W.E.B. Griffin - The Corps VII - Behind the Lines

One hundred yards from the highway, the labor detail dug four holes, each large enough for a fifty-five-gallon drum. They next made arrangements to conceal their location by distributing the removed earth over a wide area and selecting foliage that would be placed over the holes once the barrels were placed in them.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Everly selected both the precise location for the ambush and, insofar as possible, the positions on both sides of the highway from which the convoy would be brought under fire.

The reconnaissance party then returned to the bivouac area, leaving behind two unarmed members of the labor detail, who were wearing native clothing. Should there be any Japanese activity during the night, it was their mission to return to the bivouac area to warn the others.

They were not armed, because it was hoped that if they fell into Japanese hands, they could successfully argue that they were simple Filipino farmers, and because Lieutenant Everly suggested to Captain Weston that not arming the men would remove the temptation to attack the Japanese on their own.

At first light Tuesday 20 October, the bivouac was deestablished, with considerable care given to remove all signs of its overnight occupancy. The entire attack party then resumed the march toward the highway.

By 0645, contact was established with the two men who had been left be-hind. They reported no activity during the hours of darkness except the intru-sion of three small wild pigs, which had been decapitated with a machete and then skinned and gutted.

In total, in Captain Weston's judgment, the pig carci weighed approxi-mately sixty pounds. One of the men who had remained behind overnight was charged with carrying the rations to Headquarters, USFIP, together with a Situ-ation Update for General Fertig.

The labor detail remained approximately two hundred yards from the highway, while the attack party moved into position under the direction of Lieutenant Everly.

At Lieutenant Everly's suggestion, Captain Weston took up a position on the seaward side of the road, near Lieutenant Everly. Captain Platten took up a position approximately one hundred yards away. The balance of the attacking force was placed on both sides of the road, and Lieutenant Everly cautioned each member of the party to remain concealed and not to open fire until they heard the sound of his rifle. They were then to remain aware of the location of USFIP personnel on the other side of the road, so there would be no casualties from USFIP fire. This emplacement was accomplished by 0655 hours.

At approximately 0702, they heard the sound of a truck grinding gears.

Captain Weston at this point retracted the operating rod of his Thompson.45 ACP Caliber submachine gun, took a final look down the road, and then dropped out of sight. Six or eight feet away, he could see Lieutenant Everly, almost entirely concealed by the trunk of a tree and some foliage. He was sit-ting with his legs crossed under him, leaning forward so that his left elbow touched his knee. All it would take to be in a Parris Island-perfect "Sitting Position for Riflemen" would be for him to put the butt of his Springfield in the small of his shoulder and lower his face to the stock.

A moment later, he did just this; and as Weston heard the sound of vehicles approaching, he saw the muzzle of Everly's Springfield tracking their move-ment.

And then, without warning, Everly fired. There was a flash of orange at the muzzle, and the sharp-surprisingly loud and frightening-sound of the weapon firing.

The noise was immediately followed by the sound of other weapons firing. Weston got to his feet as quickly as possible. The lead vehicle of the convoy was a four-door Buick convertible, top down, with spare tires mounted in front fender wells. He was surprised to see how close it was to him, and that it was apparently headed directly toward him, as if trying to run him over.

After what seemed like a very long time, the Buick stopped, as its front wheels rolled off the road and further forward movement was impeded. Wes-ton then became aware of the occupants of the vehicle. The driver was now lying against the steering wheel, causing the horn to sound. One of the rear-seat passengers was trying to raise himself off the floor; and the other-an offi-cer-was simultaneously trying to stand up and unholster his pistol.

Everly's rifle fired again. As Weston heard the crack of the weapon firing, he thought he could also hear the whistle of its bullet passing close to him.

Weston raised the submachine gun to his shoulder, got a sight picture, and pulled the trigger, immediately releasing it. He felt the three-round burst recoil against his shoulder. The face of the Japanese officer in the Buick seemed to implode. He sat back and then slid off the seat. The second man in the back of the car suddenly jumped out of the car and started running to the trucks behind him.

Weston raised his Thompson to his shoulder and aimed it. As he was pre-paring to apply gentle pressure to the trigger, Everly's Springfield fired again, the running man's head seemed to explode, and he fell forward onto his face. His legs and arms twitched.

Weston looked back at Everly, who was now on his feet, pulling the loop of the sling off his arm. He looked at Weston and made an impatient gesture for Weston to return his attention to the road, or,

My God, he wants me to go out there! If I go out there, they'll be able to see me, and shoot me, and I'll be killed!

Oh, shit!

Captain Weston moved out of the foliage, holding the Thompson with one hand. He supported himself on the fender of the Buick and then made what he thought, for a brief moment, was a constructive act. He pulled the body of the driver away from the steering wheel. The blaring of the horn stopped.

There, now they won't be able to hear us!

Jesus Christ! How fucking stupid can I be?

He looked into the rear seat of the Buick. The officer was on the floor, on his back. His eyes were a bloody mess.

I shot him right between the eyes.

I was aiming for his chest.

He moved slowly to the rear of the Buick, then ran to the truck next in line behind it. As he ran, he realized that the intensity of the firing had slowed. And then it stopped entirely.

There was the sound of moaning, and somewhere down the road a man was screaming, and then there was a shot and the screaming stopped.

"Ceasefire! Ceasefire!" Everly called. Weston turned to see him running up the road. He ran past Weston to the rear of the truck next in line. All of a sudden, he had a machete in his hand, and Weston saw it slash viciously down-ward.

My God, he's killing the wounded!

And you're acting like a Boy Scout, not like a Marine officer!

What did you expect, that this would be conducted in a gentlemanly fash-ion, with scrupulous attention to the Geneva Convention?

He made his way through the convoy to the pickup truck at its rear, desper-ately hoping he would not come across a wounded Japanese and have to kill him.

He did not. Taking their cue from Everly, the Filipinos quickly put their machetes to use, taking care of the problem of the wounded Japanese.

Weston saw a Filipino climb one of the fragile-looking telephone poles lining the road, slash the copper wire with his machete, and then, holding a loose end between his teeth, climb down again.

On the ground, he tugged unsuccessfully to pull the wire from the next pole, cutting his hand in the process, and then shouted angrily in a strange tongue-Tagalog? Weston wondered-which caused two other Filipinos to start climbing poles.

Weston started walking toward the head of the convoy again. Now the Fili-pinos were stripping the Japanese bodies of their weapons, their boots, their ammunition, their bayonets, their leather accoutrements, and their watches, jewelry, and even their spectacles.