If anybody knows of a Capt. Simpson (364?), as described, please contact Richard below.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: richard alpers
Date: Jan 26, 2006 10:56 AM
Subject:
To: Wally Beddoe

Wally, as promised. I send along a story that starts out at Barbers Point, in Hawaii. The year was 1965, early in the year. Maybe Jan. I was An Instructor at Escape and Evasion School. I ran into one of the pilots from the Marine SQ. 364 I believe. His name was Capt Simpson. He was a captured P.O.W. We really put these guys through Hell for a week. Trying to evade capture for three days without any food or water, only what they could find. Well I happen to make the capture on Capt Simpson and treated him pretty rough. A hell of a lot worse than anything you've heard coming out of Iraq or Gitmo in Cuba. We took these Men to an P.O.W. compound inside of the mountain on Ohau. There they were interrogated and tortured relentlessly and we broke everyone, bar none. They were stuffed in wooden boxes that way too small for them, we'd stand on the covers to close them and lock them in. They called them Hot Boxes. After an hour they were spilled out on to the floor, because all there muscles were so cramped up they couldn’t stand for 20 minutes or so. Then they were tortured more throughout the day. We broke them; I also went through this school. So I know first hand the fear of having this happen. It was Hell. Not long after that I believe in Feb. or March we loaded out to go on what was to be the largest peacetime operation ever conducted. It was to be on the west coast of the U.S. I was aboard an LPH . One day I was walking down the flight deck and I passed these two officers and one of them shouted at me, hey Marine. I turned to see and it was Captain Simpson, he asked if I remembered him, I said no. Although I knew where our paths had crossed. He said you were the guy that tortured the living hell out of me at Barbers Point, E & E School. I thought, OH HELL. I've had it now. But instead he reached out and shook my hand and thanked me for the job that I did while at the school. I couldn’t believe it! Well we never made it to the west coast, we turned around after three days and headed for Okinawa. We trained for 30 days in jungle warfare training, and boarded ships once again for the landing at Chu Lai on May 5th of 65. I was manning an outpost in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, looking and watching for Charlie. one day our resupply landed, and it was Capt. Simpson. He yelled at me and asked if I needed anything from the PX in Da Nang. I asked if he could pick me up a camera, he said no sweat. So a week or so later he lands at my outpost and tosses the camera and a lot of film down to me. I asked how much do I owe you, He said you already paid me back in Hawaii. He lifted off an our paths never crossed again. I would like him to know if he's out there that camera took over three thousand slides and pictures of not only the war but the last picture of men who were killed. I was able to send to their families a picture of their son as a reminder of his last days. So I would like to say to Capt. Simpson if you’re out there still, Thank you on behalf of my unit and the families of those who didn’t live to enjoy the sacrifice we made on behalf of our freedom. I will always your kindness. SEMPER FI.

Richard Alpers
A CO 1/4
slugone@acegroup.cc