Indoctrination and training We saw this movie "Behind the Rising Sun". One scene shows Jap soldiers raping women and throwing a baby in the air and catching it with bayonets. We saw another movie "Gung Ho" showing the capture of nine marines. The military High Command in Tokyo advised the Japs to execute all prisoners of war. The nine marine raiders were by beheaded on Kwajalein. Medal of Honor Charles Harold Gonsalves For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty Japanese grenade fell within the group. Pfc. Gonsalves absorbing the exploding charge in his own body Stouthearted and indomitable a valiant spirit of self-sacrifice the highest credit upon himself California Valor By John Allen Johnson Copyright 2011 John Allen Johnson Published by John Allen Johnson at Smashwords All rights reserved. Permission to print for personal or educational use is granted. No part of this e book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, for profit. Please contact the author at Ptolemy1@aol.com for questions or other information. Dedicated To Valor Table of Contents Preface Cpl. Charles Harold Gonsalves Official_USMC_Photo Congressional Medal of Honor Official Citation Medals and Awards Introduction Enlistment and Training The United States 1941 Japan 1941 - 1945 Personal Chronology Indoctrination and training for war Some Posters Remember Pearl Harbor Behind the Rising Sun Kill the Japs Poster We landed on Okinawa Ernie Pyle letter Military Record Final Assignment California Valor Charles Harold Gonsalves, Cpl., USMC The Medal of Honor Personal Diary Preface History records no act of greater valor than Charles Harold Gonsalves. His courageous bravery and sacrifice is unsurpassed for individual courage. He is the youngest Californian in all history to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. While in mortal combat he deliberately covered a live enemy hand grenade with his body to shield two fellow marines from harm. He was only 19 years old on April 15, 1945.. The aim of the author is three fold. First, is to show the courage and bravery of this young man who is a worthy model for the young to emulate. Second to graphically illustrate how a mild mannered youth from Alameda, California was transformed into a combat marine Third, is to shed some light and understanding of Executive Order 9066, February 19, 1942, which resulted in the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans for the duration of World War II. To begin, there was nothing in his early life foretelling such a sacrifice. He was never voted most likely to succeed nor was he a star athlete. If he ever hit a home run, made a basket or scored a touchdown, it was not recorded. He did sing in the choir at St Josephs Catholic as a youngster. He attended Alameda schools from January 1932 until June 1943. There are no identifiable pictures of him in the Yellow Jacket Year Books. Even so, without a portfolio of heroic deeds, when his commanding officer needed someone to accompany him on a dangerous mission, Charles Harold Gonsalves was one of two men selected. While researching the story of Charles Harold Gonsalves the author came upon a military chronology from the 6th Marines that followed the hero from boot camp in San Diego to Okinawa where he died. That document was critical to tell this story and to the construction of the Marine Corp Diary telling of his experience This is about Charles Harold Gonsalves and how he was transformed from a quiet life in Alameda, California to a Jap hateing killer. The second and third purposes of this book emerge as the story progresses. Cpl. Charles Harold Gonsalves Official_USMC_Photo The_Congressional_Medal_of_Honor The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to HAROLD GONSALVES 1926 -1945 Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 28 January 1926, Alameda, Calif. Accredited to: California. Official Citation For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Acting Scout Sergeant with the 4th Battalion, 15th Marines, 6th Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Chain, 15 April 1945. Undaunted by the powerfully organized opposition encountered on Motobu Peninsula during the fierce assault waged by his battalion against the Japanese stronghold at Mount Yaetake, Pfc. Gonsalves repeatedly braved the terrific enemy bombardment to aid his forward observation team in directing well-placed artillery fire. When his commanding officer determined to move into the front lines in order to register a more effective bombardment in the enemy’s defensive position, he unhesitatingly advanced uphill with the officer and another Marine despite a slashing barrage of enemy mortar and rifle fire. As they reached the front and a Japanese grenade fell close within the group. Instantly Pfc. Gonsalves sprung onto the deadly missile, absorbing the exploding charge in his own body and thereby protecting the others from serious and perhaps fatal wounds. Stouthearted and indomitable, Pfc. Gonsalves readily yielded his own chances of survival that his fellow marines might carry on the relentless battle against a fanatic enemy and his cool decision, prompt action and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of certain death reflect the highest credit upon himself and upon the U.S. Naval Service. Medals_and_Awards These badges and medals were awarded young Gonsalves. Congressional Medal of Honor The Congressional Medal of Honor is awarded only by the President of the United States. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States Government. It is bestowed by the President in the name of Congress on members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her own life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States. Marine_Corps_Raider_Patch The raiders were a select Marine Corps Unit that conducted amphibious warfare most frequently operating behind enemy lines. Disbanded January 1944. Purple Heart Medal Purple Heart Medal was created by General, later President, George Washington during the American Revolution. The Purple Heart is awarded only to Military for being wounded or killed in action against an enemy force. Charles Harold Gonsalves died April 15, 1945 Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal For service in the US Armed Forces within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations 1941-1945 American Campaign Medal For service in the US Armed Forces within the American Theater of Operations 1941-1945 World War II Victory Medal For service in the US Armed Forces within the American Theater of Operations 1941-1945 Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal For exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity in active Federal Military service. Marine Corps Rifle Expert Rifle Badge Introduction Gonsalves was born in Alameda, California, on January 28, 1926. His Portuguese father, John was a native of Massachusetts. His Portuguese mother was born Annie Cambra in Honolulu, Hawaii. They lived at 1534 Buena Vista Avenue in a tiny colonial house that has changed little since it was built in 1909. Later the family moved to a modest little Italianate cottage at 1818 Oak Street. It was built before 1896. The Gonsalves lived there when he enlisted. From the Oak Street location, Harold and his sister Marie walked to Alameda schools. When he turned sixteen he worked part time as a stock clerk for the Montgomery Ward Company in Oakland. In high school he played football and baseball, ran track, and swam. He also sang tenor in the school glee club. Enlistment and Training The Youthful Californian enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on May 27, 1943 as soon as he legally could sign up. He agreed to be called to active duty two weeks later. On June 17 he left Alameda for boot camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California. There he trained and learned about the inhumane and cruel practices of the Japanese conquers in China and the South Pacific Islands. As a result, he volunteered to join the Marine Raiders, an exclusive killer unit that fought with bare hands and knives. Some of the raiders were little more than underworld killers who did not flinch at cutting a throat with piano wire. Most of them were every day Americans like Charles Gonsalves. The Raiders frequently served as forward observers for artillery units. In November 1944 Harold was detached from the 22nd Marines and assigned as a forward observer with the 15th Marines of the 6th Division. In this assignment he stepped forward to everlasting fame on the Island of Okinawa. The date was April 1, 1945. The United States 1941 The United States had a population of 312,454,000 the world's third most populated nation. Most Americans lived in cities and towns. Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the United States for the 3rd time. Winston Churchill requested material aid from the United States to assist Britain in a battle with Germany. The National Gallery of Art opened for business and Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state began to generate electricity. Surreptitiously Takeo Yoshikawa began studying the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor in preparation of the rumored attack. All Japanese assets frozen in the United States and General Douglas McArthur was named commander of all U.S. Forces in the Philippines and the Filipino National Guard was ordered to duty under General McArthur. The Empire of Japan attacked United States Navy in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in a surprise maneuver. Franklin Roosevelt declared December 7, 1941 will forever be known as a day of infamy. The United States Congress passed a bill declaring war on Japan and President Roosevelt signed it immediately. Japan_1941_1945 Japan,with a population of 105,000,000, attacked the United States by a surprise bombing of the US Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The commander of the Japanese Navy was Admiral Yamomato, a graduate of Harvard University. Emperor Hirohito gleeful praised the success of the attack said, "I praise the Army for cutting down like weeds large numbers of the enemy". Japan had invaded China and captured, raped and pillaged Beiping and Shanghai China in 1937. Finally they captured Najjing and massacred the population. In 1938 Japan attacked Mongolia. At its largest, the Empire of Japan controlled, China, Korea, the Philipine Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Island. Bus in succession the Imperial Army and Navy fell to the United States forces. Japan's casualties on Iwo Jima, a very small island was 20,000. Japanese Army losses on Okinawa alone was over 100,000 not counting 200,000 + Japanese citizens. If American commanders had learned anything during the deadly campaigns from Guadalcanal to Okinawa it was this, the Japanese Army and Navy believed that it was more noble to die fighting for the Emperor than to live by surrendering to the American enemy. When the US Commanders met to plan the attack on the Japanese Home Island they knew it would cost hundreds of thousand American lives to capture the home island. This was considered and planned. Except for the know how and innovations leading to the Atomic Bomb, they would have invaded like the Japanese Homeland in the final phase of the war. On July 26, 1945 a proclamation warned the Empire of Japan that unless they surrendered unconditionally that they would be destroyed by a new super bomb. When the Japanese did not respond an American Bomber dropped a bomb on the city of Hiroshema and three days later the city of Nagasaki. Then the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and on August 14, 1945 Japan surrendered. The aftermath of the Atomic Holocaust in Japan proved once again that Karl Marx was correct when he laid down the dictum that the only way to destroy an idea once loosed is to destroy it with an overwhelming material force. The Atomic bombing of Heroshema and Nigasacki proved to be just such a force. Charles Harold Gonsalves Personal-Chronology January 28, 1926 Born, Alameda, CA September 5, 1932 1st Grade September 6. 1933 2nd Grade September 7, 1934 3rd Grade September 3, 1935 4th Grade September 1, 1936 5th Grade September 7, 1937 6th Grade September 6, 1938 7th Grade September 5, 1939 8th Grade September 3, 1940 9th Grade September 1, 1941 10th Grade September 7, 1942 11th Grade January 28, 1942 Oakland Mont Wards in May 27, 1943 Enlisted USMC The following entries from Marine Corp Diary helps to explain his choice of the marines, how propaganda and training changed a meek lad from Alameda to a marine with a killer instinct and a commitment to make every Jap a martyr for the emperor of Japan. Thursday May 27, 1943: I decided to enlist in the Marine Corps because I will be 18 years old on my next birthday and will probably be drafted into the army and become an infantry soldier. I am not a coward but I just don’t want to be an army soldier. Well, the deed is done, I am now a Recruit, United States Marine Corps Reserves. I will be called to active duty in about three weeks. I will be writing about my life as a Marine. When I send my letters I will enclose the parts that I want you to keep for me. If anything happens to me someone may be interested in what it was like to be a Marine in 1943. Please give them my letters. Thursday June 17, 1943: I left Alameda at 5:00 A.M. to be at the United States Marine reception center in Oakland at 6:00 AM. Told everybody in Alameda goodbye. Troop train went from Oakland to San Diego, Camp Pendleton. The ride south on the train took 18 hours. We stopped at every town and loaded new recruits on the train. They gave us a sack lunch with a peanut butter sandwich and an apple at noon. We were able to make quick runs and buy food from grocery stores when the train stopped to load new recruits. Some guys bought beer and hard liquor. I did not drink anything alcoholic. Friday June 18, 1943: I was met at the train depot in Oceanside and loaded on a truck to be transported to boot camp. They cut all of my hair off and now I look like a skinned sheep. Also issued dingy green underwear, tee shirts, fatigues, boots, cap, M-1 Rifle with bayonet, tooth brush, soap, razor, duffel bag and steel helmet. Nothing really fits and everything is stiff like new. We get up at 4:00 AM, shower, shave, try to go bathroom, eat breakfast at 5:30 AM. After breakfast we march for two hours and then go to the firing range for instructions. I am a good shot and may be a sharpshooter before long. May be even a Private First Class. They talk a lot about the Japs and Nips. I never thought of them being Japs or Nips before. When I went to school in Alameda, I had some Japanese friends. I played basketball with Paul Hayashi, Soto Furuya and Takea Nakato. Sachiko Hashimoto was in choir with me. They were all taken to concentration camps if February 1942. I am learning the reasoning behind that now. These are not friends they are talking about being Japs and Nips. Sometimes they talk about them not being humans. This will help us kill them when we get into the fight. It will be easier to shoot a Jap or Nip than a person. I did worry about my Japanese friends in Alameda but now I understand why they were suspected of helping the Empire of Japan.. Friday June 25, 1943: We learned to throw hand grenades today. It took all day to learn about how to throw the little hand bomb and not get hit with the chards of cast iron. All the thing is is powder and metal. I hope I never have to pick one up that is armed. Saturday June 26, 1943: My schedule is this: Awake 4:00 AM. Shave, shower and clean up. 4:45 AM inspection. 5:00 AM breakfast and toilet. 6:00 AM marching, drilling, marine stuff. 7:00 AM firing range. Clean weapon, target practice, setting up targets. 12:00 Lunch. Beans, potatoes, gravy, fish, lettuce salad, something of a combination. 1:00 to 2:00 PM rest, visit, write letters, make telephone calls, do personal business. I use this time to work on my diary. I will be sending my diary to you for safe keeping. 3:00 to 5:30 PM more combat practice. 5:30 to 6:30 PM Chow 6:30 to 8:00 PM Clean equipment and clothes. Sunday June 27, 1943: Indoctrination_and_training_for_war Rest and relax. We saw this movie "Behind the Rising Sun". It is supposed to be a love story but it is a war movie showing the Japanese in China. One scene shows Jap soldiers raping women and throwing a baby in the air and catching it with bayonets. Really looks bad for the Japanese. Makes you wonder what they would do if they captured Alameda? Would they rape our women and throw our babies up in the air and catch them on bayonets? Maybe they could decapitate some of them. I am beginning to hate Japs. Can you believe it, I weigh 178 pounds and when I stretch I am five feet nine inches tall. No one I went to school with would believe how big I am now, I was always so small. Thank God for Sundays. I will be glad when I finish boot camp and can get on with fighting the war. I can’t wait to get started so we can get it over fast. Once we get underway I think it will end soon. The Marine Raiders are the best and I have volunteered to become a Raider. Saturday July 17, 1943 I have been transferred to the U.S. Marine Raiders at Camp Pendleton. We will be training on amphibian landings, how to fight with bare hands and knives at night. We have to drive the Japs off of the islands in the Pacific and punish them for their war crimes. Tuesday July 20, 1943: We practiced landings on the beach at Camp Pendleton. Is it scary riding on a 35’ Landing Boat. The boat runs right up on the beach and the front falls down and we just run out in full combat gear. They are looking at me for artillery because I know how to count, I think. As a Raider I will be with the group that is out in front of the main group. I will give them information telling them where to place the artillery and where the Nips are located. We also have to be careful of snipers. A good sniper can hit a man between the eyes from 1,000 yards, so one always has to be careful. Sometimes we will have to kill the Japs with a knife or some other way without making noise. We learned knife fighting from a Filipino whose sister was raped and murdered by the Japs in Manila in 1942. My dog Simper Phi goes for the throat on command. We saw this movie Gung Ho. It is a hate Japs movie about the Marine raid on the island of Makin. The raid was carried pit by 90 Marines from a submarine. They were all on one submarine and it was crowded and claustrophobic. Some of them came to blows because of the crowded condition. The raid killed 35 Japs and destroyed their communications towers. But when they left, they accidentally left nine marines behind. The nine marines were captured by the Japs and moved as prisoners of war to Kwajalein where they were held for about a month. The commander of the Japanese forces on Kwajalein requested orders to send the captives to Japan for incarceration. The military High Command in Tokyo advised them that the official policy was to execute all prisoners of war where they were captured. The nine marine raiders were by beheaded on 16 October 1942. This is a true story and we are learning to hate Japs and to want to kill as many as we can. Robert Mitchum, Randolph Scott, Noan Betry starred in the movie. Now we are getting into hating the Japs enough to kill them. The move makes us think that Japan is bad and if they conquered America that they would treat all of us that way. Rape, pillage, decapitation, murder and mayhem in all forms. When we are marching we sing songs like We're gonna have to slap the dirty little Jap, Taps for the Japs, We’ll nip the Nipponese, We’re going to play Yankee Doodle in Tokyo, Let's Remember Pearl Harbor as we did the Alamo, and You’re a Sap, Mr. Jap. The sergeant told us about the way the Japs treated people in Korea when they annexed Korea. In one campaign they cut off the noses and chins of 25,000 Koreans and enshrined them in the Yasukuni Jinja Temple in Tokyo. The Temple is still there. On another occasion they forced a lot of Korean men, women and children into a church and locked the doors and set the building on fire. The shot anyone who tried to exit a window and the entire group died in the fire. The movies and the stories are intended to make us mad at the Japs and want us to kill them. The sergeant also told us that the Imperial Japanese Army forced captive women into comfort stations (houses of prostitution). On islands like Okinawa the Japs killed indigenous people who refused to cooperate. Now I understand why California rounded up the Japs and put them in concentration camps. Even those guys I went to school with were always different from the rest of us. Now they want to control California when they attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. My sergeant says that "Every Japanese has been told that it is his duty to die for the emperor. It is your duty to see that he does so." Here are some_posters we have Remember_Pearl_Harbor Behind_The_Rising_Sun Kill_the_Japs_Poster . Walt Disney Caricature_of_the_Jap Battle_Cry of the Marines Sunday August 1, 1943: I was right; I have been assigned to Artillery Battery at Camp Pendleton. I feel more and more like I am a part of a big team and when we are all ready and in place we will be sent into battle. We completed training and I am classified as a cannoneer on 75 and 105 millimeter cannons. I think I will be assigned to the 30th Pacific Theater Replacement Battalion and we will go to Hawaii. For now I am still in California. I am hopeful to come home on the way to Hawaii. Maybe we will ship out from Camp Stoneman and you can see how big I am and how good I look in uniform. Pray for me. Friday October 1, 1943: I was wrong about Camp Stoneman. We loaded on a ship and embarked of overseas assignment to 22 Marines from Camp Pendleton, California. You should have seen us, we loaded right off the beach at Camp Pendleton and before we got settled in our bunks, the ship was moving. Now I am in the 30th Replacement Battalion in Hawaii. I am still a Raider and we are training to fight in jungles. A big battle is brewing someplace in the Pacific. Everyone has had all of the shots, checked our insurance policies, made sure of where our next of kin is (just in case) and all of our dog tags are up to date. It has been four months since I left Alameda and I am ready for combat. Monday October 4, 1943: Today all of we went to Pearl Harbor to see what the Japs had done to our navy. Really bad. Worse than you have been told. We had a lecture today about the Japanese_ inhumanity_in_Korea.. On March 1, 1919, citizens in the village of Jeam-ri in the Hwaseong Province held an Anti-Japanese demonstration continued to spread and it spread to other towns. When the Japanese national and military police could not contain the crowds, the army and even the navy were also called in. There were several reports of atrocities. In a notable instance of cruelty the Japanese police in the village herded everyone into a church, locked it, and burned it to the ground. They even shot through the burning windows of the church to ensure that no one made it out alive. Participants of the March 1st Movement were subjected to torture and execution. Stories like this make us want to get at the Japs. Monday November 8, 1943: My unit landed on Guam in July 1944. It took a month more to secure the island but the killing was nearly all done when we got there. Guam had been an important American outpost island before the Japanese occupied it in 1941. I think something big is about to happen and they need thousands of Marines to make it work. We organized into squads. Thirty men to a squad in alphabetical order. I am glad I learned my alphabet in school. Everybody on the ship has a job assignment. My squad was chosen to work in the bakery. We bake fresh bread every morning to feed about 3,000 men including the officers and the crew Thursday November 30, 1943 I have been assigned to the 2nd Pack Howitzer Battalion back in Hawaii. We will support the invasions of the islands. Saturday January 1, 1944 Raiders disbursed, now all Marines are raiders. I still have my Raider Patch but cannot wear it. Now all marines are raiders so there is no need for a special unit. Wednesday March 1, 1944: I just today learned that I have been promoted to Private First Class. Maybe I will make sergeant before the war is over and maybe I will become a career marine. I don’t know when they will let me send my letters now so I will have to hold on to them until later. I will be going someplace called the Marshall Islands first. The Japs, it is easy to call them Japs now that we know how they treat captives. I know they are waiting for us to try and run them off the Islands. We just learned that we will be landing at Kwajelein and Eniwetok and then Guadalcanal in the Marshall Islands. War is not fun. I have a big dog now, a Doberman Pinscher named Simper Phi. The ocean is really big and it takes days and days to get us all there. Really makes you think that it is big enough for everybody. We sure killed a lot of Japs on Guadalcanal. This is a bloody business we are in. My job is to go out in front of the lines and locate targets that my battery can hit with a howitzer cannon. I will be glad when the war is over. I don’t like killing and I don’t want me and my buddies to get killed. I don’t know why we are fighting over these islands. It is sand and rock with a few trees. I got my first battle star on my Pacific Campaign Ribbon. Saturday July 8, 1944: I feel like I have a ring side seat to a boxing match, only this is a killer battle going on. We lost a lot of men including my sidekick from California. My dog is great help. He likes marines and he does not like the Japs. We are in a place called the Mariana Islands. It is so hot. American battleships are all over the place. I think Guam is an island here. They keep talking about shelling targets on Guam. Saturday July 22, 1944: We had another lecture today. We were told again that the Japs would rather die than to surrender and be shamed. Now we know that we will have to kill them all in order to end this war. All of the marines I know hate Japs and want to get on with the job of killing them. Friday, July 21, 1944 We made a beachhead on both sides of the Orote peninsula on Guam and advanced about one mile against heavy Japanese resistance. Of course as a forward observer I am way out in front of the battle lines. No shade except in the jungle and it is really hot there. We had another lecture today. We were told that when the Japanese invaded the Guam on December 10, 1941 six Americans slipped into the Guam jungle rather than become prisoners of war. When the Japanese became aware of these men on the island, they began to hunt for them. They issued an order demanding that they surrender within a 30 day period or be beheaded when captured. None of the men surrendered and the Japanese eventually captured and executed all of them except one. The Japanese also executed local whom they suspected of helping the missing Americans. The single survivor hid for two years and was finally rescued just before the invasion July 21, 1944. Really makes us want to kill the Japs. Thursday, Thanksgiving November 27, 1944: I am still alive but I do not know how or why. The Japs are all dead now, we must have killed all but a few of them. Now we are training for something really big. I will be glad when this is over. We get lectures every day about how cruel and inhumane the Japs are. I never thought I could hate with my guts but I do now. Operation Iceberg We are back to Guadalcanal for training.“Operation Iceberg”, the invasion of Okinawa is next. Okinawa is a sand and dune covered island with some rugged hills and it is an important fortress for the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces. It is the last defense protecting the main island of Japan. Forward Observer The job of forward observer was very dangerous. We establish an observation post near where the enemy lines are thought to be. War dogs were instrumental to forward observers. They were isolated, alone and carried provisions for a week. The dogs helped keep look out for enemy soldiers. They set up about a mile in front of the American lines. There was tall grass and brush but no trees. A series of long, low hills could be seen about a mile away. Monday, Christmas December 25, 1944: It is really hard to celebrate Christmas when there is so much killing going on. We had a big ham and turkey dinner. We are still training for something big. We are going to invade the Japanese homeland. First Guam, then Iwo Jima, then Okinawa and then Japan. All the talk is about Operation “Iceberg”. I know now that is the invasion of Okinawa. We will land in the area of Hagushi, in the southwest of the island. We have 1,200 transports ships, enough to carry 450,000 Marines which is how many we will have to invade Japan.. Thursday April 1, 1945: We landed on Okinawa. Almost no Japs on the first day. Established a beach head three miles deep and nine miles wide. Okinawa is 70 miles long and a maximum of 10 miles wide. My dog Simper Phi is with me and keeps us safe at night. I heard they captured Kadena and Yontan airfields. Japanese have about 130,000 troops. They are entrenched in concealed positions and caves, mostly to the south of where we landed. There are also 450,000 civilians on the island. We have a hillside view of the US and the British air and naval bombardments. The Japanese Kamikaze hit the battleship USS West Virginia, and the carrier, HMS Indomitable, along with eight other ships. I think they sunk them. Now we got this reporter with us all of the time. His name is Ernie Pyle and he has been in Europe. He was at home last Thanksgiving and tells us all about things in the states. Sure will be glad when this is over and we can come home. Anyway, this guy is real famous and nice to us. I think he is writing about being a forward observer. He took a picture of me and the lieutenant and the lineman. He also knows more about the big picture and when it is quiet out where the Japs are, he tells us about it all. We tell him stories too. This is what I told him. Mostly, we are bored. We got nothing to read except the Marine Corps Manual and stuff to make us hate Japs. So we played endless poker games. None of us had any money so we played “jawbone” poker. Wins and losses were carefully recorded so we can settle up on some future payday. These games went on and on. I am not a good poker player. At one time, I was over $50 in the hole and in despair. I knew I should quit before I lost everything that I had riding on the books. Then I had a run of good luck. Without really knowing what was going on, I started winning. When I got even with the board, I quit playing. I will never play poker for money again. I guess I will work on keeping a diary of the battle for the next few days to keep from playing poker. Also taking care of Simper Phi, my war dog. He can smell the enemy. Fast Japanese airplanes come over flying real low. I can see the determined look on the pilot's faces. There are no identifiable topographical feature in the target area suitable for the howitzers to register on. Looks like the Japs are all dug in on the back side of the mountains. So my patrol set out to no-man’s land to plant a flag to serve as a register point. Three men including myself cautiously crawled around the edges to the far end of the row of hills to set up posts and tied some banners to them. Pyle is with us. Friday April 2, 1945: We heard that the Army had crossed the island to the east coast and also to the north and south. At sea we can see the battles by the navy. There are attacks by the British carriers and Japanese Kamikaze attacks on US ships. They are badly damaged with many casualties among the troops aboard. I am glad I am a Marine. One day we saw the Navy and Air Force sink 60 Japanese ships. Saturday April 3, 1945: Now the Japs are really resisting on the ground. Now we are contending with big storms with rain and wind. The Japs just stay in their bunkers and out of the storm. We had heavy damages to landing craft. Hampers further reinforcement. Sunday April 4, 1945: We saw the battleship, USS Nevada shot up by Japanese shore battery. More rain today. More enemy bombers. Monday April 5, 1945: We keep moving north. There are Kamikaze attacks on shipping during the day and all we can do is watch. Ernie Pyle writes on his typewriter. He says what he writes is printed in the papers back home. We saw the aircraft carriers USS San Jacinto and HMS Illustrious hit by Kamikaze Zeros. Lots of other ships were sunk. Still raining and wind blowing hard. Tuesday April 6, 1945: Japanese Kamikaze attacked carrier USS Hancock and the battleship Maryland as well as other ships. We can see them. It is like we have a ring side seat. Some more American ships were sunk. Thursday April 8, 1945: U.S. Marines attacking northward on the island. We have cut the neck of the Motobu Peninsula. My Division is assigned the task of clearing Motobu Peninsula of Japanese forces. No more kamikaze in the air. I guess they are all shot down now. We ought to be through soon. Still raining and windy. Friday April 9, 1945: Japanese hold us at the Shuri Line. We can hear them talking at night under the ground and in the caves but we can’t see them. Simper Phi hears them and growls. I am scared. Saturday April 10, 1945: We moved our camp forward about a mile. Ernie Pyle is still with us. It is still raining and windy. It is really scary. He is tough. Knowing why we are fighting is all that keeps us going. I know the Japs are scared too. Sunday April 11, 1945: Wow! Kamikaze attacks the battleship USS Missouri and the carrier Enterprise. We can see it all. Monday April 12, 1945: We heard that President Roosevelt died and Truman is the President. We heard he might be a good president. Ernie Pyle talks about a new super bomb that the Americans have developed. It may be dropped on Japan if they do not surrender. Pyle says it will kill hundreds of thousands of Japs and it ought to be enough to make them surrender. He says it might be enough to change their psychic. Ernie, he wants us to call him Ernie, says that some man named Marx opined that when an idea of power and conquest like the Japs have is loosed on the world that the only thing that will kill that idea is a force with greater power. He really makes sense. We just hang out in our outpost with Simper Phi and talk. If anyone, friend or foe tries to sneaks up on us, Simper Phi is ready to attack. Tuesday April 13, 1945: We have advance up the west coast of the island and now we are on the northwest tip at Hedo Point. We saw a Japanese Kamikaze hit a destroyer and sunk it. We could see it from our camp on the hillside. Ernie also says that Japan is running out of airplanes and petroleum. I hope he is right. Wednesday April 14, 1945: A Japanese Kamikaze hit the battleship USS New York. We have run into strong Japanese resistance in the hilly Motobu Peninsula in the north. They are hiding in caves and tunnels We are way beyond the safety of friendly lines. Because of resistance we need to be closer to the enemy. My Commanding Officer asked Gonsalves me and another PFC to go with him. I am acting Scout Sergeant of the three man team. Ernie is still with us. Our immediate task is to lay telephone lines for communication with the artillery battalion. Simper Phi is a lot of help in helping us avoid the Japs. Last night Ernie told us that Japan wanted to control all of the Pacific Rim including North and South America, Australia, all of the islands in the Pacific and China and Burma. That is quiet and undertaking, don't you think. WE are way out front now. The Japs really have their back up against it. Everything they have, small arms, grenades and mortars. Thursday April 15, 1945: This is it. Today we take Mt.Yaetake. I will be glad when this is done. They say we may not have to invade Japan. The scuttlebutt is that the United States has a secret weapon that will make Japan surrender. I hope so. I am looking forward to come home and enjoy Alameda again. Thursday May 1, 1945: “The president of the United States regrets to inform you that your son Charles Harold Gonsalves was killed in action on April 15, 1945. You will be notified when his body is returned to the United States. This letter_from_Ernie_Pyle arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gonsalves in late May 1945. Saturday April 17, 1945 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gonsalves, I do not normally communicate with families of men I have met in combat but your son Charles was such a unique individual that I simply have to tell you what happened. I had been with his observer team from the date they landed on the beach in Okinawa. I went with them as forward observers and since we were in such danger, we talked honestly about ourselves. On April 15, 1945 at about 6:03 A.M. we approached enemy lines. Simper Phi growled and warned us that the enemy was close by. Instantly a Japanese hand grenade landed in our mist. It was a foot from the Commander and the Pfc and 6 feet from Charles and myself. Before anyone else could react, Charles dived through the air to cover the grenade with his body. Before his body touched the ground the deadly missile exploded and he absorbed the full explosion into his own body. A metal shard passed through Charles body and killed Simper Phi, his dog companion. I have been a combat reporter since 1941 and I have reported from Africa, Italy, Normandy, Germany and Spain. Never in all of my war experiences have I observed such gallantry. There are no words to describe his action. He instantly gave his life for his fellow Marines and his country. Except for Simper Phi and Charles, no one was touched by grenade fragments and the team successfully completed the mission. Though mortally wounded, Gonsalves was not dead and we called for medical help. The medics came at once and placed him on a stretcher. They carried him back towards friendly lines and the military hospital station. On the trip back, they again came under enemy sniper fire and Charles was wounded again. I regret that he died from wounds received at the hands of the Japs, a race he had come to hate. Charles told me that he had grown up in a community that welcomed all races and that he had many friends of Japanese extraction. He said that when he enlisted in the Marine Corps he did not have animosity and hate for the Japanese. However in the course of his training for combat in the Marines, he had come to hate all Japs as evil people. Now, he said that he was glad that they had all been removed to concentration camps. When this war is over and I am back in the United States safely I want to visit the home town of this hero. He talked about Alameda like it is Heaven on Earth. Until then I am, Ernie Pyle, Correspondent Note: Ernie Pyle was killed by Japanese fire an April 18, 1945. Presentation of Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor, with citation signed by President Harry S. Truman, was presented to Private First Class Gonsalves’ sister, Maria, in the presence of his parents at ceremonies in the office of the commanding general of the Department of the Pacific at San Francisco, on June 19, 1946, by Major General Henry L. Larsen, USMC. Military_Record May 27, 1943 Enlisted in Marine Corp Reserves June 17, 1943 Activated to Basic Training, San Diego, CA July 17, 1943 Assigned to Marine Raiders, Camp Pendleton August 1, 1943 Assigned to Artillery, Camp Pendleton October 1, 1943 Sent to 30th Replacement Battalion November 8, 1943 Embarked for Overseas Combat_record: July 1944 Parry Islands, Marshall Islands, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Guam and Guadalcanal November 1, 1944 Detached to 15th Marines, 6th Division Landed on Okinawa. April 15, 1945 Killed in Action April 18, 1945 American Ernie Pyle, Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondent age 45 killed in action on Okinawa. (Note by Marie, Harold’s sister written sometimes after April 18, 1945 The final entry was done by her after she learned of Pyle’s death.) Final_Assignment Mr. and Mrs. John Gonsalves, and sister, Marie, lived in Alameda, California. Following the war, PFC Gonsalves’ remains were returned to the United States for reinternment. He was buried with full military honors at the Golden Gate National Cemetery, Plot B 61, San Bruno, California, and March 20, 1949. : Grave_Stone_Reads Harold Gonsalves Medal of Honor PFC US Marine Corps World War II Jan. 28, 1926 - April 15, 1944 Golden_Gate_National_Cemetery 1300 Sneath Lane San Bruno, CA 94066 Post Script The following sources provided the basic information for the Gonsalves story. The Alameda Public Library collection of Alameda School Year Books, Alameda newspapers and telephone books. The U.S. Marine Corps Office of Public Information. U.S. Military Medals By Order of Precedence home of hero's com, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II Volume I by Lieutenant Colonel Frank O. Hough, USMCR, Major Verle E. Ludwig, USMC, Henry I. Shaw, Jr. and personal recollections of the author who served during the Korean War and travelled back and forth between Okinawa and San Francisco on both air and water. About_the_Author: 1950 John Allen Johnson was born in Arkansas and his early education was in a one-room school at Westline. Here, he and a legion of family members learned to read and write. He also attended public schools in DeQueen, Arkansas and Prineville, Oregon. John is proud of the military heritage of his family. His father, Murray California volunteered for duty in World War I and his only brother enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War II. Numerous cousins and other relatives have served in the military. After the Korean War John attended Texarkana College in Texarkana, Texas. In 1957 he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Ouachita University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. In 1959 he earned his Master of Arts Degree from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. In 1997 he earned his Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Pacific Western University, Los Angeles, California. He completed a Level II Clear Special Education Credential at California State University, Sacramento, California. He taught in a Bay Area High Schools until he retired in 2006. John now resides in Alameda, an island city in San Francisco Bay. John’s where he is completing his magnum opus which began with his first publication of a story in the Mac Dill Air Force Base News in 1951. His published works include The Official California Handbook for School District Mapping; Haley, A Novel; and Arkansas Valor. A Biography of Charles Leon Gilliland. He also has several articles of interest published in the Arkansas History Quarterly. John is the father of two daughters. He has five grandchildren. He and his companion Joan still enjoy travel the back roads of America and they have now played more scrabble games than anyone in history. You can contact him online at Ptolemy1@aol.com