Vernon Eugene Longstreth
Private
16th Quartermaster Squadron - 1st Cavalry Division
First Team
The sun seemed to constantly radiate heat upon the desert scrub patched landscape, causing those troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division to sweat and slowly tan due to its intensity. These rather barren grounds were home to Fort Bliss and the fresh cavalrymen such as Vernon Longstreth who folded in among the ranks of the 16th Quartermaster Squadron within the Division. The Iowa farm boy had come a long way from the banks of the Mississippi on which his hometown of Muscatine sat. He now was accustomed to the waters of the Rio Grande being just within sight of the once distant and foreign land of Mexico. Yet the flat and barren scenery quickly grew old as they drilled and prepared for what lay ahead, finally gaining a respite from the southwestern landscape when ordered to depart for Australia in June of 1943 (1).
The 30-year-old private left behind a humble life as a farm hand and a rather unpleasant divorce in the States as he set out upon the vast Pacific Ocean with the rest in the First Team. Their great journey leading them to the Western Australian city of Brisbane in which they disembarked. Here the sun and heat remained, but they were happy to find their new camp lied in the dense pines of Camp Strathpine rathter than a flat desert (1). Vernon was even so fortunate as to stay in a hut instead of a tent, the quartermasters being one of the few units to occupy these rudimentary buildings. Yet it was the army, not a vacation, and the days passed by quickly as they continued to train for jungle warfare in the varied landscapes of the region. |
Island Logistics
By February of 1944, the eager cavalrymen were well prepared and moved to Oro Bay on the large tropical island of New Guinea (1). It was among the Kunai grass in the shadow of the steep hills that Vernon and his fellow troopers within the 16th began their thankless task of moving supplies to keep the regular infantry combat ready (1). Material arrived by ship and had to be unloaded by them and then fed inland (1). This wasn’t too complicated initially but following the 1st Cavalry Division landing on the island of Los Negros, where Japanese resistance was fierce, it became exceedingly difficult (1).
The Admiralty Islands were home for Vernon and his comrades for a time as they helped move material from captured Los Negros to the Japanese defended island of Manus (1). To keep their brothers in the line supplied those in the 16th worked constantly to ensure ammunition, medical equipment, and rations were unloaded and quickly moved into the tropical jungle. Vernon was used to such physical labor and excelled at this task, being awarded a citation for his work. The campaign was a success and a bit of well-earned recognition allowed the sharp featured Iowan to feel pride in having contributed in helping to chase the Japanese from these small specs of jungle in the vast ocean. |
Philippines
The relatively desolate and small islands of the Admiralties were exchanged for the well-populated and larger island of Leyte in the Philippines as the 1st Cavalry Division helped spearhead MacArthur’s great “return” in the fall of 1944 (1). The men in the 16th Squadron as always followed their infantrymen counterparts and established beachheads from which supplies could be distributed (1). The jungle infested, mountainous landscape of the Philippines coupled with extreme rains created a horrid environment in which to transport material (1). It became near impossible for anything to move in quantity and Vernon and his fellow cavalrymen began to struggle under the demand (1). Yet the First Team was not to be beat and somehow found ways to overcome the rice paddies, steep hillsides, and malaria infested swamps of the country (1). Later on, the Division moved to Luzon, where they battled their way through the urban capital of the Philippines, Manila (1).
Despite the many unpleasantries of the country and the exhausting work, Vernon still managed to enjoy some aspects of his service in the Philippines. He found the locals to be quite friendly and was even invited to both a Filipino family’s dinner and a dance (2). A joyous celebration seemed an anomaly in the combat zone, which was typically filled with suffering, but such a gesture of gratitude ensured he understood why they were fighting to rid this nation of the Japanese invaders. Imperial Japan itself finally surrendered in September of 1945 and Vernon happily transferred to the 129th Infantry Regiment with whom he departed the Philippines. After two years in the humid pacific, he happily returned to the fertile farmland of Iowa, quietly working as a humble truck driver and showing horses after surviving the conflict.
Sources:
(1) 1st Cavalry Division - Pacific. Cavalry Outpost Publications, 1996, http://www.first-team.us/tableaux/chapt_02/.
(2) “Tells Experience.” The Muscatine Journal, 07 March 1945.
(1) 1st Cavalry Division - Pacific. Cavalry Outpost Publications, 1996, http://www.first-team.us/tableaux/chapt_02/.
(2) “Tells Experience.” The Muscatine Journal, 07 March 1945.