Montana Medicine Show: The Montana Jungleers

Welcome to the Montana Medicine Show. I'm Derrick strong. The Montana National Guard experienced some of the most vicious fighting of World War Two. Officially they were the hundred and sixty Third Regiment of the forty first infantry division the forty first was the first American division sent overseas after Pearl Harbor and the first train in jungle warfare earning them the nickname the jungle liers. They spent forty five months overseas longer than any other division. The green hell in the South Pacific was a far cry from the treasure state tropical New Guinea featured 100 degree temperatures steep rain drenched mountains and crocodile filled swamps troops followed twisting wild boar paths defended by Japanese snipers malaria dengue fever and typhus plague the soldiers Kalispell Guardsman Sergeant Leslie slighter said. Everything that lit on you made you sick. Everything you touched cut you everything you drank gave you dysentery and the very worst of it was malnutrition fear was present. All of the time. But you couldn't show it. Sergeant Ed Hula of

Columbia Falls remembered at first it seemed to be good to be going to war with longtime friends but I soon wished that I were in an outfit of strangers. It was terribly hard to see close friends struck down in action. Three hundred and sixty Montana National Guardsmen died in the South Pacific. Fourteen hundred and ninety one others were wounded but the highly decorated jungle leaders want to claim for their important role in the defeat of the Japanese in the South Pacific. From casualty studios I'm Derek strong. The Montana medicine show is supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A private corporation funded by the American people.