Why Not I?

Ben F. Tingle

Sujets

• Corazón Púrpura
• Segunda Guerra Mundial
• Military history
• Battle of Guam
• Biography
• Campaigns of World War II
• World War II
• Okinawa Prefecture
• Autobiography
• Okinawa
• Purple Heart
• United States Marine Corps
• Seconde Guerre mondiale

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781618585745
• Langue: English

Extrait

Turner Publishing Company 412 Broadway • P.O. Box 3101 Paducah, Kentucky 42002-3101 [phone]
 
Copyright © 2002 Ben F. Tingle
Publishing Rights: Turner Publishing Company This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced without the written consent of Ben F. Tingle and Turner Publishing Company.
9781618585745
 
Printed in the United States of America. Limited Edition
Table of Contents
Title Page Copyright Page Preface Dedication Why Not I? Okinawa Typhoon Guam Guadalcanal In Conclusion Jesus Answers a Mother’s Prayer Gratitude About the Author
Preface
The reasons for my writing this book are twofold. The first is that I’m part of the greatest generation. The second is that my generation, especially the World War combat veterans, are dying at a rapid rate. I feel that I’m obligated to the future generations to share my experiences in the South Pacific. I want to relate my experiences in the bloodiest battles of World War II, Guam and Okinawa.
 
The young people of America should know that our freedom was not “a piece of cake”, so to speak, but a horrible experience for all veterans who saw real combat. With the tragedy in New York and Washington, I pray that the dead of World War II will not have died in vain.
Dedication

I dedicate this book to my dearest and best friend, Robert Samuel Snoddy, who was killed in combat May 3,1945. He was a member of the 18-man patrol that was killed that day. He was a dedicated corpsman, who sacrificed his life to help others. May God rest his soul in peace. After the war had ended I began to reminisce about the many battles in which I was engaged. I asked myself, “Why was it not I?” when I saw a rice paddy filled with dead Marines half-submerged in water on Guam. I also asked why it was not I in the trucks full of dead Marines, as I was walking to the front line.
Why Not I?
My name is Ben Tingle. I was a medical corpsman attached to a company of infantry Marines, which was part of the Fourth Marine Regiment and belonged to the Third Marine Amphibious Corps. We had left Guadalcanal in March 1945 on board a large troop ship which had been converted from a cruise ship, USS Harry Lee. We had over a thousand troops aboard. The Harry Lee joined a convoy heading for the island of Okinawa, an island that was part of Japan, south of Tokyo. We arrived the morning of March 28,1945, “All hell broke loose”. Suicide planes, called Kamikaze, came in by the hundreds. I saw one hit the USS aircraft carrier, Franklin, and you could see a hole through it. A heavy smoke screen saved our ship; however we had two near misses. March 28th the battle continued with waves of Jap Zero fighters adding to the battle. The sky was full of flack and the air was heavy with smoke, making it nearly impossible for the Jap Zero planes to spot our ships. The colonel of our regiment called us on deck for a briefing. He said we are going in tomorrow morning at 0800. We are using a new landing craft, called an alligator, which has treads on both sides like a tank on water without the guns and will take you safely five hundred yards behind the enemy’s defenses.
 
Sequential Time and Geographical Location Guadalcanal - Training - 1942 - 43 Guam - Invasion - July 26, 1944 Okinawa - Invasion - April 1, 1945

We watched a zero fighter plane and our corsair fighter engage in a battle when the zero began sputtering and falling down. It crash landed about 300 yards from our i positions. The pilot opened the canopy and stepped out on the broken wing. He stretched and was killed in a hail of fire. Everyone opened up on him. The corsair went on after following him in.
Okinawa
The third corps’ main objective was to capture the Japanese air field. We were using the field within three days to resupply our fighters without having to land on carriers miles at sea.