The Howard Hansen Story of WW2

raised. We "chicken-house" wrestled, but nothing professional. After a few weeks

of that it was over, and this Major came and said, "Hansen, you're going to stay here

and be a coach - instructor coach." I said, "No, Sir, I enlisted to get back at those

guys that attacked Pearl Harbor." "I could compel you to stay." " I wouldn't enjoy

it a darned bit." Said I'd like to, but under the circumstances, I'd like to go with the

company and shoot a few of them. He said OK, but I didn't have to go down there

to begin with. The first night on Tulagi there was a big old shell came flying over

and oh, man! you've never heard such a noise. "My gosh, what the heck was that?!"

I didn't have to come down here; I could be up there teaching guys!

Anyway, we got aboard ship from Camp Elliott was where it was; it was discontinued

after the war. They made a movie deal out of it. Anyway, we were aboard ship -

President Hayes I was on - there were three president lines; I can't remember the

other two, too many years. We got aboard that ship and headed for the South Seas.

My gosh! We got out in the ocean there and after a couple of days you look out and

you see ships in front of you and ships in the back of you and on both sides. We

were a long ways apart, but it was a convoy. And they traveled seven minutes in one

direction, then they'd cut back another direction seven minutes. That's to keep any

torpedoes from zeroing in on them.

M: At that point did you know your destination?

H: No, had no idea. They don't tell you where you're going; not until you get just

about down there. When the ship crossed the equator they had guys that had crossed

before they called shell-backs. The ones like us who hadn't been, they called polly-

wogs; so then they put on the deal - you ran through the water with ropes in it and

they bat you with belts and everything - I didn't mind that too bad. I guess we were

38 days before we got down there. 38 days and the food wasn't too good. The first

thing we pulled in between Tulagi and Guadalcanal, that was in July.

M: That's the Solomon Islands you're talking about?

H: Yes, the Solomons. Tulagi was just a mile across the harbor from Florida Island

which was a big island. We didn't hit that, there were a few Japs there; they were

hiding out. We hit in between the canal and Tulagi. It was Condition Red.

Torpedo bombers coming in, Japanese, and boy! we had to get down three

compartments. Wouldn't let us up on top.

M: Let's go back. Were the Solomon Islands American?

H: No, they were English. The Japs took it from the English. They were spreading all

over the Islands. I know it was English because Uncle Sam gave England $12 for

every coconut tree that got damaged with shrapnel and there were a lot of them that

were damaged. I couldn't figure out why we had to give it to the English when it was

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the Japs who did the most damage.

M: So there was an air base there that was important to the U.S.? Was it Henderson Air Field?

H: Yeah. We had to have that. You see the Japs were moving down going to New

Zealand - Australia. In fact, when we hit New Zealand (my first liberty) there were

people who met me on the street and thanked me. Said "You saved us because the

Japs were ready to get us." Most of the New Zealand and Australian armies were

over in Africa fighting the Germans, so they appreciated us. Said "You saved us!

They would have had us!" Anyway, we were down in our compartments. Torpedo

bombers - supposed to be 14 of them coming in to sink us, and, of course, I'd never

been on a vessel that had a big gun that would shoot; but this ship I was on - a

transport - had a 5 inch on the back. Of course I don't think those sailors knew how

to do much with it, anyway, cause they never practiced with it on the way down and

we're down there a couple, three compartments. That's where the bunks are, and

all at once - WHROOM - and that whole ship just shook. Man! I went up three of

those ladders so fast I couldn't believe it. I don't think I even touched one of them.

Steel ladders. They shot that 5 inch off the back and we were right under it.

M: You thought you were hit?

H: Yeah! We thought we were hit. But, anyway, we had a couple of destroyers there

that took care of those bombers. [Pause] I found out we didn't get hit.

It's going to take me a while to remember this stuff. The other day I went to the

doctor and he said, "What's the matter?" and I said, "I can't seem to remember

anythin', Doc," and he said, "When did you first notice this taking place?" and I said,

"What's taking place, Doc?" [Typical Howard]

Anyway, we were on Tulagi that first night and if I had a telephone, I would have

called that Major King and told him to call me back, but couldn't do that. [Major

King was the head of that school that wanted to keep Howard for an instructor.] But

I did have a little comical that first night. We had our line of defense on one of

these little islands, and there was a little hill, jungle on it, not very big. You could

walk around that whole island in 15 minutes. The Japs had holes and that dug in.

They come around before dark and give you the pass word, and the first pass word

on Tulagi, I'll never forget, was "Silly Kelly", cause the Japs can't say their L's - and

it wasn't long, after dark, "Hey, Marine, I'm a friend; went to school", forget where

it was, and somebody hollered, "What's the pass word?" and he said, "Sirry Kerry".

Of course, that was the end of that! Blap! Blap! We secured that island in three

days, it was - three or five days.