February has always been a month of milestones for Wilson native Jerry Cullom.
It's the month he celebrates his birthday and a wedding anniversary. It is also the month his wife Frannie gave birth to the couple's first of two children, Sumner "Reggie" Cullom.
"I saw two eyes, a mouth," recalled the smiling 86-year-old Cullom of his son's birth, "and I don't think he's closed that mouth since."
Yet, as much as those milestones bring a smile to his face, it's also the time the United States Army shipped the then 21-year-old overseas to the Pacific Theater. In fact, he departed the very night his son was born.
Cullom is among a vanishing breed of men -- one of an estimated 2 million World War II veterans who are still living to pass along their story. And this is his.
It was 1945 and the United States was embroiled in World War II and the Cullom family had already seen two sons go off to war. Cullom's brothers John Charles (J.C.) and Joe Ransom were both serving overseas. J.C. was an Army Air Force co-pilot who logged 55 missions in his service to the country. He saw action in North Africa against German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Corps and in Sicily as the Allies began their push into Europe.
Brother Joe was assigned to a combat engineering company where he served as company commander.
Uncle Sam drafted Cullom in October 1944, destination the Pacific, specifically the Philippines where the Allies were trying to beat back the Japanese resistance. It definitely turned Cullom's world upside down as he was accustomed to sitting atop a tractor and farming the vast, rich Delta land, not trying to reclaim small pieces of ground with a weapon in hand, while bullets and mortars whizzed about all around him.
"The Lord was with me," explained Cullom of his good fortune. "People can say what they want, but I wonder about how things, especially how He protected me in the midst of all that. You have to believe in the Lord."
It wasn't as if Cullom came out unscathed. The treacherous conditions in the jungle environment made it ripe with malaria -- he contracted it twice -- plus a toe infection which landed him in a field hospital.
"We were constantly wading in water and my boots came all to pieces," he recalled. "A terrible toe infection."
There were other medical conditions which affect him to this day, yet the humble Cullom takes it all in stride.
"Just doing what my country asked me to do," he answered, "really no different than anyone else."
Basic training landed him at Camp Robinson in Little Rock where his travels were just beginning.
After the birth of his son Feb. 26, Cullom was soon to be aboard a luxury liner departing from San Francisco and headed to the Philippines. In 13 days the convoy cruised to New Guinea but from there it was slow-going as the convoy of ships traveled only as fast as the slowest ship (6 knots).
He would soon be joining the 38th Division, 151st Infantry, F Company as a rifle platoon replacement. However, he soon transferred to the weapons platoon.
It was the 151st Regiment and 38th Division that earned General Douglas MacArthur's respect and he nicknamed them the "Avengers of Bataan."
"We took up a defensive position, guarding supplies and running patrols," explained Cullom of his duties in Luzon, near the Shinbu Line. "I learned more the first day there than I did the whole time I was in basic."
He recalled his first encounter with Japanese snipers as shots rang out when the troop was navigating perilous terrain on its way to the front.
"I hesitated and looked around," Cullom remembered laughing at his inexperience, "and saw all the ditches were full. The next time I heard shots, I hit the ditch then looked around."
The Japanese forces were everywhere, even in Cullom's troop's encampment.
"Yeah, about 200 of them walked right through our camp one night," he reminisced. "They sure did slip up on us. No, I don't know why they didn't open fire. Maybe they were just surprised they were able to get that close to us. One of our men did fire a machine gun as the last ones made it through. It was too late though."
And as the Japanese resistance fortified themselves in a series of intricate tunnels, caves and pillboxes, the more difficult it became to liberate the islands.
Coupled with the nearly impassable trails and the inclement weather -- "it would rain so hard you couldn't see 3 feet in front of you" -- Cullom and his regiment had their hands full.
There were countless near misses which again Cullom attributed his safety to the grace of God.
"He was watching," said the believer. "There was an instance where we were in three-men foxholes and (Japanese) started a mortar attack,"
Cullom recollected of the 60 mm shell barrage. "One landed right at the end of our hole. It was a dud!"
The men in the hole adjacent to Cullom's weren't near as fortunate.
"Shrapnel does some damage," he said.
He witnessed a member of his platoon be killed by a booby trap. Yet even with death staring him in the face on a daily basis, Cullom was able to survive and sometimes it was in part to the dead.
"It was hot as the devil," Cullom recalled wiping his brow. "You know, there was a man that got killed one day and I got his canteen. It took two canteens full of water for every 24 hours to make it. ... That extra (canteen) sure did help."
Elements of the 151st were also charged with the defense of Cabello -- one of three islands the regiment defended.
It was here F Company fell from favor with command. F Company's commander challenged the battalion commander's orders to divide two understrengthed companies.
With the odds definitely in the Japanese's favor, Cullom's commander made a tough decision.
"Our commander went to regiment with his concerns," said Cullom. "And regiment agreed. We brought our companies together and built a perimeter. Had those two companies been split, the Japanese would have overrun us. Because of our commander's decision, we weren't liked very much for his violating the chain of command. He saved a lot of lives though."
There were more battles, including Zig-Zag Pass, where the stingy Japanese forces tried to hold the Zambales Mountain range.
Though facing an enemy it rarely saw, the Allies continued their advance to retake the Philippines and allowed Gen. MacArthur to uphold his promise of "I shall return."
As the battle for the islands wound down, there were talks between the two opposing forces. A photo published in a a book detailing the 38th's time in the Philippines depicts Shinbu Japanese force commander Lt. Gen. Shizuo Yokoyama's staff as they prepared to meet with the American command. Cpl. Cullom stood just feet from the Japanese representatives.
Cullom was battling his toe infection when Japan announced its formal surrender to end the war and his regiment was soon deactivated. He had hoped to be transferred to a division stationed in Japan, but was transferred stateside to the Fifth Division based in Camp Campbell, Ky.
"They put me with an engineering company because I knew how to drive a tractor," he said.
"I was lucky though," Cullom added of being a part of the famed 38th. "I was assigned to a good division, a good company. I'm not going to bad mouth the Army for not letting me go to Japan."
Not long after, Cullom returned to pick up where he had left off in October 1944. The devout family man returned to the farm. Having fulfilled his duty, there were no more jungles or treacherous terrain, the veteran laid down his weapon in favor of the tractor.