MAURY WILLIAMS
WWII MEMORIES


PFC John J. O'Brien was a small, weird kind of boy from New Jersey. This guy
had a warped sense of humor that would get him into trouble on more than one
occasion. For instance, "Obie," not having bothered to fully clothe himself
one cold morning, fell into roll-call formation with nothing on but his
overcoat and boondockers. We wouldn't have known about it had the lieutenant
in charge not decided to order exercises before breakfast - calesthenics were
usually done after morning chow. This was unexpected. After roll call the
officer barked orders for us to remove our overcoats, a customary procedure
prior to exercising. Obie, like all the others, unhesitatingly placed his
coat on the grass and joined in the fifteen-minute exercise. I just happened
to glance in his direction as we were jogging to the cantor of "in-place,
double-time, march!" The guy was buck-naked! Obie, dressed only in his shoes,
never changed expression: Knee-bends, push-ups ...every exercise in the book.
When it was over a visibly shaken O'Brien ran straight for his hut with
overcoat in tow. From that day forward (so far as anyone could tell), the
little man appeared at morning roll-call fully clothed.
'OBIE'  JOHN O'BRIEN
1944
'OBIE '1993
This incident occurred in our New Zealand camp in mid winter (June), 1943.
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The guy passed away three years ago. God
bless him! Broke my heart!

New Zealand was a great place but it did have a few hazards - even if you had
to go out of your way to find them.

One fine day Lt. Schley led us out of camp for a recon training,
map-sketching and azimuth-shooting exercise. We'd not gone very far when we
came to some railroad tracks and - I think just for the hell of it - our
lieutenant led us along the grade for several miles until we came to a
tunnel, the first time any of us knew of its existence. To back away from
this challenge would not have been very Marine-like, so our leader led us
into the big black hole in the side of a mountain. Immediately upon entering
the tunnel I looked for the light at the other end. A tiny speck of daylight;
this surely was going to be a long walk in the dark. I sized up the width of
the walls outside the tracks, versus the girth of an average Marine. There
seemed to be only enough room for a train. With that bit of information
tucked away I walked into the tunnel, where it immediately became so dark
that we began stumbling over each other. Only by dragging one foot along a
rail were we able to navigate without bumping into the tunnel's rough,
blackened walls. At about the halfway point I couldn't believe it when
someone in the rear of the column shouted, "â¦TRAIN!â¦There aint no daylight
back there!"  

We stumbled to a halt, the dark tunnel behind us confirming that a train was
for damned sure approaching! We couldn't hear it but when I reached down and
touched the steadily vibrating track I panicked and decided to make a run for
it. As daylight ahead gradually became brighter I could run a bit faster and
bumped the sides of the tunnel less often - and less painfully. Faintly, at
first, the low rumble of the locomotive became more audible and in a few
minutes became almost deafening. The end of the tunnel loomed larger and I
finally dove out the exit into a small spot between the rail and an
outcropping of rock. Black smoke gushed out of the tunnel, followed
immediately by a great, belching steam engine.

Great God Almighty! We'd made it! I watched the last car as it disappeared
around a bend. Lieutenant Schley and all but three of our men were getting to
their feet on the other side of the tracks, then we all turned to look back
into the black hole. A faint shout came from deep inside; "We're ok!"

When they came out, those guys were black from head to toe - we all were -
and everybody doubled over in near hysteria. We skirted the mountain back to
camp and Lt. Schley turned in his daily report. I've always wondered if he
ever told our C.O. the full truth about what certainly must have been
reported as a "routine" hike.
"During the years since the war, at reunions and in our letters, the men who were in the tunnel that day have made it the most talked-about incident of our World War Two experience."
"50 YEARS AGO"
DRESS CODE FOR ROLL CALL

MEETING THE TRAIN IN NEW ZEALAND
A REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE LOST
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