T R A N
S C R I P
T I O N
If I get killed please mail this book,
with all enclosures, to my wife -
address on other cover.
Matagalpa, Nic.
Dec. 18 - Pack train moved out in
advance - camped about 5 miles out
Dec. 19 - Expedition cleared Matagalpa
at 7:30 a.m. - found pack train in much
confusion - mules stampeded with
supplies - strayed - packages broken.
Made camp at Zelandon's [Zeledón's]
ranch 15 miles. Advance guard reached
camp at 4:30 p.m.
Dec. 20. - Made Jinotega total 9 miles.
Trouble with train due to lack of
experienced packers. Muleros deserting
in route - apparently afraid to go with
us. Arrived Jinotega 1:30 p.m. Lt. Hunt
with 1 infantry platoon of 36 men joined
us. Left 3 mules Jinotega.
Dec. 21 - Broke camp 1100 - made 9 miles
made dry camp - trail across half dry
swamp - going bad in places. Two mules
died - one lame - advance guard halted
at 1600 - train and rear guard arrived
2200 - camp on prairie 3 miles south of
Paso Real.
Dec 22 - Broke camp at 9:30 a.m. Camped
at Paso Real at 3:30 made 3 miles Roads
bad - mud knee deep - mules down
continually. Rear guard arrived in camp
1000 p.m. Mules in poor shape because of
bad going. Men working hard but
impossible to make time. Plane sighted
at 1030 a.m. but he did not get our
signal. Manuel Gonzales taken prisoner
and held on suspicion of spying - tells
many conflicting stories. Muleros
deserting. Lack of experienced packers
badly handicap us.
Dec 23 - Broke camp at 0900 - only 22
muleros still with us. Roads bad -
advance guard camped at Embarcadero
[Embocaderos] at 1430. Plane dropped
mail at 1030. Prisoner Gonzales escaped
from Lt Hunts rear guard at 1900. Rear
guard arrived in camp at 1900. Distance
covered 6 miles. Lost 3 mules during
days march from exhaustion. Health of
command excellent - morale excellent.
Dec 24 - Xmas Eve - Broke camp at 0900
crossed Guale Mts. in rain & fog.
Altitude 4500 feet. Roads almost
impassable - mud waist deep for miles
making it necessary to cut new trail for
at least 1 3/4 mile thru woods in order
to get thru. Five mules falling over
cliff and lost with cargoes. Advance
guard made camp at Guale at 1500 -
distance made seven miles. Men in good
shape - animals exhausted. All men sent
back on trail to assist mule train in. 1
1/2 sections on train unable to make
camp remained out all night. Everyone
wet and covered with black gummy mud
from head to foot. Equipment covered
also. Worst day yet - conditions
undescribable. Plane dropped mail at
1030. Officers slept in native shack -
filthy - young pig crawled in and parked
beside Lt. Gould.
Dec 25 - Xmas. In camp at Guale - part
of train still out and coming in slowly
all day. All available men sent out to
assist in bringing them in. Rear guard
arrived in camp at 1900 - from 0900,
24th to 1900, 25", making seven miles.
Animals exhausted - equipment and stores
smashed - broken - and torn. Shoes of
men falling to pieces - heels off -
stitching broken. Men's feet in bad
shape in several cases because of
continual immersion in mud and water.
Necessary to camp over one more day to
reorganize and allow animals to
recuperate. Morale of command
exceptionally good. Men are working
cheerfully under most trying conditions.
Two planes over camp at 1045 dropped
mail. Christmas dinner, slum and hard
tack - same old pig pen to sleep in -
Had a bath - first since Dec 19.
Dec 26 - still at Guale reorganizing.
Planes over at 1030.
Dec 27 - Broke camp at Guale at 900 am -
some mules still in bad shape. Advance
guard arrived at La Brellere at 4:00
p.m. Distance ten miles. Roads bad most
of way. Cut 1 mile of new trail thru
woods because of bad swamp. Rear guard
arrived in camp at 2350. Three mules
died enroute of exhaustion. At 1500 two
shots fired from house at La Brellere
and replied to by 4 rounds from 37 mm
gun. House deserted upon our arrival but
showed signs of recent occupancy. Planes
over at 1030. Weather clear.
Dec 28 - Advance Guard cleared La
Brellere at 0910. Planes over at 1000.
Crossed Coco River 1430 crossing covered
by Advance Guard. Camp at 1430 Las
Piedras along Coco 2000 yds north of
crossing. Feet of many in many cases in
poor shape. Mules in poor condition.
Roads for first mile in poor shape -
fair afterwards. Rear guard arrived in
camp at 0100, 29th. Distance - 9 miles.
Weather good.
Dec 29 - Cleared Las Piedras 0830.
Planes over at 1530. Advance guard
camped at point 4 miles S.E. of Quilali,
on Camino Real at 1500. Distance made 9
miles.
Dec 30 - Cleared at 0800. At 0930 were
ambushed by bandits at point 2000 yds
from Quilali. Bandits in well prepared
ambush - opened fire with rifles,
revolvers, machine guns, bombs, etc.
from front and flanks. Fire was
withering and resulted in our losing 5
marines and 1 guardia dead and 6 marines
and 2 Guardia seriously wounded and 17
minor wounds. Killed included Lt. Hempel
of the Guard. Capt Livingston, Dr.
Minnick, and Lt. Neel (GN) were wounded.
Livingston seriously hit first minutes
of battle. Gould took command. Planes
came over after fight was over (1100).
Fired some machine gun fire on our troop
on hill top. Dropped only one bomb.
Planes left us at 1130 and were not seen
again during that day. Strapped our dead
on mules and carried wounded on
stretchers into Quilali. Took up
position there to reorganize. Much
material and many pack animals lost.
Enemy evidently intended to wipe out
entire column but point discovered
movement in bushes when were were half
way in trap. I commanded advance guard
with Lt. Neel (GN) on the point with 3
enlisted guardia, 1 commissioned
guardia, 5 marines and 2 civilian
guides, one guide was killed. Point was
directly facing machine gun at about 75
yards distance when it opened fire. My
platoon (advance guard) lost two killed
and four wounded marines. Guardia on
point lost 1 officer killed, 1 enlisted
man killed - 1 officer and 2 enlisted
wounded. Enemy displayed tactics far
superior to anything heretofore shown by
him - his position was of the best - his
fire so accurate he pinned us to the
ground until we got fire superiority.
Action lasted about 1 1/2 hours. C
ollected our dead and wounded and at
1430 got under way for Quilali, moving
slowly to avoid further ambush. Arrived
Quilali at 1050. Men on edge - much
firing from sentries during night - no
sleep.
Dec 31 - Buried our dead - 5 marines
(inc. 1 Guardia officer) and 1 enlisted
guardia at about 3 p.m. Graves dug in
open space at south end of town -
marines in one grave - guardia in
separate grave Sad ceremony - americans
giving their lives for no cause of their
own. Planes over twice during day. Day
spent checking property - stores -
getting defenses in shape, etc. Some New
Years eve - and what a greeting on New
Years Day for the families and friends
of the dead - slaughtered like rats in a
trap - without a chance for their lives
- to keep in power a man who, when he
got himself in a mess, and about to be
thrown out of office by a revolution -
called for, and got the aid of American
Marines to keep him in power - which
means nothing but with his snout in the
trough of the public treasury - to keep
in power a man with a reputation of
being the father of 28 children by as
many different women - to keep a man of
that type sitting on the upper floor of
the Palace guzzling champagne - the
lower floor being occupied by marines
for his protection - to keep him there
in absolute safety - while he should be
out leading his forces against the
revolutionists - regardless of the fact
that we call them bandits as an excuse -
an effort to screen our actions - to
fool the public of the United States
whose opinion would demand our immediate
withdrawal were they to realize the true
facts. That the situation was loaded
with dynamite was, I believe, fully
realized by Admiral Stimson and Brig.
Gen. Feland, and their withdrawal and
the reduction of the forces here with
the statement that "all was well" was
either a del- [deliberate] mis-statement
of facts, or a lack of knowledge of the
true situation that is lamentable. In
any event, we are left holding the bag -
junior officers are doing the dirty work
- we are out here with nothing but beef
and bananas to eat for last two days -
badly shot up - and Richals column
coming thru has been ambushed and has
some casualties. We are in a most
serious situation due to misconception
of facts and mis-information supplied by
officers who have no idea of the actual
situation.
Jan 2 - Lt Hunt with 34 men sent to
Richals aid at 0745. Orders reared
[rec'd] to evacuate - Richal apparently
shot up. See copy of letter in this book
addressed to Brig. Comdr. this date in
reply to order to evacuate. The Brigade
has been led into a situation that is
intolerable by misleading reports and
information from so called intelligence
officers who either have no military
knowledge or are covering their own lack
of information or inactivity by writing
reports calculated to please the Brigade
Commander. This town, Quilali, is from a
military standpoint, untenable. It is
surrounded by hills, sitting as it does
in the bottom of a cup shaped
Geographical formation, and can be raked
by machine guns from a dozen or more
hills surrounding it. It will take at
least a battalion to make the town safe
at present - and then the question of
supplying this battalion is an enormous
one. It cannot be supplied over the
trail we came - it took us 12 days to
make it over trails beyond my
description. To supply a force here from
points north or west is equally
difficult - all supplies would have to
be brought in by pack train which would
require heavy guards to protect them -
or strongly held points along the trails
they are to follow to insure their
safety.
Such far flung lines of communication
are unsound from a military standpoint.
And dope furnished by the Brig. Comdr.
relative to the military situation is so
far wide of the truth as to be
astounding. I am personally of the
opinion that information furnished by
the Brigade is, more than anything else,
responsible for the greatest military
blinder the Marine Corps has made in
many years. Regardless of the fact that
we have reached here in spite of enemy
resistance, he has won a moral victory
at least that will do much to enhance
his prestige and boost his morale. If we
can withdraw from here without further
serious losses and take a position along
a line that will at least insure us a
service of supply, we will be lucky. We
have been living on native beef which we
rounded up, for three days - that and
coffee. We are entirely out of supplies
- Richal's failure to get through with
the rations he is bringing, has left us
high and dry. However, we are still in
the ring, and tho Lt Gould and myself
are almost nervous wrecks from the
strain, we are still in the game.
Sleepless nights - lack of proper food -
and worry over the safety of the lives
of our men are leaving marks on us that
we will carry forever. Planes have
dropped us a message telling us that Lt.
Hunt, with the platoon we send out to
help Richal's column, has made it and
that the combined column, will move out
at 0900 tomorrow to join us here. Lord
knows we need them . All other orders
relative to our movements have been
revoked - we are busy trying to clear a
field for a small lane to land and take
our wounded off so they can get proper
care. Planes particularly active today
strafing ground in all directions. They
will cover the march of combined column
of Hunt and Richal - now Hunts command -
here's hoping they get in safely. It is
hell to think of sacrificing lives of
any more of our men in cause in which
they have not the remotest interest.
Jan 3 - Planes over at 0920 - dropped
tools and medical supplies - busy
building landing field. Planes bombed
and strafed with machine guns along
route of Hunts march. Hunt with Richal's
column arrived at 1545. Had no further
trouble. They shot at everything
suspicious looking in route. Sure were
welcome with the rations - beef and
coffee- nothing else for three days was
getting monotonous. Had only 5 days
rations with them - lost about 18 mules
with some supplies enroute. Lt Richal
seriously wounded - shot through the
head - bullet entered under left eye and
came out right - took his eye out with
it. Had three enlisted men wounded with
them. All carried about seven miles on
stretchers. Body of Lt. Bruce of the
Guardia (Nacional 1st Sgt of Marines)
was buried by Hunt at scene of scrap.
His body had been stripped and badly
mutilated by bandits after he fell.
Sandino himself is said to have been
present at attack on Richal. Bandits
charged the Marines twice - came close
to victory. Marines held and finally
drove them off with heavy losses. All
arms and ammunition with Richal was
saved. Force against Richal estimated
about 400.
Jan 4 - Planes over at 1145. Dropped
tools and medical supplies - still
working on field. Someone finally has
awakened to the fact that the situation
is serious. All prior orders modified -
we are to send our wounded out by plane
on the sixth and proceed by forced
marching to San Albino on the 7th. That
passes us right through the country
Richal just came through - we can look
for more battling - if we get through
without it and without serious losses we
are lucky. Orders say planes will work
with us every inch of the way - we sure
need them if we are to get away safely.
The gross blunder made by someone is
more than appreciated by someone as we
are informed that Gen. Feland with
another regiment has been ordered here
from the U.S. That such a blunder as
this could be made should certainly be
investigated and the person responsible
kicked out out of the service. That is
was a blunder was realized by me before
we started - I made my will the night
before we started out. To send a force
of 150 men out this far from their base
- a twelve day march - a line open
behind them without one single thing to
protect it - a trail such as we followed
the only means of supply - no
reenforcements within a week of us and
that easily cut off by an active enemy -
without adequate maps or guides - no
means of communication except via planes
which cannot always operate on account
of the weather - to do this - to send us
right into the heart of the enemy's
country - against a force many times our
strength - well armed - organized and
entrenched - was a stupidly criminal
blunder that should be punished. Now
that it has been made a mad scramble is
on to rectify it - strong forces ordered
to San Albino - field officers at last
are ordered to come out and do something
- it has ceased being a war conducted by
Lieutenants as it has been heretofore.
Two lieutenants killed and one Captain
and two lieutenants seriously wounded -
and two other lieutenants slightly
wounded - out of twelve engaged is some
percentage. But the wine still flows
freely in Managua, and I look for
another brainstorm from that direction
any time. Our wounded are in serious
condition - our one medical officer is
worked to death - we have no facilities
for their proper care - and if some of
them do not die before we can get them
where they can be properly cared for it
will be a miracle. Dr. Minnick is
working like a Trojan - and worrying
himself sick over his patients and his
inability to do anything more. More
blundering. And the joke of the whole
matter is that we have received not one
word of condolence for the officers and
men wounded from the Brigade Commander -
I would not be at all surprised if he
did not want to court-martial us for
breaking up his New Years eve party with
such unpleasant news - it was on New
Years eve he got our report. The Brigade
Commander has no more idea of what this
country is like than a rabbit - he has
never been here - not even a flight over
it by plane - nor has any member of his
staff, to my knowledge - I doubt if he
could find this place on the map before
this debacle took place.
Jan 5 - Still working on landing field.
Have had to burn and tear down about 20
native houses - pull up trees, etc., to
make it possible. Scarcity of tools
hampers our work. Field is now ready.
Planes can land tomorrow.
Jan 6 - First plane landed - a Vought
Corsair - Lt. Schilt pilot. Started
removing our wounded one at a time - be
slow work. They are being carried to
Ocotal where a big plane picks them up
and carries them to Managua - must be
hell on them from here to Ocotal - they
must sit up, strapped in the plane. And
some of them are sure in bad shape.
Jan 7 - Still taking out the sick and
wounded - sure is a relief. Contact with
outside world boosted morale of command
immensely. Lt. Schilt is doing all the
piloting of the plane - That boy sure is
a worker - and handles the plane most
expertly. He cannot be praised too
highly for his work of last couple of
days. We will finish evacuating sick and
wounded tomorrow. New we have received
says in encounters with our and Richals
column the enemy lost one hundred in
killed against our seven. Some
satisfaction in that, but no
compensation for a single American life
lost in fighting for a cause which is
not their own and in which we have not
the slightest interest. If the American
people really understood the politics of
this - knew what a bunch of grafting
scoundrels the politicians of this
country are - they would give them all
the arms they want and let them kill
each other off - the world would be
better off. Rumor says that Sandino has
been joined recently by 400 Honduranians
- and that he also has some men from
Mexico. In any event, someone with some
military sense has been giving him
pointers as we found out.
Jan 7 - Taking out the wounded - nothing
new.
Jan 8 - Finished taking wounded out - 18
taken out. 4 officers and 14 men. Some
job. As an aviator Lt. Schilt is a
wonder and deserves the Flying Cross if
ever a man did. Waiting orders.
Jan 9 - no change - but a little
excitement. Lt. Diamond, flying a DH
plane had a forced landing here today.
Managed to get down on our field but it
was too small for such a big plane. Hit
some logs on lower end of field and
plane turned a sommersault - landed on
its back. Neither Diamond or his
mechanic was injured but the plane was
smashed so we burned it. We evacuate
tomorrow - lets hope we get through
safely - planes are to work with us and
we need them. We have info. that a large
bandit force is massed right on the line
we are to move on - we'll sure give him
hell if we can get him where we can work
on him. Our long pack train of 240 mules
is our weak point - takes lots of men to
guard it - slows up our march and
strings out over a mile or more. Its
some job.
Jan 10 - Made about 10 miles en route to
San Albino - camped at Plan Grande. Two
planes covered us all the time and safed
us several scraps. They flushed one gang
at the point Richals column was ambushed
near Las Cruces - bombed and gunned them
- we worked on them also with our
stokes. Saw four dead on the trail when
we came along - much blood stains -
think that both we and the planes got
more down in the valleys with our bombs.
Shot up any place that looked like a
likely ambush and got through so far
without casualties.
Jan 11 - Reached San Albino about 4 p.m.
- one hell of a hike. Maj. Young with a
detachment came from San Albino joined
up at noon. Nothing startling - but we
took no chance. Gunned the hills freely
to flush enemy out if they were there.
Jan 12 - At San Albino - organizing a
battalion for further action.
Jan 13 - S Gould in to Managua for
medical observation. Major Young left at
11 p.m. with Guardia Co. on patrol - no
change.
Jan 14 - Peard out with 100 men - both
he and Young trying to scare bandits
back to Chipote where the planes gave
them merry hell with bombs and guns at
noon. No report on it yet. Maj. Young's
outfit had contact with small bunch of
bandits - killed a couple - one of them
a "Lieutenant". Had some papers on him -
some signed Sandino but nothing
important. Both patrols back to camp at
4 p.m. Pvt Hand died of disease and
buried here today.
Jan 15 - Still in San Albino
16 Same
17 Same
18 Same
19 Same
20 Same
21 Same
22 Same
23 Same
24 16-20-45 Co. and most of 8th (?) are
out with Maj Young working towards
Chipote. Three wounded sent back so far.
We are "in the air" as to what is going
on - Young left here 20th and said he'd
be back next day - he is still gone.
Asked for all guardia join him tomorrow
- leaves Kingsten and myself and 67
enlisted here.
Apr. 23. Cleared San Albino for Jinotega
via Quilali. Maj Gray Cmdg Apr 24,
cleared Quilali.
Apr. 28 - Arrived Jinotega.
May 3 - Left Jinotega with Lt Claude to
relieve Capt Hall as CO Corinto (ranch)
arrived there same date. Have 2
officers, 51 enl. marines and 1 enl.
Navy.
(ON BACK COVER OF BOOK INSIDE)
Wife -
Elsie May Kilcourse
543 East "9" St.,
Brooklyn, NY
------------------------------
If I get killed please mail this book to
above address.
K
MCRC/Personal Papers
Collection/Kilcourse
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