Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
2:38 | L.A. Hensley shares his story of being drafted by the Army; the skills he learned during basic training and his thirty day journey to New Guinea where sea sickness got the better of him.
Keywords : Basic Training Scouts Sharp-shooter New Guinea
L.A. Hensley recalls a battle in New Guinea when and the other scouts encountered Japanese troops in the hills. The mission of these scouts was to ferret out the enemy. In this particular mission, they were separated from the main troops.
During the invasion in Manila, L.A. Hensley recalls moments of intense gunfire between U.S. and Japanese troops when he and the other scouts were caught in the crossfire. L.A. lived to tell the story even though for a time he was deemed MIA.
L.A. Hensley describes the atmosphere in Leyte. From the massive mosquitoes to the sound of the Japanese planes.
L.A. Hensley recalls a particular incident in Leyte where one of his fellow scouts took a shot to the head from a Japanese sniper. He follows up with how his team reacted to that sniper and how he personally would battle snipers with flamethrowers.
L.A. Hensley thinks back to training camp prior to his service in the Pacific. It was his boxing skills that may have gotten him out of quite a few rounds KP duty.
L.A. Hensley remembers the traumatic injury that took him out of the war. He also recalls the unfortunate fate of the doctor who fixed him soon after the operation.
