War Stories from
the Philippines

An assortment of war stories from the GIs of the 96th Division who were assigned the pleasant task of slugging it out with the Japanese in the Leyte Valley of the Philippines. The following observations were of interest:

“‘One of the things that surprised me was the use of American equipment by the Japs. They had RCA radio equipment, Remington Rand ammunition and a lot of American Ford V-8 trucks.’

‘Over here is a Dodge bulldozer,’ Pfc. Oren Anderson of Decorah, Iowa, chipped in.

‘The Japs had American fountain pens, too,’ said S/Sgt. Paul Cropper, a cook from Hoopeston, Ill., who came over after the flame throwing and the sniping stopped. ‘They even had Lux soap,’ he added.

‘A chaplin came over with an addition for the list – an American .38 revolver. ‘They’ve been using some of our medical supplies, too, he said. “We found that out in Tabontabon.'”

Click here to read an interview with a Kamikaze pilot.

Click here to read articles about post-war Japan.

Click here to read about August 28, 1945 – the day the American occupation began.