Jerry McConnell - Marine ScoutK Co., 3rd Bn., 1st Reg., 1st Div.
July 16, 1996
Rube Garrett Wrote:
Myself and the rest of the 11th Reg. and Tank Bat. were at Ballarat. The
5th Reg. and the 1st was at the cricket grounds in Melbourne. I don't know
where the 7th was. Will find out at the reunion this August in New Orleans.
I never was at Mount Martha, so as to where the 7th was biletted, your guess
is as good as mine. I recall the 5th slept under the stands at the cricket
field. We were in tents in the park at Ballarat.
The 7th must have been at Mount Martha. I went there to a demolition school
for a few weeks - in between malaria attacks. Almost blew my hand off one
time when a fuse ignited prematurely into a stick of dynamite, but
fortunately I saw how fast the wick was burning so I threw it into a small
pond. The worst that happened was that we all got a free shower out of it.
But it happened to be a very cold day, so there were a lot of sniffling and
sneezing for a few days.
I also stayed at a country home. I recall we helped stack hay. I worked
there on the farm little bit.
I met some kind folks in Ballarat, George and Lorna King, who sort of
adopted me. They gave me a bedroom and key to the house. In fact, I was
practically a part of their famly. They kept beer in the 'frige for me.
When I left, they hugged me and cried like children. I still have a couple
of letters they wrote. They called me 'Garr'. I don't recall exactly how we
met (it may have been at a guest house--you know, a pub) They would say
"'allo Yank!". They became wealthy in later years--drove a Jag. A friend
of mine from those days, Gasowitz, went back several years ago. He called
them from the hotel and they rushed over. He said he could see their home
from the hotel. When I was there, they had a small print shop business
which they built into a publishing house and factory. They later sold out to
their employees and retired.
Sounds like they were some special folks Rube. I also was fortunate to meet
some terrific Aussie families. I was dating a girl from Sandringham and so
I spent a lot of time at her house, on weekends of course. It was about a
half hour train ride out of Melbourne, so I didn't go out there much during
the week. Also because the last train back to town was around 10 PM I believe, so that
didn't give me much time to spend out there, especially if we had been to a
movie or to the "Dugout". Remember that place on Flinders Street? It was a
real hangout for Marines - and, naturally, "sheilas" as the Aussies called
the young girls. I also dated the singer of the band at the Dugout and one
time while I was in the hospital with malaria, she sang "Don't Get Around
Much Anymore" for me over the radio which was broadcast from there every
Sat. night.
Great place, great people - Australia.
1st Marine Division Assoc., Inc.
By the way, I checked my copy of the Old Breed book and it was the 3rd Bn of
the 11th Regt. that was in support of my outfit when we were on the banks of
the Mantanikau. In fact, you guys were very instrumental the night the Japs
tried to send a bunch of tanks across the mouth of the river, right into the
area we occupied on the eastern banks of the river. Thanks for having good
aim. That was quite a log-jam the next morning with all those derelict
tanks sitting on the spit across the river mouth. :-)
In regards to action on the Matanikou, you are right, it was us shooting
over your heads that night. However, other than what is in my diary, I have
no specific recollections. We fired alot of rounds. They never told us what we were shooting at. They
would give us orientation and we pulled the trigger. We had to be available
at all times day or night.
A lot of the time that night at the Matanikou we didn't even know what we
were shooting at. It was a very dark night and even lying low and looking
up at silhouettes wasn't too effective. It was just pitch black. So we
mostly fired at noises. But when those tanks started their droning rumble
across the spit there was no question about what they were. And the Japs
running alongside and behind the tanks were all jabbering away so we just
fired at their voices and one by one they stopped jabbering. It was eerie
quiet when the tanks were all stopped, you guys stopped firing shells and
the Jap infantrymen were all wiped out. I couldn't wait for daylight. It
was wierd!
You never knew when a fire mission would be
called. The 2nd bat. supported the 5th, my battalion, the 3rd supported the
1st. We also had one battery of 155s. They were used where needed. The
1st, 2nd and 3rd consisted of mobile 75's. I like to think we fired the
first offensive rounds on Guadalcanal at the Battle of the Teneru (the
Teneru River is now called Alligator Creek, as you may know.)
Our battalion was in regimental reserve on the night of the Teneru -
Alligator and some native scout even called it the Ilu, but whatever. The
1st and 2nd battalions caught the brunt of Col. Ichiki's thrust across the
river, but they drove them back. We were on the left flank right on the old
Beach Red. The next morning all the bodies of the ones killed during the
night had gone down the river with the tide and then washed up on the beach,
half buried and right in front of our positions. What a ugly sight and
stench that was.
You know Rube, for about 50 years I never thought too much about that damned
place. I just put it out of my mind - didn't want to think about it. But
when the 50th anniversary of the landing came around, I was interviewed by
several different reporters and it was like opening a old trunk. All those
old memories came pouring out. Even now I sometimes remember something that
I'd forgotten all those years. Strange! I'll bet you're the same. Gradual
remembrances that have been long buried. It was quite an event. And I'm
sure we'll never really forget it.
I'll be in touch.
Best Regards,
Return-Path: lthrneck@nh.ultranet.com
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 21:42:36 -0400 (EDT)
X-Sender: lthrneck@pop.nh.ultranet.com
To: jrube@destin.gulfnet.com (Jim Garrett)
From: Jerry McConnell
Subject: Re: MelbCrickGrnds
============================================================================
*This is an email conversation between Rube Garrett and Jerry McConnell
Great to hear from you Jerry. Your note brought back memories of those
wonderful days in Australia.
14325 Willard Rd.
Suite 107
Chantilly, VA
22021-2110.
Phone/Fax: 1-703-803-3195
The FMDA publication is "The Old Breed News".
Jerry
-Rube Garrett
Return to Index
