Andy Smith, Kit’s buddy, played minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, and the St. Louis Browns. Recalled for both the Korean and Vietnam wars, he served in both conflicts as a case officer for army intelligence. Later in life, Smith taught at several different schools for the Department of Defense, including the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. He retired in 1975 as a master sergeant and died on January 18, 2000.
Conrad Vineyard returned to California. After college, he married and had two daughters. Vineyard worked as a civil engineer and researcher, mostly in Golden, Colorado. After his wife died, he remarried, and today he and Priscilla live in Colorado.
He had lost all contact with the Alamo Scouts until discovering their Web site a few years ago. He has been an active member of the Alamo Scouts Association ever since.
Robert Buschur ended the war as a private, although he was considered an “acting platoon sergeant.” Sent to Korea after the end of World War II, he remained there until December 1945, then returned to Ohio. There he married Rita and they had twelve children. They still live on their farm, and in 2007 he attended his first Alamo Scout reunion.
Harold Hard, a witty man who never said an unkind word about anyone, his daughter recalled, returned home, where he married his wife, Marie. They had three children. Hard died in December 1995, just shy of his fiftieth wedding anniversary.
Zeke McConnell had been asked to go to Japan after the war, but with more than eighty-five points, he declined and returned to his family in Washington. He went to work as a painter at the Cushman Indian Hospital, where, in 1946, he met and married Mae Ladinne Duffy. They had five children. McConnell later worked for the City of Seattle in the maintenance department, and was active in the local Boy Scouts as a scoutmaster. An exceptional archer, he enjoyed giving bow and arrow demonstrations with his son, Lester. McConnell retired in 1980 and kept up a lifelong friendship with Bill Littlefield.
In January 2007, Littlefield hurried from Los Angeles to be at the bedside of his desperately ill friend. McConnell died on February 4, 2007.
William McCommons, whose job was to select samurai swords for General Krueger and his staff, returned to college. Prior to the war he had attended the University of Illinois on a scholarship, studying geology. He volunteered to clean test tubes in the laboratory at Halliburton. He did that for a month before he was drafted. After the war, Halliburton gave him five years’ back salary and a new job. He bought his own business, a small oil company, in the 1950s. He married, had four children, and spent twenty-six years as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts. McCommons died in 1998.
George Thompson came home and earned his law degree. He was later elected to the Missouri Supreme Court. The Alamo Scout team leader died on October 17, 2005.
Australian Raymond “Moose” Watson, an Alamo Scout instructor and head of the New Guinea “Police Boys,” stayed in the army and was promoted to major. In 1947 he was appointed a Member of the British Empire, allowing him to use the prestigious M.B.E. after his name. Watson died in Australia on July 27, 1998.
“Baby” Lois McCoy, now Lois Bourinskie, who was carried out of Los Baños at age three days, graduated from the Providence College of Nursing in Oakland, California, in 1966 and worked at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington, as a registered nurse. Widowed more than twenty years ago, she still lives there, painting watercolors and acrylics.
While the Alamo Scouts never captured the Japanese commanders they sought in the Philippines, American military authorities eventually did.
Generals Yamashita and Adachi were among a number of Japanese civilian and military leaders placed on trial for war crimes.
Adachi was convicted for issuing orders that encouraged the execution of Allied airmen and in connection with the maltreatment and arbitrary executions of other prisoners by men under his command, and sentenced to life in prison. While imprisoned at Rabaul on September 10, 1947, he used a rusty paring knife to commit ritualistic hara-kiri.
Yamashita, the Tiger of Malaya, was tried for crimes committed by men under his command, but to which there was no direct evidence linking his complicity. His being tried for “command responsibility” became known as the Yamashita Standard, although critics of MacArthur claimed the only crime Yamashita committed was defeating the egotistical American general.
Yamashita was found guilty and hanged on February 23, 1946.
APPENDIX A
Alamo Scout Team Rosters
McGowen Team: John R. C. McGowen, Paul A. Gomez, John P. Lagoud, Walter A. McDonald, Caesar Ramirez, John A. Roberts
Barnes Team: William F. Barnes, Louis J. Belson, Warren J. Boes, Aubrey Hall, John O. Pitcairn, Bobby G. Walters, Robert W. Teeples
Thompson Team: George S. Thompson, Jack E. Benson, Joseph A. Johnson, Theodore T. Largo, Anthony Ortiz, Joshua Sunn, Glenn L. Heryford (last mission addition)
Sombar Team: Michael J. Sombar, James R. Crokett, Ora M. Davis, Charles F. Harkins, Virgil F. Howell, David M. Milda
Dove Team: John M. Dove, Alton P. Bauer, Denny M. Chapman, John G. Fisher, Irvin G. Ray, John E. Phillips
Hobbs Team: Woodrow E. Hobbs, Gordon H. Butler, Herman S. Chanley, Edgar G. Hatcher, Vern R. Miller, Joe Moon
Reynolds Team: Gean H. Reynolds, William C. Gerstenberger, Lucian A. Jamison, Winfred E. McAdoo, Leonard J. Scott, William R. Watson, Ray W. Wangrud
Sumner Team: Robert S. Sumner, William F. Blaise, Lawrence E. Coleman, Paul B. Jones, Edward J. Renhols, Robert T. Schermerhorn, Harry D. Weiland
Farkas Team: Arpad Farkas, Raymond Aguilar, Jack C. Bunt, Jack C. Greenly, Charley D. Hill, Harold L. Sparks
Littlefield Team: Wilbur F. Littlefield, Samuel L. Armstrong, Alva C. Branson, John E. Hidalgo, Zeke McConnell, Elmer E. Niemela, Allen H. Throgmorton, Paul G. Bemish
Lutz Team: William B. Lutz, John J. Geiger, Clifford A. Gonyea, Oliver J. Roesler, Bob Ross, Robert E. Shullaw
Nellist Team: William E. Nellist, Sabas A. Asis, Gilbert Cox, Galen C. Kittleson, Thomas A. Siason, Andy E. Smith, Wilbert C. Wismer
Rounsaville Team: Tom J. Rounsaville, Alfred Alfonso, Franklin Fox, Harold N. Hard, Francis H. Laquier, Rufo V. Vaquilar, Leroy Donnette
Ileto Team: Raphael M. Ileto, James Farrow, Pete Vischansky, Paul E. Draper, Estanislao Bacat, Fredirico Balambao
Ouzts Team: Wilmot B. Ouzts, Donald E. Brown, Harvey L. Hines, Edward W. Walsh, Elijah H. York, Fred J. Knaggs
Derr Team: George A. Derr, Robert D. Hamlin, Tommy J. Kolas, Stewart J. Minzer, Charles J. Stewart, William E. Teague
Shirkey Team: Robert L. Shirkey, Richard G. Andrews, Donald D. Grimes, Clyde S. Townsend, Clinton R. Tucker, Michael Zwer (Donald D. Grimes took over elements of the team.)
Hall Team: Aubrey L. Hall, Norman S. Boschert, Curtis Broussard, Clifford S. Henrickson, Joseph F. Novella, William G. Swain (Team was formed but never went on a mission.)
Grimes Team: Willis (Martin) Grimes, Paul F. Adams, Arnold R. Bethell, Kenneth A. Cameron, John R. Long, Cruz C. Vega
Adkins Team: Henry L. Adkins, Carl A. Bertoch, Kenneth A. Cameron, William E. McCommons, Lyle C. Wooten
Chanley Team: Herman S. Chanley, Juan E. Berganio, Nicholas C. Enriquez, Juan D. Pacis, Allen H. Throgmorton, Glendale Watson
Note: Due to various reasons, the composition of Alamo Scout teams changed throughout the war. Men other than those listed also performed operational missions as part of “scratch teams.”
APPENDIX B
Glossary of Terms
ASTC: Alamo Scout Training Camp
amtrac: landing vehicle with tank treads, able to also operate on land
CBI: China-Burma-India theater of operations
CP: command post
Deuce-and-a-half: army truck capable of carrying two and a half tons
Fujiyama Flivver: Japanese tank
G2: intelligence officer
HQ: headquarters
LCI: landing craft (infantry)
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br /> LCM: landing craft (mechanized)
LST: landing ship, tank
LCVP: landing craft, vehicle, personnel
M1: infantry weapon, usually refers to the Garand rifle
M1A1: carbine with folding wire stock, generally issued to paratroopers
OP: observation post
OSS: Office of Strategic Services, forerunner to the Central Intelligence Agency
RCT: regimental combat team
Willie Peter: phosphorous grenade
XO: executive officer
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bowers, Pat. “Darkness Was Their Ally.” Alamo Scouts Newsletter, vol. 5, no. 10, May 1993.
Busch, Briton Cooper. Bunker Hill to Bastogne: Elite Forces and American Society. Dulles, Va.: Potomac Books, 2006.
Johnson, Frank D. United States PT Boats of World War II in Action. Poole, UK: Blandford Press Ltd., 1980.
Manchester, William. American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1978.
Sasser, Charles W. Raider. New York: St. Martin’s, 2002.
Sides, Hampton. Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II’s Most Dramatic Mission. New York: Doubleday, 2001.
White, W. L. They Were Expendable. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1942.
Zedric, Lance Q. Silent Warriors of World War II: The Alamo Scouts Behind the Japanese Lines. Ventura, Calif.: Pathfinder Publishing, 1995.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are many people I need to thank for their help in creating this book.
First and foremost is Russ Blaise, executive director of the Alamo Scouts Association and son of the late Sgt. William F. Blaise. Russ was enthusiastic over the project from the beginning, and agreed to publish a letter from me to the surviving Alamo Scouts and their families in the association’s newsletter, outlining my project and requesting their help. My letter was greeted by an outpouring of offers for assistance.
Russ next helped me procure phone numbers and addresses, so I could speak directly with the men or their surviving spouses or children. He also read the manuscript and gave me pointers and suggestions. And last, Russ was invaluable in gathering most of the photos that appear in this book.
Thanks must also go to Lance Q. Zedric, whose groundbreaking book Silent Warriors of World War II: The Alamo Scouts Behind the Japanese Lines proved an invaluable source and springboard for launching me into this project. Lance had the wonderful good fortune to write his book while many of the Scouts now gone were still alive, and the book he created will be the pathway future historians of the Alamo Scouts will have to follow.
His continued work, along with that of Russ Blaise, of preserving the history and memory of the Alamo Scouts is a vital task.
Despite the help of Russ and Lance, this work would have been infinitely more difficult without the help of the entire Alamo Scouts family. The intimate interviews with Scouts Terry Santos, Lee Hall, Jack Geiger, Oliver Roesler, Bill Littlefield, Conrad Vineyard, and Bob Buschur, as well as a letter from Robert Teeples, helped me bring the human element into the work.
Geiger and Roesler, surviving members of the Lutz Team, were especially helpful in my piecing together that team’s missions.
The same is true for the men who no longer have a voice to speak with. My interviews with Terry Ray, the widow of Irv Ray, and her daughter Karen Mathews, the family of Harold Hard, Jane and Linda Nellist, Les McConnell, Russ Blaise, Christine McGowen, Michael Thompson, Jim McCommons, and Bob Cicippio provided me with insight into these men.
Of special note is Ann Sumner, the daughter of Alamo Scout team leader Robert Sumner; she, in cooperation with Russ Blaise and Lance Zedric, provided me with her late father’s wonderful and insightful memoirs.
The maps in this book, which go far in helping tell the story of the Alamo Scouts, were created by my colleague Don Morris, artist for Lancaster’s Intelligencer Journal newspaper.
Last, my thanks to my agent, Dave Robie, for giving me the push I needed to look for a World War II subject to write about, and—of course—to my wife, Barbara, and daughter Sarah, for their patience with me as I researched and wrote yet another book.
INDEX
Abijao, Philippines
Adachi, Hatazo
Adkins, Henry
Adkins Team
Admiralty Islands
Agno-Pampanga Valley, Philippines
Agno River, Philippines
Aguilar, Raymond
Agustin, Marcos V.
Aitape, New Guinea
Akers, Anthony B.
Akle, Philippines
Alabat Island
Alamba Island
Alamo Force
Alamo Scouts
Adkins Team
awards given to
Barnes Team
bodyguarding by
Cabanatuan prison camp mission
Cape Oransbari hostage rescue
Chalko Team
Chanley Team
deactivation of
declassification of missions
delay in recognition of
derivation of name of
Derr Team
Dove Team
end of operations of
equipment and weaponry of
Farrow Team
Fisher Team
formation of
Hobbs Team
Ileto Team
Krueger Card and
leadership of
Littlefield Team
Los Baños internment camp raid
Los Negros mission
Alamo Scouts (cont.)
Lutz Team
Male River mission
McGowen Team
Moon Team
Nellist Team
Ouzts Team
patch of
purpose and mission of
renamed Octagon Scouts
Reynolds Team
Roberts Team
Rounsaville Team
Shirkey Team
size of unit
Sombar Team
Sumner Team
team rosters
Thompson Team
training and recruitment of
uniform of
Vickery Team
Web site
Williams Team
Alamo Scouts Association
reunions
Alamo Scouts Training Center (ASTC)
Alfonso, Alfred “Opu”
Ali Island
Allied Geographical Section
Allied Intelligence Bureau
Allied Translator and Interpreter Service
Amano, Agapito
Amdavid, Alfredo
Amsterdam Island
Anderson, Bernard L.
Andrews, Richard G.
Angus, Robert
Anti-Comintern Pact of
Apano, Agapito C.
Areta, Captain
Armopa, New Guinea
Armstrong, Samuel L.
Arso, New Guinea
Arso River, New Guinea
Asis, Sabas A.
Atabrine tablets
Atkinson, G. G.
Atomic bomb
Australian Coast Watcher Service
Avela, Captain
B-25 bomber
B-29 bomber
Bacat, Estanislao S.
Baguio, Philippines
Baker, Henry “Snake,”
Balambao, Fredirico
Balangiga, Philippines
Baler, Philippines
Balete Pass, Philippines
Balincarin, Philippines
Barbey, Daniel E.
Barnes, William F.
Barnes Team
Bataan Death March
Bataan Peninsula, Philippines
Batan Island
Bau Plantation, New Guinea
Bauer, Alton P.
Bautista, Captain
Bayombong, Philippines
Beach, Owen
Beaufighter
Beckworth, M
ilton
Belson, Louis J.
Bemish, Paul
Benson, Jack E.
Berganio, Juan E.
Bertoch, Carl
Betz, Herb
Biak Island
Bibi, New Guinea
Biggest Brother (Alexander)
Bilaa Point, Philippines
Bilibid Prison, Philippines
Biliran Strait
Bismarck Archipelago
Bismarck Sea
Blackburn, Don
Blaise, Elaine Haas
Blaise, Russ
Blaise, William F.
Blate, Philippines
Bock’s Car (B-29 bomber)
Boes, Warren J.
Bogadjim, New Guinea
Bongabon, Philippines
Borokore Airfield, New Guinea
Botkin, Larry
Bowers, Sherb
Bowling, Selman S.
Bradshaw, Frederick W.
Branson, Alva C.
Bras Island
Brereton, Lewis
Broe Bay, New Guinea
Bronze Stars
Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)
Bruce, Andrew D.
Bulan, Philippines
Bulge, Battle of the
Bulkeley, John
Buna, New Guinea
Bunt, Jack C.
Burauren, Philippines
Burgess, Henry
Buschur, Rita
Buschur, Robert
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