124TH MEDICAL DETACHMENT 124th Infantry Regiment, 31st Div. By Dr. Thomas Deas, M.D., Regt'l. Surgeon When I was assigned as Regimental Surgeon of the 124th Infantry regiment in May of 1944 the Regiment was stationed in Dobadura, New Guinea. The medical personnel were attached to the respective Battalions and stayed with them throughout the rest of the time of combat. Training in jungle fighting and beachhead landings were carried out in May and June. The troops were checked, dental care was stressed, Malaria and other tropical diseases were combated with sanitary methods and the taking of Atrabrine by each member of the regiment each day. Some Scrub Typhus, Infectious Hepatitis, Malaria, Diarrhea, Athlete's Foot and Jock itch, Jungle Rot, infected injuries, blisters, hysteria, psychotic behavior, spotty baldness, "Jungle Juice" belly aches, Depressions, Anxieties, Upper respiratory infections and such conditions were cared for. Conditions which could not be cared by Battalion were funneled through Regimental Headquarters Medical Section. In latter June the Regiment received orders to Aitape. The Medical Detachment sailed with their respective units. When we reached Aitape things were in shambles. The 32nd Division was exhausted and the Japanese were within a short distance of the small airstrip. Deciding what the 124th was to do took several days of planning. Finally it was decided that our 124th Infantry would sweep back down to the Driniumor River and form defenses there (some 10-15 miles south of Aitape Village) with the 2nd Battalion held in reserve. By July 7th,1944, we had unloaded our Regiment along with the whole Regimental Combat Team (Engineer, Artillery and other units) and had begun to move toward the MLR (Main Line of Resistance) at the Driniumor River. The medics were with their units and distinguished themselves admirably. Regimental Medical Section moved with Regt. Hq. Service Co, Cannon Co., Anti-Tank Co. etc. down the beach and on the second day we were in Anopapi Village where we set up a Medical Evacuation Station. However, we were in several firefights and over the next few days a beachhead assault by a fairly large number of (80-100) Japanese, making us also the equivalent of a Battalion Aid Station. During the ensuing days we evacuated wounded from the Battalions with any means possible, for there was about a 10-mile trip through the jungle to the farthest unit on the river line. Our most effective means was by use of native litter trains. Supplies and food had been dropped by C-47's to the casualties. The Medics did a fine job. They not only cared for those along the "Line" but also had a Medic or two on each patrol made into enemy areas. The Medics lost several killed and wounded during this period. It was decided that our 124th Regt'l. Conbat Team was to cross the Driniumor River and attack with the objective of wiping out the Japanese in the area and making a sweep up from the coast to cut the Japanese supply line on the Afua trail. We were joined by our 2nd Battalion which was in reserve and the 2nd Battalion of the 169th Infantry, 43rd. Div. All medical personnel were with their respective units. This action was the most frustrating part of all the campaign at Aitape. After the first day when we evacuated casualties by LSM because we were following the beach, we had to carry our litter cases with us. It was necessary to use Cannon Co. and Anti-tank Co. as litter bearers for the terrain was so rough that often it took eight men to a litter. We moved up ridges at angles of 45+ degrees, then down and through knee-deep mud, ever going uphill toward the Owen Stanley Mountains. Even the flat ground was uphill. The jungle was so dense that it was like going down a dark hall. The ground was wet and slick and many times we had to stop and fight giving us more casualties. Those who could walk, walked. Because airdrops were so infrequent and litters dropped from planes broke, as did plasma, we went back to nature making litters out of ponchos and poles, using plasma only when absolutely necessary. It was frustrating having wounded who needed surgery that could not be performed because of "expediency", inability to use lights at night and the fact that we could not evacuate them. To take our casualties back would have required a full company or more for litter bearers and another company for protection. There were many who died, who would not have died in Korea or Vietnam, which had helicopter evacuation. Our medical supplies were severely depleted by the end of the campaign. Had it not been that many Medics carried medical supplies instead of food, it would have been worse. Needless to say, when we moved back to the Driniumor River, it was a relief. My medics were exhausted, for each had not only been with the troops all day, but also stayed with the wounded all night to comfort or ease him. We were all hungry, cold, sleepy, filthy, covered with rotting blood and exhausted. Col. Starr, Regt. C.O. told me in a letter in later years that the Medical Personnel were the greatest morale boosters. When the campaign ended, the 124th Regt. was brought back to the area of Aitape for rest and re-supply. When we received orders for the Morotai invasion, my Medical Detachment had not received replacements for the KIA and WIA. We were down to about 75% strength. As usual when we shipped out for Morotai each Medical Unit stayed with its battalion and landed with them supporting them medically. Regt. Hqtrs. Medical Section landed with the second wave near the south end of the beach. Fortunately there were few casualties. What wounded we had were evacuated to the ships. The fighting was soon over and we settled down to perimeter guards and patrolling. Our routine settled into almost garrison life except that we were bombed nightly by "Washing Machine Charlie" for about 40-45 days. The bombs were meant for the big airstrip on the island and the bombers that were there. However, shrapnel from the 90mm AA guns was more dangerous to us than the bombs. We stayed in pillboxes until the guns stopped. During this time we had more psychiatric cases (battle fatigue), considerable Malaria from not taking atrabrine and much Jungle Rot. During this period, the Table of Organization was changed and we were able to give battlefield commissions to three of our deserving medics. We also acquired two sergeants from the Battalion. Replacements were arriving and we had first choice. We picked up about 20 who were given extensive medical aid training. None of these men disappointed us. They took up the spirit and morale of our group and later in the Colgan Woods battle in the Philippines, made us quite proud. Life on Morotai was becoming quite boring so when word came down to prepare for a move, we were quite happy. Our units boarded ships with their designated sections and we headed for the Philippines. We all landed around Cotabato, Mindanao. After a few days of confusion, we received orders to Fort Pikit and to proceed up the Sayre Hwy. Our Regiment went by truck convoy and boat up the Mindanao River headed for the Kabacan area. On the night of 29 April,1945, led by 2nd BN. with Regt'l. Hdqtrs. and Medical Section just behind it, we embarked up the Sayre Highway unopposed for about 4 miles. Then we ran in to a Jap battalion coming in the opposite direction and fought a severe firefight for several hours in the dark. With the aid of our 149th Artillery BN. the Japs were pushed back and we took care of our casualties. We were able to treat them and evacuate them by vehicle. As we proceeded up the road, we found all the bridges blown by the enemy and over one gorge the Engineers devised a steel cable trolley to carry our jeeps and trailers and one ton weapon carrier across. We also had to build a makeshift bridge, using 55-gallon oil drums filled with rock for supports and 2x8 and 2x12 bridge timber for tracks. It worked and later was very helpful in casualty evacuation. As we reached Kibawe, about May 4, 1945, we were getting quite a few wounded so we asked for and got L5 ambulance planes to evacuate. However the two that were available could only carry a couple wounded an hour to the Evac hospital. It was here that we talked a pilot of a C47 to land on our cub strip at Kibawe airstrip to pick up some 23-25 casualties. He did, reluctantly. He nearly crashed in the forest on the other side as he took off. About the same time we got word of about 20 casualties from 2nd BN. It was getting dark so we had no chance of planes for the night. The Regt. C.O. agreed that the Regt'l. Surgeon, 8 medics, 3 jeeps and the weapon carrier should be used to carry the casualties back with the purpose of convincing the Division Surgeon to send a Portable Surgical Hospital up, with some elements of the Medical BN. so the urgency of having to evacuate wounded would be alleviated. When we got back to the Regt. the "Battle of Colgan Woods" was in progress and had been for some time. Just as we drove up, one of the Medics was driving a truck (a Jap truck he had fixed) with a severely wounded man, the Asst BN. Surgeon, 1st BN. He had been hit below the left eye while trying to get to the Catholic Chaplain Colgan who was KIA. (The woods were named for him). As we lifted him off the truck, the portable surgical hospital drove into the area. They were set up, had blood going and had him on the operating table in 30 minutes. Along with the PSH we had a Clearing Platoon and a collecting unit from the 106th Medical BN. which gave us a large tent, hospital beds and more personnel. From then on we had no problems with immediate care of the wounded. The 124th Medical Detachment received the Presidential Unit Citation for Colgan Woods. After the seven-day fight for the woods, the Regt. proceeded to fight its way up the Sayre Hwy. to Maramag, then on to Malaybalay. The 155th Infantry took over the lead and we set up a semi-permanent headquarters, sending the Battalions out on patrols. The 3rd BN. had hard fighting in the Silae area. Casualties could not be brought out for treatment, so the Portable Surgical Hospital was loaded onto Caribou-drawn two-wheel carts and transported to Silae. There they saved lives that might have been lost due to time. The war wound down. Malaria was causing more trouble than the enemy. Enemy resistance was very little by the end of July. The regimental Surgeon was due for transfer to the 24th Division as Division Surgeon and the plans for the invasion of Japan were under way. Soldiers were being discharged under the point system and new men were coming in. Forty-Five days TDY to the US for R&R was available and the regimental Surgeon (Deas) applied for one knowing that transfer and the invasion were imminent. The war ended when the Atom Bomb was dropped in August, 1945, and the regimental Surgeon left the regiment August 25, 1945. The 124th Medical Detachment, except for the new replacements, was back in the U.S. and discharged before Christmas, 1945. Dr. Thomas Deas, now 80 years old, meets with "His Boys" on the first weekend of October, in Memphis, Tennessee. Less than 20 now attend. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Written by By Dr. Thomas M. Deas in 1996. Original Source (now offline): Thomas M. Deas, M.D. Note: Since October 2002, Dr. Deas and surviving Medics of the 124th Infantry Regiment from WWII have met in Starkville, Mississippi. See Transcribed by Paul M. Webber on 21 January 2002 Home Page: