Heroes: the Army
"... That night five tanks attacked. Me and Johnny Johnson were a bazooka team. We hit two of the tanks. They just kept going. At 3:00 that morning one was coming back and we knocked it out. The tanks had killed 5 men from our company..."
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TSgt. Orey Lee Cardwell
Army Serial No. 34 580 031
TSgt Orey Lee Caldwell, Army Serial No. 34 480 031, Served 21 November 42 to 21 November 1945. A WWII Army Veteran and member of the 184th Infantry recorded the following stress related incidents on December 8, 1996.
He passed away on December 16, 1997.
Date: February 1944
Place: Marshall Islands
Unit: Company I, 184th Infantry
On the 3rd day we were pulled off the line for a rest. The Japs broke thru our lines and our assistant squad leader came to warn us, but we had already heard about it on the radio. We were sitting in our foxhole, and it was dark and one of our men shot the assistant squad leader thinking he was a Jap and killed him. I can still remember how the man screamed before he died.
Witnesses:
Lt Heran
Sgt. Natali - California
Date: February 1944
Place: Marshall Islands
Unit: Company I, 184th Infantry
They put us on a little island off of Kwajline and told us to take the island. It was thick; you could hardly walk for the vines. One Jap was up in a tree and opened up fore on us. WE had to crawl under the vines. A coconut tree had been shot down and I crawled to it. Just as I was reaching up to it a black cat jumped right in my face. It nearly scared me to death. I shook for an hour.
Witnesses: Visibility on the island was so thick I don't think anyone saw the incident. I told several people about it.
Date: February 1944
Place: Marshall Islands
Unit: Company I, 184th Infantry
We fought day and night for five days. About the 2nd day we were in a foxhole that night when two Japs attacked and someone from the back shot the Japs, one fell in the hold on top of me. I threw him out of the hole and our own men kept throwing hand grenades at our foxhole, about 8 of them, trying to flush out the rest of the Japs. I kept hollering until they finally heard me and quit throwing the grenades. It was a miracle that Cassonova and I weren't killed
Witnesses:
A Mexican named Cassanova
Date: October 1944
Place: Philippine Islands
Unit: Company I, 184th Infantry
Arrived on Leyte Island in the Philippines Oct 20, 1944. We killed 20 Japs as we came onto the Island. That night five tanks attacked. Me and Johnny Johnson were a bazooka team. We hit two of the tanks. They just kept going. At 3:00 that morning one was coming back and we knocked it out. The tanks had killed 5 men from our company. One of our men accidentally shot and killed one of our own men during the battle. I witnessed the whole incident.
Witnesses:
PFC Johnny Johnson - Texas
PFC James Burrell - Mississippi
Date: October 1944 - January 1945
Place: Philippine Islands
Unit: Company I, 184th Infantry
We landed on the island during the monsoon season. It rained for days and nights. We had ringworms from our waist to our feet. We never had a chance to change our clothes. When we did get a chance to change, when we pulled our socks off, our skin would peel off with them. I'd go 4 or 5 days without eating because my nerves caused my stomach to stay upset. (Note the time period of three months)
Witnesses:
Co. I, 184th Infantry
Date: November 1944
Place: Philippine Islands
Unit: Company I, 184th Infantry
We were trying to take a hill on Leyte Island. We were already weak we only had 5 or 6 men to a squad when we should have had 12. 40 percent of our men were killed. Heat and fatigue caused at least 18 casualties. After our artillery got set up the 2nd day we finally took the hill. So many of our men cracked from the stress.
Witnesses:
Lt Bruno Sgt Jarratt - California
Lt Elfast
Date: December 1944
Place: Philippine Islands
Unit: Company I, 184th Infantry
We were fighting in the hills on Leyte Island when I became ill. I had high fever and dysentery. I couldn't get to the hospital because we were on combat patrol at the time, and didn't know where our regiment was at. I was so sick and weak the officers made me stay at the bivwack station. During that time a wounded Philippine woman was brought in. Her two children had been killed. I volunteered to take her to battalion headquarters. We had to walk 5 miles to get there. We arrived at dark. I stayed overnight there and the next day they took me to a receiving hospital. From there I went to a field hospital and then flown across the island to a General Hospital. I stayed there until I was cured of dysentery and fever, but had to stay for treatment of hookworms. I lost 50 pounds during this illness.
Witnesses: Private Jeff Hurdt
Co. Commander Capt Parker - California
Lt Leonard - Chicago
Date: April 1, 1945
Place: Okinawa Unit:
Company I, 184th Infantry
We landed on Okinawa and it was eight days later before we encountered any action. We were trying to take a hill when I was hit in the right arm by machine gun fire. Lt. Leonard, Sgt Stacy, and PFC Usry and I ran into a vacated Jap pillbox to get out of the line of fire. They put a tourniquet on my arm to try to stop the bleeding, but couldn't stop it. A major artery in my arm had been hit. I was bleeding to death. The blood had filled my boots and I was loosing color fast. Lt. Leonard told me if I didn't receive medical attention, I was going to die. I only had two choices. Stay in the pillbox and bleed to death or make a run for it with only a 50 percent chance of not getting shot to death. We were being bombarded with gunfire and artillery. I took a chance and ran for my life. Artillery fire was hitting all around me. Some of it blew me off my feet. I jumped off the hill and two medics found me. They put a pressure bandage on my arm to stop the bleeding. I was sent to a receiving hospital and they flew me to a General Hospital on Guam. I stayed in the hospital two weeks. I was sent back to my outfit.
Witnesses: Sgt Stacy
PFC Usry - Mississippi
Lt. Leonard - Chicago
Medals or Citations:
Purple Heart/Oak Leaf Cluster
Date: June 1945
Place: Okinawa
Unit: Company I, 184th Infantry
We were on patrol mopping up. We ran into a wooded area that was full of Japs. We had killed about 100 and I got hit in the leg by grenade fire.
Witnesses:
None recorded.
Medals or Citations:
Oak Leaf Cluster
Additional Images of Orey L. Caldwell
Photo of a friend mentioned in the recollection of the Marshall Islands...a Sgt. Natali. Sgt. Natali is on the left and Orey Caldwell is on the right. The images shown here were recovered after the devestating "catagory 5" hurricane known as Camille which hit the Gulf Coast of Mississippi in 1969. This accounts for the damage to the images pictured here.
Photo of Orey Caldwell (center) and friends.
Photo of Orey Caldwell.
Photo of Orey Cardwell.
Submitted by Granddaughter
Ms. Kim Dunaway
Interested in some background information?
Check out the related links below...Northern California's 184th Infantry Regiment
National World War II Memorial
The story is re-printed here on World War II Stories -- In Their Own Words with the kind permission of the the Granddaughter of Mr. Orey L. Caldwell, Ms. Kim Dunaway. Our sincerest THANKS allowing us to share some of their stories.
Original Story submitted on 2 March 2004.
Story added to website on 15 March 2004.
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