Phil Wood's Letters
Letter #43
A Lot Of Living In Those Two Days
To Margretta & Gretchen
4 February 1944
Feb. 4[1]
Dear Girls,
There is so much to tell you – so very much. I want to tell you the whole story, and will if I can ever get it all down on paper. I did a lot of living in those two days, and a lot of thinking about it since – but the main thing is that I was not afraid and neither were my boys – there were lots of times when they actually enjoyed it. The spirit – cooperation, morale – is very high – everybody is glad he is a Marine – the plans are that we rest and re-organize for a month or so, but that’s not certain.
Love,
Phil
Footnotes
[1] This letter was composed, quite literally, on the battlefield of Namur. The 24th Marines bivouacked in their combat zone – which they were compelled to clean of debris and bodies.
Phil’s first battle is behind him. “Operation Flintlock” – the invasion of the Marshall Islands – took place in January – February 1944, with the Fourth Marine Division tasked with conquering the northern islands of Kwajalein atoll. The main assault of Roi-Namur – twin islands connected by a causeway, housing a Japanese airfield and supporting garrison – occurred on 1-2 February, with the 24th Marines responsible for handling Namur.
Phil has not yet had a chance to process all of his experiences and feelings, and he certainly is not able to write about them yet. Although casualties on the island were “relatively light” as he will later claim, two men from his platoon (Steve Hopkins and Paul Southerland) and his close friend Ted Johnson are among the dead.
Read the article series about Operation Flintlock beginning here; or jump to the section about the occupation of Namur when this letter was written.