Return to Friendly Lines – Chapter 5: The Piva Trail
0700 6 Nov 1943 – 3d Raider Bn listening post on the Piva Trail. Dawn came slowly through Bougainville’s triple canopy jungle. Gunny Bronson’s Marines had been in position since sunset the previous evening.
Pfc Castle and Cpl Vincette, and his dog Duke, were on watch. Castle manned his massive .50 Boys rifle, keeping an eye on the trail.
G-2 had said that the Japs may throw light tanks at the Marine lines. If their small Ha-Go tanks was actually able to navigate the jungle trails from southern Bougainville, they would not be able to deploy from their column at this point in the trail. The LP had orders to stop the first tank, block the trail, and call for reinforcements. There were rumors of a new rocket system that would come out soon for this, but no one had seen it yet. Until such a day came, a .50 through the engine block was the best way they had to defeat enemy armor.
Sgt Frazetti was drawing chow from the K-Rations that they had humped up the trail with them from Torokina, where the Marines had established a beachhead a only few days before. Gunny Bronson and Pfc Romano, had come off watch at 0500 and were trying to catch some precious sleep.
Veterans of Guadalcanal and New Georgia, they knew the score. They slept with weapons close at hand.
As the rhythm of the jungle sounds transitioned from day to night, Gunny Bronson dozed in a light cat nap beneath his rain poncho.
Duke, Cpl Vincettes’s war dog, stirred. His ears perked up and he looked intently to the southwest. Vincette gave a sharp “psst!” to Sergeant Frazetti, who was giving the hourly sitrep to Battalion, speaking quietly into his new handy-talkie. “Get the Gunny over here”, said Vincette bairly above a whisper, “Duke is on to something.”
Without a word, Frazetti shook the Gunny and pointed toward Duke.
Bronson awoke immediately, eyes open and alert – he made no sound.
Gunny Bronson slipped noiselessly from his poncho and moved over to Vincette. The past two years of jungle fighting had honed the skills he had begun to learn as a young private fighting bandits in Nicaragua. Frazetti readied his Thompson.
“What is it Vincette?”
“Duke’s on to something. It’s to our southwest.”, Vincette replied.
“Japs?” asked the gunny. The southwest would indicate that someone was circling around their right flank.
“I don’t think so, Gunny. He’d be more hostile if it were – but something’s definitely there.”
“Frazetti, wake Romano.”, the gunny softly whispered, “ Vincette and I will go check this out. You two and Castle hold down the LP. Get Battalion on the horn. If there is another patrol out there, I want to make sure they know we’re friendlies.”
“Aye, aye, Gunny” whispered the sergeant in reply.
As Romano slid out of his poncho, the gunny crept over to Pfc Castle…
“Vincette and I are taking the dog to check things out to the southwest. Keep your eyes peeled. If a Jap tank comes down the trail, you know what to do.”
“Roger that, Gunny”, said Castle in a deep whisper.
After making sure that Castle new his orders, Gunny Bronson crept over to his rifleman / grenadier, Pfc Romano.
“Romano, remember any tanks will be accompanied by infantry. Fire your rifle grenades to button up the tank and keep the supporting infantry’s heads down.”
As Gunny Bronson briefed the men, Cpl.Vincette and Duke crept over to thesouthwest edge of the LP. Vincette was on loan to the Raiders from 3d Marine Division’s K-9 Company. They were a new unit. Vincette had enlisted after Pearl harbor, and wasn’t one of the “Old Corps” Marines like the Gunny. He had seen action on Guadalcanal, though before being selected to go back the states for the start of the war dog program. He knew the jungle as well as the others.
As the Gunny and Vincette moved out behind Duke’s deliberate footsteps, Frazetti radioed in to Battalion: “Black Cat, this is Python. Python actual and rover are headed southwest. Rover has sensed somethin’. Advise any friendlies of their approach, over.”
“Roger that, Python, I copy Python Actual and Rover headed southwest from your position. No known friendlies in area. Black Cat out.”
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发表于 2010-2-3 17:49
