Page 44 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine

Howard Sliger From Salt Mines to the

South Pacific

by Steve Lott

division. He was taken from a mundane job in a salt
mine and put in a position where he was responsible
for protecting thousands of men from Japanese
zeros. (The Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” was a long-range
fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese
Navy from 1940 to 1945 - “0” was the last digit of
the imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service
with the Imperial Navy.)

His unit followed the Marines from island to island.
The Marines would capture an island, and Howard’s
unit would hold the island and provide support for
the Marines as they moved on. He manned a 90-
millimeter anti-aircraft gun. Even though the island
had been secured, they were still subject to Japanese
aerial attacks. Their days were spent cleaning their
guns and in target practice. The Air Force would pull
targets behind their planes for them to shoot.

hen Howard Sliger was 19, he was working To get a short reprieve from the war, he and his
in a salt mine in the Mojave Desert. The friends would go back to the first island they were
Wclosest town was Amboy, California on on and ride horses. They had discovered that, for
Route 66, which consisted mainly of a gas station five dollars, they could rent a horse from the natives
and cafe and where 110 degrees was the norm, not for an entire day. They would spend the day riding
the exception. Howard might not have thought and exploring the island.
things could get hotter, but they did. He received his Howard left the Army in January of 1946. He
draft notice and entered the army in January 1942.
returned to his hometown of Ada, Oklahoma. There
He was sent to El Paso, Texas for basic training. he became part of a government program teaching
When he finished, the Army sent him to California veterans a trade. Howard became very good at
for one last look at the civilized world, then on to the driving heavy construction machines. During that
South Pacific. time, he met a pretty waitress, and they began
dating. In December of 1946, he and Alma Matheson
The troop ship was named the SS Mormacport. were married. Howard and his wife began following
It was a 470’ cargo ship which could carry 2,000 the construction sites. His career took him from
men. It was so crowded that each man was given the oil fields of Oklahoma to the urban growth of
two meal tickets a day. A Marine unit oversaw the Houston and then to San Angelo. In San Angelo,
organization. They would punch the meal tickets Howard drove a bulldozer during the three- year
and make sure each soldier only ate twice a day.
Because there were so many men to feed, the galley
was open 24 hours a day, and they still couldn’t keep
up. It took a month to get to his destination because
his ship lacked the support a convoy would give. To
dodge enemy submarines, they had to zigzag all the
way.

He served in the South Pacific for 28 months,
starting in the Samoan Islands and ending up in the
Philippines. Howard was in the Army’s Anti-Aircraft

44 Amarillo Senior Link