1944
Mariana Bay, Saipan
The foxhole was crowded with five people. Garrison knew that Japs were crawling through the brush ahead of them, but they were hard to see in the dimming light. He had to get to the remaining foxholes and get ammo to the men. Since he’d lost a significant amount when he’d fallen, he’d have to distribute what he had left.
The shots on their side slowed down and then stopped. He used the short reprieve to regroup with his men to get on to the next foxhole. His squad was on the other side of the secured area, and when the firing began again, Garrison knew exactly where it was coming from.
He, Fielding, and Crane moved on to several more foxholes. Now that it was dark, he called out the word Christmas to answer the challenge word, Wombat, to alert those in the foxholes that they weren’t the enemy. They made sure everyone had enough ammo and moved on quickly. They were nearing the foxholes under fire and the blanket of night had fallen. All Garrison could hear when they jumped into the next foxhole was Private Rix yelling out in pain. Garrison went to him first and instantly saw he needed medical attention.
He had Crane take Rix to the corpsman at HQ. A Japanese soldier’s body was flung across the foxhole, with blood dripping from his mouth. Another Japanese soldier lay a few feet away with his face down and his leg at an awkward angle.
He needed to get the ammo to his men, the final of the three platoon squads. It was time to move on. Garrison grabbed his can and Fielding picked up his own and Crane’s and ran ahead.
Garrison quickly pushed himself up and out of the foxhole and his boots dug deep into the ground. He was halfway to the next foxhole when the thought-to-be-dead Japanese soldier grabbed his ankle. As Garrison fell, he saw the enemy bare his teeth and lift his knife.