by Dick Camp
After the Japanese fled, Fox Company buried its dead, which were later exhumed by the natives and reburied on the beach near Vagara. The company then pulled back to the Vagara River. The trek back was a test of endurance. The men were physically and mentally drained from the close combat and the struggle to carry twelve wounded on makeshift stretchers through the jungle. It was after dark when the exhausted Paratroopers finally arrived at the river. Krulak decided to remain there overnight rather than risk a night march. Shortly after dawn on 31 October the LCP(R)s arrived and by 0730 Fox Company was safely back at the mountain camp.
Easy Company
Easy Company reached its attack position and, shortly after 1400, opened fire with its mortars and rockets into the enemy positions located on the high ground about five hundred yards northwest of Sangigai. Immediately after the bombardment the company moved into the village and found it deserted. The enemy had fled inland toward Fox Company. The Parachutists began a search of the village. Platoon Sergeant Vernon Hammons found a treasure trove of documents and charts. Averill wrote, “Hammons came across a gold mine. Hydrographic charts of the Bougainville-Shortland-Fauro Island group showed the routes used by the barges evacuating troops from the Central Solomons to the staging areas of Choiseul and onto Bougainville. Others contained exact plots of the Japanese mine fields laid to protect the approaches to the Northern Solomons.”
Krulak recalled, “The one that fascinated me most was a chart that portrayed the minefields. … When I reported this, the night after the Sangigai attack, I saw my first ‘flash’ message. … ‘Transmit at once the coordinates of the limits of the minefields and all channels going through it’. … So we laboriously encoded the critical locations and sent them off. … Halsey sent in a minelayer and dropped mines in the entrance … and they got two Japanese ships.” After completing the search, the village was destroyed, including a new barge. Upon completing the destruction, the company pulled back to the Vagara River, where it boarded LCP(R)s that had been repaired and returned to Voza.
KRULAK PRELIMINARY REPORT, OPERATION BLISSFUL
The Sangigai operation commenced with outpost activity in the vicinity of Vagara Village at 1100, October 30th. The enemy outpost was driven into Sangigai by a force moving down the coast while another force moved inland through the mountains and swung west to attack the Japanese rear. The main force was struck at about 1400. It quickly abandoned Sangigai almost to a man, withdrawing into the mountains directly in the face of the enveloping force. Contact was made by the enveloping force at 1420 when the Japs were struck from two sides. This phase of the action, which lasted for forty-five minutes, was a firefight of the most vigorous sort. During its progress the Japs undertook two of their customary Bonzai counterattacks, during which their losses were great, and the failure of which caused their defeat. About 40 ran in a most un-Samurai fashion and escaped southward. Seventy-two dead Jap Marines were counted. Our casualties were six killed, one missing, and 12 wounded. Following destruction or dispersal of the defending force, the base installation, which consisted of permanent buildings, a field hospital and the barge-repair and staging areas, was destroyed.
Continuing Operations
Having struck hard at Japanese operations on the southeast coast, Krulak felt it was time to “destroy the southern outposts of Choiseul Bay and if possible to shell the Jap supply depot on Guppy Island.” He tasked Maj. Warner T. Bigger, the battalion executive officer, and the well-rested George Company, minus one platoon, for the assignment. Before dawn on 1 November, the eighty-seven man combat patrol, dubbed the “Northwest Task Force” by its leader struck out in three LCP(R)s for the Warrior River, reaching it without difficulty by mid-morning. However, once at the river’s mouth, the boats kept grounding, preventing them from going farther, so Bigger decided to send them back down the coast to wait until they were needed. He also decided to leave the heavy, cumbersome TBS radio on the river’s east bank with a squad-sized security detail. After distributing the 60mm mortar ammunition, the patrol, led by two native guides, began an overland march along the eastern bank of the river. By mid-afternoon, Bigger realized that the natives were lost—they were from another part of the island and not familiar with this area—so he decided to bivouac for the night. Unfortunately the site was in the middle of a swamp.
Major Bigger sent Lieutenant Duncan and a ten-man squad back to the radio site to brief Krulak. The patrol reached the site late in the afternoon and found that the radio was not working. It was too late to travel farther, so Duncan decided to stay there. Meanwhile back at the mountain camp, Seton found out about the lost guides and sent another who was familiar with the area, but he would not arrive until the next day. The next morning Duncan discovered that a large Japanese force was hot on his trail and was about to surround him. The Parachutists were able to fight their way out and make their way back to the small coastal village of Nukiki, where they were picked up by the LCP(R)s. The boats took them to Voza where Duncan briefed Krulak. Krulak immediately requested air and PT boat support for the LCP(R)s that were to evacuate Bigger’s force.
Because Bigger was out of communication, he was unaware that a Japanese battalion was behind him and continued the mission. By this time the new guide had reached the patrol and led them to the coast. At this point, another small detail, under Sgt. Rahland Wilson, was sent back to the radio site to pass instructions for the boats to pick up the Bigger force that afternoon. Wilson could not find the radio detail and sent Cpl. Winston Gallaher across the river to find them. Gallaher swam across the river but just as he reached the opposite shore, several Japanese soldiers sprang out of the jungle and grabbed him before the patrol could do anything. Wilson was left with no recourse but to cross the river at a low spot and work his way back in an attempt to rescue Gallaher. It took the detail some time to work their way back. Archivist Greg Bradsher wrote that, “They found the missing Marine, stripped naked, tied to a tree, and dead, having been used for bayonet practice. Continuing on to the coast, they spotted five Japanese, apparently the ones who had killed their colleague. They immediately opened fire, instantly killing them.” The detail was able to flag down the LCP(R)s carrying Lieutenant Duncan on the way to rejoin the Northwest Task Force and escape.
The Bigger force had proceeded as far as the southern tip of Redman Island, the southern-most island in the chain stretching across the front of Choiseul Bay, when it ran into a Japanese outpost. In the short firefight that followed, three of the enemy were killed but a fourth managed to get away. Bigger felt the enemy was now alert to their presence and opted to hit the secondary target, Guppy Island, the barge replenishing center and fuel base for the Choiseul area. The patrol came within range of their small 60mm mortars. Overhanging vegetation forced the gunners to set up in the water, with only the muzzles protruding. Within minutes they fired 143 rounds of high explosive, “causing huge fires in a fuel dump and detonating ammunition and explosives stored on the island,” according to Gerald Averill. The patrol immediately turned around and headed as fast as they could for the Warrior River, arriving there approximately 1600.
Major Bigger, still unaware that the Japanese were in the area, gave permission for some of the men to cool off in the river while waiting for the boats. They had no sooner entered the water when they were taken under fire, sparking a fire fight that resulted in several Japanese casualties before the enemy withdrew. Bigger realized the boats could not pick his force in the river itself and sent three men across the river to bring the boats to the east bank when they arrived. The moment one of the men reached the bank the Japanese opened fire. One Marine was killed in the water, another was wounded but managed to make it back to the friendly side of the river, and the third was wounded and captured.
The Japanese shifted their fire to Bigger’s force, precipitating an all-out engagement that left Cpl. Edward J. Schnell critically wounded and several of the enemy dead. During the action, the boats arrived and added their firepower to the fight. They
started taking fire. Author Christ noted that a Navy officer ordered the boats to stand out to sea, but Duncan drew his pistol on the officer. “This boat is going in there,” stated Duncan, “with or without your head.” The boats were unable to cross the coral reef and had to stand out in the heavy surf, forcing Bigger’s men to wade over a hundred yards through sporadic Japanese fire. In the process of embarking the men, both of the LCP(R)s were damaged on the coral. One had a bent rudder and the other started taking on water, causing its engine to flood out. The high wind drove the boat toward the enemy-held beach.
WARRIOR RIVER INCIDENT
First Lieutenant Samuel M. Johnston, Platoon Sgt. Frank J. Muller, and Cpl. Paul Pare were sent across the Warrior River to contact the LCP(R)s and bring them to the east bank to embark the Bigger force. That part of the incident has been established as fact. What happened after the men entered the water remains a question. Bigger stated that the Japanese fired on the three volunteers as they approached the east bank of the river. Muller was killed instantly and sank beneath the water, and Johnston and Pare were both wounded. Pare managed to escape back to the west bank. He stated that two Japanese ran into the water and captured Johnston. However, official records indicate that Johnston swam over alone, contacted Andrew Sivokana (a native of the coastwatcher group), and reconnoitered the Japanese positions. He then proceeded toward Nukiki and was suddenly confronted en route by a party of Japanese to whom he surrendered.
Regardless of which version of the incident is true, Lieutenant Seton reported that two Marine bodies were found on the east side of the river and buried. The only identification he found was “Galla” stenciled on the jacket of one of the bodies. Marine Corps headquarters assumed that this was Cpl. Winston Gallaher, killed earlier, and since Johnston was the only other Marine known to have gotten across the river (Muller’s body sank), the second body must have been his. Coastwatcher Sivokana’s statement seems to corroborate the official version of the story when he told the Marines that Johnston was captured.
Suddenly the two PT boats (PT-59 and PT-236) that Krulak had requested appeared out of the rainsquall. PT-59, skippered by Lt. John F. Kennedy, who would later become the thirty-fifth president of the United States, came alongside the rapidly sinking boat and took the men off, including Corporal Schnell, who was placed in Kennedy’s bunk. As the men scrambled aboard the torpedo boat, three U.S. aircraft strafed the shoreline. At 2130, Kennedy’s badly overloaded PT boat safely arrived at Voza. The operation cost the patrol two men killed, including Corporal Schnell who died aboard the PT boat, one wounded, and two missing, presumed dead. In addition to the damage done to the Guppy Island base, Bigger estimated that forty-two Japanese died and an undetermined number were wounded during the successful patrol.
During the two-day Bigger patrol, Krulak also conducted several platoon-sized patrols, which resulted in more than a dozen Japanese losses at a cost of one Marine killed in action. Intelligence indicated that the Japanese were closing in on Krulak’s mountain base, having finally realized how small the American force was. Krulak reported, “By November 2 the ruse was plain to the Japs, and they began running troops on both flanks and scouting the mountain front of our perimeter … their activities were becoming more aggressive.” The enemy was now within striking distance and Krulak expected an attack within forty-eight hours. Headquarters considered the information and sent a message ending with, “… feel your mission accomplished.” Based on this assessment, Krulak recommended that the parachute battalion be withdrawn during the night of 3–4 November.
On the afternoon of 3 November, Krulak moved the battalion to the beach at Voza to await the nighttime arrival of four landing craft infantry (LCI), one configured as a gunboat to provide covering fire. The demolition platoon set about preparing a nasty surprise for the Japanese. The platoon laid two mine fields and placed over two hundred booby traps on likely avenues of approach. Sometime after midnight the landing craft arrived and within twelve minutes the battalion was safely aboard with all its supplies and equipment, minus rations. They were left behind for the native carriers, who had done such a magnificent job for the force. Krulak was the last man aboard and as he left, he urged Seton to come along but the coastwatcher declined. His post, he declared, was on the island and the natives needed him.
KRULAK NAVY CROSS
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Colonel Victor Harold Krulak (MCSN: 0-4990), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service as Commanding Officer of the Second Battalion, FIRST Marine Parachute Regiment, during operations on Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands, 28 October 1943 to 3 November 1943. Assigned the task of diverting hostile attention from the movements of our main attack force en route to Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville Island, Lieutenant Colonel Krulak landed at Choiseul and daringly directed the attack of his battalion against the Japanese, destroying hundreds of tons of supplies and burning camps and landing barges. Although wounded during the assault on 30 October he repeatedly refused to relinquish his command and with dauntless courage and tenacious devotion to duty, continued to lead his battalion against the numerically superior Japanese forces. His brilliant leadership and indomitable fighting spirit assured the success of this vital mission and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
By 0730 4 November, the battalion was back at Vella Lavella, having accomplished its mission in “conformity with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps,” as spelled out in a commendatory letter written by General Vandegrift. “And so we came back across The Slot, the sunrise behind us, on a beautiful November morning,” Gerald Averill wrote. “The colonel [Krulak], his face wound freshly bandaged, rode in on the LCI like a baron returning from the Crusades. The regimental commander, his staff, the battalion commanders of the other two parachute battalions, and selected members of the I Marine Corps Amphibious Corps staff were on the beach to greet him … a section of the band played marches and martial airs.”
On 9 November Lieutenant Colonel Krulak was awarded the Navy Cross by Adm. William Halsey.
CHAPTER 10
Spy Catcher
Marine Captain Francis Thomas “Frank” Ferrell stood in the open door of the Army Air Corps C-47 waiting for the “green light,” the signal to leap into space on a mission that could mean life or death for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people. He and a hand-picked team were parachuting into the Japanese-held city of Canton, China, to hammer out the details of the Japanese surrender, only two days after Emperor Hirohito capitulated. They also had orders to rescue Allied POWs and investigate cases of possible war crimes. Captain Ferrell had served with the First Marine Division during the Guadalcanal and Peleliu operations and was well aware of how fanatical the Japanese could be. Thousands upon thousands of heavily armed Imperial soldiers occupied the city spread out below him. The question in his mind was, would they obey the Emperor and surrender, or would they disobey and fight? The light flashed green and Farrell stepped into the slip stream in a leap of faith.
Frank Farrell was twenty-nine years old and the feature editor of the New York World Telegram when the war broke out. In a burst of patriotic fervor he attempted to join the Navy but was turned down because of high blood pressure. Disappointed, he turned to an influential old friend, “Wild Bill” Donovan, at the time the driving force behind COI, and asked him to intercede on his behalf to gain a commission in the Marine Corps. Donovan agreed, if Farrell would help him sometime in the future. Farrell agreed. After attending officer training, he was commissioned and assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division as an intelligence officer.
On 7 August 1942, the 1st Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal, in the first ground offensive operation of the war. Farrell led many small jungle patrols, becoming adept at surviving the deadly close encounters and ambushes of the bush-wise Japanese soldiers. The experience was a great training grou
nd. It hardened him to the rigors of leading men in combat and gave him confidence and the mental toughness to operate independently, attributes that stood him in good stead during his pursuit of Nazi spies three year later. His regimental commander called him “the finest young officer I ever knew.”
After Guadalcanal, Farrell took part in two more island campaigns, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu, where he was awarded the Silver Star Medal for conspicuous gallantry. The award citation noted that he voluntarily led numerous small patrols into hostile territory to secure vital information on the enemy at great risk of his life. On one occasion, he was pinned down by hostile fire for more than forty minutes, and on another, a Japanese ammunition dump exploded in a cave that he was searching.
Farrell returned to the United States and was assigned to the Special Services Unit of the OSS. In May 1945, he received orders for Kumming, China, and special temporary duty as commander of the “Buick” mission, a reconnaissance of Japanese forces in the coastal areas of South China. The mission was so successful that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service. The citation noted, “On numerous occasions Captain Farrell was compelled to make rapid decisions which concerned the lives and safety of his men who were operating as agents behind enemy lines. His decisions proved sound and showed evidence of thorough knowledge of combat and infiltration work.”
As Farrell neared the ground of Canton, he saw a number of armed Japanese pointing at his rapidly descending parachute and gesturing excitedly. Immediately upon landing, he and his team were surrounded by soldiers brandishing bayonet-tipped rifles. An officer’s sharp command brought the onslaught to a halt, giving Ferrell an opportunity to talk to the English-speaking officer. The officer knew of the Emperor’s decision and told Farrell that his orders were to take him and his team to the Swiss Embassy. The team languished in the embassy for two days before the Japanese commander summoned Ferrell and told him that his troops would lay down their arms. Ferrell immediately notified General Chang Fa Kwai, commander-in-chief, 2nd Chinese Army Group, to which his OSS field intelligence team was attached. On 18 August 1945, Farrell and his team welcomed elements of the Chinese First Army as they entered the city to accept the Japanese surrender.
