Survival lies in training

Media

Part of Philippine Armed Forces Journal

Title: Survival lies in training
Language: English
Source: Philippine Armed Forces Journal Volume IX (No. 6) August 1956
Rights
Fulltext: PHI LIPPINES A.RMED FORCES JOURNAl, T HF. MONTH'S R~ Survival Lies m Training By Sergeant First Class lloyd C. Pate I took my basic train much as see one. ing {'arly in 1950, most Just eight months later I was un people thought the next war der fire in an old fashioned wat· in was going to be fought with push. Korea. You can imagine my sur huttons, and public opinion was prise when our first action turned against ruggl'd training for recruits. out to be hand-to.hand fighting and The bayonet was regarded as mt ob- the first North Kore;rn l saw jumped solelf' weapon ami not once during up and was fixing to t·un me through my fourteen weeks of basic did I so with his obsolete bayonet. By ttll the theories of the most lo the infantry (because he wanted •uh•anced students of men's minds to make up for a favorite uncle who tmd motivations, Lloyd C. Pate, in. "had been turned out of the infantry .<teat/ of resisting his Communist with a dishonorable dischwrge" J and .·apt?rs for two years, seven months went to Korea. There lte was as. ,,u/ ~ineteen days, and organizing an signed to King Company, 19th fn . r•nofficial group called "Pate's Re· (antry (2.4th Divi.~ionJ and became aetionaries,'' could well luwe been n nn ammo bearer for a 57mm refti'Ttlroat. A product of a broken coilless rifle. On 1 Janu.aru 1951 home, batt<Jred and buffeted from he was captured by the Chinet<e Complace to place from early childhood, munists. He says he became a "re at thi1·teen he was a bartender of uctionary'' because he was "stub· l1ootleg whiskey in a combination born'' and "didn't like u 911y to stand roadlwu.~e-cflllhouse. over me und preach things I knew He completed nine grades of spa- were a pack of lies." Last 'stwnntr rarti~ schooling and then in Decent- while in New York as a witness in bel' 19H, a. month before his si:r- the trial of Sergeant James r. Galteenllt birthday, he told a ruruiting lagher. he told the story of his life officer he was seventeen, nnd en- Ul!d his ordeal us a POJV to a new~ . listed in the A rmy. He v!ent to paperman, B. J. Cutler. Tile story Japan an !liP, /.ut after 25 June 1950 in his own words was published in "{lovfed ttp" RO as to be tronsfP.rred the New York Herald T ribune UJ !d I didn't even know what to do to leave the hospital at rort Jackwith my bayonet. All I ~ould do was son and went around to talk to Gl's step back and ~hoot him with my in training on the post, I ~arne close Ml rifle. This was a very bad tac- to getting fed up with the Army. tic to use in hand-to-hand fighting The recruits seemed to resent the because my rifle bullet went clear Army for pulling them into service through the Gook. If there had been and taking from their civilian jobs. any Gl's behind him, that bullet They thought training was a laugh could have killed them. and told me how they had got their It wm. thinking back over this in- noncoms and officers chewed out by cident and others like it that made writing home to their mothers, or to me decide to st£.y in the Army :dter the Inspector General, or by crying I came back to this wuntry. I fi- on the chaplain's shoulder. gured I had learned some things the It's not the place of a sergeant to hard way in combat and in prison lecture the Army on how to do things camps that could save American Jives or to tell the American people how in the next war and I re-enlisted to to run their Army, but I wouldn't teach them to young soldiers. be honest if I didn't take this chance In the beginning, when I begll'n to tell an i'lllpol·tant thing I learned: later expanded into lhe book Rene tionary! from which the following article was drawn. The book reveals a tough-minded, resilient '11Uln >ttterly foreign to any degree of softness llnd dependence upon others. A man without much pity (or weakness, but not indictive when confronted by it. Whtn by accident he met Sergeant Gallagher at Governors Island before tl1e court-martial began, he spoke to him as one soldier to another: "I said, 'Hi, Gallagher, how you doing?' beat.aruund the-bush attitude townrd "'Okay, Pate,' he said. 'How about the training of Americans for war. you?' That is his job today at F'ort Jack" 'Aw, so-so,' I said and walked son, S.C., where he is an instructor rtway. There didn't seem to be any in an advanced leaders' school. In point in saying a.nything else. He the article that follows, Sergeant l.:new ·why I was there and I knew Pate's plain-spoken arguments that u•hat I load to do and that was it." training rannot be soft are brut(l.lly He h(LS the same direct let'R.not· effective. PHILIPPINES ARMED PDRCES .JOURNAL i./: • j' The Army is very capable of taking gets reprima-nded fot trying to lliake care of its men and teaching them this boy learn something that may how to survive in combat. This calls save his life later on. for rugged training and the public What happens when this man gets should not try to stop the Army into combat? He can't sit down and from getting men ready in the ways wl"ite a letter saying, "Mom, they're it knows are best. shooting at me." The mother can't I'LL never forget one case of ci. write the Congressman and he won't vilian interference. It was back in write the enemy and say, "Stop 1950 and things were pretty rugged shooting at th:rt boy. He's a cleanin Korea. A brewing company back cut American boy and he doesn't like in the States told the Army it wanted to be shot at." to send some free beer to the men When this man gets into combat in Korea. And don't think we he's going to wonder why he wasn't wouldn't have liked to come off the taught in basic what he should front lines and sit down for a few know, why they didn't show him what minutes to enjoy a beer. to expect and what to do. And when The Army thought the idea was the mother gets a missing-in-action okay, but a- bunch of women got telegram and the politician looks over their heads together and had their the casualty .lists, everybody is go. clubs and organizations jump all over ing to stop and wonder why. the Army. "Don't send our boys FROM th~ end of 1953 to July of beer," they said. "Send them fruit 1955, I was an instructor at Camp juices instead." And the Army did. Gordon, Georgia. I tal'ght technique I hope some of these women read of fire, squad tactics, scouting and this. Because I feel they would be patrolling-all important subjects. glad to know that we used their cans They not only can save a man's life, of fruit juice for target practice. but a whole squad. We couldn't This is just one example of the way make the problems very realistic bethat people who don't know a thing cause t he men were always writing about it stick their noses into the home and telling how dose they business of the Army. came to being killed. They were It happens in other ways. Say a exaggerating the point, trying to man comes into the Army and he sound big to the folks back home, doesn't like it. He thinks it's too but· the folks back home were puttough for him and he sits down and ting pressure on the Army. '· writes his mother a long sob story. Nobody in the Army today beShe takes the letter to her preach- lieves in abusing or maiming young er or women's clubs and they write soldiers. But sometimes they are to a Congressman. Then the poli- mule-headed and you can't even use tician writes to the commander of profanity in front of them without this boy's post. The letter gets getting busted. There are so~e solpassed right down the line until fi- diers who will not do what you tell nally some noncom or junior officer them no matter how many times you say it. I have seen one boot in worst mistake we can make with the behind turn these men into the young soldiers. The habits they get best damn soldiers you ever saw. The into in training are the habits they Army and they are better off for it, take into combat and captivity. but it's against the law. And the man who carried tales in IT is no longer enough to teach the States was the same man who a young soldier how to fight in com- ratted to the Chinks in prison camps. bat. He should also know how to We can stop them from learning survive and how to behave in a pri. that kind of thing here. son camp if he ever gets captured. ANY soldier captured by a ComThe Army lea1·ned a lot from the munist army can expect to undergo Korean War and our men are now a period of brainwashing, which is 'getting better training in everything just a new word for an old trick~ from bayonet fighting to how to re- to get a man to turn traitor against sist Communist brainwashing. his country. When a soldier knows There is the matter of food. A what to expect, he has a better lot of soldiers, especially young re- chance of resisting the Communists. cruits. gripe about Army chow. They The Army must teach men the tricks say they don't like it and they sneak the Chinese used in Korea because off to the PX tv stuff themselves other Communist armies, if they get with hot dogs and soft drinks. This the chance, will probably use the is a bad habit to let them get into same system. because I know men who were trained The first thing the Communist do that way who didn't come back from is put the men through Q' starvation Korea because of it. A ma'fl should period. As a general rule it lasts learn to eat what he gets. six months. They will admit that The food in the Chinese prison the food is bad and the medical care ~~ 1 camps was sorry. It was much is worse. But they will blame it ~ worse than the slop a farmer feeds on the Americans and say they are ~'l oF his hogs. But it would keep you bombing medical convoys and supply alive if you ate it. You may have trains. had to hold your nose but you could Theil' purpose during the starva· eat it. A lot of men wouldn't try. tion period is to kill off the weak They said "1 can't" because they ;md wounded soldiers. It isn't true didn't like the taste of the Chine"se that the Communists want to conslop. And a lot of those men are vert the weakest men. They want still over there. only the men with the strongest will Another thing we can do in train- to live to be left because they think ing is to discourage soldiers from they can make better Communist out running to their sergeants or lieut- of them. enants with tales about other men. All through these first six months Some non-coms will listen when a they give short lectures on Commusoldier tattles about another man nism, nothing very heavy. They start and will thank him, but it is the by telling about the bad points of the American government. Then will bring up incidents from Amet·i they go into the good points of Com- can history and politics. Usually the munism. The whole idea is to get Communists instructors are much bet the men to start doubting their own ter educated on the facts than the country. average [American] soldier and it is By this time the Communists wi!l vet·y possible for them to twist the have selected the men they think are facts around to meet their own needs. really fa!ling for their line. These IT is right at this point where men they take aside for m1 advanced we can stop them. If out· soldiers Communist course with lectures are taught American history and poabout the theories of Marx, Engels, lilies and about how the economic sysLcnin and Stalin. They will say all tern works in the United States, they this stuff is above the head of ~:he will be able to argue against the lies average prisoner and this appeals to the Communists tell them. The Arthe men they have picked. my can do some of this, but not all. Then they dream up some idea and It's mostly up to the soldiet·'s pa try to push it ove!'. In Korea it ww; rents and his school and church be. about germ warfare. It's very im. fore he gets into the Army. pot·tant to them to get the men to I remembet· one line the Commu pat·ticipate in the progt·am by sign- nists were very successful with. They ning petitions, making voice record- kept throwing up the fact that the ings, and writing articles. They tt·y American government had taken to make the men do something, no shiploads of potatoes and dumped malter how small. Then they hold them in the ocean. Their argument that over their heads, telling them was that the government should have they get home. Once a man does taken these potatoes and sold them to that small fa-vor fo1· them, they've poor people at low prices. A lot of got him. men nevet· knew that the reason for In the cases of some men in Korea, dumping the potatoes was to save the the Communists tried to force them fat·mcrs who grew them. It was \·ery to co-operate by using threats of pu- easy for the Chinese to begin convert nishment or death. These cases were ing men on this point alone. very ra!'<! because a'S a rule they don't After a while they start criticism have to force a man; there were meetings. At first you are supposed more than enough who willingly co- to criticize yourself. Later they inoperated with them. sist that you criticize or in'form on All the while they hammer on un. other men. Gradually they try to employment and t·acial segregation in· set men llgainst one another. They the United States, that soldiers are tell you that a good Communist inthe underdogs of the war, and that forms on everybody. These criticism there are men sitting back in the meetings can get a lot of rat~ started. United Sta1:es getting rich and fat off IN Korea there were some wellthe war. educated men in my POW company. During most of their lectures, they Some of them went with the Com munists, others 1·esisted them. The Chinks knew that the educated men were in the way of the indoetrina. tion program, and those who wouldn't work with them were threatened inCommuniot lndO<'trination r>rOR"ram. In l r>ite of rell"al<'d ..,ver~ punisbm,.nt. h~ ltudtoutly defied all lllt<>mpts at indoctrination and cnrouoagcd fellow prioon~u of war to n •lst. B7 hll eouratu•ous t:"xnmple nnd le:ul· enbip, be raised the rnornlc of fellow prioonerl, otiffrn~d th,.ir nsistan~e and to keeping their mouths shut. Edu- ~~1·!~"~"'~e 'Co:;.'.':.:'nl~ca;~~.~~ 1 :'; !:~: cation in itself didn't seem to have Y ert nrioonen of war to eommunism. too much to do with whether a man ~~;e~~ile~:~~·:ed~t~~~di~fm~~:C'!~dn 1~; turned progressive Ol" reactionary. \Ve military ""rvice. had educated men and_ illiterates on SOME men in the prison camps both sid_es. Hut pride m themselv~s, thought that by co-operating with the and_ the1r countr~, or stub~orness ~n communists they could improve their holdmg to -.:he1r Jdeas, or JUSt plam food and living conditions to a great hate for the enemy kept most of the extent, but they were wrong. The men stt·a1ght that I knew. progressh·es in Korea sometimes got In our camps there were some a few favors and a little better food, men who were ready 1.o swing over but nothing to make it worth while. to the Chinese even before the indoc- The other prisoners could have got ,._ t!'ination program was really rolling. the same food if they'd stuck to Back in the States and in the Army gether. these men were brown-nosers, bul I remember several times in the lies and show.offs. All the Chinks camps our food dropped way below ha~ to do in Korea Wa'S give them avera~e, and average was pretty bad. a chance to show their hue colo1·s. A large group of the prisone1·s got ON November 6, 1954, at Camp tojZether and refused to eat the food Gordon, the Army awarded me the or listen to the Communist Jeetures. Commendation Ribbon for the way The food immediately improved. This I acted in the prison camps. I would didn't happen just once or twice, but have preferred to have won my de· a number of times . ./ coration on the battlefield but I bring THE most important thing the it up because the man who wrote the Army can teach its soldiers about citation summed up how to resist captivity is that they arc stronger the Communists better that I cll'll. than the enemy if they stick together. This is what he wrote; I admit it The Chinks knew this and they were makes me very proud: afraid of it. That's why they tried Sn...-••nt Lloyd c. Pate. Infantr7. to set US against each other and it is Unit<-<! Stat.:• A•my. di•tln~rul~hed hi~- why they backed down when we re:~erb:rof ":~':O~~u~o~l.v'~o,.;~~~~~ .. ~. ll~~: fused to eat their slop 01" listen to lfBni .. •d vroup• nf f~llow prlooner• t,o their lies. ~~·;;~~~ .~~u;:'~~~\."~h•(;~~.~~~:io:;d~;:~ From experience as a POW, I ~'rmfnf~~\,.~.~~r>~, .• ;;,:~~ rl~•~h~~~~~~m~~~~~- know that if soldiers stay togl'ther ~· rn••'"M<· llt<>••P• in every way, take care of theil' II~ aloo _l'<'r..-.nally and OJ'M'nly voi~e-d siek and weak, buck each other up ~~~,:-.~~: A0 ,:'dn;~n~th~~~n;~": ;:~~·~~ t~~ when the going gets rough, and re b sist the enemy in every way, he asked by several Chinese what had won't be able to brainwash Ol' con- happened to the diehard American vert any one of them. He'll be sick soldier of World War II. After see. and tired of prisoners who act that ing the way POW's were denying way and he'll want to get the war their country, the Chinks said they over sooner to get rid of them. were ashamed to admit they hll'd Not too long ago President Eisen. fought alongside the Americans in hower issued a new code of conduct that war. for prisoner~ o~ war .. 1 agree with They had no use for the reactioneveJ·y word Jn Jt especurlly the part aries-that's for sure. We meant about not telling the enemy a damn trouble for them. But they never thing e~cept your name, age, r~nk had as much contempt for us they and ser1al number. And one seet10n had for the men who worked with in the code summed up how a man them. should feel: If I am c•ptured I wlll continue to reaitt bJ' a ll ITOI'•n• auilabl~. I will m• ke everJ" effort to eoeape 11nd aid oth· ero to eocape. I will ac:cept neithtr Jl•r<>le nor opedol fnon fr<>m the enemr. In the code, the Preoldent aho oald: I will r.aver foqret that I 1m an AmerIcan firrhtlnll' m11n, rtol)(lnolble Cor nv actiono, and ~lcoted to tht prlnelplu which mode mr country free. I will ~7·~.:.~:. God 11nd In the Unl~ Statu A MAN who is captured should remember he is still capable of fighting ba"Ck even though he is a pris· oner and no longer has his weapons. No matter how small a thing may seem, if he will go ahead and do it against the enemy, it may develop into something big. He must always be on the lookout for the chance to WE didn't know these words when kill or harass the enemy. When the we were in Korea but many of us opportunity comes, he should be able had that thought in mind all during and ready to make t he most of it. our time in the prison camps. I If we train our reeruits in this know that at any time we wouldn't way, if we teach them aboutr.old weah8'Ve been surpl'ised to see Patton pons like the bayonet and how to tanks come rolling over the hills af- handle all the new ones, if we give ter the Chinks. This thought helped the men training soldiers more auus keep going. thority, if we make the discipline The soldier who allows himself to strict and fair, the next time we be indoctrinated not only lets down need an Army we'll have fewer men hiS country, but he doesn't even win taken prisoner and these will be men any respect from the enemy. I Wl\8 we can be proud of. IRtprinttd f-rom the AHMY magu:intl