A Soldier in New Guinea

Sgt. Charles W. Eastwood was in the army during World War II.  His following experiences are part of the Veterans History Project at L. Tom Perry Special Collections:

“I had the privilege of attending Church services in a tent set up on the beach.  We were few in number, coming from different units around the tent chapel, but we enjoyed having the wonderful privilege to partake of the Sacrament, and to sing the hymns of Zion.  Assigning bretheren, or sisters (a couple of WACS from the army infirmary) to speak was difficult because we never knew when a unit would be deployed to another place of action.  Testimonies were strong.”

Eastwood later in his account says,  “The biggest scare I had happened while I was walking guard duty at the Signal Corps School in Oro Bay, New Guinea.  I had just passed the makeshift morgue and was walking along a narrow path leading through deep jungle foilage when I heard the rustling of the bushes ahead of me.  I lowered my rifle for quick use when a Wallaby jumped out of the shubbery and ran along the path ahead of me.  Whew!  What a relief! ” (MSS 2350, No. 1358).