Love and War A Memoir
ZigZag Pass
By Leon Hesser
1/1210 Copyright Š 2008, Leon Hesser All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the Publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in review. Printed in the United States of America Published by: BHP Bavender House Press P.O. Box 770883 Naples, Florida 34107-0883 Tel: 239-254-1478 Fax: 239-234-6198 Publisher' s Cataloging-in-Publication Hesser, Leon F., 1925ZigZag Pass: love and war I Leon Hess. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. LCCN 2008926878 ISBN-13 : 978-0-615-19852-1 ISBN-I0: 0-615-19852-X 1. Hesser, Leon F., 1925- 2.World War, 1939-1945Personal narratives, American. 3. World War, 1939-1945 --Campaigns-Philippines. 4. United States ArmyBiography. 1. Title. D767.4.H66A32008 940.54'2599'092 QBI08-700058
ZigZag Pass
Also by Leon Hesser
The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger (hardback, 2006; trade paperback, 2008)
Nurture the Heart, Feed the World: The Inspiring Life Journeys of Two Vagabonds (2004)
The Taming ofthe Wilderness: Indiana's TransitionfromIndian Hunting Grounds to Hoosier Farmland: 1800 to 1875 (2002)
To Florence ... My lover, my inspiration, my companion, my wife ... For more than 60 years.
"Now to the infantry-the God-damned infantry, as they like to call themselves. I love the infantry because they are the underdogs. They are the mud-rain-frost-and-wind boys. They have no comforts, and they even learn to live without the necessities. And in the end they are the guys that wars can't be won without." Ernie Pyle May 2,1943
ZigZag Pass
Foreword Leon Hesser's memoir is as much love story as it is war story. We were three veterans of World War II, Leon, Jack Hild, and I, when we first met on the evening of November 10, 2006, more than 60 years after the war ended. We were a panel of three who sat before a class of students at Hodges University who were studying the literature of war. The professor of the class, Dr. Scott Kemp, had invited us to share some of our experiences as young soldiers and to respond to questions. While each of us had served in different theaters of the war, I was especially impressed with many of the similarities, especially between those of Leon and me. I related to so much of his story. We were both teenage soldie~s who had experienced and survived intense, bitter battles. And we agreed that the duty in foreign countries had served to stimulate our interest and curiosity about global issues. It stretched our minds beyond the relatively closed communities in which we had grown up. Several months after we had met at Hodges University, Leon shared with me a draft of his memoir. He said it was stimulated by the experience that evening before Professor Kemp's class. Leon's story is delightful. Several things about it impress me. One is the way he and some of his closest buddies in basic training at Camp Hood, Texas, in essence formed a surrogate family as a means of tempering the pain of being away from loved ones back home. Also significant is the positive influence that his exposure to new and different cultures in foreign countries-notably the Philippines and Japan-had on his professional career. The experience guided him toward helping to relieve poverty and hunger in poorer nations of the world, first in Pakistan at a time when the Asian subcontinent suffered pockets of starvation, and then in Washington, DC, as director of America's program of agricultural technical assistance for less developed countries of Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa. And finally, Leon's subtle humor throughout his story demonstrates his ability to survive under adverse conditions and at the same time shows his knack for enjoying better times. Intertwined throughout is a charming love story, including the romance of his returning home to Florence, the girl whom he met just three months before going to the Army, their wedding shortly after 5
Leon Hesser
he turned 21, and their early married life as young Indiana farmers. When Leon turned 30, recognizing that he had regretted that he had not gone to college, Florence encouraged him to sell his farm business and enter Purdue University as a freshman. He says going to college was so much easier than farming that he stayed on and earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics. With encouragement from Leon while he was a graduate student, Florence became a freshman at Purdue at age 35 and ultimately earned a doctorate in education. She then served as professor and director of the Reading Center at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, for 20 years. Her career is at least as fascinating as Leon's. This is a story for all ages, but will be especially inspiring to our country's young people. I heartily recommend it both as absorbing history and as an endearing love story. Peter Thomas April 15, 2008
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ZigZag Pass
Contents Foreword ........................................................................................... 5 Contents ............................................................................................ 7 Introduction ................................................................ ...................... 9 Chapter 1:
Indiana Fann Boy ............................... ....................... 13
Chapter 2:
Basic Training at Camp Hood, Texas ......................... 25
Chapter 3:
34-day Ocean Voyage to the Philippines ....... ............. 35
Chapter 4:
MacArthur Returns ............. ... .................................... 41
Chapter 5:
Three Days in ZigZag Pass ....................... ... .. ............ 51
Chapter 6:
A Medic in Training ................................................... 67
Chapter 7:
Four Months on Mindanao ......................................... 73
Chapter 8:
The A-Bomb and Hiroshima ...................................... 85
Chapter 9:
Anny of Occupation ............... ................................... 91
Chapter 10: Discharge and Welcome Home ................................. 103 Epilogue .................................................. ...................................... 111 Appendix A: Anny Ranks and Structure ....................................... 115 Appendix B: Anny Unit Size ........................................................ 116 Bibliography .................................................................................. 117 Index ............................................................................................. 119 Notes ............................... .............................................................. 126 7
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Introduction One can never completely squash the memories of war-the sound of whining and exploding shells, or the shrieking cries for medics, medics, medics, or the sight and the putrid stench of a friend's corpse that had been exposed for three days beneath the scorching tropical sun. My horrid memories of ZigZag Pass and later, Mindanao, temporarily faded during the elation of celebrating the end ofthe war, the fascination of occupying Japan, and the excitement of returning home. The memories faded, yes, but they never disappeared. This memoir chronicles my personal experiences as an initially indestructible, subsequently frightened, teenage soldier whose invincibility vanished on his first day in ZigZag Pass.
*** On November 10,2005, the eve ofVeterans'Day, Iwasamember ofa three-person panel of veterans of World War II. The audience was the students in Professor Scott Kemp's class at International College (now Hodges University) in Naples, Florida, who were studying the literature of war. They wanted first-hand exposure with real-live survIvors. Jack Hild had served in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre as a member of the famed Flying Tigers. Peter Thomas had survived D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. I represented the Pacific theater where, as a newly minted private in the U.S. Army's 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Division, I participated in battles to liberate the Philippines. The three of us were impressed with the eagerness and sincerity of the college students to learn more about this "ancient history." All three agreed that when we returned from the war, we did not want to talk about it, we did not want to think about it, we just wanted to get on with our lives. But after my experience with those young people-seeing how eager they were to learn about the various conflicts-I thought: Maybe! really should write about my experiences, my thoughts, my anxieties, my fears, my dreams. A few days later, during an early-morning walk in our village in sunny southwest Florida-with my four granddaughters in mind as audience- I 9
Leon Hesser
mentally outlined a memoir, and started writing. By telling the story, I hope to entice my granddaughters and their contemporaries, older teens and young adults, to seek more knowledge about this important period in history. My approach is to provide an historical context, or overview, for my two-year experience in the Army, for which three days in ZigZag Pass-February 3, 4 and 5, 1945-were the apex. This was my baptism by fire. In those three days, within a week after I had joined the 34th as a new replacement, half as many of our troops were killed or wounded as were lost in the outfit's bloody 75-day Leyte campaign. Writing this memoir has been hard. More than once, as I mentally revisited the horrible events of ZigZag Pass, including the losses of several buddies with whom I shared basic training at Camp Hood, Texas, I sobbed. In a real sense, though, writing the story has been therapeutic. It helped me bring into the open some of the angst and torment that I harbored, suppressed, for more than six decades. Right after the worst experience of my life came the best. I had met and fallen in love with Florence, the girl of my dreams, a scant three months before I went to the Army. The hard part, of course, was our being apart for those two years. We married within two months after I returned home. She has put up with me for more than sixty years, now, and was the inspiration for my having a remarkable career. The Battle of ZigZag Pass was the single most traumatic event of my life. The impact lingered. Over the years, I often asked myself, Why was I spared when so many were not? Perhaps my Camp Hood buddy, Brenton Hirsch, had the answer when he said to me many years later, "Somebody up there had plans for you." I have reflected on that statement many times. Serving with the Army overseas opened my eyes to how other people live. Since I lived through it, it wasn't all bad. For me, and I would guess for many others, the "good" side of the war was my having observed the people and cultures in the Philippines and in Japan that differed markedly from those of the Midwestern United States in which I grew up. It gave me a broader perspective on life and its purpose, and it made me realize that not all people in the world are as fortunate as we are in America. It stimulated a yearning for me to do something to help people in poorer countries. After we married, Florence and I farmed for several years. 10
ZigZag Pass
Knowing that I regretted not having attended college, Florence, a city girl, convinced me to sell the farm business when I was 30 and enter Purdue University as a freshman. It was so much easier than farming that I stayed on and earned three degrees, culminating with a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics. Shortly afterward, Ijoined the U.S. Foreign Service. We were assigned to Pakistan where I was director of America's technical assistance to help increase food production in that hungry nation. I and my staff helped Norman Borlaug start what came to be known as The Green Revolution, which dramatically relieved hunger in India and Pakistan. For that, Dr. Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Those were heady days. In 1973, I transferred to a plush office in Department of State in Washington, DC, where I was director of America's worldwide effort to increase food production in poorer countries. After early retirement from the State Department, I consulted on agricultural development projects in some twenty countries of Asia, Africa, and the former Soviet Union. But those experiences are the subject for another book. I mention them here simply to suggest that had I not gone to the Army, I would almost certainly have remained on the family farm in Indiana. However virtuous that would have been, it would not have left me with the tremendous sense of accomplishment that I received from putting more food on the tables of millions of the world's hungry people. Without doubt, the time in the Philippines and Japan inspired me to want to see more of the world and to try to level the playing field. My playing a role in extending life-giving benefits-relieving hunger and poverty of the World's poorer people-has indeed been healing. It has been a gratifying counterbalance to the horrors of ZigZag Pass.
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Index A
A-bomb, 82-86, 88 "American ugly ducklings," 35 Anti-Tank Training, 30 Army of Occupation, 91-101 Atabrine, a substitute for quinine, 69, 79 Austin, 15t Lt. Paul, 43-44 Australia, 16,38 Avenging Bataan, David Mann, 58 B B-17 Flying Fortress, 3~, 57 B-25 Mitchell bomber, 20 B-29 Superfortress, 71, 85, 87-88, 98 Bagobos,75 BAR (Browning Automatic .30 caliber rifle), 52, 62, 67, 76 Barracks #175,25-26, 30-31 Bataan, Bataan Peninsula, 16,39,51,53 Bataan Death March, 16,37,39 Battle of the Bulge, World War II, 9 Benjamin Harrison, Fort, 24-25, 103-104 "Betty Bomber," Japanese heavy bomber, also known as "Flying Cigar" and "One-Shot Lighter," 47 Biak,48 Bock's Car, 88 Bonsai, 77 Borlaug, Norman, 11, 112-113 Borneo, 37 Breakneck Ridge, 44-45 C Cameron, Capt., Surgeon, 2nd BN, 34th Regiment, 58, 63-64 Camp Hood, Texas, 5, 10,25-31,41,59, 76, 80, 91 Camp Stoneman, California, 33, 103 Caribou Gulch, 76 Carter, President and Mrs., 114 Chiang Kai-Shek, 82 China, 82-83 China-Burma-India theatre, World War 11,9 119
Leon Hesser
Churchill, Prime Minister Winston, 81-82 Ciancarlo, Guiseppe, 61 Clark Field, 15 Combat Infantry Badge, 67 Combat Medic Badge, 67 Coronet, 86-87 Corregidor, 39, 51 Curtis Helldiver, Navy dive bomber, 75 D
Davao City, 73-74, 77, 89 Davao Gulf, 73, 76-77, 91 Davao Province, 16, 73, 75, 82 Davy Jones initiation, 36 Dinalupihan, 50-55, 63 Dogo Onsen hot spring, 93 Doolittle, Jimmy, 20 Doolittle's Raid, 20, 41 E
Einstein, Albert, 85 Eisenberg, Morton, 42 Enola Gay, 88 F
"Fat Man" A-bomb, 88 First Ordnance Squadron, 88 Flying Tigers, 9 Foreign Service of the United States: 11, 112-113 Formosa, 41 France, 13 G G Company, 34th Infantry Regiment, 44-46, 49,55-65 German U-boats, 13 Germany, 13 Grapes of Wrath, The, 13 Great Depression, The, 13, 16-17 Green Revolution, The, 11, 113 Groves, Leslie R., 85 Guam, 15 Guise, Lester, 27, 31
120
ZigZag Pass
H Haifa, Princess, daughter of King Faisal, 114 Halizone tablets, 70 Hall, Maj. General Charles, 51, 53-56, 63 Handy, Pfc., 77 Hawaiian Islands, 14-15,35,38,41 Hefner, Hugh, 25, 28,31,33 Hesser, George Christian, 111 Hesser, Gwendolyn Ann, 111 Hesser, Vivian, 17, 44, 107 Hild, Jack, 5, 9 Hill 120, 43 Hill, Carl "Red," 25, 31, 48,59 Hirohito, Emper9r, 20, 82, 89, 98-99 Hiroshima, 83-84, 86, 88, 91, 94-95, 108 Hirsch, Brenton, 10,25-29,31,33 Hise, Jim, 25-26, 28-29, 31, 33 Hitler's Army, 13 Hodges University, 5 Hokkaido, 83 Hollandia, 48 Homma, General Masaharu, 39 Hong Kong, 15 Honolulu, 15 Honshu, 80, 83,92 I Indiana, 74, 92 Infantry Division, 24 th , 9, 43-44, 68, 73, 77, 82 Infantry Division, 38 th , 50, 54-55, 61, 63 Infantry Division, 96th , 43 Infantry Regiment, 34th, of the 24th Division, 9, 37, 43-61 Innes, Capt. Rucker G., 58-59 International Military Tribunal for the Far East, 100 Iwo Jima, 71-72, 81 J Japanese 16th Division, 43 Jenna, Colonel William, 48-49,53-57,61-63 Joint Chiefs of Staff, 80-81, 86-87, 99 Jones, General, 62 121
Leon Hesser
K K-rations, 53, 55 Kaiser Shipbuilding, Inc., 35 kamikaze, 81-82, 92 Kemp, Professor Scott,S, 9 KIA (killed in action), 67, 76-77 Killers Kollege, 27, 91 King, General Ed, 38-39 King Neptune, 36 Kinkaid, Vice Admiral Thomas, 43 Koch, Capt. Fremont P., M.D., 67-71, 78-79,89 Koch, Eunice, 79 Krueger, Gen., 53, 55, 63 Kyushu, 80, 82, 86,92 L
Lewis, Robert, 88 Leyte Gulf, Battle of, 42, 44, 80 Leyte Island, 10,37,42,44-49,52, 89 Life, Chester, 32, 108 Life, Florence, 10-11,22-24,29,31-33,46,55,64, 71, 89, 100, 103-114 Life, Hugh Jacob, 32, 107 Life Manufacturing Company, 32 Life, Mrs. Nellie, 23, 32, 109 "Little Boy" A-bomb, 84, 88 Luzon Island, 15-16,38,47-50,67,74-75,91 M
M-1 Garand .30 caliber rifle, 26, 28, 52, 57, 78 MacArthur, GeneralArthu~ 98 MacArthur, General Douglas, 15-16, 37-38, 41-53, 73, 80, 82, 86, 91-101 MacArthur, General Douglas, commander of the South West Pacific areas, 41 MacArthur, General Douglas, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP), 98 Manhattan Project, The, 85, 87 Manila, Manila Bay, 15-16,38,50 Mann, David, 48,58,61 Manobos, 75 Mariana Islands, 41, 86 Marshall, General George c., 38, 86 122
ZigZag Pass
Marshall Islands, 41 McGuire, Wayne, 21, 107 Midway, Battle of, 20-21, 41 Midway Island, 15 Mindanao Island, 9, 67, 73-79, 91 Mindoro Island, 67-73 Moros,74 N Nagasaki, 86, 88 Nagoya,20 Negritos, 54, 75 New Britain, 41 New Guinea, 37,41 Newman, Aubrey S, 54. Nickels Field, 15 Nimitz, Admiral Chester W., commander of the Pacific Ocean Areas,41,80,86-87 Nobel Peace Prize, 11, 113 Normandy, France, 24
o Ogawa, Major, commander of Japanese forces at ZigZag Pass, 56, 58 Okinawa, 41,81-82,87 Olongapo, 51, 53, 55, 58 Olympic, 86-87 Operation Downfall, 86-87 Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 86, 88 Oro Bay, Papua/New Guinea, 37 p P-38 twin-fuselage fighter plane, 52 P-40 fighter plane, 38 P-47 Thunderbolt, 52, 63 P-61 Black Widow "night fighter," 48 Parang, 73-74 Pearl Harbor, Remember Pearl Harbor, 14-15,21,38,41,80,92, 100 Peoples Handbook, 81 Philippine Islands, 9, 15,47 Pill Rollers, 70, 78, 89, 96, 100 plutonium-235, 85 plutonium-239,88 123
Leon Hesser
Potsdam Conference, 82-83 Potsdam Declaration, 83-83, 89, 99 POW (prisoner of war), 53 Purdue University, 6, 11, 111 Pyle, Ernie, 4 Q R Roosevelt, President Franklin Delano, 13-14, 16,20,35,38,41,72,85 Rural Electrification Administration, 17
S Saipan,80 Schneller, Pfc. Bernard, 56 "Shellback," 36-37 Sherman tanks, 54 Shikoku, 83, 91-93 Silber, 2 nd Lt. Paul G., 49, 58 Snavely, Maj . Harry L., 52, 56-59 Solomon Islands, 41 Stanley, Mary Lou, 29 Stanley, Reverend, 29 Steinbeck, John, 13 Stimson, Secretary of War Henry, 85 Subic Bay, 50, 53, 63, 67 Surigao Strait, 42 Szilard, Leo, 85 T Tacloban Harbor, 47 Taiwan, 46 Teller, Edward, 85 Thomas, Peter, 6, 9 Tibbets, Paul, 87-88 Tinian, 86, 88 Tojo, Prime Minister Hideki, 80, 100 "Trinity" A-bomb, 82, 86, 88 Truman, President Harry S., 72, 82, 85-88, 98 U Uranium-235, 85 USS Arizona, 14 USS Crosby, 42 124
ZigZag Pass
USS General R L Howze, 35-49, 58, 76-77 USS Hornet, 20 USS Hovey, 43 USS Howard, 42 USS Missouri, 98 USS Palmer, 42 USS Ross, 42 USS Yorktown, 21 V Victory Division (24th Infantry Division), 37,44-45 Victory Mail (V-Mail), 46, 64, 89 V-J (Victory Japan) Day, 89, 98 W WAACs (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps), 35, 37 Wahle, Capt. Ben, 46 Wainwright, General Jonathan, 38-39 Wake Island, 15 War Department, 25 War Stories II, Oliver North's, 43 Wigner, Eugene, 85 X XI Corps, 51, 54-55, 62 Y Yankee Doodle Dandy, a Jimmy Cagney movie, 29
Z ZigZag Pass, 9-11, 49-64, 78, 113 ZigZag Pass, Battle of, 10, 16,55-56, 76
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Leon & Florence Hesser
When Florence was 35, Leon convinced her to enter Purdue as a freshman. She ultimately earned an EdD. As Professor of Education at The George Washington University she became wellacquainted with President and Mrs. Carter while their daughter, Amy, was in her after-schoo, program for four years. In November 2000, the Hessers retired to sunny Naples, Florida, where Leon writes books while they enjoy the early morning Sights and sounds . of this southern paradise.
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An Endearing
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that blossoms during World War II "A compelling account of a young infantryman's experiences in combat in the South Pacific during World War II His later work as a combat medic provides insight into what was and still is one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in war. Readers also will find interesting the story of his boyhood days on an Indiana farm and his return to 'the girl he left behind' at war's end.» -Dick Stodghill, author of Normandy 1944 °1 loved reading ZigZag Pass. It was great! I related to so much of it.» - Peter Thomas, Oscar-winning radio and TV narrator "Ifillished YOllr meJlloir ... It is terrific! I I.l'ish I had lellrlled WW2 bistOlT ill that /.I'lIY.' ...; :Lig:Lag PlISS deli II i tely lI'ill ajJjJealt() tee liS. III I
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- Estelle Rauch ,""".
"AjJa I't frolll this lI'ork. I /)a I'e lIot seell sllch a
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- Tony Arnold
Leon Hesser, semi-retired State Department Foreign Service Officer, is the award-winning author of nonfiction books, including the best-selling biography of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug: www.zigzagpass.com The Man Who Fed the World
Bavender House Press P.O. Box 770883
$19.95 ISBN 978-0-615-19852-1 51995>
Visit BHP on the web: www.bavenderhouse.com
Naples, FL 34107-0883 Printed in U.S.A .
Jacket design by Kobie L. Conrath www.kobielee.com
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