Area soldier shares more stories about Okinawa

Ordered to take a hill in the vicinity of Okinawa’s Tombstone Ridge, Frank Noelle’s company ran into an ambush. “About halfway up the hill all hell broke loose,“ said Noelle. “Artillery and machine guns opened up on us from all directions. It was unbelievable how they could hide so much stuff underground.“ After taking heavy casualties, Noelle’s badly-outgunned company was ordered to pull back. “I was running a 30-caliber machine gun at the time. We were supposed to hold the Japs long enough for the company to evacuate the wounded. Then, after everyone had been evacuated, we dismantled our guns so they couldn’t be used against us and got out ourselves.“ For volunteering to stay behind and help cover the evacuation, Cpl. Frank Noelle received a Bronze Star.