Camp Shelby August 29, 1943 Dear Kay− Well, we’ve completed our basic, test and all. We start on advanced basic Monday and I suppose its [sic] going to be pretty tough. This last week was testing and out in the bivouac area, we really ran across a lot of snakes, coral snakes, rattlers, water moccasins, and a lot of harmless ones. Some of the fellows skinned a few snakes but skinning snakes doesn’t appeal to me. I never was so tired in all my lif…

…d and Jim relieves Major Clough in as much as he is senior to him So Jim becomes battalion commander. (Turner had earlier been relieved as commander during one of the mountain battles leading to Cassino.) The battle for Cassino beginning mid-January 1944 was certainly one of the toughest battles of the war. The city lies about 75 miles southeast of Rome, and with the Benedictine Monastery atop Mount Cassino, it has been guarding the southern appro…

…er the battlefield, and as the weight of the continuous days and nights of combat settles over you, a deep, coma-like sleep overpowers everything. It is a sleep of weariness that not even hunger can disturb. Even today, it is not too difficult to recall those episodes when a mere bundle of hay was something to be prized; at least, it provided some buffer between body and ground. And in this aftermath of war – this grey area of peace between wars…

…re wounded by the same shell burst. Sakimi got to his feet first, stumbled to the other two, dressed their wounds and then was dressing his own when he fainted. He refused to go to the rear until the commander made it an order. A few hours later he was back with the troops. The “guinea pigs” passed their tests with the highest marks the army can give, their officers said….

…the war. Originally the Battalion Commander, his executive officer and his company commanders were white but all the rest of the battalion’s staff were AJA’s except for Second Lieutenant Young D. Kim who joined the battalion in the states after it had journeyed to Fort McCoy for intensive training and forming in June of 1942. Kim was the son of Korean immigrants and ended the war as the Battalion S-2 with the rank of Captain and a Bronze Star, Si…

…e anything about the outfit. Jimmy Hopkins is at Santa Barbara (Hoff Gen) and Mitchell at Dibble Gen, Menlo Calif. I have written both but no answer as yet. It is 3 months today since my operation and a muscle test yesterday showed no change. Will be OK though I am certain it will be OK in time. That’s about all the news for now so I will close for now. Best regards to both Jim. Back to Turner Letters…

…Medal for injuries sustained in the torpedoing of the KAIMOKU; Defense and Combat Bars; Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific War Zone Bars; the Victory Medal. Behind these medals lie a host of tales to tell, like the one-linked to the shelling of the WEST NORTUS. Why did the German submarine commander choose to shell instead of torpedo the ship? One can only speculate, but consider the fact that after the crew had taken to the lifeboats, the sub ca…

…me in the federal civil service. From there, Taira moved into the business community, becoming a vice president in charge of personnel administration and on the board of directors of City Mill Company. During this period he also ventured into a number of business enterprises. Next came some of the most productive years of his life, 16 years in the state legislature representing the Pauoa-Nuuanu district. “Unlike today’s single member district, it…

…Amioka had learned enough of the language at school to be given operating command of a team that was considered to be an ultra high secret weapon in the MIS (Military Intelligence Service) arsenal. To help guise his mission, for example, when Amioka had to report to his project officer, he would catch the trolley that ran through the camp, pretending he was on his way to Minneapolis. He would then jump off the trolley just before it left camp, an…