Not very many war stories have punch lines, but Gene O’Neill’s
are full of them.
Hollister – Not very many war stories have punch lines, but Gene O’Neill’s are full of them.
O’Neill was born in Hollister in 1921 and still lives here with his wife Geraldine. He’s only spent a few years outside of Hollister, and they weren’t by choice. After two and a half years studying pre-med at Santa Clara University, O’Neill was drafted into the Army during World War II, and while the 84-year-old is quick to mention that “War is not the nicest thing to be involved with,” he is just as quick to tell a war story that will make you smile despite the circumstances.
O’Neill was a radio-operator for the Army while stationed in the Philippines, and remembers the first night he spent there.
“We were all on a big boat and inside there were three smaller boats,” O’Neill said. “When we got close to shore, everyone on board had to get into the three little boats. Then they opened some kind of gate in the big boat and let it fill up with water, so all the smaller boats that we were on would just shoot through the water and right to shore.”
When the troops arrived ashore carrying their gear and cots, the beach was deserted, the sand was white and pristine for miles, and “It was the clearest night you ever saw,” he said.
The troop leader told the men they would have to spend that first night on the beach, and that each should dig a foxhole next to his cot just in case they were bombed.
“I thought that was a crazy thing to do, because all that sand would just keep filling your hole back in as you dug,” O’Neill said, but he did it anyway. Many of the others in his troop, though, decided not to.
That night, O’Neill woke up to the sound of Japanese bomber planes in the distance. The planes were bombing a nearby airport, but his troop didn’t know where the bombers were headed at the time.
“I decided, well, they’re still a little ways off, I’ll just wait until they’re closer to get into my foxhole,” he said. After a few minutes, O’Neill was ready to go in, but was surprised to find two men in his foxhole who had opted to hide there instead of digging their own.
“I told them to get out of there, and they wouldn’t. So I told them if they didn’t get out, they were going to get bombed from up here on the beach!” he said with a long laugh. “That got them out of there pretty fast!”
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
