William G. Shaw
Interviewee: William G. (Bill) Shaw
Interviewer: Michael R. Wilson
Date of Interview: 4 April 2002
Length of Interview: 88 minutes
Bill Shaw was born in Wilmington, Delaware on April 30, 1918. After taking ROTC in college, he entered the U.S. Army as an officer (a captain) when he was twenty-two during the second world war. After setting up an air base in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, he was sent to San Francisco. From here he boarded the Lauraline and traveled to New Guinea and the Philippines. In this interview, Mr. Shaw describes what the accommodations on the ship were like and what the purpose of their mission was—they were replacements. He was sent to join an outfit of men with different technical backgrounds and they were intended to serve as battlefield scavengers, gathering anything useful and returning it to the central depot in Manila. Mr. Bell was entrusted with important artifacts, such as the Japanese General Yumosha’s sword. He describes speaking with General Macarthur and refers to him as “nicer than your commanding officer.” As his unit moved north to Tokyo, he describes the increasing destruction they encountered and findings like mason jars full of diamonds. When confronted with Japanese troops wanting to surrender, General Willoughby (Mr. Shaw’s commanding officer) told him to take the surrender. The general told him to remove all of his brass and ribbons, not to salute, and take the surrender. Mr. Shaw says that these orders came from General Macarthur, who was “genius” when it came to dealing with the Japanese people. Mr. Shaw had many incredible experiences during the war. Another of these occurred when General Yamashita was captured and executed by the U.S. Yamashita gave his interrogator a letter to be delivered to his wife and Mr. Shaw was the man who delivered it. The stories that Mr. Shaw tells in this interview are amazing. He is an excellent storyteller and recalls many interesting tales of his time in the Pacific during World War II.