About a month later, during the first week of January 1943, I was aboard ship heading for New Zealand. The Third Marine Division was sent to New Zealand to protect the country from a possible invasion by the Japanese. We remained there until June of that year when the New Zealand members of the British Eighth Army came home from Africa. The new home for the Third Marine Division was Guadalcanal. We boarded ship and were underway for our new destination.We arrived, settled into the tempo of Island life. On a mid August evening of 1943, I was on radio watch one evening. I was approached by our motor pool officer, Marine Gunner Wilkerson. Gunner Wilkerson was the oldest officer in our outfit. He had completed thirty years in the Corps, sixteen of which was duty in China. He had been aboard ship and was headed for the States and retirement when Pearl Harbor was bombed. This career Marine tapped me on the shoulder. "The boys are meeting on the square" he said. In my Masonic youth and not being fully educated in the ways of a Mason, I didn't understand what he was talking about. Once again he repeated "The boys are meeting on the square." I must have looked pretty bewildered when he reached out and tapped my ring finger and repeated in a louder voice "I said the boys are meeting on the square." Then I had an idea what he was talking about.
When the radio was secured, I was invited to the Gunner's tent where we talked until early morning when reveille was sounded. I learned from the Gunner that there was a Masonic club on the island, located by Henderson Field, the Island's military airfield. The club met every Tuesday evening. I learned that he and I were the only two Masons in the outfit. Gunner told me that the next Tuesday he would have a 6X6 cleaned and equipped and ready to go on a trip to the club. I was instructed that along the way we would pick up Masons at other camps scattered around the Island making sure we would stop at division headquarters to pick up his "China Marine" buddy, Gunner "Slugs" Marvin.
Tuesday evening rolled around and after chow, I changed into a clean khaki uniform. As promised the motor pool delivered a ten ton 6X6 to me, cleaned, polished and with benches installed in the back. I picked up the Gunner and he directed me where to go. First stop, the 19th Marines HQ. Two Lieutenants climbed aboard. Next stop, division HQ to pick up Gunner Marvin. Gunner Wilkerson invited Slugs Marvin to sit up front with us. During the entire ten mile drive to Henderson Field, the two spoke in Chinese to one another. Eventually we arrived at a Quonset hut with a Square and Compass mounted in front along with the words, "46th C.B. SQUARE & COMPASS CLUB". I had twenty brother Warrior Mason passengers in the back of the truck. Every week we made this trip until it was time to invade Bougainville on November 1 1943.
Jack Hoag
