Hometown Heroes: Merlyn "Hoov" Hoover

Editor’s note: A complete copy of Merlyn Hoover’s memoir is held by the Camp Algona POW Museum in Algona. A complete copy has also been sent to the Veterans’ History Project housed in the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Merlyn “Hoov” Hoover graduated from Titonka High School in 1942. He had been farming for his dad until 1944, when he was drafted. After his Army discharge, he worked as a tanker truck driver delivering gasoline to farmers and then began farming near Sexton and, later, Titonka.

“Book Ends” describe his WWII participation. In November and December of 1943, as a 19-year old private citizen, Hoov helped construct the German POW Camp in Algona, and as an Army PFC in August 1945, he worked on the Japanese POW Camp of Mindinao Island, the Philippines.

“We were shipped to Richmond, Calif., to head out to the Pacific front,” Hoov said. “ That last afternoon on US soil we were fed sauerkraut and wieners. Our ship passed under the Golden Gate Bridge and onto the Pacific. It was really rough water and about an hour later you couldn’t walk on deck as it was covered with sauerkraut and wieners. Everybody was seasick and I was one of the worst ones.”

Hoov remembers a 2-hour pit stop on the Marshall Islands.

“That evening a huge convoy with battle ships, air craft carriers and troop ships took off,” Hoov said. “We heard they were heading for Okinawa. The next day we left with one cruiser and four or five destroyers and three destroyer escorts plus three troop ships. We were near Truk Island when the alarm sounded and those Navy boys were jumping all over the place. My buddy and I were top side and we asked one of them what was going on and they said sonar had picked up a Jap sub. Those destroyers were racing around our convoy shooting off their depth charges. We got to watch the whole thing. Soon the whistle blew again and our convoy took off full speed, zigzagging. We never heard whether they got that submarine but we were not bothered again.”

The first landing was on Leyte for a few days.

“They put 570 of us on three landing craft infantry ships,” Hoov said. “We had to tape our dog tags, could not talk or smoke and no lights on the ships. At daybreak we were on the north coast of Mindinao. A truck convoy picked us up off the beach about noon and we started inland to catch up with the 31st Division known as the Dixie Division, or DD. About 9 p.m. they unloaded us in a field in a rain storm. I rolled up in my poncho and waited for daybreak. The next morning they lined us up and I was one of the first 14 names called and was assigned the 117th field artillery. We were attached to the 167th regiment which was from Alabama, part of the DD.”

This is the point in Hoov’s life that the real war began.

“We winched our way through swamps to get to our outfit up the Toloma Trail,” Hoov said. “We called it ‘The Purple Heart Trail’ because there were so many wounded and killed. There I met Captain Chasse, saluted him, and his response was ‘Don’t ever salute me again! And get those GI buttons off your uniform. There are snipers out there in those trees and we could both be shot.’”

Capt. Chasse asked if Hoov were a cannoneer. He replied “What’s a cannoneer? This is as close to an artillery gun as I have ever been.” Asked if he knew anything about machine guns, Hoov replied “Yes, sir.” So Hoov reported to Sgt. Murphy and met Hoppy Bates, the bulldozer driver who was pushing dirt into U-shaped bunkers.

The bunkers were three to four feet high so the soldiers could put up their cots and be a little protected. Hoov and Sgt. Murphy would mount the guns and test fire them to make sure they crisscrossed with the next bunker. It was while working that Hoppy asked Hoov “What’s your name soldier?” From that day on Merlyn Hoover was called “Hoov.”

“We put up eleven bunkers around our 105’s and mounted two 30 caliber machine guns in every bunker,” Hoov said. “Every third bunker we added a 50 caliber gun and 100 hand grenades to each bunker. There were eight men to a bunker, so if you got the first shift on guard duty, you would get early morning shift too.”

Once Hoov saw something moving; he waited and waited and finally fired his rifle. He decided it was an animal as it disappeared, but a guy in the next bunker wondered how damn long he was going to wait.

He recounts another bunker incident when his buddy said “don’t move.” Wondering what was wrong, the buddy bayoneted a snake under Hoov’s cot. They never knew if it was a good snake or a bad snake.

One of Hoov’s duties became to help get water from a spring-fed pond about three-quarters of a mile into the jungle. Hoov guarded the back end of the water trailer while Hoppy and an assistant rode in the front of the bulldozer with a 30 caliber machine gun.

“The water wasn’t very good so I took my atabrine for malaria,” Hoov said. “I always put two sulfa tablets in my canteen to make the water drinkable. It didn’t change the taste but made it safer to drink.”

Capt. Chasse called Hoov into his tent to tell him he was to be a forward observer for their next mission.

Not knowing what to expect, Hoov asked Sgt. Murphy what he should carry.

“He said the first thing is to take my carbine, it holds 15 rounds instead of eight in your M 1,” Hoov said. “You will take two hand grenades and plenty of ammunition. I took 275 rounds. Next, take two canteens full of water, and sulfa tablet, atabrine and salt tablets. Then get all the K rations you can carry. Then break the boxes open and fill every space you can find. Plus take the radio.”

They set off the next morning and estimated it was two or three miles to where the 167th Regiment was set up.

“We finally made it to the 167th in a huge open area, well guarded,” Hoov said.

The lieutenant and the chaplain had accompanied them this far. The chaplain stayed with the 167th as he wanted to visit each outpost on the trail.

Several outposts later, about noon, the three men took off into “no man’s land” trying to catch up to the infantry patrol ahead. They did catch up and provided artillery support.

“We were on the move, and soon all hell broke loose,” Hoov said. “My buddy and I stayed close to the lieutenant in case we had to get the radio set up. It was all over in just a few minutes. Two more Japs on a machine gun didn’t make it back to Japan. That is when they reminded us to tape our dog tags, no smoking and everything was to be hand signals. The captain of the patrol decided it was time to dig in for the night.”

This was the ninth day out on patrol. The scout spotted two Japanese soldiers making their dinner out of caterpillar worms and wild vine leaves. They were engaged and Hoov’s patrol was safe. The infantry switched companies and Hoov and his patrol received extra K rations. A few nights later they dug in early as they knew they were getting close.

The next day things got hectic for Hoov and his unit.

“We were under heavy machine gun fire,” Hoov said. “A kid just in front of me got spun around and I pulled him down and told him to stay there.”

Hoov got the man to the medic and then remained to help the medic with the wounded and scared.

“In the meantime, two of those infantry boys were able to crawl up close enough to knock out the machine guns with grenades. Those two guys had more guts than most people, and should have gotten a bronze star. It took 34 men to carry out the wounded; there were no helicopters in those days. Now we had only about 40 men left. I am kind of dedicating this story to those 40 men. They were the bravest men I was ever associated with. It was an honor for me to serve with them.”

Hoov and the guys maintained their position on the ridge. A C-47 was able to drop supplies for them but missed their spot; the Japanese got to the pallets first. Hidden behind logs and growth and lying on ant trails, the outnumbered Americans stayed put until the Japanese disappeared with their supplies. Then the Americans were able to get back to the rest of their troops. Radio contact brought bombers and P-47 dive bombers who then strafed the enemy as well. Every time the pilots went by, they gave thumbs up waves from their tree top height.

During this time the guys on the ground, still well advanced from any ground help, had no water or food. The lieutenant found one can of lima beans; each of the three got two spoonfuls. About noon of the third day of this ordeal, one of Hoov’s buddies spotted GI’s slowly making their way up the trail. A few including Hoov’s lieutenant stayed. The incoming GIs relieved the rest of the group. Hoov and his buddy along with the infantry boys started making their way back. At the first outpost they learned fresh hamburger had been dropped at regiment headquarters. Hoov and his buddy were very hungry and decided to try to make it all the way back to headquarters before nightfall. At each outpost they reached, notification of their approach was radioed to the next outpost. Hoov writes that they got their hamburger and “Boy, was it good.”

The first thing he did back at base camp was shower.

“I had worn the same clothes for 18 days,” Hoov said. “I told the guys the Japs didn’t have to see us, they could smell us.”

The Captain read their new orders and told of the planned build-up in preparation for the invasion of Japan. Instead, the Bomb brought the Japanese surrender. After a tortuous vehicle trip to Davoa City, the capital of Mindinao, Hoov and his buddies were put to work finishing a POW camp.

“It was a pretty loose camp compared to the one I helped build in Algona,” Hoov said.

The Japanese prisoners had nowhere to go and were getting two meals a day and canvas shelter. The American patrols had the duty of keeping Filipinos from giving the prisoners poisoned food.

On patrol one day, a prisoner talked to Hoov. Hoov asked him where he learned such good English. He had graduated from USC as an engineer and planned to return to Los Angeles. He gave Hoov some bars from his uniform and a Japanese flag which he wouldn’t need anymore.

Hoov’s military career took several turns in his remaining time including MP duty, driving duties on Guam—ambulance and tankers fueling planes including General Lemay’s B-17. His buddy had found a Japanese reconnaissance camera and Hoov was with him when he snapped General Eisenhower deplaning on a Guam stopover.

Upon his discharge, Merlyn Hoover returned to Iowa. When he picked up his discharge papers, he found he had been awarded several medals including two Bronze Stars.

Hoov finds it somewhat ironic that he was in the Army, not the Navy, for almost two years and spent over 60 of those days on the water. He had eight rides on seven different ships including an Army personnel assault ship, a Higgins Landing Craft on Leyte, the LCI from Leyte to Mindinao, an LCM going around the Japanese on Mindinao, a LST from Mindinao back to Leyte, a Liberty Ship from Leyte to Guam, an LST from Guam to Saipan and a Baby Flattop Aircraft Carrier to home.