Subject: Third Story About Morotai Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2002 The numbers 568 and 613 and this last one 614 are the numbers of the articles I have written for Olden Times since about 1990----It was beautiful and lonely and sometimes exciting---------TOM In Olden Times # 614 Thomas M. Deas, MD The natives were out in boats and picking up as many as we did, still hauling them in when we left. They threw at least 100 big fish in the boat and the fish were still coming to the top. The other day I told some things about the Island of Morotai in the Netherlands East Indies. There was so much free time on that Island, at times, that other interesting events occurred, some of which I have written, so excuse if I repeat some things. I am just getting old and there are some things I don't want to forget. In October or November of l944, we sent a platoon for reconnaissance (thank goodness for a dictionary for spelling!) up through the middle of the island. We had heard there were some Japs in the area and we didn't want them there. This platoon found them and had a skirmish with them. There were two or three casualties and they brought them to a radar station on the coast. We went to pick them up, and the casualties. They had dispensed with the Japanese in their fight. It was about 20-25 miles up the coast where they came out. We went up in a LCM, led by the Colonel in a Q Boat. When we arrived, the platoon brought the casualties on down. I jumped off the boat to get to shore and help. When I hit that water, it felt like a thousand ants stung me from under my left arm all the way down to my left ankle. I had jumped off on a Portugese Man of War, and those things have "nettles" that sting. Well, I couldn't do anything but scratch as I had nothing for itching. Some of the casualties were fairly bad so we radioed for a PT Boat to come pick them up. It got there shortly and we loaded them on the deck. My 1st Sgt and I went with them. That boat took off, my Sgt and I on the slanting deck trying to hold the wounded boys on with that darn boat hitting a speed of about 50 knots. That was a wild ride, but we got to the dock in about 25 minutes and I was glad. I was scared to death that I was going to slide off that darn deck! The wounded boys fared OK and we sent them to the hospital, called our jeep, and got back to our area before the rest of the bunch came in. That was my last-and only-ride on a PT Boat. However, we went fishing in a Q Boat one day. It had twin Chrysler motors and would go pretty fast. We were trolling off the Reef and had caught a mackerel like fish that weighed about 7-8 pounds. While we were doing that a destroyer and a cruiser were leaving the port. Two Aussie Spitfires buzzed those boats two or three times trying to tell them some Jap barges were over on the Halmahera shore line. I guess the radio at the PT base picked it up and sent 2 PT boats over that way. Like a bunch of fools, we took off after the PT boats and followed them for a mile or so, when all of a sudden we heard a "boom" and water splashed beside one of those boats. The Japs had some 75 mm guns and were shooting our way. Needless to say, we made a quick left turn and came back "home." We didn't have any kind of weapon at all. Not having tarried, we brought that Q Boat back safe! And US too! Most of the fishing we did was from a LCM or a DUWK (however spelt!). We dropped 1/4 to 3/4 pound blocks of TNT with fuses of varying length, depending on how deep we want it to go before exploding. Some of the boys used hand grenades. You could look down in that water inside the reefs and see 40-50 feet, it was so clear, and we could see schools of fish. The explosive would kill or stun them and they would come to the top. We would jump into the Ocean and pick them up, throwing them into our boat. One time, right off from a native village, we had a GOOOOD haul and that night they had a big feast. We could hear them, two miles away. That night we invited the Captain and staff of a ship tied up, unloading at a dock, to eat with us. We had a big feast, also. The next night the Captain invited our Colonel and his staff for supper. We had steak and baked potato with a salad and ice cream. Man, that dining area on the ship was spotless and was beautiful. Other events of note was the day we found oysters at the mouth of the Sabatai River. That night we had all the fried oysters we could eat! Didn't have corn bread or hush puppies, though. We also found taro plants, a tuber much larger than a potato, made into flour by natives and also into a paste, for food. Our cooks cooked them like fried sugar coated yams or in another way cooking them like creamed Irish potatoes. We also had the bud end of coconut trees that could be made into a salad that tastes a little like celery, but better. We had mangos, pineapple, sugarcane and papaya along with bananas. These things certainly were welcomed. K Rations, C Ration and M Rations got tiresome. Anything we could do to make it taste better was welcomed. I remember the time that I ate pancakes without butter or syrup and thought they were the best thing in the world! Another diversion on Morotai was the USO Shows. I remember we saw an abridged version of "Oklahoma." We also had some singing and dancing staged shows seen by almost all the troops that wanted to see them, and most did. I remember that once there were 3 "well shaped" young females who came and there was an upswing in the mood of all the boys. We also had a movie screen and had some real up to date movies, sometimes in the rain, but heck, what is a little rain when you have a steel hat and a poncho to keep you dry! And we sat on coconut logs! But, the reason we were there was to protect that air field. We did. Routinely there were 400 to 500 B-24's and B-25's, bomb loaded, taking off at 4:30-5:00 AM. They flew right over my tent and almost shook me out of bed. They all flew out to bomb the Philippines or the Celebes each day. They started coming in at about 4 - 6 or 7 PM, straggling. Sometimes the motors didn't sound right and the planes were pretty well shot up by Jap AA fire. Occasionally a Jap would tail the last planes in and not be seen, or picked up on radar, and he would bomb the airfield, sometimes causing some damage, but the planes were parked singly and behind rivetments so that there would be minimum damage, in case a bomb hit one; and occasionally some were hit, though not many. Funny, in an Island Paradise and we were all glad to leave! Staying there would not have helped the war effort. I have often thought about that place and of all the damaged planes that were left there to rust away. But leaving meant getting home sooner, and that is what we wanted! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Thomas M. Deas, M.D. Transcribed by Paul M. Webber on 16 February 2002 Home Page: http://home.pcisys.net/~pwebber/31_id/rtw.htm