Battle Cry - Leon Uris [127]
The jeep sunk to its hubcaps under the gear we crammed aboard her. I called Andy and Danny, who were packing up the TBX, and went into a conference to determine where they could fit this last piece of gear. By strapping the antennae and generator across the hood, they reckoned it would give Divito room to shift gears, although most of the driving was in compound low. As they fitted the battery case in, Lieutenant Bryce approached. “What the devil are you men doing?”
“Loading the TBX, Bertram.” We called him Bertram up here and it gave us a great deal of satisfaction.
“Well, I’m very sorry, Mac, but I believe I have priority over the radio,” he said.
“You mean, Bertram, you want us to carry it while you ride?”
“As company commander it is my duty to see that all gear reaches its proper destination.”
“I know the way,” Divito spat.
“You will kindly remove the radio without further ado.”
Ziltch, the skipper’s orderly, was standing nearby taking in the beef. He paced over to Huxley and on tiptoes whispered into his ear, pointing to us. As Huxley came over, Bryce threw his pack in the jeep and tried to hurry us unloading the radio.
“Good morning, Sam. I saved a place for you,” Bryce lied.
Huxley motioned for Bryce to follow him and led him out of earshot.
“Get your goddam pack out of that jeep, Bryce.”
“But, Sam, I was only trying to save a ride for you. You know how those fellows are. Why, I’ve had a terrible time keeping the supplies coming up; the way they hide on working parties is disgraceful.”
“Get your goddam pack out of that jeep,” Huxley repeated. “When did you get the bright idea you were more important than a TBX?”
January 22, 1943
Huxley calmed the commander of E Company and lifted the field phone. “Hello, Topeka, this is Huxley. Easy Company hit a spot around K4 on the map. Japs are dug in caves. We had to bypass and surround the area…Hell no! We can’t gun them out, they’re in too deep. E Company’s burned up—two boys got killed after the Nips gave them a phony surrender and they went in to help them out of the caves….”
“Tell them that—” the E Company skipper interrupted.
“Pipe down,” Huxley said. “Yes, we need engineers with dynamite or something. We’ll have to blast. Get them up here before dark…what? Well, O.K., we’ll try anything once.”
“What did he say, Sam?”
“They’re sending flamethrowers up.”
“Flamethrowers? I didn’t know we had them.”
“First time in the war they’re using them. They’ve been waiting for a situation like this.”
Ten Easy Company riflemen approached the opening in the hill with caution. A BAR man sprayed the treetops clean of snipers. They took up positions on either side of the cave mouth.
“Come on out,” Huxley barked. There was no answer from the blackness inside. “Come on, we know you’re in there.” Silence…then a rattling.
“Hit the deck, grenade!” They flopped away fast as the missile blew.
“Lay down a covering fire,” Huxley ordered. The Marine weapons blazed into the cave. Huxley signaled the flamethrowing team to move up. The number one man crawled slowly under the heavy weight of the tank strapped on his back. He took a place between two riflemen. Huxley nodded to him to shoot at will.
The flamethrower man waved everyone back and aimed the long hose-connected nozzle. A whiff and a streak of fire shot out. It sent a hot breath past the men as it streaked into the cave.
A shriek! A Japanese soldier ran from the opening, a human torch. He made five yards, then crumpled into a smoking heap.
January 23, 1943
The position of Huxley’s battalion was now in the center of the line connecting the Army flank to the interior with the Marines along the coast. Our command post was inside a horseshoe-shaped ridge and its slopes were