During July 1945, U.S. Army 1st. Lt. Hartwell Blake (1916-1989) was on furlough at the home of his parents, Judge and Mrs. Henry Blake, in Koloa, following tours of WWII combat duty in New Guinea and the Philippines with the
During July 1945, U.S. Army 1st. Lt. Hartwell Blake (1916-1989) was on furlough at the home of his parents, Judge and Mrs. Henry Blake, in Koloa, following tours of WWII combat duty in New Guinea and the Philippines with the Army’s 123rd Infantry Regiment, 33rd Division.
Also at home with him were his wife, Grace, and their young son, Hartwell.
Of his first combat action in New Guinea during October 1944, he recalled, “It was 6:05 a.m. during a light rain when the Japanese opened up with four, 77-millimeter mounted guns on our company patrol still in bivouac. The first 12 rounds were 25 yards over the bivouac area.”
Then 20 rounds exploded short of the area. “In other words,” said Blake, “we were caught between enemy fire, an artilleryman’s dream and the infantry’s nightmare.”
Two days later, Blake and his men encountered an enemy force three times their strength that was reinforced by artillery and three light tanks.
During this engagement, a machine-gun burst shot his cartridge belt off and a second burst glanced off his steel helmet. Then a shell exploded 15 yards from Blake and two of his men, injuring both of them.
Still, American casualties were light. But not so for their enemy, the 224th Imperial Marines, who Blake said suffered heavy casualties from American artillery directed by forward observers flying overhead in Piper Cub aircraft in support of his unit.
Prior to his tours of combat duty, Blake, an ROTC officer and graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, had been commander of the Army’s Ni‘ihau detachment.
After the war, Blake went on to teach vocational agriculture on Kaua‘i, serve as chairman of the Kaua‘i Board of Supervisors and commanded the 3rd Battalion, 298th Infantry, Hawai‘i National Guard.
