The Lost Battalion

By Hollis G. Allen

The Lost Battalion, first published in 1963, is the World War Two saga of the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Division, U.S. Army. This unit was made up primarily of citizen soldiers of the National Guard based in Texas. The men, en-route to the Philippines at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack are rerouted to Java (now part of Indonesia), where they take part in the defense of an air base and the city of Surabaya, something they were neither trained nor equipped to do. As their situation became hopeless, the unit surrendered to the Japanese and were transported to several camps in Japan and Manchuria, where they spent more than three years in captivity under brutal, debilitating conditions. The term “Lost Battalion” refers to the unit’s apparent disappearance as no word on its fate was received for more than two years after their capture. The author, Hollis G. Allen, then a first lieutenant, writes in a somewhat awkward style, but the book includes a host of details about the group’s experience while prisoners and of their eventual release and travels back to America. An appendix is included which lists the names and rank of the members of The Lost Battalion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Burtyrki Books
• Release date: Jan 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781839742415

Book preview

© Burtyrki Books 2020, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

THE LOST BATTALION

HOLLIS G. ALLEN

The Lost Battalion was originally published in 1963 by Leigh McGee, Jacksboro, Texas.

* * *

The following pages were written to describe the four years overseas of the Second Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Division of the Texas National Guard. It is written in memory of the Officers and Men who did not return.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

Preface 5

Part One 6

Part Two 40

Part Three 53

APPENDIX — Makeup of the Lost Battalion 84

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 109

Preface

Few stories of World War II have captured the imagination of the American public like that of the famed Lost Battalion.

Comprising the Lost Battalion was the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Division, U.S. Army, plus some Navy personnel which survived the sinking of the U.S. Houston in the Java Sea.

The 131st Field Artillery was made up primarily of citizen soldiers who were members of the National Guard, Mobilized as the war clouds gathered, they went through intensive training in the Louisiana swamps in 1941 and at the time of Pearl Harbor they were at sea, en route to the Philippines.

The early catastrophic losses in the Pacific changed all that, and the 131st, after a short stop in Australia, was sent on to help with the defense of Java.

It was in Java that these artillerymen were first issued ammunition for their hand weapons—old Springfield rifles which they had never been trained to fire. Just as unfamiliar was the work that many were given—maintaining planes and a field for the Air Force.

Nevertheless, they performed these chores well, and some of them later had an opportunity to use their weapons in the defense of Soerabaya, before their capture, after which they were not heard of again for two years.

For his part in this action, the author of this book, Capt. Hollis G. Allen, then a first lieutenant, was awarded the Bronze Star for valor, after the Lost Battalion survivors were finally released at war’s end from the POW camps where they suffered unbelievable hardships and proved once again the unconquerable nature of the human spirit.

Leigh McGee

June 10, 1963

Part One

M day for the 36th Division was November 25, 1940. Nearly all units were mobilized at their home stations and later moved to Camp Bowie at Brownwood, Texas. All batteries of the 131st Field Artillery Regiment were moved into their new quarters by January 14, 1941, and commenced immediately an intense thirteen weeks training. Schools of all sorts were held and officers and enlisted men were picked to attend according to their assignments in their respective batteries. Many officers and enlisted men were sent to other army posts to schools.

After the thirteen weeks training, was finished the selective service men began arriving and were assigned to the batteries to bring each battery up to war strength. Each firing battery had one hundred five enlisted men and four officers. The thirteen weeks training began again to train the new men just received. When the new men were trained then the maneuvers were started and continued through the ‘great’ two month Louisiana maneuvers. The entire division moved to Louisiana by trucks on the first, second, and third of August, 1941, and returned to Camp Bowie at the end of September. It was a well trained and toughened division after two months of roughing it in the Louisiana swamps and pines.

Fifty per cent of the division was then permitted a fifteen day leave. The remaining fifty percent of the 131st was allowed only six days leave because orders had been received that the regiment would move to the field artillery school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to receive training in fixing. Before these orders could be carried out, more orders arrived canceling the first and ordering the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery to prepare to leave for overseas duty at once.

The 2nd Battalion consisted of Headquarters Battery, Firing Batteries D, E and F, and Service and Ammunition Battery. After a hectic two weeks of drawing new equipment, crating, and packing, the battalion boarded trains on November 10, 1941, and headed for San Francisco, California. All that was known of the destination was the coded name PLUM.

The trip to the West Coast was the first for most of the officers and men. Everyone looked all they could, to see as much of the beautiful country as possible. The train stopped one time beside a government experimental farm. The experiment was dates, and that was all the eye could see for miles around. One of the officers who had never seen dates growing before asked the conductor if it were possible to go over the fence and get a sample. The officials at the farm did not mind, so the conductor immediately went over the fence and brought back several branches loaded with ripe dates. The result of the episode was several sick stomachs, as the fresh dates acted just like a laxative.

Upon arrival in San Francisco, the battalion unloaded, marched to the docks, and on to boats that carried us to Angel Island in San Francisco Harbor. As our boat came, alongside the pier at Angel Island, another boat was pulling away. It was loaded with soldiers from the Philippine Islands. These soldiers, called to us and said, Hey, you guys write home and tell your mother that you have just seen some real soldiers! Of course our fellows retaliated with caste remarks.

We spent several days on the island getting ready to sail. We were processed, received physical examinations, and drew more clothes. Many of the officers and men were granted leave to the city for a few hours. Everyone had a swell Thanksgiving dinner, but no one knew it would be the last for about four years.

On the 21st of November, 1941, the battalion boarded the U.S.A.T. Republic and set sail at high noon. Tears were blurring the eyes of several as we went under the Golden Gate bridge, our last farewell to the country we all loved.

Other units aboard were the 26th Field Artillery Brigade, Headquarters Battery, a bomb group and fighter group of the Air Corps, and some casual officers. There were approximately three thousand, officers and men, aboard.

In about an hour we were out of sight of land and plenty of the men were already sick. By the middle of the next morning practically everyone aboard was sick or had been sick.

The mess halls were almost empty at meal time. Many were sick in quarters and could not even walk upside to get fresh air.

About the third day out, our battalion was put on gun watches. In other words we were assigned tours in which; we manned the guns. There were four three-inch anti-aircraft guns aboard. Each crew, consisting of one officer and seven men, had to stand two watches of four hours each. One of the watches was at night, the other day.

At 11:00 a.m. on the 29th of November, our ship tied up at the pier in Honolulu harbor. Everyone started clamoring for a pass to town; but, due to martial law over the island, passes were slow to be granted. Half of the officers and men were permitted to leave at four in the afternoon, and the rest at nine-thirty that night.

Many of us met people in the Hawaiian Islands whom we had known in the States. Most were in the Army or Navy and assigned to the numerous bases in the Islands; however there were, also, many who had civilian jobs. The city of Honolulu was well policed by M.P.s and S.P.s, for the islands were on an alert-warning, due to some arguments with the Japanese in Washington at that time. Nevertheless, it was a gala evening, seeing the sights Honolulu had to offer.

The following morning our ship hoisted anchor at eleven o’clock and set sail southwest from Honolulu. There were eleven ships in the convoy including the Pensacola, a remodeled fast cruiser. A Dutch ship from the Netherlands East Indies, the Bloem Fountain, was also in the convoy. It created much interest because it was the first ship we had seen that we knew for sure was from a foreign country. All of the ships in the convoy were carrying supplies and equipment for all the units aboard and also some supplies for General MacArthur’s forces in the Philippine Islands. Another large ship in the convoy, the Holbrooke, was loaded with troops, a regiment and a battalion of the 147th and 148th Field Artillery from Fort Ord, California.

The first night out of Honolulu the ships were blacked out. The gun watches reported any lights they might see on any of the other ships. On the very stern of the ship was an eight inch Navy gun and it was manned by the Navy personnel aboard. Some of the sailors who were on gun watch during the night brought a portable radio up and listened to the news and the dance music each night. Officers and men from our battalion manned two three-inch guns that were very near the large Navy gun. We, too, listened to the radio each night and enjoyed it very much.

The morning of December 7th, our seventh day out of Honolulu, we were just changing gun watches when we got the radio announcement that Pearl Harbor had been bombed by the Japs. Remarks, such as, Bring on the dirty yellow skunks and we’ll give them a licking they won’t forget so soon! could be heard all over the ship. Most everybody aboard was boiling mad and ready to fight, but there were a few exceptions who were a bit skeptical about where we were going and what we were going to do when we got there.

The Air Corps boys aboard were immediately put in charge of the machine guns that were mounted in shielded platforms on the top deck. Lookouts were established everywhere. Night glasses were issued to the lookouts so they could scan the sea better at night. Everyone was on the alert and hoping every minute that they might see something that even looked like it might be Japanese. We heard over the radio that the Republic, had been sunk; and, sure enough, we hadn’t seen a thing. We later supposed that this announcement was made to throw the Japanese off course and that they would not be so much on the alert for us. We heard later that a large Jap convoy passed, across our course about 50 miles to the front of us. Perhaps this was a rumor, we don’t know.

We crossed the equator about the 14th of December and were initiated from Landlubbers to Shellbacks. It was quite an initiation and everybody had plenty of fun. Everyone got wet; had his hair cut off; was well greased; and, also, shocked, dipped, and paddled. A day or so later we crossed the 180th Meridian and lost a whole day. We went to bed on Tuesday night and awoke on Thursday morning.

The ship zig-zagged, stopped, started, circled, speeded up, and slowed down all the way from Honolulu until we pulled into the harbor at Suva, Fiji Islands, to take on supplies.

The Fiji Islands were the first land we had seen for about seventeen days and it sure looked good to us. They were beautiful islands, covered with dense vegetation. On the slopes of the hills there were many kapok trees, the first we had seen. These trees were easy to distinguish because of a slim, perfectly vertical trunk with few, practically bare limbs. The shore line of the island was a wide sandy strip of beach that looked to be most ideal for sun-bathing and swimming. Many coconut trees were growing along the shore line. Banana stalks could be seen somewhat further inland and most of the stalks had bananas on them. Also, pineapple plantations could be seen in clearings upon the slopes of the hills. However, in spite of this dense vegetation, we were told that the principal industry of the islands was gold, and that several gold mines were on the other side of the island.

The Fiji Islands were discovered by the British years ago; and when the first white man arrived, they were inhabited by cannibals. No white man had tried to live there until gold was discovered. The British set up schools and churches and trained the cannibals until they became civilized. However, on other islands of the group, nothing was done to tame the wild man.

Our ship was met by the King of the Island. He was in a little boat, oared by one of his subjects. He stood perfectly straight in the bow of the boat and had his men row him around the ship several times while he looked us over.

These men are a little larger than the average American man and stand perfectly straight. Their bodies are very muscular, and they wear a little jacket with a white skirt which has been pinked at the bottom. Their hair is very kinky and piled all over the head.

Many white people also came down to meet our boat, and a brass band was present to play the national anthem of the allied countries. People were shouting up to us and asking all kinds of questions. Our cigarettes were tossed down to them; and they threw back several kinds of their cigarettes and some of their coins, for those who were keeping souvenirs. The next morning, as we were pulling away to leave, everyone on the docks shouted their good wishes to us and to give the Japs everything we had. We promised!

We pulled out due west of the Fijis, and immediately we got out our maps and found that Brisbane, Australia was almost due west of us, so our guess was as good as anyone’s as to our destination. The rumor spread like rapid fire.

The second morning out of the Fijis, a general quarters