WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumba's. Our guest in

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<v Speaker 1>this edition is Lewis Burgalt, a US Marine Corps veteran

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<v Speaker 1>of World War II. He fought at Bogainville, Guam and

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<v Speaker 1>Iwo Jima. Lewis Brigault was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in

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<v Speaker 1>May of nineteen twenty five. He grew up in the

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<v Speaker 1>heart of the Great Depression, with three generations under the

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<v Speaker 1>same roof, and he quickly learned what it meant to sacrifice.

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<v Speaker 2>I have an older brother and older sister, my mother

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<v Speaker 2>and father. My grandmother lived with us, who was in

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<v Speaker 2>the middle. I grew up in the depression. We're The

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<v Speaker 2>most common phrase was use it up, word out, make

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<v Speaker 2>it do, and do without.

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<v Speaker 1>Burglt was sixteen years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl

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<v Speaker 1>Harbor in December nineteen forty one. He remembers hearing the

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<v Speaker 1>news like it was yesterday.

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<v Speaker 2>December seventh, nineteen forty one is very clear in my memory.

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<v Speaker 2>A friend of nine had borrowed his older brother's card,

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<v Speaker 2>which by the way, was an almost brand new nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>forty one Chrysler Windsor and new cars were very rare

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<v Speaker 2>to young boys in those days, in fact, and hardly

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<v Speaker 2>anybody had new cars. And the main thing was his

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<v Speaker 2>brother let him take it on a Sunday afternoon, and

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<v Speaker 2>he picked me up and we went for a drive

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<v Speaker 2>out into small towns and around the country. It had

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<v Speaker 2>a radio on it, which was quite unique even then.

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<v Speaker 2>It had little push buttons on it and you push

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<v Speaker 2>this button hard and the little arrow went over here

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<v Speaker 2>in the new station. And we were riding the countryside

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<v Speaker 2>playing with the radio, and a voice came on and said,

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<v Speaker 2>all National Guard report to the armory. All National Guard

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<v Speaker 2>report to the armory. All nash Guard reports of the armory.

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<v Speaker 2>What the hell's going on? You know where we can ride?

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<v Speaker 2>And it kept radio okay, getting this break in about

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<v Speaker 2>the National Guard reporting the army. And in block twilight

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<v Speaker 2>we came back into the city and in those days,

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<v Speaker 2>newspapers put out extras and kids are on the street

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<v Speaker 2>extra extra. Japs bomb Pearl Harbor. My remark was, what

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<v Speaker 2>the hell is of Pearl Harbor? I had never heard

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<v Speaker 2>of Pearl Harbor. I knew there was a place called

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<v Speaker 2>Hawaii where pineapples came from. And that was my first

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<v Speaker 2>knowledge of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

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<v Speaker 1>Burgalt again was only sixteen years old at the time

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<v Speaker 1>of the attack on Pearl Harbor, too young to join

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<v Speaker 1>the service immediately, but Burgalt didn't want to wait and

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<v Speaker 1>hatched a plan to skirt the ade obstacle, but his

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<v Speaker 1>father brought it to a screeching halt. Once Burglt was seventeen,

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<v Speaker 1>his parents agreed to let him join the Marines.

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<v Speaker 2>Well the draft had been implemented. I didn't even have

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<v Speaker 2>to register for the draft till I turned eighteen, and

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<v Speaker 2>I hadn't even turned seventeen, but the age for legal

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<v Speaker 2>enlistment and the Marine Corps the Navy was seventeen years

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<v Speaker 2>of age. But at that time a lot of the

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<v Speaker 2>young men it was still things were still pretty tight

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<v Speaker 2>around there, and a lot of the young guys were

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<v Speaker 2>swept up in the euphoria of all the news coming

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<v Speaker 2>from Europe, the commandos and the stalking and the masking,

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<v Speaker 2>and the building and raids and this that and the

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<v Speaker 2>other thing. And guys was my peers. Some of my

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<v Speaker 2>were going in droves signing up in the Canadian Air

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<v Speaker 2>Force and going on off to Canada. And I thought

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<v Speaker 2>this was a thing to do, so I falsified my

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<v Speaker 2>age on some papers and did a little alteration with

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<v Speaker 2>him and took him home from my parents to sign.

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<v Speaker 2>My dad took one looks at me at that he said,

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<v Speaker 2>you come over here. We're going to have a little talk.

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<v Speaker 2>So I had to wait till I was seven, and

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<v Speaker 2>then my mother made the I said, when I'm seventeen,

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<v Speaker 2>I got talking to the Marine Corps recruiting sergeant, and

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<v Speaker 2>he says, when you're seventeen, going down. And so as

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<v Speaker 2>I turned seventeen, went down and got the papers and

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<v Speaker 2>put them in front my Paris and my mother said, well,

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<v Speaker 2>you're never so happy at when you got a gun

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<v Speaker 2>in your hands. You might as well go.

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<v Speaker 1>Just after his seventeenth birthday, Burgalt headed to Marine Corps

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<v Speaker 1>boot camp at Paris Island, South Carolina. The culture shock

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<v Speaker 1>was immediate in terms of the climate and dealing with

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<v Speaker 1>the drill sergeants.

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<v Speaker 2>I went to boot camp at Paras Island. I was

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<v Speaker 2>sworn in on June first, nineteen forty two. That maybe

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<v Speaker 2>seventeen years and three weeks of age. Paras Island in

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<v Speaker 2>June and July, for those that have been here, got

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<v Speaker 2>to realize it's kind of warm down there. Then we

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<v Speaker 2>had a little sand. We used to quote something like this,

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<v Speaker 2>here's the Paras Island, the land that God forgot, where

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<v Speaker 2>the sand is ten inches deep and the sun is

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<v Speaker 2>scorching hot. It was though in those days the drill

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<v Speaker 2>instructors could literally hit you, I mean kicking in the ass,

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<v Speaker 2>smash your rifle in your face, do all kinds of

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<v Speaker 2>humiliating punishment. There was no limit to what they could

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<v Speaker 2>do as long as they didn't put you in hospital.

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<v Speaker 1>Training was difficult and grueling, but it got the new

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<v Speaker 1>Marines ready for war. Burgalt explains the many different methods

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<v Speaker 1>of training and what the Marines were trying hardest to

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<v Speaker 1>achieve through that ordeal.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we had a very thorough training. First of all,

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<v Speaker 2>we had to learn to march. We had to learn

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<v Speaker 2>on left foot from my right foot, and we got

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<v Speaker 2>pretty up. My platoon got pretty good at it. By

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<v Speaker 2>the way. I was in the platoon four h six

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<v Speaker 2>second Recruit Battalion at Paras Island, and my drill instructor's

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<v Speaker 2>name was Corporal Ilmoy. He was a senior drill instructor.

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<v Speaker 2>He was a tough little nut. We had two PFC assistants.

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<v Speaker 2>We learned the Marching Manual of Arms. We learned to march,

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<v Speaker 2>We learned to do this, that and the other thing,

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<v Speaker 2>and mainly we learned to follow orders. Then we went

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<v Speaker 2>to the rifle range, and at that time the rifle

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<v Speaker 2>was the United States Caliber rifle and nineteen oh three

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<v Speaker 2>a bolt operating clip fed shoulder weapon, and we fired,

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<v Speaker 2>went out the rifle range. We fired. We had to

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<v Speaker 2>get up early in the morning and do our firing

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<v Speaker 2>because if you waited till later on in the morning,

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<v Speaker 2>the heat waves shimmering off the marshes wouldn't let you

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<v Speaker 2>see your target. We had to perform on the bay

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<v Speaker 2>in that course. We had to We had dummy baytis.

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<v Speaker 2>We had to run the course in a certain amount

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<v Speaker 2>of time. We were taught the profit way to throw

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<v Speaker 2>a hand grenade. We had familiarization firing with the forty

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<v Speaker 2>five pistol, and then we then we had two weeks

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<v Speaker 2>mess duty, which all the guys had to do pay

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<v Speaker 2>back for all those meals. You sat down and ate

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<v Speaker 2>and the chowhan didn't have to do any work. And

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<v Speaker 2>it was in a casual company that was sent up

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<v Speaker 2>to campus ureing the former's twenty first Greens.

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<v Speaker 1>With basic training behind him, Burgalt so soon picked up

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<v Speaker 1>an additional job once his superiors discovered his additional talents.

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<v Speaker 2>I sent to the company and the first sergeant gave

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<v Speaker 2>me some little work to do when he found out

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<v Speaker 2>I could remember a message or some remember something I

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<v Speaker 2>was told to do with him writing it down and

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<v Speaker 2>drawing me a picture. So he kind of took me

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<v Speaker 2>under his wing, and I became sort of like the

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<v Speaker 2>company and runner, and I was a smart little kid

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<v Speaker 2>with a smart little mouse, and I got in trouble

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<v Speaker 2>a few times, and he threatened more than once to

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<v Speaker 2>kick my ass and put me in a put me down.

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<v Speaker 2>The weapons platoon let me carry him more. The bass

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<v Speaker 2>played around, and he also knew that the gunnery sidant

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<v Speaker 2>didn't like me.

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<v Speaker 1>After some more training, it was time to begin the

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<v Speaker 1>journey to the Pacific, which started with a cross country

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<v Speaker 1>track to San Diego.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, well, we went from Campusur, which by the way,

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<v Speaker 2>was not Campusur, and then it was the Marine Corps

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<v Speaker 2>based in River, North Carolina. We went to Camp Elliot

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<v Speaker 2>in the fall in November or into October November, and

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<v Speaker 2>we did some souping and pooping in the woods around

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<v Speaker 2>Camp Elliott, which is now part of Miramar Air Station.

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<v Speaker 2>And then we went on a ship in Harbor, San

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<v Speaker 2>Diego self transport. In fact, I can even remember the

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<v Speaker 2>name of it was the USS Franklin Bell. And we

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<v Speaker 2>did out and did some maneuvers on where that beach

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<v Speaker 2>the sea the seals used now at Carnado, and we

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<v Speaker 2>did a landing at San Clementi and they took us

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<v Speaker 2>off of San Clementi and brought us song the ocean

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<v Speaker 2>side another practice landing and put us into Camp Pendleton.

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<v Speaker 2>Were the first ones to occupy the brand new barracks

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<v Speaker 2>at pim Pendleton. They just turned just got the electricity

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<v Speaker 2>turned on, and we enjoyed a couple about a month

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<v Speaker 2>and a half in those nach new barracks.

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<v Speaker 1>From San Diego, it was off to New Zealand and

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<v Speaker 1>eventual engagement in the Pacific Theater. Mister Burgalf remembers leaving

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<v Speaker 1>San Diego and the moment shortly after embarking when he

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<v Speaker 1>grasped the full reality of what was happening.

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<v Speaker 2>I remember when we left San Diego Harbor, we pulled

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<v Speaker 2>away from the pier, when the tugs cut loose, we

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<v Speaker 2>went out the end. They put pulled the anti submarine

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<v Speaker 2>net back and the destroyer went out ahead of us,

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<v Speaker 2>and it was just a twilight and we got well

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<v Speaker 2>clear of the submarine net and the entrance and the destroyer,

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<v Speaker 2>remember the bleakal light, and destroyer went like this or

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<v Speaker 2>something that our ship and he made a turn. He

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<v Speaker 2>started back in and they put the hammer down on

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<v Speaker 2>the lower line and we started out all alone and lowly,

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<v Speaker 2>and it was very lonely feel and see that destroyer

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<v Speaker 2>leave us. We went straight Auckland, New Zealand.

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<v Speaker 1>From New Zealand, Burgalt and his fellow marines were soon

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<v Speaker 1>on their way to Guaddal Canal. The long fierce battle

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<v Speaker 1>there was over, and the island was now being used

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<v Speaker 1>by US forces to bring supplies to the region, and

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<v Speaker 1>Burgalt was in the middle of that massive operation.

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<v Speaker 2>What we were doing most every other day when you

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<v Speaker 2>went to someone working party on load and supplies or

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<v Speaker 2>equipment or something, because there, you know, there were no

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<v Speaker 2>port facilities on Guader Canal. Everything was lowered over the

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<v Speaker 2>cargo net into a landing craft and put up on

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<v Speaker 2>the beach and manhandled into a truck and then put

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<v Speaker 2>on a supply dump. So and we did a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of snoop and poop, and we did malaria control out

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<v Speaker 2>at the edge of the jungle using machete, cutting down

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<v Speaker 2>anything with harbor mosquitoes. We chomped through the the rivers

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<v Speaker 2>up in the hills, in the foothills of the mountains

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<v Speaker 2>here in Guadalcanal, and that was pretty much it.

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<v Speaker 1>That's Lewis Burgalt. He's a US Marine Corps veteran of

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<v Speaker 1>the Pacific Theater in World War Two. When we come back,

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<v Speaker 1>mister Burgalt's first taste of hostilities while still on Guadalcanal

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<v Speaker 1>and then the battle for Bogainville and eventually Guam and

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<v Speaker 1>ewo Jima. I'm Greg Corumbus, and this is Veterans Chronicles.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in

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<v Speaker 1>this edition is Louis Burgalt, a US Marine Corps veteran

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<v Speaker 1>of World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater

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<v Speaker 1>and saw combat at Bogainville, Guam, and Ewojima. Before the break.

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<v Speaker 1>Burgalt was remembering his arrival in the Pacific and being

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<v Speaker 1>assigned to load and unload ships at Guadalcanal. As mentioned,

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<v Speaker 1>by that time the island was in American control, but

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<v Speaker 1>the Japanese still wanted it back, and it was on

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<v Speaker 1>Guadalcanal that Burgalt got his first taste of hostilities in

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<v Speaker 1>World War Two.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I had a taste of war before I was

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<v Speaker 2>actually in combat. All Quarter Canal was secured, washing seed.

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<v Speaker 2>Charlie was over about every night. A few bombs. We

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<v Speaker 2>were unloading ships and we were on a work detail.

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<v Speaker 2>We should have been down in the in the hold

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<v Speaker 2>of a ship. This other fellow and I said to

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<v Speaker 2>the cocks and the SELCVP, don't you need somebody down

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<v Speaker 2>here to help, you know with Nancy said yeah, So

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<v Speaker 2>he sold to the sergeant charges, I need these two

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<v Speaker 2>guys to stay with me. So the rest of the

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<v Speaker 2>guys went up up the cargo nets into the hold

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<v Speaker 2>of the ship where they carried the stuff and put

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<v Speaker 2>it in the cargo nets. And we took one load

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<v Speaker 2>and we went to show up, put it up on

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<v Speaker 2>the beach and held it out and I think it

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<v Speaker 2>was half sixty millimeter and more ammunition in the clusters

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<v Speaker 2>and some stuffered crazy back pulled up under the fantail

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<v Speaker 2>the ship for our orders to the way to pull

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<v Speaker 2>up next, and the boy shelled down conditioned red stand

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<v Speaker 2>clear and I remember the prop turned on. We were

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<v Speaker 2>right next to turbulence of the water with a ship

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<v Speaker 2>turned and the Coxon spun that boat around and took

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<v Speaker 2>off and just then whammed the ship right next to ours,

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<v Speaker 2>about one hundred and fifty yards away, took a torpedo

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<v Speaker 2>and blew up, and a hall hell broke loose thirty

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<v Speaker 2>caliber fifty caliber forty milimere twenty traces, boom, boom. Their

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<v Speaker 2>wet torpedo planes were flying low. And then we were

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<v Speaker 2>in that boat and he was heading out away from there,

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<v Speaker 2>and I thought we were going to hit by some

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<v Speaker 2>unfriendly friendly fire. By the time conditioned Green was declared

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<v Speaker 2>the shooting stopped, we were halfway over to Tilagi, and

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<v Speaker 2>that was along quite a while getting back, and we

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<v Speaker 2>go back to the beach. All the other guys had

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<v Speaker 2>been in work party had been put ashore and put

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<v Speaker 2>on a truck and taken back to the camp, and

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<v Speaker 2>me the other fellow, we had to walk and and

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<v Speaker 2>finally got a truck going our ways, and by that

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<v Speaker 2>it was three o'clock in the morning. We pulled into

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<v Speaker 2>the camp. At first Sun said, how where you are?

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<v Speaker 2>I was just getting ready to put you down as Mia,

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<v Speaker 2>so I learned then that the game was for keeps.

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<v Speaker 1>The US approach to the Pacific theater became known as

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<v Speaker 1>island hopping. It involved attacking strategic Japanese positions on countless

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<v Speaker 1>little islands throughout the Pacific, building many of them into

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<v Speaker 1>air bases, or using them to shorten supply lines. An

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<v Speaker 1>island by island, the Americans and our allies inched closer

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<v Speaker 1>to mainland Japan, but the early hops were very far

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<v Speaker 1>from the ultimate target. After serving on Guadalcanal, it was

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<v Speaker 1>time for Brigal and his fellow Marines to formally enter

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<v Speaker 1>the fighting and relay critical messages just a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>farther north in the Solomon Islands at a place called Bogainville.

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<v Speaker 2>My first taste of battle was just off just offshore

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<v Speaker 2>of Bougainville. We were on an APD, which is an

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<v Speaker 2>auxiliary personnel destroyers the world will one destroyer where they're

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<v Speaker 2>taking two stacks out and they would carry about a

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<v Speaker 2>company of marines. The convoy was started being harassed US

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<v Speaker 2>about midnight, and we passed handled ammunition twenty minute reels

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<v Speaker 2>of ammunition from storage to the gun tubs and forty

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<v Speaker 2>milliman ammunition, and the destroyer beside us, about five hundred

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<v Speaker 2>yards of our stern took a torpedo, and by then

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<v Speaker 2>then it was daylight, and we put on the boats

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<v Speaker 2>and went ashore. The first wave had already been ashore

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<v Speaker 2>and they already cleaned out the very light resistance where

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<v Speaker 2>we went in at Cape Turaquina, and we hung around

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00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:15.039
<v Speaker 2>there and ineffectively fired us some planes that were with

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<v Speaker 2>our rifles. That planes were trying to dive bomb the

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<v Speaker 2>LST's on the beach. By the way, something I hear

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<v Speaker 2>nobody to talk about anymore. What kept those planes from

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<v Speaker 2>getting too close to the LSTs with barage balloons. There

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00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:32.000
<v Speaker 2>was huge balloons of the cable they put up with

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<v Speaker 2>those cables. They had cables dropped from them kept the

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<v Speaker 2>planes from diving in too close. And when they pull

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<v Speaker 2>out of their dive, they came right around past where

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<v Speaker 2>we were hidding in the bushes at the edge of

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<v Speaker 2>the beach, and we were firing at japped planes with

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<v Speaker 2>our ones. I fired one m one so it got

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00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.759
<v Speaker 2>the damn hot that the barre band charge made the

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<v Speaker 2>wood on the upper hand hold made black. But that

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00:16:55.559 --> 00:17:00.519
<v Speaker 2>was kind of fun. But then it was after then

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00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:05.640
<v Speaker 2>we moved on up. Then we were not engaged directly

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<v Speaker 2>with the enemy. We did patrols. We set up a

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<v Speaker 2>primitive defense. We relieved the people in front of us.

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<v Speaker 2>We set up as a mean objective was to seebees

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<v Speaker 2>build an airfield down so they could run planes up

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<v Speaker 2>to Boham truck.

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<v Speaker 1>That's Lewis Burgalt, a US Marine Corps veteran of World

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<v Speaker 1>War II, describing his service in combat and in carrying

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<v Speaker 1>messages on the island of Bogainville in the Solomon Islands.

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<v Speaker 1>In a moment, we'll hear about his actions at the

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<v Speaker 1>critical Battle of iwo Jima, and here his memories of

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<v Speaker 1>the flag racing on Mount Suribachi and the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the war. But before that we'll hear how Brigalt and

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<v Speaker 1>the Marines confronted two difficult adversaries on Bogainville. That's next.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles. This is

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<v Speaker 1>Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbas. Our guest in this edition

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<v Speaker 1>is Louis Burgalt, a US Marine Corps veteran of the

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<v Speaker 1>Pacific theater in World War Two. He saw action at Bougainville,

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<v Speaker 1>Guam and Ewojima. In just a few moments, we'll hear

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<v Speaker 1>Burgalt's very vivid memories from Ewojima. But first mister Burgald

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<v Speaker 1>picks up his story on Bogainville, where he not only

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<v Speaker 1>fought against a fierce Japanese enemy, but the island itself.

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<v Speaker 2>Big problems On Bougainville. I got malaria. I a dysenterry.

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00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:36.440
<v Speaker 2>I got jungle rod. I was covered with jungle rod

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00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:41.359
<v Speaker 2>from my knees up to my shoulders. That was a miserable, scratchy,

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00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.960
<v Speaker 2>itchy thing. I was in the division hospital there at

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00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:47.440
<v Speaker 2>the beach for three days, one hundred and three hundred

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<v Speaker 2>and four degree fever. It was mud, it was wet,

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<v Speaker 2>it was dreary. We did a lot of time just

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00:18:56.440 --> 00:19:02.039
<v Speaker 2>manning a Periminiza. I was not engaged in any combat

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00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:06.519
<v Speaker 2>with the enemy. I did shoot a straggler what do

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00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:09.039
<v Speaker 2>you call it? Was left behind as a sniper. I

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00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:12.400
<v Speaker 2>guess they Japs had a habit of leaving wounded and

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00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:15.759
<v Speaker 2>sick behind to take out a couple of us before

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00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:18.880
<v Speaker 2>they went. And one time I made a decision to

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00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:22.960
<v Speaker 2>go this way around a little when you call it

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00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:25.000
<v Speaker 2>an island, in the trail of what do you want

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00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:27.160
<v Speaker 2>to call it instead of going this way? And he

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00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:29.960
<v Speaker 2>was facing that way, and I got him. He didn't

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00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:32.200
<v Speaker 2>see me. He heard me, but he didn't see me.

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00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:36.359
<v Speaker 2>I saw him. And that was my only really combat there.

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<v Speaker 2>The rest of the time I was running from the company,

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00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:42.599
<v Speaker 2>had boys back to battalion head bars and back up

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00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:46.799
<v Speaker 2>again and doing this and doing that, hauling this, haul

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<v Speaker 2>in that, or something or other.

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<v Speaker 1>After Boginville, Bergalt and his fellow Marines were soon on

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<v Speaker 1>their way to take part in the invasion and liberation

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00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:59.000
<v Speaker 1>of Guam, which took place in July and August of

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen forty four. After mopping up on Guam, as Brigalt

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00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:06.920
<v Speaker 1>puts it, it was time for rest and planning the

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00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:12.440
<v Speaker 1>next big invasion, Ewojima. Burgalt and the other Marines left

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00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:16.920
<v Speaker 1>Guam for Ewojima in January nineteen forty five. It's not

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00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:20.839
<v Speaker 1>a short journey, but Burgalt says the time was put

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<v Speaker 1>to good use well.

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<v Speaker 2>On the way up, they finally it was all those preparations.

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<v Speaker 2>I remember. It was a tent set up with actually

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00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.559
<v Speaker 2>arm sent fish placed around it, and only certain offices

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00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:39.319
<v Speaker 2>were allowed in there that went on those big rooms

345
00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:42.200
<v Speaker 2>about we never even heard the name e Regim. So

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00:20:42.359 --> 00:20:43.960
<v Speaker 2>we run a ship on the way up there, and

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00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:45.680
<v Speaker 2>then they had mock ups and they got us in

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<v Speaker 2>groups on the deck and show us aerial photos and

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<v Speaker 2>there's nothing, just bear laying well the problem. They say,

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00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:56.960
<v Speaker 2>this is probably a pill box, and this is probably

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00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:59.559
<v Speaker 2>a pill box with a low level of pictures and

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00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:00.799
<v Speaker 2>nothing did and get the name.

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<v Speaker 1>When D day finally arrived at Ebo Jima Bergalt was

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<v Speaker 1>not slated to land in the early waves. He says,

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<v Speaker 1>after some very encouraging reports earlier in the day, his

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00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:15.720
<v Speaker 1>efforts to get ashore on day one were ultimately unsuccessful.

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<v Speaker 2>And on D day when we went, we were up

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<v Speaker 2>on the deck waiting over the side when on shoreboard

359
00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:30.039
<v Speaker 2>barbaric was going on. We were watching that. It was terrific,

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<v Speaker 2>terrific display. And the first wave. The captain came on

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<v Speaker 2>the ship and said, the first wave has hit the beach.

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<v Speaker 2>There was no opposition, and oh yeah, it's gonna be

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<v Speaker 2>a piece of cake. And we went over the side

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<v Speaker 2>and got into the landing craft and we headed for

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<v Speaker 2>the beach, and then we started circling and then we

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00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.839
<v Speaker 2>headed for the beach. Then we started circling and we

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00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:01.039
<v Speaker 2>did that all damn day alone, and there was we

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00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:02.960
<v Speaker 2>found a lady. There was no room on the beach

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<v Speaker 2>for ust. The beach was just a disaster. We went

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<v Speaker 2>back to the ship. We had to jump from the

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<v Speaker 2>landing craft to a little platform, a little landing, and

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<v Speaker 2>climb up this little bows and ladder back to the

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<v Speaker 2>ship again. And the sea was kind of rough. The

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<v Speaker 2>big ship was going like this and the little one

375
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<v Speaker 2>was going like this, and we had to jump from

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<v Speaker 2>here to there and up, and we were loaded. You

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<v Speaker 2>had a helmet, gas masks, you packed two canteens of water,

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<v Speaker 2>a couple of units of fire, your legging. If you'd

379
00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:35.680
<v Speaker 2>never slipped and missed, you had gone to the bottom

380
00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:38.480
<v Speaker 2>like a lead balloon to gone right straight down. And

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00:22:38.599 --> 00:22:40.759
<v Speaker 2>that scared the living hell out of me. And we

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00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:42.480
<v Speaker 2>didn't go a short till the next day.

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<v Speaker 1>The next day, the Marines faced a few challenges in

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<v Speaker 1>making the landing on the beach at Iwo Jima, but

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<v Speaker 1>Burgalt clearly remembers what he saw on that beach and

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00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:52.759
<v Speaker 1>where he had it.

387
00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:57.599
<v Speaker 2>After that, well, it was sort of uneventful. Who we

388
00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:00.119
<v Speaker 2>got to the beach, the carnage and the wreckage and

389
00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:02.839
<v Speaker 2>the debris on the beach was the reason they put

390
00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:07.000
<v Speaker 2>us ashore. Right then they needed manpower to get the

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00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:11.119
<v Speaker 2>crap off the beach and move it and every assembly lines.

392
00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:14.240
<v Speaker 2>There's a big picture of guys taking supplies in our

393
00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:16.880
<v Speaker 2>lst and some of the magazines. But we did that.

394
00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:20.119
<v Speaker 2>We moved, We moved supplies off the beach for the

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00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:24.039
<v Speaker 2>for the tide got him. There were a few rounds

396
00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:26.319
<v Speaker 2>came over ahead, but there was no shelling on us.

397
00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:29.359
<v Speaker 2>And we slept that night up there in the shelves

398
00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:34.240
<v Speaker 2>right there, just over the over the second riseland that night,

399
00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:37.799
<v Speaker 2>but we were there, and then the next morning we

400
00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:40.160
<v Speaker 2>were told to we were we were moving up to

401
00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:44.240
<v Speaker 2>relieve a company. So we went all along the island

402
00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:48.599
<v Speaker 2>around side along the way airfield and across the airfield

403
00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:52.240
<v Speaker 2>in that rough ground on the other side. We got

404
00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:54.880
<v Speaker 2>shot at a little bit going across the airfield, which

405
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:57.440
<v Speaker 2>is they were still up in Sabachi and they were

406
00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:59.079
<v Speaker 2>still on the high ground the other end.

407
00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:02.960
<v Speaker 1>Lewis Burg would not be an action long on Ewo Jima,

408
00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:07.160
<v Speaker 1>but two things stand out. Dealing with a fellow marine

409
00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:10.799
<v Speaker 1>in agony on a stretcher and getting knocked out himself

410
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:12.359
<v Speaker 1>due to enemy shelling.

411
00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:15.799
<v Speaker 2>There was a guy on the stretchers, one of the

412
00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:18.960
<v Speaker 2>units that we were leaving. I guess had been doped

413
00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:22.640
<v Speaker 2>up with morphine because he started moaning. He was coming

414
00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:26.599
<v Speaker 2>out and he started moaning at the first start. He said, you, you, you,

415
00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:28.880
<v Speaker 2>and you grabbed that Get that guy the hell out

416
00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:31.519
<v Speaker 2>of here. So the four of us grabbed a stretcher

417
00:24:31.559 --> 00:24:35.039
<v Speaker 2>and went back across the airfield, which wasn't a very

418
00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:38.920
<v Speaker 2>we went. It's probably the fastest stretcher movement there ever was.

419
00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:43.440
<v Speaker 2>It wasn't pleasant. This stuff was cracking around our heads

420
00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:46.839
<v Speaker 2>and singing and banging. We went down the embankment and

421
00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:50.319
<v Speaker 2>we met a stretcher party coming up from the beach

422
00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:52.359
<v Speaker 2>and turning it over to hurt the eye over them.

423
00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:54.000
<v Speaker 2>And then we started back and a hell of a

424
00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:57.680
<v Speaker 2>big mortar barage came down and walking closer to us.

425
00:24:57.720 --> 00:25:00.079
<v Speaker 2>It was the big stuff. It wasn't little stuff. And

426
00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:03.319
<v Speaker 2>the last thing I remember was jumping on a big crater.

427
00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:06.920
<v Speaker 2>My next recollection, I was on the beach and they

428
00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:09.720
<v Speaker 2>were pinning a tag on me, and some guy lit

429
00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:12.119
<v Speaker 2>a cigarette in his face and stuck it in my mouth.

430
00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:15.759
<v Speaker 2>I don't know, I have no recollection going over that

431
00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:20.759
<v Speaker 2>into that hole where their stuff was busting all around us,

432
00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:25.920
<v Speaker 2>and they put me on a transport to be converted

433
00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:28.640
<v Speaker 2>into a hospital ship for I guess because all the

434
00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:32.119
<v Speaker 2>guys who were might walking wounded with arms or something

435
00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:34.640
<v Speaker 2>like that, people like me and no visible wounds and stuff.

436
00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:38.559
<v Speaker 2>And that was the end of my sojournal I Regima.

437
00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:41.720
<v Speaker 1>The most indelible image from the Battle for Iwo Jima

438
00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:45.799
<v Speaker 1>is the flag raising a top Mount Serabachi. This was

439
00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:48.599
<v Speaker 1>actually rather early in the battle and the fighting would

440
00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:53.440
<v Speaker 1>rage on for weeks to come. Joseph Rosenthal's photograph would

441
00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:56.519
<v Speaker 1>become one of the most iconic images in American history,

442
00:25:57.440 --> 00:25:59.880
<v Speaker 1>even though he had already been evacuated from the island

443
00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:04.079
<v Speaker 1>after being knocked out in that enemy shelling. Lewis Bergalt

444
00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:07.559
<v Speaker 1>remembers the flag raising quite well. In fact, it's one

445
00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:10.960
<v Speaker 1>of the last things he remembers happening before being sent

446
00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:11.799
<v Speaker 1>back to Guam.

447
00:26:12.200 --> 00:26:14.240
<v Speaker 2>I was on the ship, but the captain came on

448
00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:17.720
<v Speaker 2>the PA and announced, and some of the ships blew

449
00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:20.680
<v Speaker 2>their whistles and stuff. That the guy mentioned us today

450
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:25.480
<v Speaker 2>that they were cheering under the down There was woo whistles.

451
00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:29.480
<v Speaker 2>We did have we did have to make smoke at night.

452
00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:36.359
<v Speaker 2>Came into the compartments. One night, twenty millimeter guns on

453
00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:40.079
<v Speaker 2>the deck a twenty millimeter gun anchored to the steel

454
00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:44.000
<v Speaker 2>deck of an empty steel ship were reverberate through the

455
00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:48.440
<v Speaker 2>damn ship you think was there. You would get really murdered.

456
00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:51.839
<v Speaker 2>But I don't remember much after that about the trip

457
00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:54.759
<v Speaker 2>back to Guama. I remember getting in the hospital at Guam.

458
00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:56.720
<v Speaker 2>That's all I remember about it.

459
00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:59.720
<v Speaker 1>The first order of business once Burgalt got to Guam

460
00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:02.960
<v Speaker 1>was to recover from whatever actually happened to him on

461
00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:06.640
<v Speaker 1>Iwo Jima. Soon after that, Burgalt got the news that

462
00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:09.880
<v Speaker 1>every marine wanted to hear, and the news that shocked

463
00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:12.799
<v Speaker 1>the nation. In mid April nineteen forty five.

464
00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:15.799
<v Speaker 2>We're in the hospital for about four weeks, and then

465
00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:20.519
<v Speaker 2>by then four or five we send the division. We

466
00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:23.680
<v Speaker 2>were coming. They came back to Guaham, and then the

467
00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:25.519
<v Speaker 2>doctor came out and talked to all of us. Said,

468
00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:28.480
<v Speaker 2>you guys are looking to go home, he said, but

469
00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:31.079
<v Speaker 2>we're going to send you back to duty because you're

470
00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:33.839
<v Speaker 2>going to get home faster going back to duty, because

471
00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:36.160
<v Speaker 2>all you old time hasn't been out here for thirty months.

472
00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:39.640
<v Speaker 2>Are going back. If we go through medical, it's going

473
00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:42.359
<v Speaker 2>to be four or five months before you get there.

474
00:27:43.319 --> 00:27:45.319
<v Speaker 2>So they sent us back to a casual company and

475
00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:48.519
<v Speaker 2>back to our company. And when we get back to

476
00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:51.160
<v Speaker 2>the company, first I said, oh ya are you old guys. Now,

477
00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:54.000
<v Speaker 2>get your sea bags back to keep them back, and

478
00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:57.799
<v Speaker 2>don't leave this area without checking in every hour. Don't

479
00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:00.599
<v Speaker 2>go visit your friends over to tidy head boards running.

480
00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:03.720
<v Speaker 2>You stick around because you're going to go home. And

481
00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:09.000
<v Speaker 2>the strangest thing was, I'll never forget it. We got

482
00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:11.519
<v Speaker 2>the news that Franklin Roosevelt had died and was in

483
00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:13.440
<v Speaker 2>half an hour there at the first side and said,

484
00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.079
<v Speaker 2>you guys, get your sea bags out on the road.

485
00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:19.799
<v Speaker 2>The truck's on the way. So I always connect that.

486
00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:22.039
<v Speaker 2>I always know what day it was that I got

487
00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:25.680
<v Speaker 2>to come home. And they put us on a took

488
00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:27.839
<v Speaker 2>us down to Apra Harbor there on Goam put us

489
00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:31.519
<v Speaker 2>on a jeep carrier that was going back to the States.

490
00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:34.680
<v Speaker 2>They had no aircrew and stuff on boards, so they

491
00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:37.680
<v Speaker 2>had a lot of extra bunk space. Then we stopped

492
00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:39.799
<v Speaker 2>at Ford Island on the way back. They didn't miss

493
00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:42.119
<v Speaker 2>off the ship and we were San Diego.

494
00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:45.119
<v Speaker 1>One other anecdote that makes Burgault laugh to this very

495
00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:49.440
<v Speaker 1>day was the intense warning to returning service members as

496
00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:52.160
<v Speaker 1>they came into port here in the UAS. But it

497
00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:55.480
<v Speaker 1>was a warning with absolutely zero enforcement.

498
00:28:55.759 --> 00:28:58.240
<v Speaker 2>We were warned not to buy any cigarettes on the

499
00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:00.400
<v Speaker 2>ship where they were fifty cents a car and they

500
00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:04.920
<v Speaker 2>were taxed on shore. Uh, don't bring any souvenirs you

501
00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:07.440
<v Speaker 2>got any, don't take anything. We were told that it

502
00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:12.400
<v Speaker 2>don't bring any broken down carbines and pistols, the hand grenades,

503
00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:14.559
<v Speaker 2>don't bring because they're going and go through your customs

504
00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:17.279
<v Speaker 2>and you'd get locked up in your car. We pulled

505
00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:19.920
<v Speaker 2>in San Diego Harbor. We put our seat bags on

506
00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:21.759
<v Speaker 2>the shore. We walked down the ramp going on a

507
00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:24.799
<v Speaker 2>busted over recruit. People nobody even looked at us.

508
00:29:25.079 --> 00:29:30.680
<v Speaker 1>Burgalt was assigned to guarding prisoners, American prisoners actually, and

509
00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:32.720
<v Speaker 1>that's where he was when the word came down that

510
00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:38.039
<v Speaker 1>the Japanese had surrendered and World War two was officially over.

511
00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:41.640
<v Speaker 2>It was in August. I was I was on duty

512
00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:44.880
<v Speaker 2>at the prison. When we call fire and riot squad.

513
00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.279
<v Speaker 2>We had an extra as well as the primitive guards

514
00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.759
<v Speaker 2>and to sell block guards and the annexed cards. We

515
00:29:50.880 --> 00:29:54.480
<v Speaker 2>had an extra squad stamlea cans ranging around the p

516
00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:57.359
<v Speaker 2>X and drink coffee and stuff like that. But I

517
00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:00.440
<v Speaker 2>was on a fire and riot squad when the news

518
00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:04.000
<v Speaker 2>came in. The prisoners started. There were of course, they

519
00:30:04.039 --> 00:30:06.720
<v Speaker 2>were all our guys, so there were general court martiall prisoners.

520
00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:09.640
<v Speaker 2>They started rioting and turning up their bed turning to

521
00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:13.519
<v Speaker 2>their beds and throwing blankets and stuff out. So order

522
00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:16.000
<v Speaker 2>had to be re established back in the cell block,

523
00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:18.480
<v Speaker 2>and we went up there and we spent three or

524
00:30:18.519 --> 00:30:22.279
<v Speaker 2>four hours getting think straight and around up there. Again,

525
00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:26.799
<v Speaker 2>I don't blame for celebrating, but we didn't. The U

526
00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:30.119
<v Speaker 2>normality did not sink into us till the next day

527
00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:32.119
<v Speaker 2>we knew that the Japs had dropped the Big boom

528
00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:34.279
<v Speaker 2>and we heard the big bomban this is the second

529
00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:37.519
<v Speaker 2>when the Japs had quit. When that was when the

530
00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:41.640
<v Speaker 2>rioting actually started. And then I had nine months to

531
00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:44.519
<v Speaker 2>do in my enlistment, and watched all the reserves that

532
00:30:45.319 --> 00:30:47.720
<v Speaker 2>had only been in about a year all getting his

533
00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:49.920
<v Speaker 2>discharge and going home, and I had to sit there

534
00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:51.640
<v Speaker 2>and finish out my enlistment.

535
00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:55.480
<v Speaker 1>And reflecting upon his service eight decades later, Lewis Burgalt

536
00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:59.440
<v Speaker 1>knows he is fortunate to be here, and that's slightly different.

537
00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:02.799
<v Speaker 1>Decisions by him or the enemy could have resulted in

538
00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:04.279
<v Speaker 1>a very different outcome.

539
00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:07.839
<v Speaker 2>Well, look, even any other thing, some little, some big,

540
00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:11.279
<v Speaker 2>it changes your whole life. How do I know where

541
00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:13.799
<v Speaker 2>I would have been? Where? It is some little thing

542
00:31:13.880 --> 00:31:16.839
<v Speaker 2>that happened to me instant on Bogaville. If I had

543
00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:19.559
<v Speaker 2>gone this way, that jack would have got me in

544
00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:22.640
<v Speaker 2>the back. And by the way, I took the round

545
00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:25.599
<v Speaker 2>the chamber of his rifle, and I had the cbe

546
00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:28.079
<v Speaker 2>build drol hole and lit the powder out, and I'd

547
00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:30.160
<v Speaker 2>kept it in my pocket. I've still got it at home.

548
00:31:31.039 --> 00:31:33.000
<v Speaker 2>I figured if that would have my name on it,

549
00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:35.920
<v Speaker 2>and if I keep it in my pocket, never keep me.

550
00:31:36.599 --> 00:31:38.920
<v Speaker 1>As you might gather from how he tells his story,

551
00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:42.720
<v Speaker 1>Lewis Brigald is in high demand as a speaker to

552
00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:47.319
<v Speaker 1>school students and other organizations. He's always eager to do it,

553
00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:50.119
<v Speaker 1>not only out of respect for those who want to

554
00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:53.359
<v Speaker 1>hear about his service, but because, he says, our nation

555
00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:58.200
<v Speaker 1>has become far more appreciative of his generation and other

556
00:31:58.359 --> 00:32:01.119
<v Speaker 1>service members over the past past couple of decades.

557
00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:04.160
<v Speaker 2>Fifteen twenty years ago. If I told somebody that I

558
00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:07.359
<v Speaker 2>was a World War Two veteran, the destructed this and said,

559
00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:10.640
<v Speaker 2>what so what? What the hell? You know? Now people

560
00:32:11.319 --> 00:32:13.400
<v Speaker 2>walk across the street, they see me and they come

561
00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:15.839
<v Speaker 2>over and shake my hands. They thank you for your service.

562
00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:19.440
<v Speaker 2>People will buy my meal in a restaurant, warning, well,

563
00:32:19.559 --> 00:32:23.519
<v Speaker 2>re recognized. I just can't believe it. All like just

564
00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:27.079
<v Speaker 2>all going here. Go to Pearl Harvard. Everybody's coming up

565
00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:30.039
<v Speaker 2>with be a nice thing. I go to the base

566
00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:35.119
<v Speaker 2>campus and the change of command ceremony, the outgoing the

567
00:32:35.319 --> 00:32:40.079
<v Speaker 2>base commander has me stand up in his partying remarks.

568
00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:43.480
<v Speaker 2>He recognizes me and tells the people about I can't

569
00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:47.000
<v Speaker 2>get over it. I'm amazed. I'm overwhelmed. I went to

570
00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:50.759
<v Speaker 2>Pearl Harbor two months ago, all this attention, you know,

571
00:32:51.400 --> 00:32:52.119
<v Speaker 2>I meeting it up.

572
00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:55.880
<v Speaker 1>That's Lewis Bergalt. He is a US Marine Corps veteran

573
00:32:56.160 --> 00:33:01.119
<v Speaker 1>of World War Two serving in the Pacific Theater, Guam

574
00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:17.559
<v Speaker 1>and Ewo Jima. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles. Hi,

575
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:21.200
<v Speaker 1>this is Greg Corumbus, and thanks for listening to Veterans Chronicles,

576
00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:25.400
<v Speaker 1>a presentation of the American Veterans Center. For more information,

577
00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:30.359
<v Speaker 1>please visit American Veteranscenter dot org. You can also follow

578
00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:33.799
<v Speaker 1>the American Veterans Center on Facebook and on Twitter We're

579
00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:38.720
<v Speaker 1>at AVC update. Subscribe to the American Veterans Center YouTube

580
00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:43.119
<v Speaker 1>channel for full oral histories and special features, and of course,

581
00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:47.000
<v Speaker 1>please subscribe to the Veterans Chronicles podcast wherever you get

582
00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:50.640
<v Speaker 1>your podcasts. Thanks again for listening, and please join us

583
00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:52.680
<v Speaker 1>next time for Veterans Chronicles