George Lewis Hanson On December 12, 1942, I received my order to report for induction. I reported to Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City on December 22 and I entered active service on December 30. We were to learn that we were traveling to the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides. We arrived on Espiritu Santo on May 28, 1943. The Japanese had occupied the Solomon Islands early on. The road back to peace was to begin at the island of Guadalcanal. On August 7, 1942, the Marines launched America's first offensive action. This was a bitter fight, and was only made sure through the American naval victory in November. The island was secured by the end of February, 1943. Some units of the 37th Division saw their first action on Guadalcanal. The America Division (Americans on Guadalcanal) was formed on the island itself. It was formed with personnel that had seen action on Guadalcanal, and with personnel from the 37th Division that had not. As new infantry replacements, we were assigned to units of the 37th Division that had lost personnel. I was assigned to Company 'I' of the 129th Infantry Regiment. My assignment to Company 'I' was a very big adjustment for me. I had just turned nineteen years old and most of the company men had been guard members, and therefore were older than I was. Some of them were much older. There was a new, very serious, spirit that I now felt. There was also a matter of authority. I was at the bottom of the chain, and I clearly felt that. I was not afraid, but very cautious. Finally, the 129th Infantry Regiment was called into action against the Japanese. We were going to be involved in the Bougainville campaign. In October 94 1943 the 129th Infantry Regiment was loaded onto troop transports for an uneventful three day trip to Guadalcanal, and we were unloaded on the last day of October. There we had our first look at the results of war. We were to be there for a short stay. It had been almost eight months since the island had been secured, but as we looked around we could still clearly see the devastation of war. The American dead had been picked up and buried, but the Japanese dead still lay where they had fallen. Japanese cannons still kept their positions where they had last fired. Many areas were covered with Japanese ammunition, equipment, fallen trees, and rubble. The areas had been picked over by sightseers and souvenir hunters, but they had overlooked many items of interest and value. During the battle, the Hoover, an ocean liner that had been converted into a troop transport, arrived with fresh troops. The ship was greatly damaged by Japanese fire and the ship's captain made the decision to simply run the ship aground. Down the beach some distance, we found a lifeboat from the Hoover. The emergency rations in the boat were still in sufficiently good condition to eat. I do not know when the convoy left Guadalcanal, but we did arrive at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville in the Solomon Islands at dawn on the 13th of November 1943. The Marines had landed there on the 1 st and the 148th Regiment had landed there on the 8th. When the Marines landed, there were perhaps two thousand Japanese troops that were maintaining an outpost. They were not prepared to repel a large invasion, and they moved back into the interior of the island. With the 37th Division, there was the Americal Division. Total troop strength then was in excess of 36,000 men. The two divisions eventually moved inland to a point where a line of defense could be placed around nearly fifteen square miles of ground. This was to be a forward base for fighter planes that would then have the range to accompany and protect our bombers to their targets and back. It was never intended that American troops would attack the Japanese on Bougainville. We were to build a defensive line around the airfields and maintain that defense. In reality, the war with Japan at this time had already been won. It is possible that the Japanese also realized this, but it was never mentioned. The Japanese and the Americans had great losses in this naval battle, but the Japanese losses were even greater. The American industry could replace the losses which was something that the Japanese industry could not do. The Japanese code had also been broken. They did not know this at that time, and they suffered severe setbacks because of it. When the line for each company had been reached, the men began a program of setting up a perimeter defensive position of strength that would be able to resist the Japanese. Holes were dug about five feet deep, and were large enough to provide adequate room for four men. The holes were covered with logs, and the logs were covered with about two feet of dirt. Firing slits of about eight to ten inches were provided between the ground and the upper logs, and the slits were covered with sticks to help prevent hand grenades from being thrown into the pillbox. A back door was provided and it was closed with a log door. A trench was dug for some distance from the pillbox so that we might exit in an emergency. The pillboxes were coordinated one with another so that fields of fire could be provided to any pillbox that might be under attack. In front of the pillboxes, barbed wire was placed to a height of about three feet, and in front of the wire, land mines were placed for some distance. These mines were actually 81 mm mortar shells that bounced into the air when the trip wire was touched. They were very effective. I was in the weapons platoon with the mortars. I was trained in the use of these. We dug additional positions for the 60mm mortars behind the line of pillboxes and then test fired them so that we had known firing positions that could be called upon. Behind all of this was our 105mm artillery that was on call at any time. Even with all of our preparation, our line was really very thin, which was intentional. We simply could not hold in depth such a large area. However part of our strength was held in reserve, and when an area would be attacked that reserve was to be moved to the area of attack and accompanied by tanks which gave us great depth of defense. Our defenses would not be tested for several months. Our freedom of movement came to an end in the first few weeks of 1944. A massive force of Japanese Infantry was being moved into position in front of the 129th Infantry Regiment position. Our patrols began to clash with the Japanese. We did not know of their intentions at this time, but the Japanese wished to avenge the loss of their comrades in the previous two campaigns. They wanted to drive us into the sea. The Japanese had carried sufficient material over the pass in the mountains to allow them to assault our lines. It was a massive effort on their part. Just prior to sundown a decision was made to move Us out of the area and move a short distance towards our lines, which we did. We remained an outpost, only the position had changed. All remained well until after midnight. Finally, we heard the cough of a mortar being fired and the rounds began dropping into the position that we had previously occupied. To this day I do not know how we understood that our position had become known to the Japanese, but we did. In the evening we would gather to our pillboxes for a daily ritual: we had gallon cans gathered from the kitchen and we would make us a can of coffee. Then we would sit and think about life and how it had been before we had become soldiers. My crew was farmers and so we would get a tractor out and plow forty acres or so and harrow and plant and cultivate and harvest, all in memory. Sometimes we talked about our girls, but not often. One night after we had a good discussion we looked for the can that we took into the pillbox for the night. No one was outside of the pillboxes after night fell. If anyone was, he would most likely get shot. We could not find our can and, after much discussion, we realized that we had made our coffee in the night can. It has always been a night to remember. In March of 1944 we came to understand that the Japanese were going to assault our lines. The Japanese chose to place their strength in front of our 1 st Battalion. The Japanese did penetrate our line despite our best efforts. When they had concentrated their forces the decision was made to use our artillery. During the evening of March 24, XIV Corps Artillery fired ninety-eight tons of 155mm, 105mm, and 75mm shells along with ammunition fired by 81mm, 60mm, and 4.2-inch mortars. For what seemed a very long time the shells came over our positions. I can still hear the whistle of those shells even now. It has been estimated that between six and seven thousand Japanese Infantrymen simply vanished from the face of the earth during that assault. The artillery barrage also served to let the Japanese know that they did not have the power to drive us into the sea, and they returned to their positions on the other side of the island. The division then was to be given 'R & R' during a visit to Australia. However, units of the Marine Corps and the Army who were there before us had gotten into a riot and had been very destructive. Because of this a directive had been issued stating that no additional troops were to be sent there. We began strength and exercise training on the beaches. We were also given time to spend in the salt water in the ocean. After months of being in the rain forest of Bougainville the men had foot and ear problems and the best solution for these problems was hours soaking in the ocean. In November we were joined by the Australian 29th Infantry Brigade which was going to take our place, and we were going to be part of a new assault on the Japanese. We did not know where at the time. The Australians brought with them large rations of chocolate 95