Little Joe Shows Us the Scene

We asked Little Joe where they were and he took us all up there. He showed us the area where the three Japanese soldiers lived and they had camouflaged the area so it was unnoticeable to the casual observer. One person found a little gold Buddha; there were prayer sticks made out of balsa wood, which was very light. I found some pictures of a Japanese squad posing for their picture and someone gave me a few prayer sticks; I didn't really want either one, and neither did Little Joe. We went to view their bodies and it was a gory mess for the two who used their hand grenades, and already flies had been attracted to them. They were very short, one was less than five feet tall; the two others probably five feet even to five feet one inches tall. They all wore leggings that had been carefully wound up their legs and all wore a broad belt that had carried their hand grenades. I was tempted to take a belt but there was blood on all three, so I declined. Later a Marine came, who had heard the two large explosions and he found a flag that one soldier wore under his belt. It had many Japanese signs and looked like it had been signed by family and/or friends. Although I hated the Japanese because of Pearl Harbor I had no feelings for or against these three men; actually, they looked more like boys. However, it was hard to forget the atrocities the Japanese had committed at Corregidor; the Bataan Death March; in China, and the torture of captive Marines at Guadalcanal, where they used water to extend a captive's stomach, plus other tortures. No question, war is hell! The shocker came when we all realized we had gone within 8-10 yards of them yesterday, while running up and down the path! We were very lucky, but still - dumb!