.
The 4th Marines was put under the command of
Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell, commanding the 16th Naval
District, and given the mission of protecting the naval stations on
the island of Luzon, primarily Olongapo and the Navy Section Base at
Mariveles. The Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet, stressed a more
important mission to Howard. That mission was to prepare his men for
mobile field operations. Hart also underscored the proximity to war
with the Japanese.
Howard returned and informed his staff that Hart felt
that war was only "a matter of days if not hours away." Howard
emphasized the point by emphatically stating, "We will be at war
with the Japanese within a week." After the staff had left, he
revealed to Major Reginald H. "Bo" Ridgely the anticipated finality
of their mission, saying, "they would never see their families
again." |