Meet Jay Bruischat: Artillery parts clerk used guitar to get through World War II

As Jay Bruischat clambered over the side of a transport ship near Milne Bay, New Guinea, and began climbing down a rope ladder into a waiting amphibious vehicle, he felt his grip on his guitar case weakening.

Loosening at first and then quickly devolving into a full-fledged slip that could have led to a plummet to the deck below, Bruischat tossed his guitar into oblivion, figuring he’d never see it again, and regained a firm grasp of the rope ladder dangling over the side of the transport.

“I thought it was gone,” said Bruischat, a lifelong Holland-area resident.

When Bruischat, now 92, landed on New Guinea in late 1943, he was attached to a U.S. Army unit charged with providing spare parts to artillery units that provided fire support for Allied forces pushing Japanese combatants across the island.

Drafted into the Army in early 1943, Bruischat underwent training at Camp Maxey, Texas, and was assigned to the 171st Ordinance Field Depot where he learned the ins and outs of large caliber artillery pieces.

“They put me in artillery parts; I had to learn all about artillery parts and then they shipped me over to New Guinea,” he said.

When Bruischat left for the Pacific in late 1943, he carried his guitar with him. Unbeknownst to Bruischat, somebody caught his guitar and returned it to him.

“I got ashore and some guy named Devereaux, from Massachusetts, said, ‘Hey buddy, here’s your guitar,’” Bruischat said, brimming from ear to ear with a smile.

After conducting landings at various locations during the New Guinea campaign, Bruischat would leave his guitar with an Army quartermaster who would return it to him once things had calmed down.

“When everything was quiet I’d play my guitar,” he said.

The morning after he landed at Milne Bay, he heard someone shout something that required his undivided attention.

“Is anybody here from Holland, Michigan?” the voice asked.

“There were six of us,” Bruischat said. “I never once after that ever met anybody from Holland, Michigan or even West Michigan after that.”

Bruischat returned to the United States in late 1946, was discharged from Fort Sheridan, Ill. and returned home on Jan. 6, 1947.

“I kissed my girlfriend,” Bruischat said. “We got married on Feb. 1. That was the best day of my life, when we got married.”

Jay Bruischat and his wife, Dottie, still live in the Holland area.

Jay Bruischat still plays the guitar and enjoys wintering in Texas with his wife where he attends countless “jam” sessions with friends and strangers alike.

— If you’re a veteran or know a veteran who would like to be featured, please contact Rob Wetterholt Jr. at 616-546-4269 or at rob.wetterholt@hollandsentinel.com.