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About Regimental mirror. (Fort Benning, Ga.) 1943-194? | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1944)
-J 7 } Mb- ■W ■^W® ™ ILiS ww £B% % wMb ^mSw \ ^l^3 BEM ||||U. \ f BASEBALL RETURNED to the news with a bang this week (Above) Fenno hits ’em out to Niebler. Lehner and Cox during the Profs’ first 1944 pepper session. (Of ficial U. S. Army Photo-- The Infantry School.) Vet Jap Fighters Praise Infiltration Course Training Sneak tricks used by Jap snipers, the discovery that lots of Japs are more than six feet tall, and the value of the in filtration course for men going into combat were some of the points discussed when two veterans of the Pacific campaign got together in the Academic Regiment this week. Sgt. George E Cole, of Cambridge, Mass., who fought on Guadal canal, and Pvt Cecil E Ross, who won the Purple Heart for wounds received in New Geor gia, are among the scores of soldiers returning from overseas who have joined The Infantry School under the policy of ro tation of troops “Most Americans believe that all Japanese are small,” Sgt. Cole said, “but we saw many Japs who were more than six feet in height Most of them were members of the select Im perial Marines, the Emperor’s personal bodyguard They were much better shots than the av erage Jap—whenever a man was killed by an Imperial Marine, he was found shot square be tween the eyes!” SUICIDE SNIPING The Japanese sniper seemed to know that he was on a suicide mission, Ross and Cole said. They always found the snipers tied to the trees. The only way they ever got a sniper down alive, the veterans recalled, was to wound him and then go up and cut him down “They were always getting behind our lines,’’ said Ross, who was an ammunition carrier for a machine-gun crew Often when we went back for ammu nition we found that some sni pers had sneaked through the lines and were waiting for us. “At night they pulled all kinds of tricks to unnerve you and draw your fire They’d beat on K? 1 U y . WRIT W v - " S IK rW r '~ > h ■ | ’WOSSBKaESEM^ t- I L I- gHSSmMBBWff S gjku . 1 ■EgpaSM WMr * ~ _ <j w,THPMWW ’ *WM I RRO R W ■ VOL. 2 their helmets, they’d shout to make you think they were fight ing some of your men so you’d come to the ‘rescue’.” LACK INDEPENDENCE The inability of the average Jap non-com and even junior of ficers to think for themselves when cut off from higher au thority was one of the many surprising things ,they have learned about the enemy. “They don’t seem to know what to do when their schedule is cut off,” Cole recalls. “They would actually consult their text-books on the field of battle! Most of them believe that if they lose their leaders, they are lost too—they were surprised to find that such was not the case with us. “The American soldier is def initely more independent,” Cole added. “He can think for him self, while the average Jap can only obey orders.” SNIPERS SUPERIOR But the snipers, the veterans warned, are not to be considered "average Japs.” They are pick ed men, superior in every res pect, much better trained than the regular Japanese soldiers. They are such artists at camou flage, Ross recalls, that some times they were “invisible” at a distance of 80 feet! Good news for soldiers still to “go over” was the statement by Sgt. Cole that his comrades cred ited the infiltration course and (Continued on Page 5) FORT BENNING. GEORGIA. THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1944 Army Too Busy To Celebrate Self The Army will forego its usu al method of celebrating Army Day. April 6, this year. Thecus torn of sponsoring numerous pa rades and large dinners on that day cannot be reconcile^ with the War Department’s policy of strict adherence to national con servation policies in transporta tion. fuel and food. Likewise, the diversion of numerous units from war-time tasks is inconsis tent with the present intensified war program. TWO VETERANS OF THE PACIFIC CAMPAIGN SWAP YARNS ABOUT JAP fighting while looking over a map of the Islands in the cuartel of the Academic Regiment. Pvt. Cecil E. Ross (right), who wears the Purple Heart, and Sgt George E. Cole have join ed the Academic Regiment under the policy of rotation of troops. (TIS Photo 1 Sutton Commended For Score On .57 Sgt. John J. Sutton, of C Com pany, Academic Regiment of The Infantry School, has been commended by Maj Gen C H Bonesteel, School Commandant, for his “outstanding exhibition of marksmanship in the use of the .57 mm. antitank gun" which “has not been equaled before at The Infantry School.” Sutton attained a perfect score of 200 while firing his weapon on the 1000-inch Landon Anti- tank Range during a recent rou tine demonstration for officer candidates. Although the 57 has been fired at the School since last August, this was the first "possible” scored with the weap on. "Your high proficiency is all the more commendable in view of your previous perfect score with the .37 mm. antitank gun,” (Continued on Page 5) No. 27
