My father was drafted when he came back from his freshman year at college in June of 1943. He had turned 18 that month and they needed more troops.
After basic he was sent to be a replacement in the Pacific in the 32nd division. He returned home in early 1946 after serving in New Guinea, Leyte, Luzon and a quick trip through Japan after the surrender.
I got a notice today that the 32nd association has this history, maybe because of Pearl Harbor, not sure.
Good history and lots of good photos. Their claim to fame is they were active more days than any other division in WW2 and were the first to engage in offensive action against the Japanese.

https://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/56303

Thanks for posting this. Just finished listening to an audio book about battle on Leyte. Most historians glance over this or all we hear about is the naval battle in the gulf there but it was a grueling three month fight. It was namely here that the Japanese finally realized bansai charges accomplished nothing but wasted manpower and changed tactics that increased American casualties.

This was also where I first focused on General Walter Kruger. Many regarding him as one of the best fighting generals of WW2.

To think that your father was a teenager and involved in that fighting, God bless him. Do you have any pictures of your father during his service?

Interesting article! TY for posting.

"To think that your father was a teenager and involved in that fighting, God bless him. Do you have any pictures of your father during his service?"

I have some in a scrap book he kept but they are very faded now. The pictures in this article are much better quality.
Many of the pictures are from basic training in Camp Blanding (Florida) then some made in the field by Army photographers, mostly in the Philippines. A few show the surrender of General Yamashita, Japanese commander in the Philippines at the end of the war. A few months after the war, he was tried for war crimes and executed.
Many of the photos I have in action are from the Villa Verde trail, their last action. His company started the trail around half strength, about 115 men. A couple of months later at the end they were down to about 26 due to disease, killed and wounded.
When he went in the Army he had just turned 18 and he got out 2 years and nine months later before his 21st birthday.

Thanks for sharing!

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
and were the first to engage in offensive action against the Japanese

They make that claim several times in the articles, but that's not really accurate.

The 32nd Division didn't head from training and staging in Australia to the front lines in New Guinea until mid-September 1942, by which time the US Marines and US Navy had already been in action invading and clearing Guadalcanal and the surrounding islands for over a month, starting on August 7th, 1942. (US Army units also fought on Guadalcanal, but they didn't start arriving until mid-October 1942.)

The article even acknowledges that, as the 32nd Division was preparing to fight in New Guinea, the aid they had requested from the Navy was not available because the Navy's forces were already tied up at Guadalcanal.

In addition, there had been small scale localized offensives/counterattack actions in the Phillipines by Army units during the initial Japanese invasion in late 1941/early 1942.

Plus the US Navy had completed several important offensive actions in the Pacific earlier in 1942, including the decisive Battle of Midway in June 1942.

So what is potentially more accurate is a much more detailed and nuanced statement, such as that the 32nd Division was the first US Army division to engage in large scale, successful offensive ground action against the Japanese.

Their combat record is still impressive, they just don't have as broad of a claim as these pages attempt to make.

I guess it depends on what they are defining as an offensive action. The Naval battles could be defined as either offensive or defensive, or both at some points. At Guadalcanal our troops landed there first, before the Japanese arrived, then were stranded with little support fighting back a larger force so maybe that was considered defensive. I’m sure that’s the Army’s position at least.

Thank you for posting this

My paternal grandfather fought through New Guinea, Leyte, Luzon and a couple of others.

I do not think he went through Japan though.

I am definitely going to finish the article over breakfast.

220-9er
My grandfather never really talked about his time during WW2. It didn't bother him, it was just something that he did and had to be done. When he did speak of it he always talked about the terrain and bugs of New Guinea. He always said fighting the Japanese was the easy part.

“When he did speak of it he always talked about the terrain and bugs of New Guinea. He always said fighting the Japanese was the easy part.”

I’ve heard this from many veterans from many different fronts and wars. The terrain, flora, fauna and elements were worse than the enemy. One Vietnam vet told me once he vastly preferred a firefight over the mundane patrols in the leech infested, jungle rot inducing hell scape he woke up to day in and day out.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
At Guadalcanal our troops landed there first, before the Japanese arrived

Not at all true.

The Japanese were already present on Guadalcanal when the Marines landed. Their defenders had occupied the area since May 1942. These Japanese defenders were just taken by surprise and overwhelmed, with the Japanese forces only later being reinforced by further arrivals by sea.

But there were a number of engagements with the existing Japanese defenders before the reinforcements arrived and the fighting intensified on Guadalcanal, and the Marines had also fought to clear the nearby smaller islands of Florida and Tulagi of other Japanese defenders in the first few days of the Guadalcanal campaign in early August.

My father was in the 32nd. He enlisted in 1940. Same route. west coast to Hawaii arriving just after Pearl Harbor. Spend time in Australia then on to New Guinea. He was sent home after Leyte Gulf due to malaria . He had bouts of it right up until his death.

Every year he would get together once a year with his squad for a holiday dinner.

Oddest thing was right before I retired someone comes into my department for some business. Having a free moment I asked him if he needed help. He just starred for a bit and my name tag. Turns out he served with my father for years. We had a great time as I listened to some of the stories. Something my father never really talked about.

My dad had malaria too. I guess most did. Jungle rot on his feet that scared them his whole life.
He talked very little about actual combat incidents, mostly about the living conditions and other incidental items.
He always thought 1911’s were terrible guns because theirs were so worn out, many WW1 era stuff. Not reliable or accurate.
He had a great memory until the day he died at 88, still driving everyday but would never own a Japanese car. Their culture is so different now but his era were fanatical and vicious enemies.

I enjoyed reading that - thanks for posting it!