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Thanks to the cooperation of Psychology Department’s Dr. Raj Wesley, the Center obtained the written memoir of her father, retired Major K. N. Nair, from Bangalore, India. Major Nair, an Indian Army officer who fought under British command, relates his experiences when fighting the Japanese in Burma in 1945.
I am a retired Major who served in the Indian army under British command during the years of World War II. I belonged to the Corps of The Rajputana Rifles. My battalion was commanded by British officers at the time. The incident that I am narrating happened in Burma in February 1945. This happened about four hundred miles north of Rangoon, not very far from Mandalay in central Burma. The site is the Irrawaddy, which is a long river that flows almost through the entire length of Burma.
The Japanese army had taken possession of the land very close to the Irrawaddy River in Burma (Myanmar, since 1989). On the opposite side of the river amidst dense forest terrain, not very far away, my battalion of the British Indian army was camping, unseen by the Japanese. Jungle warfare in Burma was treacherous. Heavy and constant downpours caused the dirt roads to become slushy – no armored cars could pass by without getting stuck in the wet mud. The trenches we occupied would fill with water and force us out. Several times, we had to wade through waist deep muddy water on one march or another.
One evening, our commanding officer decided to conduct a surprise reconnaissance (a preliminary survey of a region to examine its terrain and to determine the disposition of military forces) by crossing the river at midnight. We, the soldiers of the Rajputana Rifles secured a small area across the river called a bridgehead. However, the Japanese discovered us, and began shelling. We held on to the site in spite of it, and returned fire. It took us two to three days to push the Japanese back by five to six miles up to the hills called the A, B, and C, where they were able to reestablish defensive lines.
Heavy fighting ensued for over a week, and after suffering a considerable loss of men due to Japanese artillery fire, on February 7, 1945, our battalion was able to occupy all the three features. This resulted in further casualties, especially because our bunkers (trenches) were attacked by intense shellfire. I shared a bunker with Sergeant Ramroop, and our bunker was hit hard. Shrapnel fell on him and he died almost immediately, without a moan. I did not realize that he was hit until I felt some wetness. It was then that I looked around, and saw him covered in blood. I took him in my arms, cradling him as I tried to comfort him - I do not know whether he heard me in the noise of the shellfire. Mercifully, he died quickly, and I sat there alone holding my friend, while the shelling continued fiercely around us.
In four days, after stiff fighting, we occupied Pear Hill, another feature in the terrain. However, due to heavy Japanese firing, it was not possible for us to stay there – there was not a single tree on that hill, and we had no cover whatsoever. Furthermore, we suffered several casualties everyday. Eventually, the commanding officer ordered us to return to our base camp.
The memories of those years are fresh in my mind. I am glad that I came out alive, and back to a waiting family. The scars are there - some healed, and some never to be healed. I still have the scar from a deep wound on my right thigh that was caused by shrapnel fire. Fortunately, it healed well. For that I received the “Bullet Stripe” award. I also was awarded the coveted “Jung-Enaam.” It was a special recognition bestowed on all us jungle fighters for our extraordinary courage demonstrated during the war. I remember sharing my experiences with a war correspondent that was with our battalion for months as we were engaged in the different operations, although, sadly, I can not recall his name
During World War II – A Miracle Amidst the Misery!
In the China, Burma, India theater of war, I saw a lot of misery and suffering during the devastating conflict like most others. However, we soldiers carry some special and happy memories of our experiences of those difficult days. This is about one such special memory.
We were camping in the state of Tamilnadu in the peninsula of Southern India. On receiving orders for relocation, our battalion moved to another campsite, traveling by train and by foot at times. When we settled down at the new place, I noticed to my horror and dismay, that my brand new wedding band was missing from my finger. Everybody was upset, and looked for it, but we did not find it. It was hard to know where exactly it might have fallen off my finger – we had traveled a long way and I had not noticed it missing. I was extremely upset because I had been married for just a few months, and the thoughts of my young bride back home was always in my mind. Suddenly, losing the ring made the feelings of pain even harder to bear. I was wondering what it all meant. Anyway, we were busy and I tried to keep my mind off it. I thought that when I get back home eventually, I shall get a new ring, why fret so much?
During wartime, we soldiers move back and forth a lot. We again received orders to return to our base camp in Tamilnadu. We made the trip back in a few weeks time. We were staying in the same barracks as before.
One morning, I was washing my plate and cup after a breakfast of tea and bread. As the water fell on the ground, the morning sun shone on something peeping out of the dry mud. I bent and looked at what it might be – a piece of metal, glass or something else. I looked hard, and my friends asked as to what had happened? To my utter disbelief, it was my wedding band, safely crusted in the earth! I had not thought much about ever finding it again, and this was pure joy! I could not believe it. My friends were all jubilant and I was so happy. Later, we learned that it had rained heavily in the area after we left. We also learned that other battalions had camped there in the interim. It seemed as if mother earth was holding my special treasure very safely in her bosom, and waiting for my return. It still amazes me that it was actually I who found it!! At that moment I knew what my wife would come to mean in my life. She is everything I wanted, and I’m happy that God blessed us with each other, our lovely children and a great life together.
