RECOLLECTION

1989 Harry Chester

“The Big Snake”

The middle of February 1944 found us on the other side of the world operating up and down the coast of New Guinea, which we did for several months. I call that island-Never Never land- and several names I won’t repeat here. Even now forty five years later, its still the most primitive place on earth, according to the magazines I read and I have no reason to doubt them.

I am not positive about the place, or the exact date of this incident, but I can get close. I think was Buna, New Guinea in March or April. I was leaning over the starboard side near the boat deck around 1000 one morning, day dreaming about Camden, Tennessee when all of once I made eye contact with a monster of a snake. Its head looked as big as a football and the eyes were the size of quarters. It was motionless in the water. It had very bright coloration, orange and green with other colors mixed in. I don’t know how long it was, but I could see snake for 25 or 30 feet. It seemed to be sizing me up, like it would like to have me for lunch.

The small arms gun locker was a few yards from me and I had a key to the locker. I latched on to a sub machine gun and hurried back to where I had seen it. I was going to put holes in that ugly head but it had disappeared. We had been having swimming call once in a while over the side of the ship, occasion permitting. I never went in again. Not with buggers like that in the water!