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"THE SECOND LIEUTENANT"
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Despite official prohibitions against the keeping of a diary, it was never one of Bill Calhoun's regrets that he did. Recorded in the 2d Battalion's official records is the death of an unknown 2nd Lieutenant near Battery Wheeler on the morning of the 17th February 1945.
We can now identify him. |
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FOOTNOTES
* Boundy is in error. 2nd Lt Ball was killed on 23 February during the course of an attack at Wheeler Pt. The other officer killed almost simultaneously with Binegar was 1st Lt William "Moose" Campbell. Both Binegar and Campbell had recently joined the regiment as replacements. Campbell was assigned as platoon leader of the 3rd platoon, and Binegar was there to support the attack with his demolition section. Unfortunately, they never lived long enough to recognize the mistake of raising your head more than once in the same spot. Experienced soldiers soon knew the Japanese would zero-in on a spot where an American head had appeared and then lay patiently waiting for it to appear again. “Moose” Campbell had been accepted by "F" Company who were even more saddened by the knowledge that he would never see his newborn son.
** Although most US servicemen in the Pacific War attribute deaths to Japanese 'snipers' as if they were a trained specialty of the forces opposing them, the Japanese did not allocate men specifically as snipers. Instead they emphasized marksmanship ability throughout all levels of their forces, and sniping skills in the 100-150 yard range were very widely held. One of the skills of the sniper was the patience to register a specific spot where a GI might be careless enough to take a 'second look'. Mistakes like this most often resulted in the careless GI being dealt a 'third eye.' Another fieldcraft skill of the Japanese marksmen was target identification, and this was responsible generally for the high casualty rate amongst radio operators. In some instances, it was fatal to be observed wearing a .45 Colt on a belt holster, as these were often an affectation of combat officers. A canny officer would leave his belt and holster elsewhere. Similarly, saluting a superior officer within sniping distance of Japanese held areas was considered most unwise. Generally this lapse of military courtesy was appreciated by senior visiting officers only after it had been explained to them.
*** Upon the return of Campbell's platoon, Bill Calhoun, recognizing that the position at the berm that had been too hastily abandoned, took the platoon back out to occupy the abandoned position. The battle of Battery Wheeler was still far from over.
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