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From Shanghai to Corregidor:Marines in the Defense ofthe Philippinesby I. Michael Miller

he Government of theUnited States hasdecided to withdraw theAmerican Marine de-tachments now main-

tained ashore in China, at Peiping,Tientsin, and Shanghai. It is reportedthat the withdrawal will begin short-

ly.,,President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Press Conference, 14 November 1941

President Roosevelt's an-nouncement formally endedalmost 15 years of duty by the 4thMarine Regiment in Shanghai.Clouds of war were quickly clos-ing in on the China Marines asJapan and the United States edgedever closer to active hostilities."One could sense the tenseness inthe air," Lieutenant Colonel CurtisT. Beecher remembered, "Therewas a general feeling of uneasi-ness and uncertainty in the air."

In September 1941, ColonelSamuel L. Howard, USMC,Commanding Officer, 4th Ma-rines, recommended to AdmiralThomas Hart, USN, Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet, thatHoward's regiment be evacuatedfrom its longtime duty station inShanghai. The regiment com-

On the Cover: Two Marines relax out-side a bunker on Corregidor before theheavy Japanese shelling destroyed most ofthe foliage on the island

At left: Col Samuel L. Howard and hisregimental staff lead the 4th Marines tothe Bund in Shanghai, 28 November1941. John E. Drake Papers, PersonalPapers Collection, MCHC

prised two small battalions, madeup of approximately 800 Marinesand attached naval personnel, andwas dangerously exposed toJapanese attack should war come.

Hart had anticipated the with-drawal from Shanghai by nolonger replacing individual mem-bers of the 4th Marines as they leftChina. Instead, he attached allreplacements to the 1st SeparateMarine Battalion in the CaviteNavy Yard, Philippine Islands.Hart had no official authorizationfor this plan, and later wrote, "Ifwe couldn't get all the Regimentout of China we could at least stopsending any more Marines thereuntil somebody bawled us outmost vociferously. They neverdid." On 10 November 1941,Colonel Howard received thelong-awaited orders to prepare thewithdrawal of his regiment.

Thursday, 27 November 1941,dawned grey and gloomy inShanghai. Sunrise was at 0631, butthe rain and low-lying cloudsobscured all but a hint of this fact.Adding to the gloom was thescheduled departure this day ofthe first element of the 4thMarines.

A steady drizzle fell as the firstechelon to leave, LieutenantColonel Donald Curtis' 2dBattalion, formed ranks outside itsHaiphong Street billet and pre-pared to board the double-deckerbuses of the China OmnibusCompany. At 0900 the Marinesloaded the vehicles for their lasttrip in Shanghai, down BubblingWell Road, into Nanking Road,

1

and on to the Bund, where theyboarded the lighter Merry Mollerfor the short steam down theWhangpoo, past the mouth ofSoochow Creek, to the SS PresidentMadison, bound for—the Marinesknew not where.

At the Bund, friends and sweet-hearts bid the Marines tearfulgoodbyes as the Shanghai RefugeeInstitute's brass band struck upthe "Marines' Hymn." Beforeboarding the lighter, ColonelCurtis was approached suddenlyby a Chinese in a long black robeand wearing a little grey felt hat.The native waved his hand, said"Three cheers for Chiang Kai-shek! Three cheers for PresidentRoosevelt!" and disappeared intothe crowd.

Fully loaded at 1420, theMadison slowly made her way outto the Yangtze and the Yellow Seabeyond, her destination stillunknown to the troops she wascarrying.

The next day, the 28th, wasbright and crisp as the regimentalheadquarters and LieutenantColonel Curtis T. Beecher's 1stBattalion formed up at Ferry andAvenue Roads. At 0900, the regi-mental commander, ColonelHoward, ordered "Forwardmarch!" and the column steppedoff to the sounds of "Glory of theTrumpets," followed by "TheMarines' Hymn" and "SemperFidelis." Led by Colonel Howardand his staff and followed closelybehind by the 4th Marines bandand colors, the remainder of the4th Marines moved out through

kt.11

the 4th Marines.

streets lined with crowds of well-wishers waving American flags.On the mezzanine balcony of theForeign YMCA was a Scot in fullkit, kilt and all, playing his pipesin tribute to the departingMarines.

When the column nearedJimmy's Restaurant on Nankingnear Szechuan Road, a completeorchestra of Americans dressed incooks' and waiters' whites formedup behind the last rank of theMarines and joined the parade,playing American swing as theymarched.

The scene at the Bund wasmuch the same as the day beforebut the crowds were greater, withmost of Shanghai's diplomatic andconsular corps as well as promi-nent citizens of the InternationalSettlement present to wish the 4thfarewell. The same unhappysweethearts and lovers—WhiteRussians and Chinese—werethere. Also present was the inter-national press corps covering thedeparture of the Americans.

Colonel Howard made a shortspeech, and at 1400 the final ele-ments of the 4th Marines boardedthe tender for the short trip towhere the SS President Harrisonwas waiting to carry the Marinesto the Philippines.

Once at sea, orders came fromAdmiral Hart for the 4th Marinesto land at Olongapo Navy Yard.The voyage to the Philippinesproved to be uneventful, althoughboth ships traveled under warconditions. The vessels weredarkened at night with several ofthe regiment's machine gunslashed to the railings as antiair-craft defense. Two Navy subma-rifles escorted the ships, and a!-though several Japanese aircraftand ships were sighted, no inci-dents occurred.

On 30 November the Madisonarrived at Subic Bay, followed on 1December by the Harrison. Theregiment hurriedly disembarkedwith only two lighters of suppliesand field equipment taken fromeach ship. Unloading the 1st Bat-talion became a mass of confusionas every non-commissioned offi-cer tried to be the first to get hisunit's gear on the lighter. Lieuten-ant Colonel Beecher, commanding1st Battalion, observed the scenefrom the railing of the Madisonand sent for one of his non-corn-

National ArchivesThe commander of the Japanese guard in Shanghai bids farewell to Col Howard and

Marine officers waiting on board to disembark to Olongapo.Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 321-T

2

14rrivnl iii the PIii1ipjii

The 1st Separai'Marine Battalion

missioned officers. Beecher toldhim, "Duncan, go down andstraighten that mess out. Get thisstuff off and move it." Word ofBeecher's displeasure was quicklypassed and the unloading pro-gressed smoothly.

The rest of the equipment wentto the Manila port facilities andwas trucked back to Olongapo.Admiral Hart expressed specific

the field as quickly as possiblewithout all of its heavy equip-ment. "We all knew," Hart wrotelater, "that they had been coopedup in Shanghai through all thoseyears where conditions for anysort of field training were verypoor—and we thought that notmuch time remained."

The Marines found temporarywooden barracks, converted from

completion, but half the regimentwas put under canvas on the riflerange and naval station. The regi-ment was quickly put into fieldtraining in the surrounding bush,with the two battalions alternatingdays and nights in the field.

The 1st Separate Marine Battal-ion, commanded by LieutenantColonel John P. Adams, was basedat the Cavite Navy Yard. These700 Marines were organized bothas a defense and an infantry bat-talion. On Sangley Point,Company A organized Battery Dfor antiaircraft defense. CompanyB operated out of the Cavite Yard,with its internal Battery A alsolocated on Sangley Point.Company C had Batteries B and Cwhich were located in Carridadand Binakayan, respectively.Company D had two batteries, Eand F, in the Navy Yard. All of thebatteries were armed with 3-inchdual purpose guns, 3-inch antiair-craft guns, or .50-caliber machineguns.

On 3 December, ColonelHoward reported to Admiral Hartin Manila to discuss the mission ofthe regiment. The 4th Marines wasput under the command of RearAdmiral Francis W. Rockwell,commanding the 16th NavalDistrict, and given the mission ofprotecting the naval stations onthe island of Luzon, primarilyOlongapo and the Navy SectionBase at Mariveles. The Comman-der-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet,stressed a more important missionto Howard. That mission was toprepare his men for mobile fieldoperations. Hart also underscoredthe proximity to war with theJapanese

orders for the regiment to get into warehouses, that were nearing

3

Preparing for War

MANILA BAY' I

Miles

—.—It'.

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Howard returned and informedhis staff that Hart felt that war wasonly "a matter of days if not hoursaway." Howard emphasized thepoint by emphatically stating, "We

will be at war with the Japanesewithin a week." After the staff hadleft, he revealed to Major ReginaldH. "Bo" Ridgely the anticipatedfinality of their mission, saying,

"they would never see their fanii-lies again."

On 5 December, ColonelHoward attended a meeting withAdmiral Rockwell at the CaviteNavy Yard to discuss the immedi-ate preparations for war. Rockwellordered him to send one battalionof Marines to Mariveles as a guardfor that installation. The followingday a reconnaissance was made ofthe Mariveles area, camp siteswere selected, and preparationsmade to deploy LieutenantColonel Beecher's 1st Battalionthere by sea on 8 December.

On 7 December, ColonelHoward put into effect a combattraining schedule for the regiment.Marine Barracks, Olongapo, wasreduced in strength with mentransferred to the 4th Marines, butHoward retained the organizationto allow for a constant defense ofthe yard, releasing Lieutenant

National ArchivesMembers of the 4th Marines debark at the Olongapo Navy Yard.

A working party unloads the accumulated gear brought by the 4th Marines to the Philippines.Department of Defense Photo (USMC) COR-11003

4

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Colonel Herman R.Anderson's 2d Battalionmovement into the field.

At 0257, 8 December, a messagearrived at Asiatic FleetHeadquarters announcing theJapanese attack on Pearl Harbor.Notification of the attack andinstructions to all ships and sta-tions began at 0315. Shortly after0300, Lieutenant Colonel Adamsat Cavite received word fromAdmiral Rockwell that theJapanese had attacked PearlHarbor. He instantly placed the1st Separate Marine Battalion onCondition One Alert until 30 min-utes past daylight. At 0350 a mes-sage came into the 4th Marines'communications center inOlongapo from Commander-in-

Chief Asiatic Fleet, stating, "Japanstarted hostilities, govern your-selves accordingly." ColonelHoward was notified withoutdelay and then passed the wordon to his officers.

First Lieutenant Austin C.Shofner came through the officer'sbillet area awakening the men bytelling them they were at war. Anunidentified Marine shouted,"Why don't you get out of hereand let us sleep?" Shofner soonhad all the officers on duty. Thenext duty was to inform the regi-ment. Major Frank P. Pyzick, offi-cer of the day, rode through theNavy Yard in the side car of amotorcycle, shouting, "War isdeclared! War is declared!"

The Marine Barracks Olongapogong sounded through the night.Many Marines had no idea what

5

this alarm was about. CorporalChester C. Alderman rememberedthinking, "What kind of new fan-gled reveille is this?" until anOlongapo Marine yelled out,"That's General Alarm," and the4th Marines tumbled from itsracks half asleep to stand forma-tion in the dark. LieutenantColonel Samuel W. Freeny, execu-tive officer of the 1st Battalion,stood before the assembledMarines still in his night shirt. Heannounced Pearl Harbor had beenbombed and the United States andJapan were at war. For manyMarines the news was anticlimac-tical, as one wag was heard toremark, "They got us up for that?"

All regimental headquarterscompany personnel were brokenout of their bunks at 0400 andassembled outside the barracks.

National ArchivesCavite Navy Yard, 10 June 1940. The yard is located on the island at the bottom and the Sangley Point installations at the top ofthe photograph. Note the PBYs in the harbor.

"Red"for quick

jV

Sergeant Pat Hitchcock remem-bered, "every 15 minutes a quar-termaster came by passing outammunition . . . they first passedout a 5-round clip . . . a little laterthey gave us enough ammunitionto fill our rifle belts. Later still theypassed out bandoliers to drapeover our shoulders. We lookedlike Mexican bandits."

The 1st Battalion was awakenedat 0300 to be ready for the daylightmove to Mariveles at 0730. Powerfor the battalion's lights was cutwith no explanation, and it read-ied for the move in blackness. Allpersonnel were prepared to moveby daylight except Company D,the heavy weapons company,which would join the battalionlater. The Marines were leavingthe dock at Olongapo on board theUSS Vaga when Beecher was for-mally informed of the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor. The battal-ion sailed for the section base atMariveles without air support.Beecher was concerned about apossible Japanese attack, but the1St Battalion arrived without inci-dent at 1130.

In the following two days, the4th Marines and 1st SeparateMarine Battalion worked on theirdefensive positions. Howardplaced 36 machine guns ofLieutenant Colonel Anderson's 2dBattalion around the OlongapoNavy Yard as antiaircraft defense,prepared beach defense positionsat Calapacuan Point, and estab-lished a bivouac site two milesoutside the Navy Yard. Fire-fight-ing parties were organized inCavite and Olongapo and demoli-tion details were formed todestroy the bridges north ofOlongapo should the Japaneseland there. Other war measuresincluded assigning the regimentalband to Company E as a rifle pla-toon and Captain Lewis H. Pickupwas assigned as liaison officer tocoordinate with the neighboring

31st Philippine Army Division.On 8 December, Company D

arrived at Mariveles by truck tounite the 1st Battalion. The menprepared positions in the sur-rounding jungle, but also worked10 to 12 hours a day unloading themany barges bringing rations,ammunition, and equipment. On 9December, Howard ordered thatthe regiment be fed only twice aday, "breakfast before daylightand dinner after dark," to con-serve supplies.

On 10 December, a Japaneseforce was reported approachingalong the Bagac Road within 20

6

miles of the Section Base.Lieutenant Colonel Beecher with-out delay deployed the 1stBattalion into blocking positionsalong the highway. Only twoMarines were left behind, a cookand the battalion armorer,Sergeant Louis E. Duncan, whoguarded the camp with two .50-caliber machine guns. The reportsturned out to be false alarms andthe battalion returned to camp.

The Marine positions were notimmediately attacked as theJapanese, who were indeed attack-ing the Philippines, were concen-trating on airfields and Manila,

Clifton B. Cates Papers, Personal Papers CollectionA Japanese artist's rendition of the bombing of Cavite, 10 December 1941.

waterfront.

the capital. However, an averageof six air-raid alarms occurreddaily. Lieutenant Colonel Beecherat first ordered his men to scatterat the sound of the air-raid siren,but had to rescind the order as nowork could be accomplishedunder the constant sirens. Workcontinued, siren or no siren. Air-raid shelters were constructed,instructions issued in the eventJapanese aircraft should appear,and blackout procedures werestrictly followed. The militarypolice company at Cavite tookregistered and suspected enemyaliens and foreign agents into cus-

Three Marine-manned antiair-craft positions were located out-side the Cavite Navy Yard: BatteryA, across the bay at Canacao GolfCourse on the tip of Sangley Point;Battery B at Carridad; and BatteryC at Binacayan one mile south.Each held four 3-inch, .50-caliber,dual-purpose guns with a range ofabout 15,000 feet. Battery D was

divided to support each positionwith five .50-caliber machineguns.

On 10 December, two Japanesecombat teams came ashore innorthern Luzon, securing airfieldsfor their Army aircraft to supportmore landings. However, therewas no alarm in Cavite. As usual,civilian workers came into theNavy Yard and quickly went towork. The only sign of war was adetachment of Filipino workersdigging an air-raid trench in theyard of the Commandancia,Admiral Rockwell's headquarters.The half-completed trench was theonly air-raid shelter in the NavyYard. Only the antiaircraftweapons had been revetted. Four3-inch antiaircraft guns weremounted at the ammunition depotin the yard, as well as numerous.50-caliber machine guns mountedaround the yard.

A little past noon the droning ofnumerous aircraft engines washeard, followed by an air-raidsiren. Marines rushed to theveranda of the Marine Barracks

7

and watched 54 aircraft in threelarge "V" formations approach.All eyes in the Yard were focusedon the aircraft which were widelyassumed to be Army Air Corps.The first suspicious sign was adogfight below the formation.Someone then yelled, "Look atthose leaflets come down." Almostin unison, many voices yelled out,"leaflets, hell—they're bombs!"The naval base was rocked by thefirst bombs striking the ground.Marines, sailors, and civilianscrouched under the nearest coverwith no formal shelters available.

The first stick of bombs hit thewater, as did most of the second,but the rest of the bombs criss-crossed the Navy Yard and smallfires began to spread among thewreckage. The Marines of BatteryE, on top of the Naval Ammu-nition Depot, opened fire asbombs hit first on one side of theirbuilding and then on the other,splashing mud and water overthem. Private First Class Leslie R.Scoggin called out the plottingdata for the nearby battery, butfound the aircraft were flyingabove 23,000 feet, far above therange of the battery. Luckily, nobombs actually hit the depot.

The Marine on the rangefinderat Battery C, stationed at

to FirstHoidredgeabove the

Binacayan, reportedLieutenant Willard B.that the aircraft wererange of the guns. Hoidredgeordered the Marine to take thereading again. When given thesame answer, the lieutenant tookthe reading himself. Hoidredgeknew then that the Japanese air-craft were flying at 21,000-25,000feet but his guns had a range ofonly 15,000 feet. He ordered thebattery to fire anyway.

First Lieutenant Carter Simpsonat Binacayan later wrote, "Wewere left with a sense of fatalitywhich was renewed every timeour eyes fell on the Yard across the

National Archives Photo SC 130991Small arms ammunition explodes in burning warehouses on the Cavite Navy Yard

tody.

Bombinç of Cavite

5

kr-'.4

bay . . . A toy pistol would havedamaged their planes as much aswe did." Battery A on SangleyPoint ceased fire after the firstwave passed untouched. Battery Bon Carridad also tried to hit theJapanese aircraft, but the 280rounds expended during the raidfell short.

Captain Ted E. Pubs command-ed Battery F, which had two .50-caliber machine guns located onthe Guadalupe Pier near the NavyCommunications building. Heordered his men to open fire onthe first wave of planes, but afterthe initial bombing ordered hismen to cease fire as the aircraftwere obviously above range.Private First Class Thomas L.Wetherington was killed by bombfragments, becoming the firstMarine to lose his life in defense ofthe Philippines. Private First ClassGeorge Sparks was on guard dutyat the Naval District Headquarterswhen the bombs hit. He was ableto take cover in a worn pathbeside the building as the bombsbegan to fall. Trees were blowndown and one fell over Sparks.Although the path was only a fewinches deep, it was enough to save

One of two .50-caliber machine gunmounts of Battery F located onGuadalupe Pier, Cavite Navy Yard. CaptTed Pubs successfully evacuated his menfrom the pier after being trapped by fire.

Navy Historical Center 80-G-46883

Cavite Navy Yard burns in this JapaneseDecember 1941.

him from serious injury. One otherMarine was wounded during thebombing.

Captain John Clark ran to thebarracks and ordered the Marinesnot on duty to draw ammunitionand get outside to fire on enemyaircraft which might strafe theYard. They ran to the quartermas-ter's office and formed in line toreceive ammunition. As bombsfell nearby, the Marines dove forcover, and then returned to theline, repeating the process severaltimes. Bombs struck close to themas Private Jack D. Thompson laterremembered, "When you hear oneof those bombs coming down, youthink it's coming down the back ofyour neck." The effort provedfruitless as the buildings restrictedthe fields of fire for small arms.

The Yard continued to burn asthe last Japanese aircraft departed.An aid station was set up in thelibrary of the Marine Barracks asthe hospital had received a directhit. Approximately 1,000 civilianswere reported killed and morethan 500 wounded were treated in

8

photograph taken after the bombing on 10

the aid station. Marines formedfirefighting parties to put out theraging fires. The Filipino fire com-panies surrounded the ammuni-tion dump and prevented firefrom reaching the explosives, butthe torpedo warehouse burnedand the warheads sporadicallyexploded, preventing the firefight-ing parties from putting out thefire.

The fires trapped CaptainPubs' Battery F on the GuadalupePier and the exploding torpedowarheads threatened the Marines,sailors, and civilians who hadescaped to the dock. Pubs orderedhis Marines to build makeshiftrafts and successfully evacuatedmen, weapons, and ammunition.

As night neared, all personnel,except a small group of Marinesand Manila firemen, were evacu-ated out of the Yard and transport-ed by truck to a site on the roadleading to Manila. After travelling15 miles the trucks stopped andthe battalion set up camp. The fol-lowing morning Marine detach-ments were sent back to guard the

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Navy Historical Center Photo 80-G-1783219Olongapo Navy Yard, 27 October 1941. Note the water tank and the old cruiser Rochester (CA-2).

abandoned Navy Yard. Fieldkitchens were established to feedcivilians as well as Navy andMarine Corps personnel. Otherdetachments reinforced theSangley Point radio station as wellas the ammunition depot atCanancao. Marines were alsoposted at all the gasoline stationson the road to Manila to guard thefuel supplies for military use.

Marines patrolled the emptiedNavy Yard, checking for lootersand any new fires. At noon anadministrative force returned andreopened the battalion offices. Abulldozer dug a trench near theCommandancia and working par-ties attempted to bury the civiliandead. Dump trucks were filledwith bodies which were dumpedinto the trench as Marines buriedmore than 250 corpses with shov-els. Once the burials in the Yardwere finished, the mass grave wascovered with dirt.

The Cavite area remained quiet

until 1247 on 19 December whennine Japanese bombers returnedwith Sangley Point as their target.The bombers hit the large radiotowers and the fuel depot.Numerous 55-gallon fuel drumswere stored on the golf course, inthe hospital compound, and onthe beach. Fuel drums exploded,forcing the evacuation of thewounded. One Marine remem-bered "the roar of the firedrowned the sound of the motors(of the bombers) and the sound ofthe bombs."

Mess Sergeant Milton T. Larios,Corporal Earl C. Dodson, and aFilipino cook named "Pop" werepreparing rations for the Marinesstill in the Cavite Navy Yard whenthe air raid siren went off. Lariosshouted, "Let's get this meat offthe fire," and tried to load the beefinto a nearby garbage can whenthe bombs hit. Corporal Dodsonremembered running until hear-ing the whistle of the bombs corn-

9

ing down and then fell to theground. Explosions covered himwith dirt and debris but heescaped the blast unhurt. He ranback to the mess area where hefound Larios dead and "Pop"dying. He carried the bleedingFilipino to a collection pointwhere 15 wounded Americansand Filipinos were lying together.

Admiral Rockwell ordered FirstLieutenant James W. Keene tomake a fire break in the rows ofbarrels to save as much fuel aspossible. Keene took 12 Marinesinto the area of the exploding bar-rels and began work when anoth-er "stick" of bombs hit, killingPrivate First Class George D.Frazier. The bombs started newfires, which forced Keene to pullhis men out. Total Marine casual-ties were five killed, eight wound-ed.

On 12 December, Japanese

Olougapo

troops made another landing insoutheastern Luzon. At 1020,Headquarters, 4th Marines, wasnotified by rifle range personnel ofthe approach of enemy aircraft.Air-raid sirens sounded swiftly.Five minutes passed, and with noaircraft sighted, the field musicsounded "secure." At once, theroar of Japanese aircraft washeard. Seven Japanese fighters fol-lowed a flight of PBYs of Navy

Marines opened fire on theJapanese aircraft with automaticrifles, rifles, and light machineguns, but with little effect.

10

Sergeant Pat Hitchcock remem-bered, "They evidently were notimpressed because they were verycasual about their strafing runs."The Japanese fighters attacked thebase for almost an hour.

Private First Class Thomas S.Allender was stationed on thewater tower armed with a .30-cal-iber machine gun and soonengaged the aircraft as theystrafed the Navy Yard. "That god-dam plane was shooting at him.He'd run around to the other sideof the tank and the guy would goby," recalled Master TechnicalSergeant Ivan L. Buster, "and thenthe guy would come back andhe'd run around to the other sideof the tank again." Allenderremained on the tower for theentire raid untouched, althoughthe tank itself was riddled withmachine gun fire, "with waterspraying everywhere." A Marinegunnery sergeant lay in a ditch onhis back firing his .45-caliber pistolat the aircraft on their strafingruns. When asked between attackswhy he was firing at all, heresponded, "This makes me feelbetter."

On 13 December, 27 bombersappeared over Olongapo at 1155and bombs began to hit the NavyYard and the civilians in the town.No installations were hit, althoughbombs straddled the regimentalhospital located at the RiversideCabaret. Again, no weapons in theNavy Yard could reach the alti-tude of the enemy aircraft.Corporal Earl W. Hettgar remem-bered staring up at the Japaneseaircraft, which were flying so lowthe Marines could "look up intothe bomb bays" of the aircraft.Many houses in the town weredestroyed with 13 civilians killedand 40 wounded.

Private First Class Neil P. lovinobecame the first 4th Marines casu-alty when bomb fragments struckhim in the abdomen. The frag-

Patrol Wing 10 to the base, waitedfor them to land, and attacked. Allof the PBYs were soon in flamesand the Japanese then turned tothe Olongapo naval station. A sin-gle aircraft flew low over the sta-tion to test the level of anti-aircraftfire.

ments shattered his gun stock first,preventing a more serious injury.Two other Marines were alsowounded. That night, the men ofthe 2d Battalion were amusedwhen they heard Radio Tokyoannounce that the 4th Marineshad been annihilated.

After the bombing, most ofLieutenant Colonel Anderson's 2dBattalion moved to the hills on theManila Road five miles outside theNavy Yard. Several times, por-tions of the 2d Battalion wererushed to the beach front to repelreported landings near Cala-pacuan Point and permanent de-fensive positions were set upalong Mauqinaya Beach. Lieuten-ant Colonel "Red" Andersoncalmed his men by walkingamong them as they dug, saying,"That's okay men, they got nothin'bigger than 8-inch shells to throwat us!"

The battalion also formed

blocking positions on the ManilaRoad at Mount Panaigar in theZambales Mountains in coordina-tion with the Philippine Army's31st Division. On 22 December,the Japanese landed their 48thDivision north of Olongapo atLingayen Gulf and the main bodyof the 2d Battalion returned to pro-tect the Naval Station from anysupporting Japanese landing.

The Japanese quickly crushedAmerican and Philippine resis-tance at Lingayen Gulf, and unitedwith the troops previously landedon northern Luzon. On 24December, another major force,the 16th Division, landed just 60miles from Manila at Lamon BayGeneral Douglas MacArthur, com-manding USAFFE (United StatesArmy Forces in the Far East),knew the situation was hopeless.He decided to withdraw allAmerican and Philippine forces tothe peninsula of Bataan where a

11

final stand would be made, in con-junction with the fortified islandsin Manila Bay.

The intended use of Marines inthe joint defense plan for thePhilippines called for the transfero the regiment to Army opera-tional control. Admiral Hartbelieved that the 4th Marines"were the strongest infantry regi-ment in the Philippines," becauseof the experience of their veteranofficers and noncommissionedofficers. In an 8 December formalletter Admiral Hart remindedMacArthur that the 4th Marinesregiment was available, but theUSAFFE commander requestedonly a battalion to serve as a guardfor USAFFE headquarters.MacArthur further offered toallow the Fleet Commander toretain jurisdiction over the unit.

MIDDLE SECTOR

Rock Pt..Ordnance Pt

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WEST SECTORCOR REGIDOR

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