Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 15 October 1942 — Page 33

“Miller Learns: How a Bubble Dancer Feels When the Bubble Explodes and He Discovers Why Not To Put Your Chin on the Ground.

“The second Half of a reporter's notebook from Guadalcanal)

By ROBERT C. MILLER United Press Staff Correspondent

SEPT. 9.—I'm a lucky guy. I've been on the Tasimboko raid with Col. Edson’s marines and we chased 2000 Japs back “into the jungle with hardly a shot. : It took us 20 minutes to make the shore in the tinding boats—longest 20 minutes in my life. . , . I made the mistake of being in the front of the boat and got pushed ashore

first—unarmed. Ran like h for the bush and found fo marines had beaten me to it.

LATER: It rained as usual. Dick Tregaskis (I. N. S.. correspondent) and I spent a miserable hour in the Jungle while two Jap 73's blasted at us point blank—they were so close we thought they were mortars there's nothing worse than lying in ‘a jungle, wringing wet, with a war going on around you.

«0

Just finished a first: class job of arson. . . . 1 helped the marines burn a Japanese-occupied village. I was fun. Especially when I remembered I would have gone to Jail back home for doing the same thing. . . . Had more fun later, towing some Japanese artillery pieces out into the ocean and leaving-them there to rust.

His Luck Hoids

SEPT. 11: Remembered to thank Col. Griffith for saving. my life. Several hundred marines and myself were aboard the transports Little and Gregory, coming back from a patrol. We were going out again fn the morning so orders came through to stay aboard. The colonel suggested that we be al-

lowed to go ashore for “a night's].

rest” and the shore command agreed. . . . A few hours-later some Jap cruisers sneaked in and sank the two ships. . . . That makes two boats have been sunk less than 24 hours after I left them. The other one was a patrol ship.

LAUNDRY NOTE: I could make 8 million dollars with a Chinese layndry here. Sure is funny to Watch us trying to scrub our clothes ih the river. ‘We call the river Jones beach. Don’t know what we'd do without ft. Have been wearing a pair of Japanese pants held up by. rope ever since my baggage was lost. Have had a good. excuse for not ghaving—lost my razor, too. Got my hair cut last night—by a carpenter. Good job, too.

Won: Race to Dugout

SEPT. 13: Have been bunking down at the naval operating base but got my fill of it last night. " Three Jap ships opened up on us. Was: standing with Comm. Dexter and Maj. O'Connel on the beach when they turned a searchlight directly on us. Felt just like a bubble dancer when her bubble breaks. The commander told us to stand

perfectly still. We did until we

saw a flash of flame as the Jap opened up on us. ... Beat the shells to the dugout. PRESS HEADQUARTERS: They put the new press headquarters too far back in the jungle to suit me— and I was right about that! All hell broke loose on the ridge last night (14th) and, the gang got . chased out of the press tent by the

Japs. . « « That was while I was on|

“A LUMP or. LEAD ON YOUR STOMACH:

New Tablet “Chases 1t” fe Taig Belch!

{lining of our stomachs, . . .

found two dead Japs right in the middle ‘of the command post. An hour later Dick (Tregaskis) and I were doing a story in the mess shack when a shot came through the screen door.

we managed to sneak down and get our bags and typewritersfsout. A sniper drilled a hole in the tent roof while we were there. ., ,

Water Never So Good

SEPT. 15: Things very quiet. I'm the most popular man in camp. Brought back five canteens filled with cold water from one of the ships where I'd gone to get some typewriting paper. The chlorine diluted with water which we've been drinking has probably eaten out the Never knew a drink of water could taste so good. .

No More Beer

TRAGEDY: The beer. supply is gone. We found a whole warehouse filled with Jap beer which was put in a refrigerator and doled out each day. The last bottle went ‘yesterday. This war is going to be hell from here ous.

I'm eligible for the the Purple Heart decoration now. .. . Drew blood when I dived for a slit trench during last night's shelling — and missed, cutting my leg a bit.

We don’t operate on dates any more—just on dry days and wet days . .. and it always rains. I've found I can sleep sitting up in the rain against a coconut palm. . , . Miserable.

Mail From Home

CONVERSATIONS: Have been noticing «sawhat the“ fellowsi‘ talk!" about . . . mostly home . . . and particularly about their wives and girls. . . . Had our first mail the other day. What a boost in morale! The letters were old but it didn’t make any difference. My nose was out of joint, though. I didn’t get any letters.

ATR RAID NOTE: Keep your chin oft the ground when bombs

Went up there this morning and]

Our press tent): was in no man’s ‘land again—but|s

Melvin Mitchell Frank Mitchell

If Elvin had been able to get home, the week-end would have been complete for: Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Mitchell Sr.,, 526 N. Elder st. Their other two sons in the service were home on furlough, Corp. Frank Mitchell, their youngest, having his first leave since he enlisted in the medical corps 19 months ago. Arriving at the same time was Machinist's Mate Melvin Mitchell, Elvin’s twin brother, who enlisted in the navy four days after Pearl Harbor. He is stationed at Baltimore, Md.,, and Frank is at Roswell, N. M. Both returned to their posts today. Elvin enlisted in the army Aug. 24 and hasn’t received his first furlough.

are falling close around you. Otherwise you're likely to be knocked out by the heaving earth.

Got a kick out of listening to the marine pilots. They brought down a record bag of Japs today. Reminded me of listening to the college kids in football dressing rooms after the game. Same sort of talk. They never mention the lads who don't come back. . . . Regard them as “missing” comrades who'll turn up again one day. Surprising thing Is that so many of them do.

SEPT. 18%, Am leaving . Guadal-}. canal: MeCarthy (Francis McCar= thy, United Press staff correspondent) arrived unexpectedly to relieve me. And my first starched shirt in six weeks. Great feeling. Spent day saying goodbye to everyone and picking up adresses of folks to see when I get out. . . , Last sight of Guadalcanal was blotted out by ter-

rific rain as we steamed away into the night.

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Postal Inspector, 47, Now Helping to Fight Japs In Solomons.

WITH THE U. S. MARINES ON GUADALCANAL ISLAND, Sept. 24

| (Delayed) (U. P.).~—A 47-year-old

former postoffice inspector from New Bern, N. C, is helping fight the Japs in the Solomons for just one reason—to avenge the death of his son. who was killed at Wake

| island.

He is Capt. Fred D. Conderman, who is listed on the official roster as a division mail officer. But he also carries a Springfield .30 calibre rifle and participates with marines on every possible occasion in raids on enemy territory. Conderman had been a postoffice inspector at New Bern for 12 years when he learned of the death of his son, Robert J. Conderman, 23, from his wife who was then at Pearl Harbor. Her letter said merely: “This is the hardest letter I've ever written. I'm coming home. The ‘strawberry’ light is flying.” (“Strawberry” was the son’s nickname.)

He Had Two Reasons

Two weeks later Conderman received official notification of his son’s death, and on the same day, went to the army recruiting office in the postoffice to enlist. He was turned down because of age. He went to the navy and heard the same story. Then he heard that the marine corps was accepting men for postal officer duty, so he went to Washington to apply. “They asked me why a man of my age wanted to enlist,” Conderman said. - “I told them I had two reasons —I wanted to further the war effort, and I had some personal business to attend to.

Passed Air Course

“They asked me if I could pass the physical exam. I knew I could —I took up an air training course after my son was killed and passed the CAA test.” (Conderman’s son was a second lieutenant in the marine air corps when he was killed in the first Jap attack on Wake.) The elder Conderman did a “stretch” in the first world war and some time in the New York national guard. “I consider myself very fortunate and very lucky to get into the service,” he said.

:0. E. S. CHAPTER TO DINE Naomi chapter, O. E. 8, wil honor past matrons and patrons at a banquet at 6 p. m. tomorrow at the Masonic temple, North and Illinois sts. A chapter meeting at 8 p. m. will include special music and a Robert Morris program. Mrs. Eligabeth Wigal is worthy matron and William H. Hartmann is worthy

patron.

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Hunting Down a Jap ls a Job in the Solomons

By ‘FRANCIS McCARTHY " United Press Staff Correspondent WITH U.

Now I understand the necessity for those rigid training exercises marines and sailors and soldiers are getting back home—those “follow stunts of crawling through ‘barrels, dropping down drain pipes, clambering over obstacles and swimming streams.

S. MARINES AT GUADALCANAL, Sept. 21—(Delayed) —It is 9:30 p. m. and I've just had a swiss steak, mashed potatoes, a dish of peaches and of steaming coffee. It

As a newspaperman I never went through that school of hard knocks. Tonight I wish I had. Keeping up ‘with those hardy marines of Edson’s command as they go hacking, climbing, swimming their way through the jungle in pursuit of Japanese is a game for toughened, experienced soldiers. ‘| When Col. Edson’s raiders go out {to find straggling Japanese, they really heat the bushes. And the bushes that they can’t search, they blast with cannon, machine gun, rifie and grenade. If there is a Japanese near, they'll get him. This trip was just a little raid for them. They got 19 Japanese snipers, captured an abandoned 70-mm. pack howitzer, collected a lot of incidental per-

sonal booty, and cleared several square miles of the enemy.

But to do that they spent hours scaling slippery slopes, dragging heavy equipment up thorny ridges, laboriously lugging packs through the matted vines of the jungle, stumbling over blasted stumps. Although the Japanese manages most of the time to keep a jump ahead of the Edson raiders, we found one bivouac where the enemy had fled in such haste he left all his personal belongings. I watched our artillery barrage

which drove the pain body of Japanese back across the Longa river from the highest ridge in that little section of enemy territory that we had penetrated. For 37 minutes the raiders’ biggest guns blasted the enemy from behind the ridge, while patrol

forces were digging through the jungle to reach one of four ob= servation posts that had reported being fired on. That. group flushed some Japanese, but we weren't lucky enough to get in on the action.

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