John Arria

John Arria, from Massachusetts, joined Company G as a replacement for the losses suffered at Hill 260. He was assigned to the 1st Platoon. His comrades remembered him as friendly and cheerful, a good boost to the morale of others in his platoon. While on Cebu, he contracted a bad case of jungle rot, and had to be evacuated to Leyte for treatment. But he returned in time to accompany the unit on its triumphant entry to Japan. The photo at right was taken during the occupation of Japan.

Decades after the war, in 2004, Arria made contact with the family of Ed Monahan, his former platoon sergeant. Arria had borrowed money in the Philippines from Monahan to repay a gambling debt, loaning his watch to Monahan as collateral. But when Monahan was sent home on points, he returned the watch to Arria, who had not yet acquired the funds to repay the debt. In 2004, Arria insisted on repaying this $30 to the family of Monahan. He passed away in 2008.

David Brinkmann

David Brinkmann is seen here smiling broadly in the 1941 Camp Edwards unit photo. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for his service on Guadalcanal, and was later a member of Roy's Raiders. He was wounded by a grenade during the battle of Hill 260, and was unable to return to the unit, enduring a long rehabilitation.

Clayton "Brownie" Brown

Clayton Brown (right), nicknamed "Brownie," joined Company G late in 1943 on Fiji. Brown and Jack Morton were both from Oregon, and went through Basic Training together at Fort Ord, California. Both men joined the 2nd Platoon, "Roy's Raiders." He was reassigned to an ordnance unit, but during the battle for Hill 260, rejoined Company G, and was involved in numerous firefights, including the fake Japanese surrender on March 20. He was wounded on March 21, but remained in the fight. After the fighting ended, Brown tried to take off his combat boots, but after so many continuous days in the damp jungle without being removed, they had become stuck to the bottom of his feet. The skin was pulled off when he took the boots off, and he was forced to crawl down the hill for medical assistance. After recovering, he returned to the supply unit he had been assigned to. Morton and Brown remained lifelong friends in Oregon. Brown passed away in 2009.

James Gann

James Gann (right) joined Company G late in 1943 on Fiji, and was assigned to the 1st Platoon. He recalled that as the unit landed on Bougainville, they were disoriented by the ground shaking - an all too common earthquake on that volcanic island. Gann was wounded in action on February 21, 1944, but was back with the unit just days later. He received a commendation for his steady, effective rifle fire on March 10 during the battle for Hill 260. Soon after the battle, Gann was transferred to regimental headquarters, due to a special skill that was in high demand - his ability to play the trombone.

Gann survived the conquest of the Philippines and the occupation of Japan, and returned home safely. In 2009, he was awarded his long-overdue Purple Heart and Bronze Star for actions on Bougainville, in a ceremony presided over by Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford. Gann currently lives in Arizona.

At right, Gann (far right) stands next to his friend James "June" Edwards (center) who was killed on Leyte, and Carl Fowler (left). This undated photo was taken on Bougainville.

Bill Henningsen

Bill Henningsen (seen here on Bougainville), from Nebraska, joined Company G on Fiji, November 28, 1943. Despite crackdowns, he was able to keep a colorful and descriptive diary of his experiences on Bougainville in the first part of 1944. On January 19, he was part of a big firefight with Japanese troops, for which he received a commendation. Exactly one week later, in another incident, he was wounded in the leg and had to be carried off. Doctors told him that he was out of the war, less than 2 months after joining his unit.

But the ferocious Japanese counterattack across the Bougainville perimeter in March 1944 changed everything. Henningsen wrote in his diary that "[w]ounded are coming in fast. We lost a lot of men." He was discharged from the hospital to return to Company G, helping to carry ammunition for the first few days of battle. By March 15, he was back in the hospital for good, and spent the rest of the war enduring treatment at several military hospitals in the Pacific.

Thomas "Frank" Marion

Frank Marion (left), from West Virginia, was wounded three times in combat with Company G. The first was during the fighting for Hill 260. While hospitalized, with the battle still undecided, he snuck out to return to the unit. MP's came and found him, but left the bandaged soldier alone to fight alongside his friends. He was awarded a Bronze Star for actions in the October 1944 offensive on Bougainville. He was wounded again March 30, 1945, on Cebu, but was soon back in action. On April 12, he was shot in the leg by a sniper. It was a serious wound, and required extensive surgery. He was evacuated and eventually returned home safely. Marion passed away in 2003.

The photo at right shows Marion (left) posing with Clayton Brown (center, see bio above) and Patrick Farino (right). Brown and Farino are holding up their recently awarded Purple Hearts.

Arnold Meltzer

Arnold Meltzer was unique among the men of Company G at Camp Edwards, in that he had 3 years of college education, at the University of Iowa. He was a Staff Sergeant during the transit of Task Force 6814, which afforded him a better bunk, on a deck above the crowded berthing areas below. Meltzer was selected for the Officer Candidate School on New Caledonia, and upon completion was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. Per military protocol, he was transferred out of Company G upon being commissioned. He was a veteran of the battle of Guadalcanal, and vividly remembered the fierce pyrotechnics shattering the night sky in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. He contracted malaria on that fetid jungle island, and was eventually evacuated back to the United States. After the war, he took advantage of the GI Bill, and finished his degree, at Boston University. In the photo at right, Meltzer - a sergeant - sits in the front row of the Company G 1941 unit photo at Camp Edwards.

Howard "Inky" Simmons

Howard Simmons (rear, second from right) was nicknamed "Inky" due to the rapidly growing, thick beard stubble that he seemed unable to keep shaved clean. He was among the first men in the unit to be commended in action, during the Guadalcanal campaign. He served as platoon sergeant for the 2nd Platoon, which eventually came to be known as "Roy's Raiders." He received another commendation for action on Hill 260, including dragging and carrying wounded men to safety. He and Patrick Farino scrounged materials on Bougainville to build a wooden shack to live in, and even attempted to tap into military electricity to power it. During the offensives on Bougainville in October, he made headline news back home for leading an attack which killed a "Jap a Second," though in reality the 30 enemy soldiers he killed in 30 minutes actually translated to one per minute. In early 1945 he received a temporary furlough to return home, and afterwards returned to Company G. He returned to the 2nd Platoon, but found himself in an awkward position, now serving under 2nd Lieutenant Jack Morton, the former enlisted man who had received a battlefield commission. Simmons survived the war but died young, in 1964.

The photo at right was taken in either April 1942 or April 1943.

BACK ROW (L-R): George DeChristopher, Mitchell, Howard "Inky" Simmons, Marty Nelson

FRONT ROW (L-R): R. Wolfe, Ray Hennessey

Richard Roy

2nd Lieutenant Richard Roy (kneeling), from Maryland, joined Company G in December 1943 on Fiji, and took command of the 2nd Platoon. The unit soon earned the nickname "Roy's Raiders." He was awarded a Bronze Star for actions on Hill 260 on March 11, rescuing a wounded soldier who had become entangled in barbed wire. He made national news during the fake Japanese surrender of March 20, with his version of events quoted in a news story that was distributed by the wire services at home and printed in major American newspapers.

Roy's men also took the time to help out those in need back home, raising money for a "Milk and Ice Drive" for the Paducah, KY hometown of soldier Lester Watson. According to Clayton Brown, during a November 26, 1944 regimental parade, Roy awoke late with a hangover, and tried to cover up his tardiness by arriving with a flourish in a Jeep - but did not fool the Battalion Commander.

Roy's Raiders made national news later in the war, with a photograph captioned "The Last of a Gallant 43" making the rounds on the wire services, showing the last 8 soldiers in the platoon remaining from before the Bougainville campaign. The rest were killed or wounded, casualties of combat or disease.

Lieutenant Roy himself began to suffer from recurring health problems in early 1945, and was in and out of the hospital. In April 1945, he was promoted from 2nd Platoon leader of Company G, to the Executive Officer of Company F.

In this undated photo, likely taken on Bougainville, Roy (kneeling) poses with two men from his platoon, Howard "Inky" Simmons (left, story on this page above) and Patrick Farino (Right).