Donald P. Sletten Schofield Barracks

On December 7th, I did my job of fire control for 155 rifle and aiming from the fire control tower, then as ordered got our 155 Howitzers emplaced laid and ready to fire by 4:00 a.m. December 8th. Having prepared the coast artillery-plotting car for the field and moved out with it, I then was ordered to lay the guns and setup the observation tower lookout.  About 25' up. Now, some explanation of things that day and about a month earlier. I was a private recruit, so I had training from June 3, 1941 until training was over, about August 1, 1941. A day or so later, the 3rd Engineers found out about my abilities and tried to get me transferred to them.  I asked our company Colonel to keep me, and the only thing he could do was make me a specialist 4th grade.  I was then private Spec. 4.  I was never a private 1st class, even. I made it my business to become the best I could be and most of the officers on the battalion got to know me as well as of me. I taught myself mathematics all through calculus.  No officer except 1, who was a graduate of the school of mines in Colorado, could match me. After laying the 155 rifles, Capt. Little, our battery commander asked me if I remembered where the A battery artillery gun position was to be in the Eucalyptus forest South of the 155 coast artillery position.  I answered, "Yes, sir", so he gave me his command car and driver to get the guns in position. First there had been a large number of NCO's who had been sent back state side on Friday, December 5, and no replacements had been assigned, so we had no battery Sgts. and 1 corporal, who was with me in the instrument section and most of the competent men were with me in our recruit section. And now here we were with 2 batteries of guns to man and some of the others were even transferred to other batteries. Now, to add to all this, I later learned that the new officers who were to have taken over what I did, wound up in an accident that killed some, so there I was. But, in all this mess, the guns in convoy had missed the turn off, so I and my driver, Freeman Smith, had to traverse the trip back to Schofield and then back to where they were supposed to turn off to us, but had not, and we finally found them up at a river crossing where they were stalled at. Now comes the problem of turning the units around, which, due to the Kam highway only going East or West, but to turn 155 howitzers and trucks around was out of the question, so I ordered each unit to rotate past one another.  It worked and I then went back with Smith driving the command car and leaving a guide at each turn off so no one got lost. I then had to go up the road to the village where the guns had to go south to the Eucalyptus forest where the emplacement had to be located.  No, note.  I was entirely on my own and only myself to enact anything. When I got tot the location where the emplacement would be, I left Smith with the command car to halt the convoy there on the one way road and hiked up the road to where Battery headquarters would be, having to pass 2 machine gun nests of might jittery gunners giving the password. At headquarters, there was only 1 scared private who I gave orders for an officer.  Then I walked back to where Smith was waiting. Our new Battalion CO, previously a Major, I think, asked who was in command her.  I said, "I don't know, Sir."  He said, "You're in command."  He said, "Can you have the guns ready to fire by 4:00 am?"  I said "yes, Sir!" He left a green second lieutenant to aid me.  I put the lieutenant on the road and directed him to send the guns in as they arrived, and no other vehicles, due to no room in that jungle.  All others were sent up the road to the south. What did the lieutenant do, but send 2 trucks that were leading the convoy just ahead of the 1st gun.  And no way to back up. It was total dark then, so to all I could have been the battery CO.  I had to get the guns ready to fire, no matter what.  The convoy had been formed up in proper order on march, but here we were going into firing order but the first gun in this case was #1 gun, but in coming into a combat location as we were doing and no room to pass, #1 became #4 gun.  The left hand gun in firing order. The Sgts. or Corporals started a protest, as their #1 gun became #4, etc.  I ordered them to change guns.  No argument. At 4 a.m. I called on our phone to Battalion headquarters battery of 11th FA, "manned and ready to fire."  My first mission of the war was completed, yes, with many more to come later.

Information provided by Donald P. Sletten