy defeated, prepared to maintain a military presence in countries across the Pacific, most especially Japan itself. The men of King Company began to receive daily instruction in occupational duties. Eugene not only wondered where he might be sent, but what areas needed to be occupied. "America will keep Okinawa," he hoped, "for it's a good base to watch the nips with. . . . They will behave perfectly and humbly and when they think no one is watching--bingo--they pull some sort of treachery." When each marine in the 3/5 received three new blankets, an overcoat, long underwear, and wool clothing, Gene guessed they would be leaving Okinawa. Soon thereafter he and the other enlisted men learned they were shipping out for duty in China.

R. V. Burgin, who had long figured he would ship out for Texas any day, got the word on September 15, 1945. He was being transferred stateside. "I almost volunteered to go to China with the 1st Division, and I got to thinking about it and I thought, well hell, I've already been through three battles and I go to China and get run over by a damn rickshaw or something, and get killed . . . that doesn't make sense to me, so I'm going home." He said his good- byes and caught a truck south, to the port area. Two weeks later, his company made its own journey to the port.

THE FIRST MARINES DEPARTED FOR CHINA AFTER THE SEVENTH MARINES, WHO had landed ashore as assault troops, and before the Fifth Marines. Lieutenant Colonel Austin Shofner's 1/1 boarded USS
Attala
and sailed west. They disembarked on October 1 at the port of Taku, on the Hai Ho River. Trucks, many of them formerly the property of the Imperial Japanese Army, took them seven miles upriver to the city of Tangku, which they had been told had a population of a hundred thousand, "and they all must have come out to greet us when we marched into the city. We started marching 4 abreast, but were squeezed single file as all those people pressed in, hugging and kissing us."
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The people knew the sacrifices made to defeat Japan and were grateful. Trains took the 1/1 on to Tientsin, a city of more than a million people. The battalion moved along broad, paved streets to an area of the city that had a distinctly Western look. Their quarters had been built by the English and until recently had been used by the Japanese Army as their barracks.

While the Chinese people showered the marines with gratitude and affection, the ancient civilization fascinated them. The fears of U.S. commanders like Shofner that the fifty thousand Japanese troops stationed in his area might choose to fight proved unfounded. The occupation of China began with a few weeks of problems of logistics and supply, which meant that one of Shofner's first concerns was making sure his troops got fed. With the arrival of the Fifth Marine Regiment, the units of the 1st Division spread out in order to protect a few key cities, their ports, and the railways that connected them. The division HQ and the Fifth Regiment took up residence in Peiping, China's ancient capital city. The First Marines remained in Tientsin, and the Seventh guarded Chingwangtao.
^ap

In front of the French Municipal Building, the First Marines accepted the surrender of the enemy's military forces stationed in and around Tientsin on October 6. The ceremony took place before a great crowd of Chinese, who filled the streets, the windows, and the rooftops. The officers of the Imperial Army offered their swords to their counterparts and filed off to their camps "to the strains of The Marine's Hymn."
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With the formalities completed, the marines began to inspect the bases and barracks of the Japanese. Without any foot-dragging, the Japanese complied with all instructions, surrendering all material not needed for subsistence. Their prompt cooperation earned them the right to continue to administer themselves in their camps. Each tenth soldier was allowed to keep his rifle and five bullets. The United States had determined that the Japanese needed a few rifles to protect themselves from angry mobs of Chinese.

The animosity of the Chinese to the defeated foe grew into an attack on October 13 in Tientsin. The First Marines shoved their way in and separated the two sides. In this and other actions, the United States enforced its policy. The Japanese were going to be repatriated as quickly as possible. In the meantime, retribution for their crimes against the people of China would not be exacted by angry civilians. One afternoon, two well-dressed Japanese gentlemen appeared before Shofner at his headquarters. They had asked to speak with the marine commander and were brought before his desk. They introduced themselves to him, explaining that they had been officials of the Japanese consulate before the surrender. The two men had come to say, " Thank you very, very much for protecting our people."

"This incident shows the difference in honor between my country and yours," Shofner replied. He let that assertion sink in for a moment before he told them about Bataan, Bilibid, Cabanatuan, and Davao. The two diplomats became uncomfortable and eventually declared that they had known nothing of these places. When Shifty decided he had enlightened them sufficiently, he said, "Your thanks are not wanted. You are free to go."
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As strange as protecting Japanese soldiers and civilians seemed, the other mission of the marines surpassed it. The protection they extended over the cities, rails, and ports denied these assets to the Chinese communists. The Chinese nationalist government, which had been at war with the communists for many years, was too weak to garrison these important locations with its own troops. The marines guarded as many key sites as they could. Since there weren't enough marines, though, the nationalists left units of Japanese forces in place. The U.S. stance angered the communists, who threatened war but could only afford to engage in the occasional skirmish. Austin Shofner's 1/1 was not only expected to protect the enemy, but to fight alongside them. The world the 1st Marine Division encountered in China had proven to be far stranger than they ever imagined.

THE BRICK BUNGALOW WHERE KING'S MORTAR SECTION TOOK UP RESIDENCE HAD hot and cold running water, electric lights, sofas, and two sunporches. It reminded Eugene Sledge of a college campus, although it had served so long as quarters for servicemen it was, he thought, "haunted by the spirit of Rudyard Kipling."
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The warmth of the welcome from the Chinese he described as "a rosy dream and I just can't believe it. Four months ago I was sitting in a foxhole on Okinawa--last night I was sitting in the dining hall of the Wagon Light Hotel eating a five course dinner and listening to Strauss waltzes by a Russian pianist and a violinist. The [dinner] was free and given us by the Chinese government."