I did a little research on this event for an author who had heard the story anecdotally. I don't know if -Sgt. Charles Harrell, of Yuma, Ariz. and Pvt. Max Peterson, of Marlington, W. Va.,were actually in the 721st ROB but they were serving under General Joseph Stilwell on the Bengal-Assam line. Lots of additional various articles and information at link below
2 YANKS GO JAP HUNTING IN INDIA
(By RELMAN MORIN)
Kohima, India, May 27—
(Delayed)—(AP)—Two American soldiers, each with a three-day pass and a convincing line of sales talk, have brought a new version of the bushman’s holiday out of the Burma jungles today.
They spent their holidays killing Japanese.
“It took a little fixing,” said T-Sgt. Charles Harrell, of Yuma, Ariz.
“But it was worth it,” added Pvt. Max Peterson, of Marlington, W. Va., “yes, sir, quite an experience.”
They’re railroaders, attached to the special corps of American trainmen operating the Bengal-Assam line, which feeds the Allied armies in this area. They had never seen any combat.
So when they got their furloughs a short while ago they decided to go and find some.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounds. The nearest active front was in Manipur, where British troops are busily engaged in wiping out Japanese.
To go with the British, the two Americans obtained special permission from their own commanders, hitch hiked up the road from Dimapur, and kept going until they finally found a regiment of Scots.
They told the British commander what they wanted, produced their credentials, and went through the usual interrogation.
“We got a couple of good breaks, meeting that outfit,” said Peterson. “It was getting set for an attack. And it had tanks.”
Both men had had some experience in tanks. They set about talking their way into the operation. Armor, they said, was just their dish.
Probably more amused than convinced, the British commander finally consented.
The operation lasted 13 hours.
“And it was a dilly,” said Harrell. “These Scotch boys are tough guys.”
It seems the Japanese, pursuing their customary tactics, held their positions as long as any of them were still alive. The result was that both Harrell and Peterson actually saw the shells from their respective tanks as they crashed into enemy strongpoints barely 150 yards away. There were casualties in the crews of both tanks, too.
A day later, when the operation was finished, the two Americans went back to the more prosaic job of pushing freight up the railroad.
“Wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” they said.
More articles HERE
721st history is here Rails of War HERE
