Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

t_c · 29th January 2009, 05:51 AM

Rick: Thanks for the lead, I'll have to dig into it some more (only have had time for cursory look).

Robert: That would be great, I'd really appreciate it. I'm sure it was a matter of practicality and training that drove what he chose to use. I doubt you could be too picky in war time when you just got off the sub and relied on the locals to outfit you. I'd be interested in seeing some examples of long swords from the PI anyways.

thanks,
tom

P.S. Here's an interesting excerpt from the interview regarding one of his encounters in WWII for those interested:

FMA: What was the most memorable encounter you had with the enemy?
LG: Well it is hard to try and choose one particular encounter because they were all very horrifying. One Bonsai attack comes to mind, in early June 1945 on a rainy day. A large number of enemy soldiers charged our position. We formed a wedge or triangle formation, two on the side and one as a point man. I was point man. Just like any Bonsai charge the enemy was always noisy. Yelling and shouting, they are not afraid to die. The Filipino guerrillas, on the other hand, chew their tobacco, grit their teeth and wing their bolos, chop here, jab there, long bolos, short daggers, pointed bamboo, pulverized chili peppers with sand deposited in bamboo tubes to spray so the enemy cannot see. By now my adrenaline must have gone up. One bayonet and samurai sword came simultaneously. The samurai sword was in front of me while the bayonet was a little to the left. With my left hand I parried the bayonet. I blocked the sword coming down on me. The bayonet man went by and his body came in line with my bolo. That’s when I came down to cut his left hip. The Samurai was coming back with a backhand blow. I met his triceps with the bolo and chopped it to the ground. After the encounter I wiped my face with my left hand to clear my eyes from the rain and found bloodstains on my face. There were many more encounters. But our job was not to be detected by the enemy; our mission was to send back vital information on the enemy to headquarters.

29th January 2009, 05:51 AM	#5
t_c Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ca, usa Posts: 92	Rick: Thanks for the lead, I'll have to dig into it some more (only have had time for cursory look). Robert: That would be great, I'd really appreciate it. I'm sure it was a matter of practicality and training that drove what he chose to use. I doubt you could be too picky in war time when you just got off the sub and relied on the locals to outfit you. I'd be interested in seeing some examples of long swords from the PI anyways. thanks, tom P.S. Here's an interesting excerpt from the interview regarding one of his encounters in WWII for those interested: FMA: What was the most memorable encounter you had with the enemy? LG: Well it is hard to try and choose one particular encounter because they were all very horrifying. One Bonsai attack comes to mind, in early June 1945 on a rainy day. A large number of enemy soldiers charged our position. We formed a wedge or triangle formation, two on the side and one as a point man. I was point man. Just like any Bonsai charge the enemy was always noisy. Yelling and shouting, they are not afraid to die. The Filipino guerrillas, on the other hand, chew their tobacco, grit their teeth and wing their bolos, chop here, jab there, long bolos, short daggers, pointed bamboo, pulverized chili peppers with sand deposited in bamboo tubes to spray so the enemy cannot see. By now my adrenaline must have gone up. One bayonet and samurai sword came simultaneously. The samurai sword was in front of me while the bayonet was a little to the left. With my left hand I parried the bayonet. I blocked the sword coming down on me. The bayonet man went by and his body came in line with my bolo. That’s when I came down to cut his left hip. The Samurai was coming back with a backhand blow. I met his triceps with the bolo and chopped it to the ground. After the encounter I wiped my face with my left hand to clear my eyes from the rain and found bloodstains on my face. There were many more encounters. But our job was not to be detected by the enemy; our mission was to send back vital information on the enemy to headquarters.