"WE BUILD, WE FIGHT"

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Oahu - The Capital Island

Rounding "Diamond Head", Oahu's most famous landmark, the men of the 43rd caught their first glimpse of their new home in the Hawaiian Islands. As they drew nearer the shore all eyes were straining for the sight of beautiful girls dancing gracefully underneath the swaying palms or racing gaily along the white sands, waving joyous "alohas" to the weary voyagers. However, they soon discovered that those Matson Line travel folders were a trifle misleading, because (1) there weren't any hula dancers, (2) there were very few palm trees, (3) the white sands weren't white at all. Instead, they saw the skyline of modern, up-to-date Honolulu to their starboard and the huge naval installation at Pearl Harbor off the bow.

As they slipped into the broad channel, an awesome spectacle greeted their eyes; ships of every type and description, ranging from huge aircraft carriers to tiny liberty barges, lay massed in the busy harbor. There were few signs of the terrible destruction wrought on December 7, 1941. Their ship was nudged into its berth by two snorting tug boats late that afternoon, and as dusk gradually stole over the scene that always-irritable process of disembarking began. They cautiously made their way down the steep gangplank with what felt like two thousand pounds of gear on their backs, and then waited and waited and WAITED for their transportation to arrive. Finally the trucks came and carried them through a large Seabee camp near the harbor to their area. Stepping out of the truck, they immediately bogged up to their knees in soft, yielding, picturesque Hawaiian MUD (oh, jolly)! The boys from Companies "C" and "A" groped their way through the darkness and mud to a group of half-completed quonset huts, while the less fortunate sad sacks from Headquarters, "B" and "D" stumbled into flimsy, unlit tents just across the way from the quonset hotels. Sawdust lay in a 2-inch crust all over the decks of the quonsets, and boards, plywood, and kegs of nails provided splendid stumbling blocks in the ink blackness. They were too darned tired to start housecleaning this early in the game, so they just threw their sacks on the deck and caught some well-deserved shut-eye. Thus on July 11, 1944, they had their first introduction to Romantic Hawaii!

In the days following, they set to work on the completion of the area, and in a few short weeks had their barracks, heads, and showers completed and a wonderful mess hall built (best yet!). In the months that followed, they had completed a post office, theater, chapel, rec hall, beer hall, ship's store, several office buildings, volley ball and handball courts, a baseball diamond, an armory and warehouse, and, incidentally, a BOQ, among other things. All in all it was the finest area the 43rd ever had, the beauty of it being that all these facilities were in easy reach of their doorsteps.

The major project undertaken by the battalion at Oahu was the construction of a large aircraft parking lot near their area. As the heavy equipment set to work clearing the vast area a new menace was encountered--dust. Clouds of the infernal stuff boiled up in the wake of the 'dozers and graders so that the operators could scarcely see or breathe. It swarmed over their camp area and permeated every nook and corner. What a problem it was to do their laundry then! It was a familiar sight to see the heavy equipment gang roll in at 1700 covered with grime from head to foot. They really took a beating until the water wagons swung into action to combat the dust. However, the job was completed well ahead of schedule, for which the battalion received a "well done" commendation from the Big Boys. (Battalion Review).

Their initial disillusionment of the "Crossroads of the Pacific" was soon remedied after the battalion had its first liberty, affording them an opportunity to really see the island. There were numerous places of beauty throughout Oahu, and they enjoyed many picnics, beer parties, and tours of the island. Although Honolulu itself was packed with servicemen on liberty, they still managed to have an enjoyable time wandering in and out of the quaint little shops in the Oriental section, dining alternately between P.Y. Chong's and Billy's Hot Dog Stand, cruising down River Street, sight-seeing at Waikiki, giving the wahines the once-over, lounging in the luxuries of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, getting their pictures taken with so-called hula gals, having a short one at Mac's Bar & Grill, shopping at "Battleship Max Cohen's", paying an occasional visit to the USO's, and other miscellaneous activities, too numerous or censorable to mention.

After ten months (see Christmas, 1944) spent in the comparative bliss of Oahu, order came at last for the 43rd to hit the high seas again. But this time the voyage was to be a short one. Companies "C" and "D", and part of Headquarters headed for Kauai for a short construction job, and the other half of the battalion was ordered to Maui to join the Fourth Marine Division there for military training and construction work.

Kauai, The Garden Island

"The Life of Riley" aptly describes the 43rd's brief stay at Kauai, the Garden Island of Hawaii. Here they found a tropical paradise the like of which one reads about in books, but rarely ever sees. They settled down in neat, comfortable barracks amidst a grove of coconut palms on the shores of a beautiful beach, and spent the most glorious 30 days of their hitch in the Navy. They had within a stone's throw of their barracks a swell USO, movie theater, restaurant, and the finest bathing beach in the islands. Dances and tours of the island were available to them, and their chow hall served fresh vegetables and other delicious morsels daily. The poeple of Kauai treated them splendidly, and they made many good friends there. It was indeed a regrettable day when they broke camp and set sail from this gem of the Pacific and headed for Maui to rejoin the rest of the battalion.

Maui, The Valley Island

At Maui the 43rd had its first initiation into the Marine Corps way of living when it officially became part of the Fourth Marine Division. They found it pretty rugged after many months spent living in spacious barracks, sleeping on steel-springed bunks, and having their chow hall and other facilities near at hand. They moved into tents, 6 men to a tent; slept on army cots; walked a mile downhill to the chow hall and a mile back uphill in return; ran a hundred yards in one direction to the head and walked a hundred yards in the opposite direction to the shower room. They went in for military training in a big way, taking long hikes, digging foxholes, spending 3 days at Purple Beach on bivouac and a week at jungle training, running the gas obstacle course, drilling at close and extended order, sweating out numerous inspections, watching training films, and listening to lectures.

As always, there was a pleasant side of life here, too. Strutting in their newly-acquired Marine khaki uniforms, they headed for Paia, Wailuku, and Kahului on liberty, enjoyed picnics and dances at the Trade Winds, made trips up to Kaleakala Crater, toured the island, or lounged at the Red Cross canteens in Camp Maui.

Their construction jobs included the erection of a division theater, USO theater, Red Cross canteens, tank repair sheds, administrative buildings, tent areas, warehouses, surfacing and maintaining roads throughout camp, installation of machinery and erection of buildings at Kahului NAS, as well as building an outdoor theater, rec hall, library, club houses, a hobby shop, and performing other jobs in their own area.

Their Tropicaleut softball team boasted a splendid record at Maui climaxed by winning of the Fourth Marine Division championship. The 43rd bested the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines, in a 3-game series, dropping the initial tilt and then coming back in a big way to sweep the remaining 2 games.

After nearly 4 months at Maui, they received orders to proceed to Saipan for further assignment. Departing from Maui on August 13, 1945, aboard the U.S.S. Prince George (K-224), they headed first for Honolulu. They arrived there only a few hours before the wonderful news of peace came on August 14. Despite the sudden cessation of hostilities they continued on their journey westward, and after a long, tiresome voyage of 21 days, they arrived at the mosquito-infested paradise of the Pacific, Saipan.