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HomeMy WebLinkAbout Jack W. Upham, Brazos Valley Heroes One in a series of tributes to members of "The Greatest I~ Generation" who served our country during World War II ~r First of two parts By Bill Youngkin Special to The Eagle Some boys grow up wanting to be doctors, lawyers, firemen or policemen. Jack W. Upham of College Station was one of those who was able to become what he always wanted to be - a professional soldier. ~I was born in 1921 and grew up in Mineral Wells, Texas. The army had a National Guard horse cavalry unit stationed at Camp Wotters outside of Mineral Wells. As young as six or seven I remember the horses and uniforms of the soldiers as they participated in the Fourth of July parade. That was all I wanted to do from that day forward. be a soldier, wear a uniform and be in the cavalry. ft After leaving school in Mineral Wells, I attended Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, where I was enrolled in ROTC. When I graduated in 1941, I was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. My first set of orders in 1942 sent me back to Mineral Wells and Camp Wo~e"'. I had filled out my paperwork to enter the flight program, but until that came through I was placed in command of a training company of new recruits for an infantry rifle company. Those orders for flight school never came until I was in the South Pacific. ~At Camp Wolters we were to train raw troops and we were supposed to have a full cadre of enlisted non-commissioned officers and officers. We didn't have any other officers and just a few NCOs. N3 a newly minted second lieutenant, I had only the vaguest idea about what I was to do. But I was blessed with a first sergeant named Charles Baker, who was a twice- wounded veteran Of World War I and a 25-year veteran. ~My first day in the company the first sergeant asked 'what the Lieutenant desired.' I said, 'Let us step in the C.O.'s office.' I closed the door and spoke to him about my desires. I asked him if it was possible for him to keep my ass out of trouble. He replied, '[ believe the lieutenant has it made.' That was my first command decision and one of my best. In the next several weeks I learned more about commanding troops than I could ever have imagined." From Camp Wolters, Upham was sent to Camp Adair, Oregon, as part of the training cadre for the 1 04th Division. In 1944 he received orders and was sent to New Caledonia in the Pacific to join the 25th Infantry Division. The 25th had been part of the invasion of Guadalcanal and was just returning from New Zealand, where they had been on rest and relaxation. On New Caledonia they began to train for the invasion of Luzon in the Philippines. "I was assigned as a rifle platoon leader to Company a, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Our company was composed of some Guadalcanal veterans and some replacements like myself. In early 1945 we began the invasion of Luzon, landing on the beach at San Fernando. We had some resistance on the beach, but it was light. We fought our way to the highway that went north and south on the island and we headed north. Our goal was to cut off the Japanese in the . ~ north end of the island from those in the south." ~We would be in combat for 162 consecutive days. We sfarted on the beach at San Fernando and ended at Salata Pass. For 162 days ~ was climb, get behind something, return fire and start dim bing again. Shortly after we got to the top, they dropped the A-bomb and the war end~.. The 25th Division would lose over 3,000 men the first 30 days of the invasion. When B Company landed on the beach at ~n Fernando, it contained 167 men and 6 officers, including Upham. One hundred and sixty two days later there were 27 of the original enlisted men left and Upham was the only officer. He was now commanding the company. During the 162 days of constant combat, they would receive 150 enlisted replacements and nine officer replacements. When the fighting ended there were 67 men, total, remaining in the company. During the Philippine invasion Upham would be wounded twice and one of his squad leaders, Sgt. Cooley, would receive . the Congressional Medal of Honor. Cooley was awarded the medal for saving his squad from a grenade that had been tossed into their midst. He put hiS helmet over the grenade and laid on his helmet. He was unable to survive his wounds but saved the men in his squad. That is what some people are willing to do to protect those they are responsible for. Next week is Upham's personal story of combat on the island of Luzon and the remainder of his career in the army, which included the invasion of Korea by North Korean forces. Jack W. Upham's name can be found on lI1e Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. For more information, to make ,a contribution, or if you know a World War II Veteran whose story needs 10 be told, contact the BWM at www;veteransmemorial. dig Dr Bill Youngkln at (979) 260-7030. Thp F.";O-lp I One in a series of tributes to members of "The Greatest ir Generation" who served our country during World War II ~ ~ Second of two parts By Bill Youngkln Special to The Eagle In last week's story Jack W. Upham and the men of the 25th Infantry Division, as part of the invasion of the Philippines, landed on Luzon Island at San Fernando Beach. They would be In combat for 162 consecutive days. During this time Upham and the 167 enlisted men and nine officers of Infantry Company B, 27th Infantry Regiment. 25th Infantry Division would suffer significant losses. Of the original men in the company, only 27 enlisted men and Upham, the only officer, remained when the fighting concluded. Their company received 150 enlisted replacements and nine officer replacements. When the fighting was over, 67 men were left with Upham, who had been wounded twice and was then serving as the company commander. ~Shortly after we took the beach and the road that cut cross the island, we came under a counterattack by Japanese tanks at night. Tanks are difficult for infantry to defend against, but it can be very intimidating at night. Fortunately for us they had to attack across rice fields, which limited their maneuverability. &When we knocked out the lead tank the others had to go around it, which was difficult or impossible for the tanks because of the rice fields. Many of the tanks just became stationary artillery'" and machine gun sites and we were able to take them out:ft. It was during this tank batUe that Upham was to receive the first of his two wounds. ~I ended up with a light wound in my leg. I was taken back to the MASH hospital where they gave me a penicillin shot in my rear, a dressing on my leg and told me where the front was located. I hitchhiked back to my company." Upham's second wound occurred in the mountains near the end of the fighting. "We were trying to take Balete Pass when artillery came in. We were in a forest area and one of the shells detonated in the trees above us. It sent a foot-long splinter of wood into my back. I received pretty much the same treatment as I did for the first wound.ft ' In combat you never know wtlen you might be injured or worse. Sometimes it is when it'is least expected. Such was the circumstance of lipham's best friend, Chaplin Scanell, a Catholic Chaplain from New York. "He had been in every combat situation we encountered. He exposed himself to enemy fire many times to assist the medics with the wounded or to conduct last rites for dying soldiers. Most of the time he walked upright in the middle of a fight and never got a scratch. When we were about through with the fighting, we I were standing together behind our lines when it appeared he had stumbled and felL When I tried to help him up I saw he h.ad been shot between the eyes and was dead. I never heard a shot or saw where the bullet could have come from. It was just a random stray bullet. You just sorta cry over one like that." When the war was over, Upham was part of the occupation forces in Japan. He had decided to remain in the Anny and accepted an appointment to attend flight school in 1947. After finishing flight school he was assigned to Ft. Lewis Washington and placed in command of the division headquarters aviation section. In 1949 he was Shipped to Japan to the 24th Infantry Division, then occupying Japan, to command the division headquarters aviation section. On June 25, 1950, the North Koreans came over the border and began the invasion of Korea. Upham would be one of the first sent to Korea. "The North Koreans came over the border on June 25th and I was sent to Korea on June 26th, my birthday, to help as best we could. Our primary job was to road block and slow things down so we could establish an effective army able to defend against the North Koreans. "I flew scouting missions to locate the advancing North Korean army, helped direct artillery and re-supplied our lines as best we could. Our division at the end of the first 30 days was down to 13 percent combat effective. We were overrun at the Kim River, which was the first big battle of the Korean War... "At Sue Won, south of Seoul, we put more units in and were again overrun. We would dig in, hold and then move back, trying to give ourselves enough time to establish a reasonably strong line, which we finally did. Then for the next 45 days we chewed up the North Korean army, pushing them back across the Yalu River, 200 miles to the north. That is where the Chine~ came in and pushed usback.ft After finishing his tour of Korea, Upham was ~ent back to the states as an instructor pilot. After contracting polio he retired In 1957 from the Army. He has owned and sold two businesses, including EOS Office Supply, and has been in the investment business since 1979. He served for 22 years on various boards of COllege Station and was part of their Plan 2000 committee. Mlooking back, I have no explanation for my being alive since the Philippines, I have no idea of why others and not me. Survival in my case, I guess, was just luck. ft Jack W Upham 5 name can be found on the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. For more information, to make a contribution, or ff you know a World War II Veteran whose story needs to be told, contact the BWM at www.veteransmemorial.org or Bill Youngkin .. (979) 260-7030. The E~le "