World War II Diary
A True Record
Patrick L. Finelli, USMC

Boston, Mass:

• Enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Feb. – June, 1943

Parris Island, South Carolina:

• Boot Camp, Platoon 172, 4^th Batallion

• Promoted to PFC upon graduation

June – Sept., 1943

Norman, Oklahoma:

• USNTTC Aviation Ordnance School  (From MCAS, Cherry Point, North Carolina)

• Promoted to Corporal upon graduation

Sept. – Oct, 1943

Miramar, Kearney Mesa, San Diego, Calif:

• Waiting for garrison assignment, Marine Aviation

Oct. – Feb., 1944

MCAS, Goleta, Calif (Santa Barbara):

• MAG. 42, Ordnance Battalion

Feb. – April, 1944

North Island, Coronado Naval Base, Calif:

• Bomb Disposal, Explosive Demolitions School

April, 1944

Goleta, Calif:

• Transfer to newly formed MAG 45. Prepare for overseas departure.

• Promoted to Sergeant.

• Sent to special training on new weapons – Aircraft Rockets at Salton Sea, Mohave Desert.

• Flown out as part of small, advance group.

• San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Johnston’s Island, Kwajalien to final destination – Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands.

• Joined up with a few marines, some volunteers from the Fleet and a couple of Army Engineers. We were to undergo some training in clearing underwater obstacles.

• Very rugged training.

• Test swim in Ocean, 2000 yards in an hour wearing field uniforms.

• CB’s would build exact duplicates of beach head obstacles and on-shore pill boxes. We would then experiment with best shot-loads to blow them up. Learned insertion – extraction techniques, survival swimming, day and night recon and hydrographic measuring.

• Finished training, left Eniwetok on board the Clemson (APD-31) to join the 1^st Marine Division in the Western Caroline Islands.

On Board the USS Clemson

• Capt. Sweet and I are temporarily attached to UDT-6, Lt. Logsdon commanding. Capt. Sweet would be a boat observer (LCVP) and I would be a swimmer. Lt. Logsdon briefed us as follows:

• Target is Pelelieu and Anguar for Teams 6, 7, 8, 10 & "ABLE."

• Command will be on the Mount McKinley under Admiral Fort.

• Landing Control Ship is D.D. Hazlewood

• Hospital Ships, if needed, are the Pinkney and Tyron.

• Battle Fleet arrives and pre-assault bombardment begins.

• Pelileu covered with smoke, no return fire. Weather is good.

• Bad news, collision at sea! Destroyer Fullam (DD-474) rammed into the stern of the Noa (APD-24) carrying Team ABLE. The Noa sunk with the Team’s explosives but the LCVP’s were saved. There were several other collisions between bigger ships.

• Team 6 will pick up "ABLE’s" assignment.

12 Sept., 1944

Special tasks as follows:

• Team 6, Orange Beaches 1, 2 & 3; 5^th & 7^th Marines.

• Team 7, White 1 & 2, 1^st Marines.

• Team 8, Decoy at Anguar.

• Team 10, Support 81^st Division, 323 RCT @ Ulithi.

Around noon & under fire cover:

• Teams 6 & 7 scout the beaches, many obstacles.

• Navy fighters strafe the beaches to protect us.

• Much sniper fire, tide is low,water is shallow, lots of "black" coral.

13 Sept., 1944

Got our explosive assignments:

• Team 6 prepared pathways for DUKW’s and Tanks over Orange 2 & 3.

• Cautioned to not leave any deep holes.

• Swim from about 7a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Much sniper fire, very hot, shallow water.

• A destroyer came in to give us fire cover.

We continue beach head demolitions:

• Invasion Fleet arrives, ships as far as you can see.

• Midnight to 6 a.m., no fire cover.

• Noon to 4 p.m., good fire cover.

• Found many 2-horned anti-ship mines laced to horned scullies and coral cairns. They were 100 lb. Type 98, set out about 100 yds from the beach. Some of them were not armed, the safety pin wasn’t pulled and they were not there the day before. The Japanese had to have their own swimmers. Amazingly, they had also buried some aircraft bombs in the beach with pressure fuses. We also found fuel drums laced to the fringing coral. The Japanese had to work like hell to get that done so quickly.

• Final beach clearing, "D" day, "H" hour is 8:30 a.m.

• Today is Friday, sea is calm, no surf, few clouds, excellent weather, but hot.

• Assault waves forming since 4 a.m.

• Noise is deafening, smell is stifling.

• First 3 assault waves were devastated, a great many LVT’s destroyed by enfilading fire.

• Beach head is chaotic, little penetration, succeeding waves beginning to clog area.

• We are asked to help clear the beach head.

• Marines are relentlessly landing at 8 minute intervals.

• Re-called by Marines to work demolitions on shore. Reported to CP, "A" Co., 1^st Pioneers. Sent up to front to 3^rd Bn, 1^st Marines, "K" (King) Co. Spent the next 5 days with them clearing caves, pill boxes, mines and duds.

• Today is my birthday. I am a beat-up 20 yr old Marine Sergeant in my first combat, praying for survival.

• Continued demolitions with "C" Co., 1^st Pioneers for another five days supporting 2^nd Bn, 7^th Marines "K" Co.

• Got bayonetted by Japanese while sealing caves with satchel charges and Bangalore torpedoes in Bloody Nose Ridge (Umurbrogol Mountain).

• Air evacuated to Guam, then again by air back to the Naval Hospital #10, Aiea Heights, Pearl Harbor.

• Recuperate. Lost 35 lbs in less than a month, a combination of heat, lack of food and little sleep.

• Fully recovered for return to Active Duty.

• Flown back to Western Carolines, rejoin MAG – 45 at Ulithi whose job was to protect the Fleet anchorage and the Atoll (Falalop, Asor, Mog-mog).

• My new assignment was to sanitize the battle fields, dispose of whatever ordnance still lying or buried around.

• Did bomb, mine and shell disposal all over the central Pacific battlefields…

• Guam, Fais, Roi, Engebi, Namur, Majuro, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Peleliu and finally, at war’s end, Yap. Promoted to S/SGT.

Ulithi, Western Carolines:

• LST towed down from Okinawa battle. Abandoned because of unexploded bombs. LST is badly burned, many Marine/Navy dead. Two of us get the assignment to examine and locate the duds. The LST is off by itself, tied by lines to anchored pontoons. We get on board, the stench is stomach-turning, and do the search. We find 3 unexploded 100 lb bombs, fuses intact. One is into an amtrack on the main deck, another is wedged between bulkheads and the last one is deep into the crew’s quarters. It was decided to defuse the bombs so that the bodies and equipment could be recovered. We then returned to the LST and did the job.

Yap

• Sent to Yap as part of "sanitizing" team to prepare the Island for U.S. Military Govt. Cleared minefields, exploded armament and munitions, cleared booby traps. We were first Marines ever on Yap.

• I was injured (concussion) at Yap, hospitalized at Ulithi, flown to Guam (Naval Hospital #103), then by Hospital Ship to Oak Knoll, Oakland Calif, finally by Hospital Train cross country to Chelsea Naval Hospital, Mass.

• While at Guam, I had written my brother Tony, serving on LST #871, not to write anymore because I would be going home. His ship was just arriving Guam from Okinawa when he got my letter. He was able to get to the hospital and we spent several days together. We had not seen each other since Feb. 1943.

• Recuperate, surgery and TLC at Chelsea Naval Hospital.

• Marine Barracks, Charlestown Navy yard.

• Guard duty until discharge.

• Discharged (Honorable) with medical compensation for service incurred injuries.

• Accepted into Marine Corps Standby Reserve.

• Served 4 years.

HANDWRITTEN LIST OF DEPLOYMENT LOCATIONS

PHOTO GALLERY

Back to Main Page

© Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. These pages are protected by United States and international copyright laws. Copying or distribution by any means is strictly prohibited.