S-2 Leads Jungle Patrol (3 SEP 1943)

Photo By Erin Thompson | Sketch of landing operations from “25th Infantry Division in the Central Solomons.” (1943)  

UNITED STATES

09.05.2023

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence

by Michael E. Bigelow, INSCOM Command Historian

3 SEPTEMBER 1943
On 3 September 1943, 1st Lt. Radford Hyde, the S-2 of the 35th Infantry’s 1st Battalion, led a patrol into the jungles of the Vella Lavella in the South Pacific. Hyde’s patrol successfully confirmed the location of a Japanese force blocking his battalion’s advance along the coast and gave his commander a more accurate assessment of the enemy’s capabilities.

Almost three weeks earlier—on 15 August 1943—24-year-old Hyde and his battalion, commanded by Maj. Delbert Munson, had landed on the small island. The island was part of the strategic Solomons chain. Major Munson’s battalion formed a part of Brig. Gen. Robert McClure’s landing force of six thousand soldiers. Once ashore, McClure’s men established a defense of Vella Lavella’s southern tip, actively patrolling inland. By 28 August, Munson’s battalion anchored the right flank along the island’s eastern coast.

With the base of operations secure, General McClure ordered Munson to advance along the coast to Lambu Lambu, a small village on the island’s northeast corner. Capt. Fred Brewster, the 35th Infantry’s S-2, estimated the unit would face minimal resistance from a handful of unsupplied, malaria-ridden remnants of Japanese naval units. On 30 August, Munson sent a company forward as an advanced guard with the rest of the battalion following the next day. The advance’s greatest impediment was the thick jungle but, by 2 September, the company had reached the village.

The following morning, Kalib and Jim, two native guides or “sentrymen,” reported that many Japanese occupied nearby Boko Mission and Baka Baka. To verify their report, Munson sent out two patrols. The first patrol, guided by Jim, headed toward the Boko Mission. For the second patrol, Munson tasked his S-2 with investigating Baka Baka. Taking Kalib to guide him, Hyde’s patrol included six other Americans: five soldiers of his own S-2 section and a Lieutenant King of Company A. Hyde also had the service of a New Zealand non-commissioned officer with five well- trained Fiji Island scouts. Wearing fatigue caps rather than helmets and armed with carbines and Thompson sub-machine guns, the fourteen-man patrol set out for the day-long patrol.  

Hyde planned to follow an inland trail west through the jungle then pick up another trail breaking to the north that would lead them to Baka Baka. The razor-backed ridges and dense jungle undergrowth forced the patrol to move in single file with the interval between men determined by existing visibility. Moving slowly, the patrol paused when an occasional noise to the front or rear necessitated investigation; however, no threat materialized on the westward movement. Once Kalib guided the patrol to the trail heading north toward Baka Baka, however, the Fiji scouts picked up signs of Japanese in the area. In addition, the patrol noted Japanese signs nailed to trees at trail intersections, apparently indicating directions. The patrol continued until it overheard voices and detected other signs of activity.

Hyde, deciding his patrol was too large to go undetected, split his group in two. He had six men form a small perimeter along the trail, while he led the rest down the trail. As they moved, five Japanese soldiers stumbled on the patrol. In a short firefight, Hyde and King killed three and the other two escaped. Hyde reassembled his patrol in its small perimeter but, to prevent discovery, he quickly had his patrol retrace its steps. Hyde continued his mission until he heard sounds “as though men were digging emplacements or positions within [the] area…an occasional clatter of a canteen or mess kit.” Moving his patrol in the direction of the noises, Hyde’s men were able to work their way into a position with good cover and concealment where they observed a detail of twenty Japanese approach a stream to bathe and fill canteens. Once the detail hurried away, Hyde had his patrol move back to his own battalion’s position.

During his patrol, Hyde ascertained the Japanese had occupied the Baka Baka area as reported by Kalib and Jim. Moreover, the Japanese soldiers were establishing defensive positions. At the stream, they appeared healthy, in good spirits, and their uniforms and small-arms equipment were in good condition. All this countered the information received from the regiment, thus giving Major Munson a better appreciation of the enemy situation. Thus warned, the battalion defeated a Japanese attack the very next day.

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• Date Taken: 09.05.2023
• Date Posted: 09.05.2023 13:32
• Story ID: 452758
• Location: US