His unit, the 77th Division was moved to Hawaii in early 1944 and then took part in the invasion of Guam in July of 1944. This was a difficult campaign as the Japanese were well dug in and the coral reefs were numerous, which meant much equipment had to be floated ashore on rafts. Also, it was difficult terrain for
tanks since the soil was sandy and soft. Torrential rains meant more difficulty for the tanks....One medium tank next to him was destroyed. The Japanese had few tanks, though. Their troops were unpredictable and would charge tanks with sabers. Usually, though, they tried to sneak up behind American lines. Few of the surrendered. Maurice's division then spent several weeks rooting out the dug in Japanese who had not surrendered or been killed.
After a rest in New Caledonia, they moved out for Leyte, Philippine Islands. On Thanksgiving day, while eating their turkey dinner, their convoy was attacked by Japanese planes, but they were able to proceed to Leyte. They landed after the beachhead had already been established. Again, the soft ground and abundant rains made it difficult to use their medium tanks.
...they left for the invasion of Okinawa in March 1945. However, before their departure, Maurice became severely ill and was flown to a hospital in New Guinea. As luck would have it, the Japanese bombed the base just an hour after his arrival. Although creating much damage and giving the doctors a busy night, the attack caused him no problems.
