After capture of the Myitkyina Airfield, the unit known as Merrill's Marauders was forced to disband due to injury, disease, and fatigue. The Allied Command decided to organize the 5332nd Brigade, otherwise known as the Mars Task Force, to carry on the work to secure and protect the Burma Road from the Japanese forces. Attached to the brigade was a linguistic team comprised of recent graduates from the Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS) at Fort Snelling. Yutaka Nakahata was one of them.
<br><br>Upon landing at Myitkyina in late 1944, the group experienced an enemy attack for the first time when two Japanese aircraft stealthily appeared to bomb and strafe the U.S. forces on the airfield. After extensive training on jungle warfare, the linguists split into two-man teams and began their journey along the Burma Road. Nakahata recalls the long march:
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We slogged through mud, scaled 7,000-foot peaks, skidded down steep mountainsides rendered slick by monsoon rain, and hacked our way through dense jungles. Along the way, we fought several skirmishes. Then we engaged the enemy in a climactic battle at Namhpakka, located right smack on the Burma Road. This decisive fight raged for three weeks until the defeated Japanese retreated southward.
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<br><br>The march lasted for almost 300 miles, during which the 124th Cavalry Regiment suffered 64 men killed in action and almost 300 injured soldiers. Once the mission was completed, the team headed for China to participate in various commands. One of Nakahata's last assignments was with the Southeast Asia Translation and Interrogation Center (SEATIC) in New Delhi, India.
