Marching to reinforce D-company

Heroes Remember

Marching to reinforce D-company

Transcript

The Japs had already occupied Mount Butler, our commanding officer Major Gresham got the word that we were to march up to reinforce D-Company was up there and so as we got up the first two platoons, I guess most of them got in to that valley and got in up the hill when the Japs started throwing grenades at them. I didn't get in there and neither did some of the others of 6-Platoon. Just as we were getting up in to the valley, I got shot in my left leg, I got a bullet in my left leg and a chap right in front of me got one in his shoulder and they were not coming from the Japs as far as we could see. We didn't know the Japs were on this other hill at all or somebody was on the other hill or who the heck was firing at us. So my leg, I felt it but it didn't bother me too much until - we had shorts on - once the blood started running down my leg and somebody from the further up said, "Get down and start firing!" but this was when the Japs were on the top of the hill. At the same time, Osborne who was way ahead of us now in his platoon, and the front part of A-Company, they apparently, I don't know, I hear now after, they fixed bayonets and decided to take the hill. Well, they did take the hill, they did get up to the top I guess, but then they were driven back down again and when they come back down from wherever these Japs came from, and that's what I'm thinking, that they came from this other hill, and surrounded the whole front end of A-Company and I guess took them captive, those who weren't killed but we were sort of in the back. So there was a bunch of us that didn't get involved in that encirclement so so some of them come back saying there's no use of us staying here, let's get to some higher ground and see what the hell we're doing, you know, and here we met some other units of the Hong Kong, you know some Hong Kong volunteers, a mixture of everything, you know, some Middlesex guys and so we were without, except I was, Corporal Bellingwell (sp) and myself were the two senior officers there and so we decided that we were, we joined these British troops, you know the Hong Kong volunteer groups and they had a lieutenant with them. He said, "I think the best thing we can do is get up in around, move towards Mount Cameron, see if we can get up in there on higher ground before the Japs get there and see if we can...." So, they had machine guns, the Middlesex had machine guns with them so we got up on the hill just before Mount Butler and we set up camp there for the, this was late, by this time it was late in the afternoon and we spent the night there.

Description

Mr. Agerbak recounts the start of the battle. (Part 1 of 3)

Borge Agerbak

Borge Agerbak was born in Odense, Denmark and immigrated to Canada with his family in 1927 to a small town in southern Manitoba called Pilot Mound. Mr. Agerback worked on the farm until war broke out in 1939. Along with his two brothers, he decided to join the Winnipeg Grenadiers.

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