Phil Wood's Letters
Letter #53
The “Daring Dozen” A Company Boys
To Margretta & Gretchen
13 March 1944
13 March
Dear Girls,
Nothing special [has] been happening the last few days. I’ve been working on recommendations for awards – Silver Star, etc. They’re tough to write and hard to get the facts on, but it’s pretty interesting. Two of the men in my platoon, Sergeant Tucker and Corporal Ervin, are up for the Navy Cross. For a long time we were considering Tucker for the Congressional – the highest the country has to offer. You may have read some of the stories about him and the “daring dozen” A Company boys. They are flamboyant in spots, but on the whole, they don’t do him justice. Harry [Reynolds] is up for the Silver Star; he and [LtCol.] Dyess are the only officers. There are quite a number in the battalion, and I’m doing them all.[1]
Life here in camp is pretty pleasant on the whole. We have our Officer’s Wine Mess, which serves drinks from 4 to 7 daily – we all drink a scotch & soda or two before dinner – and chow is good. By contributing $5 a month, we get extras such as fresh milk once a week, fresh fruit & vegetables. The NCOs do the same for their own mess. And we have electric lights now, which means poker games almost every night. I’ve gone down a little recently, but am still the big winner. Don’t worry Mother – it’s a game of skill, not chance. (I think.)
We have cement floors in our two-man tents. I’m living with Joe Swoyer, a hell of a good man that I’ve been with ever since OC class. From Germantown.[2] We have cots and even sheets now. I hocked a couple of very comfortable chairs, and Joe and I even bought a lampshade in a happy moment on our last town liberty.
The only thing I don’t like is the return to the petty disciplines of “barracks life.” We got along so well without them on the island – it’s like putting on a pair of tight shoes again after going barefoot on a grassy lawn. I suppose it’s necessary, but I chafe under them at times. Probably a good long leave wouldn’t do me any harm – in New York, say, somewhere around Gramercy Park, where I could look up a couple of beautiful women I know.[3]
Love,
Phil
Footnotes
[1] The “Daring Dozen” received brief nationwide attention in a series of dispatches picked up by the Associated Press. Tucker was particularly popular, both for his feat, his “citizen soldier” background, and an easygoing nature that made him ideal for folksy interviews. Ervin, who was wounded during his exploits on Namur, did not give any known interviews.
[2] 1Lt. Joseph Dell Swoyer, Jr., was a former D/1/24 platoon leader. At the battalion’s reorganization earlier in the month, Swoyer was placed in command of the machine gun platoon of B/1/24.
[3] Phil is referring to Gretchen and Margaretta, who lived at 120 East 19th Street in Manhattan – just a block from Gramercy Park.
The article below ran in the Honolulu Advertiser on 13 February 1944 – a copy almost certainly made its way to Camp Maui. Variations on this story, penned by correspondents like John Henry, Gilbert Bailey, and others, appeared in newspapers across the country. They frequently shared column space with articles describing the death of young PFC Steve Hopkins, which occurred nearby.
Able Company members of “the Daring Dozen” included:
1Lt. Harry D. Reynolds, Jr.
1Lt. Roy I. Wood, Jr.
Sgt. Frank A. Tucker
Cpl. Raymond E. Davis
PFC John M. Donnelly
PFC William P. Loutzenhiser
PFC John R. Svoboda
PFC Lawrence E. Knight
PFC Lester C. Kincaid
They were joined by:
Sgt. Carl T. McMahan (C Company)
Cpl. Franklin C. Robbins (D Company)
A twelfth Marine is not named, but may have been Platoon Sergeant James Adams (HQ Company) who was killed in action fighting alongside Corporal Robbins.
