THE SUMMER OF 1945
by ORVEL JOHNSON

It was the summer of 1945, the closing weeks of the war with Japan but we didn't know that and were preparing for the eventual assault on Japan. From experience we knew the invasion of Japan would not be a cake walk, but we were on a roll and ultimate victory would not be denied us. All six reinforced combat divisions of the U. S. Marine Corps had been combat tested, tempered and honed in preparation for the assault upon the homeland of Japan. Training camps at Quantico, Parris Island, Lejeune, San Diego and Pendleton were diligently preparing the next generation of Marines to fill the gaps, where needed. Adrenaline was flowing in the veins in anticipation of what was to come and energies exceeding the demand were occasionally wasted on unproductive activities.

At this time, Camp Lejeune was host to the Netherlands Royal Marines, who were receiving specialized training from the United States; Lejeune was also the duty station for several companies of U.S. Women Marines, who more or less ran the camp.

American Marines have traditionally given nicknames to everyone and everything, such as a "90 day Wonder" was a newly commissioned officer, a "Bam" was a woman marine, a "Dutch Marine" was a Netherland Royal Marine, a "Slop Chute" was a beer tavern on base, a "Head" was the toilet, "SOS" was chipped beef on toast, "Boon Dockers" were boots, a "BAR" was a Browning Automatic Rifle, "Boots" were recruits and "Green Troops" were any military unit who had no combat experience. This is only a hint at the abundance of names that were commonly used and those which were used that intended to be demeaning or disrespectful could be written up for disciplinary action and often were.

In this setting, two Marines checked in at Camp Lejeune. Martin Starr, a PFC from Finger Lakes, New York and Orvel Johnson, a PFC from St.Paul, Minnesota were assigned to upper and lower bunks so for the next couple months had a lot in common and they became good friends. Both were 21 years of age and had been in the Corps for more than 2 years and were designated for overseas assignments.

For Martin it was to be his first overseas assignment having been seriously injured in an airplane accident shortly after graduating from Boot Camp while on leave in Kansas. There he had rented an airplane that had not been properly maintained. Control cables became tangled in flight resulting in the crash. Martin narrowly escaped death and spent the next year getting patched up at various naval hospitals around the country and now except for a few metal plates and screws holding him together. He was in good physical condition and ready to serve.

Orvel had been in 3 invasions with the 4th Marine Division. He had been wounded in action on Tinian and hospitalized at Kwajalein, Guadalcanal and Balboa Park, San Diego and a tour of guard duty at Charleston, S. C. before reporting to Lejeune, for further assignment.

The U.S. Marines, Women Marines and Royal Marines were quartered in separate barracks usually some distance away from, one another (to keep peace in camp). Each had their own slop chutes, recreation activity areas and these were off limits to others unless they had permission to be there. The Americans and Netherlanders were friendly, generally, and Starr and Johnson saw nothing to dispute this. There were however stories that told of several confrontations between American and Royal Marines at the slop chutes of both when one individual or group had consumed more than they could handle and insult or argument flared into knock down drag out fights. The MPs had to be called to break up the fighting. Both sides had been charged with misconduct and disciplinary actions had been handed out.

Days were filled with roll calls, calisthenics, training, schools, police details and those make work activities to keep everyone occupied; but unlike boot camp all was not work. There were weekend passes available to those not on duty if they wanted. And Many took the opportunitity to visit the nation's capital, Washington D.C. For most of the weekends Johnson and Starr elected to remain on camp, to canoe the New River and it's tributaries and to sail the skiffs that were provided by the Marine Corps.

Martin, who flew airplanes before entering the Corps, was a skilled sailor as well, having grown up on the Finger Lakes of New York State. Orvel on the other hand, had trained for and made a landing from an inflatable boat but had no experience or knowledge on the handling of a canoe. Before embarking on their first canoe outing, Martin fully explained the peculiar problems associated with the canoe so that from day one Orvel knew what to expect might happen if the center of gravity shifted from the center line of the canoe to either side. In training to handle the canoe Martin and Orvel purposely rolled the canoe to experience the up righting and reentering a water filled canoe. Having learned the basics of canoeing, they began their exploration of the river and many of it's tributaries, portaging over fallen trees and land into adjoining bodies of water. This was one my most enjoyable experiences during WWII.

Sunday afternoon, the weather was about perfect, many Marines and their guests were at the marina. Some Marines checked out sailboats, others took canoes and several lined the dock. Martin and I had already left the dock in a canoe and were standing some 20 feet off the dock watching others get into canoes while talking with friends on the dock, then 2 Royal Marines in their Dress Blues simultaneously stepped from the dock into their canoe. Obviously, they had never had training such as Martin had provided to me and had not learned from experience what might happen if they failed to keep their weight centered. Fifty or more people saw the incident. The 2 Royal Marines took a dunking, in full Blues, next to the dock in about 3 feet of water and in full sight of this great gathering. Naturally this was very amusing especially since neither were obviously hurt, except their egos. With water logged uniforms, shoes and hats they climbed unto the dock and as they left the onlookers along the dock moved aside to allow them to pass. It would be interesting to know if they returned with swimming trunks and tried it again. We both laughed along with the others at their misfortune but took an unexpected dunking later and while the crowds had not observed it, it was very unpleasant and embarrassing experience.

It was on an upriver, tributary exploration, on which they had portaged around several fallen trees and were passing through still water covered with moss and algae. Suddenly long sharp thorns from bushes overhanging the now narrowed creek were scratching both. Both shied to the left, which immediately upset the canoe. As they emerged in the 4 foot deep water, they were covered with green slime that had to be brushed from their eyes to be able to see. The initial dunking was bad enough but to recover lost gear, they had to duck under several times. Naturally, they removed all evidence of the moss from themselves, canoe and their gear before checking in with the canoe and for a while it was a secret they shared.

Sailing had its moments of excitement for them also. And again Martin shared his experience with me before we set sail. If one sails too close to shore - where are there weeds, they can snag on the center board, in the shallows - where there are submerged rocks or sandbars, there is danger of swamping the boat. There is danger of tipping from tacking with the sail set too steep as to direction of the wind and turning with the wind in a full sail. They experienced all of the above without injury. It was always a challenge to come in close to another sailboat - up wind - to attempt to steal the wind of the other craft. This was done and often as a means of flirting between Marines and the women sailors. It was played by the Royal Marines and Women Marines as well and the stealing of wind was not limited to acts by the males. The Women Marines were just as guilty of doing this as anyone.

New friendships resulted from chance encounters in sailing but more often these encounters were by design. The barracks of the Women had a sitting room where guests and dates of the women could gather. Both Martin and Orvel spent a few dates there by invitation as did other Marines including the Royal Marines. The tallest Royal Marine observed at Lejeune was seen in dress blues at the Women Marines' barracks.

After the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Japan, the war came to an abrupt end and Martin and I were assigned new duties which included reopening of barracks and mess halls in sections of Lejeune that for months had been closed. By the end of August 1945, Lejeune was receiving incoming troops daily who were quickly and routinely processed for discharge. Barracks, which were in use for a few days by these homebound returning Marines, became the dumping grounds for unwanted uniforms, helmets, letters, books, pictures and souvenirs. Martin and I and of course many others, loaded several trucks with those no longer wanted items and swept and swabbed down the same barracks several times to make them ready for the next batch. It seemed a longtime before they found their names on orders for discharge. It was on October 25, 1945 that I received my honorable discharge and began my train ride back to Minnesota. Martin's name had yet to appear on such an order when Martin and I said goodbye and Semper Fi.