Phil Wood's Letters
Letter #13
Dungarees and Boots
To Margretta & Gretchen
13 December 1942
Sunday night
(December 13, 1942)[1]
Dear girls,
Well, I’m all set – in our hut here, that is, but we don’t start work until tomorrow. There has been so much wild scuttlebutt that you don’t really know what to believe, but from all soundings I’ve been realizing the setup sounds very much as I thought it would be. We have a bunch of rookies, I think, tho I haven’t seen them yet.[2] And we will probably stay here at least two months training them. In fact, I am giving a series of lectures on chemical warfare – about which I know very little, yet.
The place is cold as the devil, and expensive eating, and way out in the middle of pine & Spanish moss swamps; but they all seem to like it pretty well – especially for its informality. Wear dungarees and boots all the time.[3]
Sabini is shipping out tomorrow.[4] R. I. Wood is, strangely enough, in charge of the platoon next to mine. And I really thought I was rid of him this time![5]
Shattuck bunks next to me, but will soon be with his wife. Four others of us in here, none of whom I new [sic] very well before, but they seem like good guys.[6]
My train ticket down cost me $6.08! How, I don’t know – but I didn’t get in here until eight last night, what with late trains, standing four hours for the bus and all – late.
Love
Phil
Graduates of the 12th Reserve Officers Class assigned to the First Separate Battalion, 12 December 1943
Footnotes
[1] Recorded by GWW as New River, NC. December, 1942. Phil was attached to Company A, First Separate Battalion effective Saturday, 12 December 1942.
[2] Phil is referring to the enlisted men of the battalion; his estimation is correct.
[3] Marine Barracks New River, NC (soon to be re-named Camp Lejeune) was established as a training facility for the First Marine Division in April, 1941. As indicated, the camp was still quite primitive in December, 1942, although this was partially by design.
[4] Sabini was bound for the Raiders; Phil would not see him again. He later received the Navy Cross for service with Company F, Second Raider Regiment (Provisional) on Bougainville in November, 1943.
[5] Second Lieutenant Roy I. Wood, Jr. – no relation – from Greenville, South Carolina, was a Quantico classmate. He commanded the company’s Third Platoon; Phil’s platoon (weapons) was sometimes referred to as “Fourth Platoon.” The origin of the animosity is not known. Despite Phil’s reaction to this development, the Lieutenants Wood eventually became close friends.
[6] Howard Francis “Fran” Shattuck was another Quantico classmate; the other roommates included Edwin J. Keyes and Theodore “Ted” Johnson.
With their classwork at Quantico complete, the graduates of the 12th Reserve Officer’s Class stood by for much-desired orders. On 2 December 1942, forty-five eager second lieutenants were instructed to proceed to New River, North Carolina for duty. Ten days travel time was granted, allowing those who chose to visit family or enjoy a last night out in the capital.
At New River, their lives as junior officers truly began. A handful joined the camp’s administrative staff; a few others shipped out as combat replacements within a few days. Most, however, were assigned to infantry companies – either in the brand-new 23rd Marines, or a curiously-named outfit called the First Separate Battalion (Reinforced).
The “First Sep” was a new and somewhat experimental concept in Marine infantry training, drawing inspiration from the Raider battalions fighting in the Pacific. The Separate Battalions – several were planned, but only two were trained – were envisioned to operate like commandos, making surprise landings and securing beachheads without the impedimenta of a full-scale amphibious assault. The (Reinforced) referred to the pack howitzer batteries integrated into each infantry battalion. Training for the officers and men of these units emphasized rubber boat landings and independent, small-unit operations.
In 1943, as conventional triphibious warfare replaced the Raider style of campaigning, the Separate Battalion idea was scrapped. The highly-trained companies would eventually become the First and Second Battalions, 24th Marines.
The fourteen greeen officers who reported to “First Sep” on 12 December 1942 were divided among the companies. Ed Keyes, Endecott Osgood, Chase Small, Phil Wood and Roy Wood reported to a strapping second lieutenant who introduced himself as Harry Reynolds, acting commander of Company A. “Big Harry” appointed Small as his temporary executive officer; Osgood, Keyes and Roy Wood were placed in charge of the three rifle platoons. Phil Wood’s assignment was slightly different: he would lead the company weapons platoon of machine guns and mortars.
That night, Phil Wood, Keyes, Johnson and Shattuck threw down their belongings and staked out their racks in a pasteboard hut. The next day, they would meet their Marines.