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World War II
Jan. 4, 1945
Editor’s Note: The following account of some of the fighting in the Philippines was written to the News by Cpl. George J. Arens, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Arens of Wynot.
HARTINGTON — “I’m writing you from the Philippines. After another long trip by sea, we landed here Oct. 20 and tangled with the Japs once more.
It was pretty rough going for awhile, but as usual, we came out on top.
“As for the Philippines, I’m rather disappointed. Mostly because of the eternal rain and mud. We have had over 30 inches of rain in six weeks. Then, too, this place is way behind the times. People live almost in a primitive way. Everything is done by hand, even rice threshing and grinding rice flour. There are practically no modern buildings. Families of 10 or 12 live in a grass hut about 10 by 16.
“The towns are a little bit better. They have a few stores, all of which have nothing to sell. The Japs stripped the country pretty well before they left. There are some beautiful churches and schools and for trying to get an education, the people can’t be beat. Most of them can speak English pretty well.
“As far as I know, I’m the only Cedar County man to land here so far. Clarence Kohls and Gyp Schulte’s outfit is here, but I suspect they have gone home on rotation by this time. I hope they have, anyway. They have seen their share of this war.
“I was among the very first to land in the Philippines, and I must say I had quite a surprise. Coming in on the landing barge, everyone had to get down into the bottom of the boat. When the ramp falls down, we are supposed to run out onto the beach and hit the sand expecting all Hell to break loose. This time, though, there was a slight change. When the gate fell, there stood two of the prettiest native girls I’ve seen yet and not a Jap to be seen. That soon changed and we were in the thick of it. “Even among all the excitement, life here is boring. We have hardly anything to do to pass away the hours when we are not on duty. It’s just day after day of work, sit sleep.
“This is a rough war, and I cannot see the end of the Pacific war for a long time. You can have no idea of how much suffering and hardship go with it until you have seen it.
“I have seen quite a few dogfights in the air and have seen quite a few Japs go down in flames. I saw one of the Jap fliers take a suicide dive at a destroyer. All he did was to get himself killed, which is what most of the Japs seem to like to do. We will be glad to help them if that’s what they want.”
Jan. 4, 1945
HARTINGTON — Pvt. Duane H. Neuhalfen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Heuhalfen, Coleridge, narrowly escaped death recently in Germany, according to a letter he wrote to his parents.
A German shell landed near his foxhole and the explosion threw dirt over him and shrapnel all around him.
Pvt. Neuhalfen had just pulled one of his buddies into the foxhole with him when the shell hit.
