Notebook Holds WWII Memories

PLANT CITY - World War II veteran Stuart Anderson has a long memory.

The retired optometrist, who lives with his wife of 64 years north of Plant City, can recall 1944 and 1945 like it was yesterday.

Anderson, 87, was a member of the Army Signal Corps intelligence during the war. His recollection of events more than 60 years ago is based on more than his continued sharp wit. He has a small black notebook that he used as a diary in those days, jotting down highlights in his 45 months in the Army.

Anderson's most memorable time in the war came while he was stationed on the Philippines island of Leyte, near the famed beach where Gen. Douglas MacArthur made his famous return to the islands.

"We took the destroyer escort USS John J. Pope on Oct. 20, 1944, from San Francisco to New Guinea," Anderson said. "From there we sailed to Leyte. The Japanese were still sending fighters and fighter bombers into the Philippines. So the war in the Pacific was very much a part of our days and nights."

Anderson was born and raised in Grand Haven, Mich. He joined the Army in February 1942, just two months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He attended basic training at Camp Robinson, outside Little Rock, Ark. From there he went to Memphis, Tenn., where the 8th Army was formed to fight in the Pacific.

"I was one of the few soldiers in the unit who could handle a typewriter," Anderson said. "After testing they made me a clerk in the 8th Army Signal Corps. I wanted to be in the Army Air Corps but you had to take what you got."

His service had a brief pause in 1943, when he and the former Dorothy Strain, his hometown sweetheart, were married June 29 in Grand Rapids.

"Stuart had a hard time getting leave from the Army," Dorothy Anderson said. "But he finally convinced them to give him three weeks off so he could come home."

"Dorothy came back to Memphis with me to finish out my Army training," Anderson said. "After my unit finished maneuvers in Lebanon, Tenn., I received orders to go to California."

On Aug. 14, Dorothy Anderson went back to Michigan and her husband was transferred to San Francisco, with orders to board the John J. Pope. After landing on Leyte, Anderson said rumors of Japanese military movements were just as unsettling as the real thing.

He read from his notebook: "Rumors of 200 Japs infiltrating our lines. Everyone is carrying sidearms and extra ammo. Air raids almost every night."

On Nov. 25, 1944, Anderson recorded in his diary a special treat. His unit was served turkey and the trimmings in the mess hall to celebrate Thanksgiving.

In spite of the holiday festivities, early December saw Japanese air raids reach an alarming peak.

"We dug foxholes in the ground along the perimeter of our base," Anderson said. "Some of us dug bunkers near the center of the signal headquarters to escape the shrapnel that seemed to be everywhere when they bombed us. Dec. 6 was a particularly harrowing night."

In his notebook Anderson wrote: "Flack flying all around. No sleep. Out of bed five times. Damn Japs. Had to run like heck."

On Dec. 15, Anderson noted a mixture of activities: He and his friend Sgt. Carl Redding watched cockfights staged by the island civilians. He bought doughnuts from a local vendor passing by on a bike, and a gasoline dump caught fire during a Japanese air raid. Christmas was no better, with Japanese torpedo bombers attacking the island.

"Most of the air raids consisted of only one, two or three Japanese planes," Anderson said. "By then we had broken the Japanese code and their navy was taking a beating. The planes were a last-ditch effort to make life as miserable as possible for us."

On Jan. 2, 1945, Anderson and his unit stayed awake all night watching a rare squadron of Japanese fighters dogfight with American fighters in the clear sky above them.

"No sleep for us that night," Anderson recalled. "But for the most part it seemed as if it was pretty much routine. We intercepted Japanese communications and passed them on to our headquarters. After the end of January things started to quiet down."

Anderson and his Army companions kept abreast of the war in Europe and in the Pacific by reading military magazines and journals that were delivered to the island.

"The biggest news came to us on Aug. 6," Anderson said, based on his notebook. "We were told a B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan."

Anderson noted that on Aug. 8, the Russians entered the war against Japan.

Nagasaki, Japan, was hit with the second atomic bomb Aug. 9.

On Aug. 10, Anderson wrote in his notebook with renewed excitement.

"The Japs have quit," he wrote. "What a hell of a time we had tonight. WOW! Boy, were we happy."

But his tour of the Pacific was not yet complete. Anderson and his signal corps went to Tokyo as part of the American occupation force.

"We arrived in Tokyo on Sept. 10. It seemed very strange to be standing on Japanese soil," Anderson said. "The civilians that we saw seemed extremely afraid of us. They didn't know what to expect. I think they thought we were going to slaughter them all. But, of course, that isn't the way it went."

On Nov. 2, Anderson was given his orders to come back to the United States for his military discharge.

"We reached the States on Nov. 12," Anderson said. "I wrote in my notebook how great it was to be on good ol' American soil again. I ate powdered doughnuts and real cow's milk. What a treat."

Anderson finds it ironic that his only bout of seasickness after sailing all over the Pacific was when he crossed Lake Michigan on his way home.

Following the war, the Andersons set up house in Greenville, Mich.

"Dorothy worked as a beautician while I went to college on the G.I. Bill," Anderson said. "I received my doctorate, and we set up my office, Dr. Anderson Optometrist, in 1949."

Anderson maintained the business for 40 years.

The Andersons came to Plant City in 1989. They live in the Country Meadows community off Sam Allen Road. Anderson said there are 16 friends from Greenville in the retirement community.

He had a message for a new generation of Americans: "Remind the kids out there how much of a sacrifice was paid by the American soldiers. So many fought and died for the freedoms we all enjoy today.

"We need to restore patriotism in America. We have a lot to be thankful for. It was our armed forces that kept us free in World War II. And it's the armed forces that will keep it that way."

PLANT CITY VETERANS DAY CEREMONY TODAY

Area Veterans Day celebrations include Hopewell Funeral Home's annual tribute to veterans at 10:30 a.m. today.

The program will last about an hour and includes songs by the Springhead Elementary School choir and patriotic speeches from students representing local schools.

The program is at the funeral home's chapel, 6005 S. County Road 39, just south of State Road 60.

For information, call (813) 737-3128.