World War II in the Pacific
U.S. Army Soldier Remembers Life in New Guinea & the Philippines
Jun 2, 2009
Willie Benfield was 18 years old when he enlisted in the Army at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Over the course of his 6 year service, he participated in the Pacific Campaign in New Guinea and the Philippines.
Attack on America
On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces attacked American Navy ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. America, surprised by the attack and after suffering a great lost to many of her ships, could not do much to prevent the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. General MacArthur would return to the Philippines in 1944. By January 1945, Luzon (Philippine capital) was retaken and 63,000 American and Filipino prisoners were freed from Manila.
Benfield remembers being in church service the fateful day Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. Once he returned to base, he quickly became First Cook while on Tennessee Maneuvers then went to Fort Leonardswood, Missouri for overseas training, and on to Arizona for desert maneuvers. Benfield recalled hearing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan.
Shipped Overseas
Benfield's unit sailed to New Guinea around March 1944. "It took about 30 days to get there," he recalled. "The ship would zig-zag on the way to avoid being attacked by the Japanese, and many of the men, including myself, got seasick."
Malaria and K-Rations
Shortly after the United States military landed in the Pacific Islands, soldiers were stricken with malaria. Benfield remembers taking an Atabrine pill every day to prevent the disease. At one point army units had 90% of their personnel in field hospitals and on average 20%-25% of a unit was stricken.
Known to his army buddies as "Benny," Benfield served with the 211th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Automotive Company. He remembers the K-Rations, which contained a can of meat, crackers, matches, bouillon powder, four cigarettes, salt tablets and a package of chocolate.
New Guinea
Once in New Guinea, one of the men from Benfield's unit was going to start work for him the next day. The soldier was standing on the steps outside the kitchen, and Benfield was behind the screen door. They were talking about duties for the next day when the burning trash barrel next to the soldier exploded.
Benfield stated, "The man died in 30 minutes. It tore his insides out."
They found out later when the camp was being policed, a soldier had found a bomb and threw it in the trash barrel. When the fire heated, the bomb exploded.
Benfield said the war necessitated unique solutions to common problems, large and small. "We would place our warm beer in a tub of gasoline and use a tire pump to blow air in the tub to cool the beer. It may not have been cold beer, but at least it was not warm."
Surprise Attacks
Air raids were also a part of everyday life, preceded by three-shell warnings. "You could set your watch by the air raids -- every night at 10:00 pm and 2:00 am," he said. "You learned quickly to head for your foxhole when the first warning shell sounded."
Another time, Benfield and a soldier buddy were out with a Filipino family and their three children. The Japanese flew over at treetop level on a bombing raid. They jumped behind some logs. One of the kids scampered away, and Benfield had to grab the child and huddle back beneath the logs. The air raid lasted about an hour. Willie and the other soldier walked back to camp and nearly got shot by their own guards. The guards told them they had been attacked. When Benfield got back to his put-tent, he saw two big pieces of steel dropped by the Japanese planes in his foxhole. If he had been in camp, he would of been in his foxhole and would have been killed.
The Philippines
While in the Philippines, Benfield was the Chief Cook of the day-shift. He said, "We only got canned meat to serve - if you could call it that, as it was mostly fat." He served between 140-150 soldiers. There was no refrigeration. Breakfast consisted of powdered eggs, canned meat and pancakes. Lunch would be canned vegetables and canned meat. They did, however, have fresh potatoes. "They were the best thing on the menu," stated Benfield.
Benfield's unit went to Manila, Luzon, Baguio, Leyte and San Fernando. One place they were camping, the Filipinos would line up for hand-outs. So Benfield decided to cook extra.
His captain came up to him, "Benny, stop feeding the Filipinos."
"Yes sir!" He replied. But he kept feeding them.
After a couple more of these warnings from the captain, he finally said, "Benny, if you are gonna feed them then do it across the street." Benfield continued feeding the Filipinos for another 3 or 4 months.
The Atomic Bombs
Benfield's unit received orders to invade Japan. They were packing-up ready to move out when the two atomic bombs, Fat Man and Little Boy, were dropped on Japan forcing them to surrender. The bombs passed through Clark Airfield in the Philippines, but Benfield's unit never seen or heard them. They found out from the camp radio that the war was over.
The Philippines was liberated in the beginning of 1945 - the same year President Roosevelt suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage and Harry S. Truman became President. Germany surrendered May 1945 followed by Japan in August.
Discharged
Benfield was discharged January 1, 1946 from Fort Bragg North Carolina, Technician Grade 4 (a grade of Sergeant). He received: Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Theater Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Stars, Philippine Liberation Medal with 1 Bronze Star, and U.S. Army Expert Shooting Badge.
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