"THE GREAT CORREGIDOR BRASS TURKEY SHOOT"
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Chet Nycum*

Earlier that day whilst on patrol, we had located an ammo dump on high ground east of and above the ice plant. The storage area faced NW and SE, and all the shells had been stacked with their projectiles pointing north-west into the hill. As we patrolled across this storage area we could see that the Japs had wired the dump with explosives. We quickly moved back and reported the find. Our brass elected not to investigate further and brought in some demolition men and set off an explosion. After the explosion, small fires burned in the area well into the night.

It being the end of the day, some of the men, feeling relatively safe inside the G Company sector, set to trying some of the sake and the whiskey which had been found. I can’t recall the name of the whisky, but it had four roses on the label. Together they made a powerful mix.  Now and then, a round from the ammo dump opposite us would explode as the fire cooked it off, and the shell casing would be blown high into the air directly over our heads and into the bay beyond us. As the shell casings would turn and tumble in flight above us, they made a sound “kalk kalk kalk kalk kalk,”  sounding for all the world like wild turkeys flying overhead.

Some of the troopers, for it was then well into the night, were feeling pretty wild and brave,  and on hearing the turkeys, started shouting and shooting at them.  I don’t know whether they were target shooting, or expecting to have turkey for breakfast. Either way, in the morning, there was no turkey for breakfast.

BOOZE AND BOOTY | THE TRUCK | THE CORREGIDOR BRASS TURKEY SHOOT | FT MILLS PLAQUE | BOB HOPE AT NOEMFOOR | NO SUICIDE CLIFF | 'DOC' BRADFORD | MYSTERIOUS WAYS | MY FIRST COMBAT PATROL | THE DEATH OF BENNY SLOWE | MIRACLE AT NOEMFOOR | THE DEATH OF KARSTEN HALL | SONGS & SLOGANS |WATER, WATER NOWHERE | NO SMOKING! | BRONZE STAR AT BANZAI POINT | ON THE BEACH AT CORREGIDOR | REUNION GOSSIP 1949  |  CORREGIDOR WHISKEY