Maurice Leon, a Madison, Wisconsin resident, discusses his service in the 33rd Infantry Division, 122nd Field Artillery Battalion in the Pacific during World War II. Leon reports he was born in Chicago but moved to Rockford (Illinois) at age eight. His father, a salesman, moved the family often. Leon graduated from high school in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) and completed some post-graduate education before attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he worked in the Law Library. The day Pearl Harbor was attacked, Leon recalls listening to Roosevelt's famous "Day of Infamy" speech on a radio in the Law Library, with other staff and students. Leon explains he was drafted in 1941 but deferred until spring semester ended. In 1942, he was inducted into the Army and sent to Fort Lewis (Washington) for training with the 122nd Field Artillery Battalion. Leon describes training in the cold in Yakima (Washington) followed by extreme heat in the Mojave Desert (California). He mentions the Army was looking for people who had gone to college and made him a Sergeant. Leon tells of his first assignment on Kauai (Hawaii), defending the island against Japanese submarines. After nine months there, Leon's Field Artillery Battalion was shipped to New Guinea where they built a base for another outfit. Leon mentions he suffered from diarrhea and exhaustion due to a lack of salt. After constructing the base, the battalion was transferred up the coast to Finschhafen (New Guinea). Leon calls Finschhafen "an interesting area" and comments on the aboriginal people who lived there. Next, he describes engaging in a skirmish in Dutch New Guinea, along with the Marines, to prevent the Japanese from reaching an island where a U.S. airbase was stationed. In New Guinea, Leon discusses an unusual method of training infantry to get used to fighting with artillery: his field artillery battalion would position themselves twenty yards away from the infantry and fire on the Japanese, and the infantry would advance and then quickly retreat. Leon criticizes the infantry who replaced the 33rd Division in New Guinea for failing to hold onto the territory. After New Guinea, Leon reports General MacArthur ordered his unit to the Philippines to help with the Baguio Campaign. Leon reveals he did not "have a high regard for MacArthur" but admits he had a good mind for strategy. Leon outlines his trek through the Philippines: they landed in Lingayen Gulf, made their way to Manila, and then went north into the mountains following artillery battalions who had arrived earlier. Leon unfavorably characterizes the Japanese artillery, saying "It wasn't howitzers. They didn't know how to lob it...so [the shell] would pop up in the air." He recalls arriving in Baguio City (Philippines) over the mountains and finding it destroyed except for a cathedral which was being used as a hospital. Leon touches upon interactions between American soldiers and the Baguio people, an indigenous tribe. He mentions the Baguio brought supplies for the Army in large baskets over the mountains. Also, Leon tells how a communication unit set up trip wire and defenses around his camp, and a caribou got caught by the barbed wire, angering the farmer who owned it. Next, Leon reports his battalion went to Lagoya (Philippines) for rest and relaxation; however, General MacArthur called them back to round up Japanese deserters in the Intercoast Northbay. Leon clarifies that his battery was detached from the battalion and accompanied a Filipino Army Division commanded by American officers. He describes setting up artillery in rice paddies near a small town called Cervantes. Leon portrays the Filipinos as scared of the Japanese Army and claims they refused to attack until the white officers threatened them. In contrast, Leon mentions another indigenous group, the Igorot people, "hated the Japanese" and were hard fighters. Leon spends time discussing radio activated shells that would explode on the way down the mountain, targeting Japanese soldiers or other obstacles in their path; however, Leon complains that clouds also set the shells off, making them less useful. Leon tells two stories about a friend from law school who served in many of the same places as Leon and who had three ships bombed out from under him. This friend was present for the Battle of Borneo (Indonesia) where, due to poor coordination, an Australian cruiser was destroyed by Japanese ships while American dive bombers were engaged with Japanese planes above. Leon also comments that this friend, who was Jewish, got into a fistfight with a commanding officer who made antisemitic remarks. Leon characterizes his friend as feisty and inspiring. Returning to his own experience, Leon mentions he expected to be part of the Invasion of Japan and had just left the Philippines when he learned the atomic bomb was dropped. He outlines MacArthur's original plan for invading Japan which involved using his Infantry Division and the 122nd Field Artillery as bait to distract the Japanese from the real invasion from the North. As Leon explains: "we would be the suckers." Leon describe landing in Osaka (Japan) and traveling in old trucks to Hamiji, where his battalion took over a former Japanese naval academy. He comments on how dark the cities were without electricity. Leon poignantly describes convoying at night through a city that had been completely burned out, seeing only two lights from Japanese gendarmes carrying lanterns. Leon touches upon relations between the Americans soldiers and Japanese civilians. He knows of one U.S. soldier arrested for fraternizing with a Japanese woman, which the Army forbade. The soldier was forced to reenlist for one year as punishment. Leon also tells of troops in Hawaii dating "AJAs"-- Americans of Japanese Ancestry. Leon clarifies he spent nine months in Hawaii, nine months in New Guinea, nine months in Philippines, and a couple months in Japan. Upon his homecoming, Leon states he had a stomach ulcer that went uncured for four years. He mentions how his wife Dorothy helped him through his illness by cooking eggs and bland food. Leon states he finished college at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and then used the G.I. Bill to attend Law School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he once again worked in the Law Library. Leon had a long career as Director of the Law Library. He recalls witnessing protests and arrests on campus in the 1960s during the Vietnam War and tells of sending his staff home early because tear gas was entering the library.
