Shipwrecked - Part 3

During WWII, one of our Uncles was shipwrecked.  After eleven days at sea, they reached land.
SEPTEMBER 2, 1942.  Some of us laid there perhaps a half hour or more and then made shoes out of our lifebelts and went in search of water.  About seven of us were unable to move, just laid in the shade on the beach.  Red and I walked about a quarter of a mile down the beach to a boat house and there we found a few more of our crew.  They were pretty well worn out and had found a coconut tree just outside but were unable to get any down.  We laid down in the boathouse and again thought we were through.  All except Red who went to soak himself in the sea.  On the way back he found a coconut.  Fleshman found an old blade and cut it open spilling some of the juice on the beach.  We all got a couple of swallows a piece and then started licking what little was spilled on the beach with our tongue.  In the meantime, Brinsko and Neal had found a native and had gotten a bucket of water down to the boat.  We started back and almost didn't make it.  Red and the Captain couldn't make it.  Casey took water down to them.  That Casey is sure a man.  A little later he walked down to the natives house and got eggs, tea and ciggs.(cigarettes)  Neal is okay too.  He got on a horse with another native and rode about ten miles to an army outpost for help.  Brinsko and  V. Koepke (there were brothers on the ship) went up the beach the opposite way from us and got about a dozen coconuts.  They sure were life savers.  I didn't see where they got the strength.  The Frenchman and the two natives brought tea and eggs and cooked them for us.  I never in my life tasted anything as good as that tea.  We drank about four pots as fast as he could make it and then he ran back after some more water.
Around about four o'clock we thought we heard motors, then we saw a soldier running over the hill leading some jeeps.  I never saw anything that looked so good.  There were tears in all of our eyes.  They had all the water and ciggs we wanted.  They loaded us into the jeeps and we started on a ride that none of us will ever forget.  We went up a hill about 45 degrees over trees, rocks and everything.  Those drivers and jeeps were like a polo player on a horse.  They both seemed to work in perfect coordination.
After about an hour ride over hills and around curves that made you think you were on a roly coaster, we came to the outpost.  Those big guys of the jeep patrol sure were nice to us.  They gave us their coats and blankets and had pea soup and coffee.  - talk about good.  We stayed there that night and all night my cot seemed to be rolling and tossing.  Next morning we rode seventy five miles in jeeps to a field hospital.  There they treated us like kings with breakfast in bed and everything.  We had all kinds of juices and everything.  It was about three days before any of us could walk.  It sure was an experience but I don't want any more of it.

Uncle Jack came back to Peoria after the war.  Married and became a Peoria policeman.  His log was read at a Bond Rally in Chicago and raised thousands of dollars.