Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 October 1942 — Page 7

A Story of Courage in the Sulmons~-Summitvile Man ‘Shows Foe How to Fight; Another Marine

Escapes to Live on ‘Borrowed Time.’

_ Sergt. Richard T. Wright, a marine corps combat correspondent in the South Pacific, tells how a marine corps sniper killed at least 31 of & party of 65 Japanese that had trapped an American tank on

3 Gavutu island in the Solomons. i

By SERGT. RICHARD T. WRIGHT

Marine Corps Combat Correspondent

A U. S. OUTPOST SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH

PACIFIC, Sept. 12 ( Delayed) .—Pfc. Eugene Oliver Moore

of the U. S. marines is living

on borrowed time.

Sixty-five Japs trapped him in his tank on Gavutu island,

- ripped open the hatch, threw: it on fire.

hand grenades into it. and set

- Smoke and fumes forced Moore out of the tgnk after

the other crew members had been killed. The Japs grabbed him, knocked him down, ~ kicked him, jabbed him with a pitchfork, knifed him, then] picked him up and bounced him: off the side of the tank. “I guess they thought I was dead,” Moore recalls. “I had quite & bit of blood on me, and was unconscious.” ~ Pyt. Moore, whose home is in San Francisco, Cal., at first was believed to have been killed in action. Rescued by his comrades and skillfully caréd for by navy doctors, he is very much alive today, after being evacuated from the Solomons to this base with other marine wounded.

Tells Remarkable Story

He told his remarkable story from his cot in the mobile base hospital which the navy has stationed here. One of the first to hear it was Undersecretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal, who paid a visit to the hospital during a stopover on his tour of Pacific naval outposts. “We were advancing up the beach ‘in front of the infantry,” Moore told the writer. “They were moving very slow as a result of sniper fire, when we stopped to fire a shot with the cannon. It was my job tof handle the radio and load the cannon. “We were firing at a pillbox a couple of hundred yards away, when I heard our tank commander yell and fire up through the turret. I looked out one of the peep-sights and saw what looked like an army of Japs.

Fights With Pitchfork

“We all drew .45’s, cocked them, and posted “ourselves to keep the Japs from coming down the turret. One Jap rammed a pitchfork down the turret, and, another started swinging a long knife. The tank commander shot him in’ the hand and they both withdrew. “They were making a lot of noise

and after looking out again I found |

that someone was firing at them, I got up next to the sergeant who was guarding ‘the turret, and one of the Japs stuck his head down inside the turret. I knew one of . them would sooner or later, and was ready for him. I shot him right between the eyes. “About that time the tank commander ordered the driver to move up the beach. The tank jumped ahead a few feet and we realized

that they had put a brace between the wheelers. ‘I poked a submachine gun outside the tank and started firing but they cleared away. .

A Terrific Explosion “Suddenly there was a terrific explosion and I saw the tank commander go down—then I felt a burning pain in my neck and real-

ized they must have thrown a grenade down the turret. “A few moments later they set fire to the tank. “The smoke and fumes were terrific, and the driver and I figured it was better to get outside the tank and get shot rather than burn to death. So the driver poked his head outside the front hatch. They shot him. “I figured it was better to go out feet first, so I piled out of the tank and one of them helped me along. I remember one of them climbed on my back and started walloping my head. “They were banging me all around the place and I was bleeding and every one of them were trying either to kick me, puncH me or knife me, and about that time I passed out. “When Iicame to; they had me in the naval shack which served as a hospi

A Hoosier’s Story

“I had a hole in my crash helmet so large that I couldn't get it back on my head. I suppose it saved my life. “Incidentally, they stole $20 from me and it made me plenty mad.” While Moore’s tank was under siege, Pvt. Kenneth Koon, of Summitville, Ind, was some distance away sniping at the attackers. Koon, also among the wounded here, was an eye-witness to the entire action, and is credited with picking off more than 30 of the japs. This is his shory: “Somehow I had gotten ahead of my platoon and was forced to take cover by snipers. Up ahead was a bomb shelter and beyond ‘it a Jap pillbox. “I'saw a marine corps tank come lumbering up ‘from the beach, heading for the pillbox, and at the same time a bawling herd of Japs came pouring out of the bomb shelter. “They threw a brace in the wheels and stopped the tank, and then swarmed all over it. During this time I was banging away with my rifle, and several times, I am convinced, I got two Japs with one shot.

They were so intent upon getting

the guys in the tank that they didn’t

notice their, men going down.

% “I could see one Jap on top of the|_ tank with a pitchfork, jamming it! down the turret and trying to get)

at the marines inside. Several

others were brandishing long knives,| } :

but they didn't seem to be getting to first base.

“Finally one of them threw a hand" grenade to the tank. I figured the|

marines were done after that, since there was a pretty big explosion, but I kept firing and they kept dropping. ; Set Fire to Tank “They still couldn't get inside, since the men were evidently alive, so they got some gasoline, threw it on the tank, and set fire to it. The tank started burning and throwing

up big clouds of smoke and I was|-

ihiole’: gb the guys inside were dead or supermen. “I saw one of them come out and they promptly shot him. “Another marine (this was Moore, I later learned), came out the front hatch, and in all my life I have never seen one man take such a beating:

“They kicked him in the face and |.

stomach, they pulled his hair,

smashed him with their fists, jabbed a

him with a pitchfork, knifed him, and one of them got him by the arms and another by the legs and bounced him off the tank. They finally moved away from the tank and let him lay where he was.

‘Let Me Tell You, Brother—!"

“After T was brought back to the naval shack that night, my lieutenant informed me that he personally counted 31 dead Japs around the tank. “After the Japs left the tank they took off toward the pillbox,” Pvt. Koon went on. “I headed for the bomb shelter. I took two steps and one of the snipers nailed me in the leg. “I finally thade the bomb shelter. 1f there had been anyone inside I

| wouldn't be here today. I lay there|

for six hours until’ some marines found me. “We lay thete all that night with | bullets whipping through the shack, and let me tell you, brother, it was hell. My pal over there was wounded while crawling up on the roof to get a shot at the snipers.

‘So Mad I Couldn't See’

“Jap snipers with rifles and ma-chine-guns were strapped in the trees and hiding in empty oil drums and caves, and they caused more trouble than anything else. “We were the first wave to hit Gavutu, and went zigzagging up the beach to - form a skirmish-line, A buddy of mine was running beside me, and just before we hit the deck they: got him in the chest. “From that point on I was so mad I couldn’t see straight.” —— ee TSO

275,362 FEDERAL

WORKERS IN CAPITAL

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (U. P.).— Civilian employees of the executive branch of goverment in Washington totaled 275,362 in August, a net increase of 1361 over July, the civil service commission geported. Most of the increases came in departments directly connected with the war effort and more than offset the transfer of approximately 1200 workers to other cities. .

[RTH

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