The Ghost Mountain Boys - James E. Campbell [160]
Harding, as Anders says in Gentle Knight, was critical of the staff officers sent to observe conditions at the front.
Mott, though caustic, had a master’s from Harvard and a quarter century in uniform. Harding had made a mistake, however, in relying on Mott. Gailey relates a confrontation that Mott had with one of the staff officer observers, arguing over who had the right to use one of only two jeeps at the front.
As Gailey points out, the staff officer (Larr) did not leave a written report of what he witnessed at the front, and he was killed in a plane crash. Whatever Larr said, though, represented a nail in Harding’s coffin.
Smith relates the details of this meeting in his books.
The details of Harding’s walk to Dobodura are taken from Anders’ biography and from Harding’s Buna Diary.
The history of Doboduru, or what the army called Doboduru, was explained to me by Wellington and Willie Jojoba on a tour of Doboduru. Seeing Doboduru, it is obvious why the U.S. Army chose it as an airfield. Doboduru’s grasslands are vast. The runways that the army built, though surrounded by tall grass, are still visible.
Details on the mental and physical condition of the men on the eve of battle are derived from personal interviews with the veterans.
Smith writes of his affection for his men, especially Bailey. Jerry Smith (Smith’s son) also spoke of his father’s affection for his men.
Jastrzembski says that even guys who did not smoke or swear learned to do both once they got in the army.
Stateside conditions are from Perret’s book. I also mined Robert Frankenstein’s book, WWII: Rendezvous With History, for details. An exhibit set up by Frankenstein at the Dodge County Historical Society in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, was also very helpful.
In his interview with E. J. Kahn, Lutjens relates the story of Fredericks sneaking up on a Japanese position.
Lutjens’ love letter is from his diary.
Japanese diary entries are from the ATIS collection at the National Archives.
Odell’s observations are taken from his diary. Other historians have also used excerpts from Odell’s diary.
The scene with Captain Erwin Nummer is taken from E. J. Kahn’s article, “The Terrible Days of Company E.”
Historical accounts of what the soldiers discovered when they overran the Japanese hut vary. Milner, Mayo, Lutjens, Odell, and Smith all have slightly different stories.
Mary Ellen Condon-Rall quotes Warmenhoven about the performance of the medical corps. All the men that I interviewed spoke highly of Warmenhoven and his staff. Some details are also from George Moorad’s newspaper stories, and a variety of articles that appeared in the Grand Rapids Press. I also used an article in the Junior Review titled “Report from the Medical Front.”
The Bottcher incident is described by George Moorad in his article for Liberty Magazine called “Fire and Blood in the Jungle.”
Chapter 15. The Butcher’s Bill
Milner, Gailey, Mayo, and Anders provide details on Harding’s meeting.
Harding had written earlier that Sutherland seemed to be the kind of man with whom he could be “perfectly frank.” “I was,” Harding later wrote, “but he wasn’t.” Prior to the incident, Harding rated Sutherland a good friend—“until we tangled at the Dobodura airstrip on November 30…since then my personal and official regard for him has steadily deteriorated.”
Harding seemed to be the last man to grasp Sutherland’s true character. Others regarded Sutherland as prickly, aloof, and power hungry.
Harding thought it unwise to relieve subordinates in the middle of battle. While he was at the Infantry Journal, it published an article “The Economics of Canning” that clearly reflected Harding’s ideas on the subject. “In WWI,” the article read, “some commanders thought that GHQ’s measure of an officer’s ability was the number of subordinates he canned…. ‘Put the fear of God in them was the watch-word.’ One strike and out was the procedure…it gives them [the officers] the jitters. And jitters don’t