Luzon

Lt.General E.M. Flanagan

“The advance had been so swift that the Japs who had the steel-trussed span mined were caught on the far side of it. They attempted to get to their detonator but our fire from the west bank of the Palico killed six and forced the rest to withdraw toward Tagaytay Ridge. Capture of the bridge allowed us to keep moving ahead. Its destruction would have seriously delayed us since our engineers did not have the equipment to replace it. Bypassing would have been difficult because the Palico River flows in a deep, steep-sided canyon, as do most of the Luzon Rivers.”___ Gen. E.M. Flanagan

The 6th and 8th Armies on Luzon were repeatedly in close and brutal combat with the Japanese.  By dawn on 4 February the paratroopers ran into increasingly heavy and harassing fire from Japanese riflemen and machine gunners. At the Paranaque River, just south of the Manila city limits, the battalion halted at a badly damaged bridge only to be battered by Japanese artillery fire from Nichols Field. The 11th Airborne Division had reached the main Japanese defenses south of the capital and could go no further.

US Army, Luzon

Regarding Manila as indefensible, General Yamashita had originally ordered the commander of Shimbu Group, General Yokoyama Shizuo, to destroy all bridges and other vital installations and evacuate the city as soon as strong American forces made their appearance. However, Rear Adm. Iwabachi Sanji, the naval commander for the Manila area, vowed to resist the Americans and countermanded the order. Determined to support the admiral as best he could, Yokoyama contributed three Army battalions to Iwabachi’s 16,000-man Manila Naval Defense Force and prepared for battle. The sailors knew little about infantry tactics or street fighting, but they were well armed and entrenched throughout the capital. Iwabachi resolved to fight to the last man.

Nichols Field, Luzon, February 1945

On 4 February 1945, General MacArthur announced the imminent recapture of the capital while his staff planned a victory parade. But the battle for Manila had barely begun. Almost at once the 1st Cavalry Division in the north and the 11th Airborne Division in the south reported stiffening Japanese resistance to further advances into the city. As one airborne company commander remarked in mock seriousness, “Tell Halsey to stop looking for the Jap Fleet; it’s dying on Nichols Field.” All thoughts of a parade had to be put aside.

The final attack on the outer Japanese defenses came from the 11th Airborne Division, under the XIV Corps control since 10 February. The division had been halted at Nichols Field on the fourth and since then had been battling firmly entrenched Japanese naval troops, backed up by heavy fire from concealed artillery. Only on 11 February did the airfield finally fall to the paratroopers, but the acquisition allowed the 11th Airborne Division to complete the American encirclement of Manila on the night of the twelfth.

As February opened, the 7th Allied Air Force continually bombed Iwo Jima, Marcus Island and Corregidor, while the 5th Allied Air Force not only targeted Corregidor as well, but Cavite, Cebu City, enemy positions on Mindanao and Borneo.

Luzon and the 11th Airborne

References: “Angels: The History of the 11th Airborne Division by Gen. EM Flanagan Jr.; US Army History: Luzon; Pacific Wrecks & US Navy records; “Our Jungle Road To Tokyo” and “Dear Miss Em” by Gen. Robert Eichelberger.

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Military Humor – 

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Farewell Salutes – 

Frederick H. Alvet – Catharpin, VA; USMC, WWII, Purple Heart  /  US Army, Korea

Sanford K. Bowen – Ashland County, OH; US Army, WWII, ETO, Pfc. # 35308473, I Co/3/157/45th Infantry Division, Bronze Star, KIA (Reipertswiller, FRA)

Luxembourg-American Cemetery

Frank Cota – Archdale, NC; US Army, Korea, 187th RCT/11th Airborne, (Ret. 24 y.)

Elizabeth Elliott, Toronto, CAN; Women’s Royal Air Force, WWII

Patrick Francis – Brooklyn, NY; USMC, WWII, PTO, 1st Lt., Silver Star, Purple Heart

George Gilbert – Indianapolis, IN; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Fire Controlman 2nd Class, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)

Leslie C. Hallock – Duncan, OK; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, Co B/188th/11th Airborne Division

Gerald R. Helms – Chicago, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, SSgt. # 36306478, Co E/325 GIR/82nd Airborne Division, Bronze Star, KIA (Katerbosch, NETH)

Wilbur F. Newton – Mound City, MO; US Navy WWII, PTO, Seaman 1st Class # 3760544, USS Oklahoma, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI)

Robert Novotney – Kadoka, SD; US Navy, WWII, APO & PTO, fireman, USS Bearss (DD-654)

Winfield W. Scott Jr. – Colorado Springs, CO; US Air Force, Korea & Vietnam, pilot, West Point grad ’50, West Point superintendent, Lt. General (Ret. 40 y.)

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