Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

Author:Hampton Sides
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 1400033403
Publisher: RH Trade
Published: 2009-08-21T04:00:00+00:00

The abandoned nipa shack afforded such an ideal crow’s nest for surveillance that Bill Nellist and Rufo Vaquilar decided to remain there all day. Nellist figured someone ought to keep an eye on things, and besides, having two more men clamber down from the shack in daylight hours was risky. With too much coming and going, the Japanese would eventually become suspicious. So he and Vaquilar intended to hide out until the attack was nearly underway and then leap into the fields at dusk to join the Rangers and other Scouts as they crept toward the prison.

That, at least, was Nellist’s plan. But around four o’clock, the two Scouts were rattled by an unexpected development. Vaquilar spotted it first.

“Look at this, Bill,” he said, pointing out the open window. “What’s she doing over there?”

A few hundred yards off, a lone Filipino woman was ambling down the road directly in front of the camp.

“Don’t know,” Nellist said, bewildered. “I thought Pajota had ordered all civilians to keep clear of the highway.”

The lady walked right up to the front gate and began to engage in what appeared to be an animated discussion with one of the Japanese guards in the tower, as though she knew him personally. After a few minutes of conversation, the guard reached down and offered her something—payment, it seemed. Whatever it was, she slipped it in her pocket and then promptly resumed her walk across the front of the camp along the highway.

The more they considered it, the more squirrelly it seemed. They didn’t understand why this woman would be on such friendly terms with the Japanese. Their worries mounted. Could she be an informant? Was the all-important secrecy of the mission compromised? “I just knew that she was telling them that American soldiers were on the way,” Nellist explained to military writer William McRaven. “It scared the hell out of me. I thought the whole thing was going down the drain right there.”

Vaquilar had to know for himself. “I’ll go to the gate,” he proposed. “If the Japs are tipped off, the place will be full of action.” Since he was a Filipino-American in authentic barrio disguise, Vaquilar reasoned, the guards would simply think he was another civilian.

Nellist didn’t like the sound of it, but he too was deeply curious to learn what, if anything, this Filipino lady had set in motion. “I can’t cover you,” Nellist warned. “If they go for you, I can’t shoot. It’ll blow the mission.”

Vaquilar said he understood that, but he was going anyway. Armed with two automatic pistols, he hopped down into the field. He tacked far to the right before intersecting with the highway. Then he turned left and walked along the shoulders of the road, heading straight for the camp. Nellist remained in the shack and studied Vaquilar’s every movement. Instinctively, he clutched his M-1 even though he knew he couldn’t use it.

When Vaquilar reached the front gate, he glanced at the guard standing in the tower and tipped his buri hat.

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