3.   OUR OPERATIONS:

a.  Infantry  During the period our troops continued the assault of enemy emplace�ments along the entire coast of the western end of the rock.  Five caves containing a total of nineteen Queen boats were located and sealed in the vicinity of 33.1-40.3.  The coastline from MORRISON POINT to CAPE CORREGIDOR at 30.4-40.0 was cleared and few if any enemy remained in the area." Not quite so! "WHEELER POINT to SEARCHLIGHT POINT was assaulted by a combined naval and ground strike, clearing it of all but a few possible stragglers." More fabrications. "The area in which the enemy may remain in any strength on the western end are the coastal stretches between BREAKWATER POINT and GEARY POINT, and BATTERY POINT to MORRISON POINT."  Remember this nonsense when we get to the events of 22, 23, and 24 February.  Regiment, at least the S-3, never seemed aware that action occurred on the western end of the island.  Either this was true or they knew and chose to ignore three sharp actions by the rifle companies of the 2nd Battalion. Now back to the 503's great obsession, the closing of caves and tunnels.  "Forty-eight (48) tunnels and caves were sealed during the period for a total of one hundred and thirty-two (132) to date." Question?  How many of these stayed closed?

 4.   CASUALTIES:

a.     Our casualties: This report- 4 KIA, 14 ~A, 4 JUMP TIA (Additional reported; 13 MIA.
To date- 89 KIA, 248 WIA, 197 JUMP IIA, 13 MIA.

b.    Enemy casualties: This report- 352 KIA, 0 PW To date- 2190 KIA, 3 PW

#96   0800

Enemy dug out of - blocked caves and rolled grenades down on "C" Co positions killing 1 and wounding 4.

#97   0800

Nite very quiet and only noise is the usual fire of artillery covering draws. Flares sent up over enemy positions during nite to prevent surprise attacks by the enemy.

#98 0900-2400

2nd Bn moved down James Ravine and had observed fire from Navy on area between Morrison Point and Rock point.  Dog Co patrolled area south of Rock Point and reported 60 Japs KIA at (30.2-40.5) due to air corp & 81mm mortar fire.  Made contact with "E" Co 11501 with "D" Co.  "E" Co patrolled area toward Morrison Point and then west to Rock Point.  Fox Co patrol area NW to Rock Point.  No enemy seen.  Arty laid down barrage between 0800 & 0855 killing 60 enemy in vicinity of (30.00-40.45)."

Read the company histories below carefully.  I have already commented on the S-3 above.

#99   0900

 1st Bn kept on cleaning out caves between Searchlight point and Breakwater -Pt. Hill attacked with caves and-many dead Japs inside from naval barrage.  Caves sealed as they are checked out and some that cannot be flushed out are sealed burying the enemy alive.

#100   0900

3rd Bn - "I" Co continued to clean up caves from Breakwater point to beach area. Light fire received but no enemy action in force.  "H" Co continued cleaning area around Battery point.  Destroyed caves and 19 suicide boats hidden in caves at water level. They found possible landing beach west of Battery point and well mined as if expecting a beach landing.  Parachute landing surprised them according to the few prisoners captured "G" Co moved C.P. and strengthened perimeter.

#101   1030

Air strike both bombing and strafing on Malinta Hill N.E. section.   Repeated raids carried out during day.

#102   2130

Terrific explosion racked whole island and came from vicinity of Malinta tunnel. Banzai by 12 Japs from main entrance just after explosion and quickly exterminated by mg fire from 34th Inf. Reports that flames came from entrances of Malinta tunnels and opening some of the entrances previously closed by bombing.  Landslides caught some of the 34th Inf men located on side of hill.  Evacuation difficult.  Previous to explosion the tunnels which had been a mystery and stumbling block had been doomed to be sealed entirely. This sort of eased the situation.  Plans made for cleaning up of Topside and 23 Feb to clean up eastern end of island E of Malinta tunnels.

#103   1030

 Report to XI Corp msg #1 of bombing (and) strafing of eastern Corregidor to be followed by naval strike.

#104   1710

Msg #2 reporting to XI Corp bombing and attempted sealing of Malinta Tunnels.

#105   2030

 Situation report for period to XI Corp by msg #3.

#106   2133

Report heavy explosion in south part of Malinta tunnels to XI Corps by msg.#5.

#107   2225

 Report further on Malinta tunnels to XI Corp.

#108   2400

Nite quiet as no art fire on draws tonite.  Enemy forces pretty pretty well wiped out on "Topside" and no organized attacks imminent.  Heavy arty kept in place thou ( as security measure.  Plans being made for complete mopping up of the eastern end of the island with the 1st Bn, 503 RCT and 3rd Bn, 34th Inf.  Situation well under control."

It is evident that the S-3 felt that the western end had been completed and only the eastern end contained a few Japs who must be "mopped up"

This is the first morning that I have to think of something to write.  Yesterday was the quietest day for our infantry troops.  All day there was harassing fire by the mortars, howitzers and some Navy shelling at the tunnels on the coast.  In the afternoon E Co. went down and closed up about 15 tunnels that had been blasted.  Otherwise the day passed uneventfully.  Toward evening we started taking up the same perimeter- it had worked out swell the night before and it worked out again last night.  There was more harassing fire than before.  Howitzer and mortar shells were thrown out all night long.  There was almost no small arms fire heard at our C.P.  This morning started with the mortars throwing out lots of ammo while E Co. moved in to take the next ridge at the N.W. corner of the island.  I think the general plan today is for our battalion to work down and clear the west end, E Co. on the north, F Co. down the center and D Co. on the south.  With the help of artillery and naval fire they expect to meet and thus we'll occupy this whole end of the island.  But we can't possibly man it by night-so if there are still Nips around they can move in again at night, so we've got the same job.  From what we hear, the Malinta Tunnel is chock full of little yellow men, food and enough ammo to blow up the island.  That seems to be the problem - whether to let them blow it up or for us to blow it up or what?  Anyway, things are more quiet. They've been evacuating wounded and dead all morning.  The latest Nip count is 1823. Our company's casualties to date are 31 hospitalized and 3 killed." 

The account of the 2nd Battalion's mission is true, i.e., to clear the island coast from Morrison Point on the north around the west to Searchlight point on the south. Obviously the journalist knows more about the goings on of E Company.  This in natural, because E company was so near them at the topside barracks.  Early a great amount of the mortar fire;, along with artillery fire, is being fired into Cheney Ravine to lay the way for D Company's attack down Cheney trail to the coast, as stated below.

The Co. went out to clean Japs out of ravine below the big gun position and to clean out the caves along the water's edge.  A field artillery and mortar preparation was fired before the company moved out and at 0830 the company moved into the ravine.  About a third of the way down the ravine four Japs were found hiding under a culvert and killed.  Two more were found in a pillbox further down the trail and killed.  A Jap water point was found which was much better than former points.  As the patrol continued down the trail barbed wire entanglements and land mines were encountered.  Six Jap anti-aircraft guns were found.  About twenty well armed Japs were encountered in a cave along the water's edge.  One squad approached the cave from one side while another circled it and came in from the other side.  During this attack, Pvt. Brady was killed and Lt. Buchanan and Bowers, attached medic, were wounded.  About twenty six japs were killed and two tunnels blown up.  Co tied in with "E" Co. and set up a perimeter along the shore.  No night action." 

Doc Bradford accompanied D company on this foray and describes it in his manuscript, "Combat Over Corregidor."

In reading the company diaries that were written at the time, February 1945, it is noticeable that few names are known.  For example, the D company History entry above speaks of the "ravine below the big gun position."  In our accounts written later, supplied with the 1 inch equals 200 feet map of Corregidor and plans and specifications of of the fortress's secrets, we 'could supply the proper names.  The "ravine" is Cheney Ravine and "the big gun position" is Battery Cheney.

Attempts to close concrete-lined tunnels and entrances did not "seal" them.  The concrete was 12 inches thick and reinforced by one inch steel rods.  To seal them would have required explosives by the truck load.  The TNT charge loosened large amounts of earth which piled down in front of the entrance forming a protective wall 4-6 feet in height.  Entry could be gained by climbing over the wall.  Fortunately, few tunnels were reoccupied, because there were no live Japs left in the area.

"0800  The company with LMG and Engr platoon attached, started on patrol along James Ravine to the beach and along the water to Cape Corregidor. Engr's. closed 2 caves and company killed 16 Nips.  PFC. Culpepper WIA by grenade fragments.  Before we moved along the beach a destroyer laid fire along the high ground overlooking the beach.  On the way back from Cape Corregidor along the road net, we found many vehicles dispersed by the Japs. There were vehicles of all descriptions: trucks, sedans, motorcycles, the Jap version of the Jeep, etc. and all were very well camouflaged. Most were in good condition."

These vehicles were parked under the remaining trees along Grubbs Trail.   The Japanese had concealed them here in the vicinity of the "big cave" and the surrounding bomb proofs so that they could be used in a swift movement of the troops in mounting a counter attack against a seaborne invasion elsewhere on the island.

Unlike the issue of whether or not there was naval support prior to E Company's patrol towards Wheeler Point on the 23 February, in this instance Don Abbott confirmed that a destroyer did shell the bluffs

We moved back to the Battery Hearn area. The 1st platoon was given the mission of patrolling down Sunset Ridge to the sea in the Cape Corregidor area.  We were to clear the ridge and the south slope which is Cheney Ravine. We were sure there were Jap positions in Grubbs Ravine, so we were to avoid this area until a larger force, such as the entire company, would be used to make an attack. At the same time D Company moving to the northwest and B Company mov�ing to the southwest would stay on the beaches. Moving along the upper part of the south slope and the ridge we moved toward the sea until the ridge dropped off too sharply to travel any further. We were on the edge of the bluffs overlooking the sea. We heard American voices below us but could not see them. They were on the North Shore Road which was cut into the bluffs some 20-30 feet above the narrow beach. After establishing voice contact we found that we were above B Company.  There was no trail or route we could use to get down directly to the road, so we backed up along the ridge for a distance and worked our way down to the road in Cheney ravine and followed the road around to Company E. We were near the Battery Hannah area. We knew the Japs were around the bend in Grubbs Ravine, because the fire directed at the 2d platoon which had killed Patterson came from this area.  E Company had missed this area, because they had followed the shore line, thus passing about 150 yards west of RC/6.

Sometime later, E Company took Grubbs Trail off North Shore Road, passed above the two entrances to the big cave and within 75 yards of RC/6. Evidently the Japs could not see them, because they passed unmolested.  They found the long line of vehicles parked on Grubbs Trail, as stated in E Company history.

After completing our mission to patrol to the sea, and incidentally contacting E Company, we retraced our steps via Cheney Ravine to Sunset Ridge.  In searching this area we followed Grubbs Trail westward and discovered the vehicles mentioned in E Company's history.  There were many old Chevrolet Army trucks - flat beds and rear wheel drive; many civilian automobiles including quite a few convertibles; and odds and ends.  I believe the Japs had collected the vehicles there in order to be able to move their reserve force rapidly to any place where they were needed.  When the vehicles were parked they were concealed from observation by heavy forest and dense foliage, but the intense bombings during January and the earlier part of February thinned out the cover until the airmen were able to see the vehicles lined up bumper to bumper.  It was readily evi�dent from the large number of .50 calibre holes in the vehicles that they had been repeatedly strafed.  They reminded me of the death car of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker which I had seen on display at the Louisiana State Fair in Shrevesport. Several days later when things were quieter, we started the lead vehicle, a Chevy truck. What water was left came squirting out the .50 calibre holes in the radiator.

On this day, however, knowing that we were in the proximity of the area where the Jap fire had come from the day before, we were very cautious and quiet.  As we quietly moved along the line of vehicles, we came to a truck with a Jap lying asleep in the bed.  We jerked him out, set him on his feet, and started back up the trail toward Battery Smith.  The prisoner went along quietly for a short distance, but then went berserk, shouting and spitting at us, then fighting and kicking. This was no place for a ruckus, for we did not own the ravine � so he was shot.

   Thereafter, our movement to Battery Smith was very rapid and uneventful. I do not know who came up the trail first, E Company or us.  I feel like they did, because we stayed in the Battery Smith area for some time and should have seen them if they were behind us.  I only learned a few years ago, from Don Abbott, that E company had used Grubbs Trail that day.  I had heard that "E" Company discovered a line of vehicles, though for many years had thought  this was in James Ravine.

"D" Company and "E" Company  did not spend the night on the coast as stated in "D" Company's history.  When "E" Company came up Grubbs Trail they were on their way to Topside. They occupied their usual perimeter near Topside Barracks.  "D" Company occupied their usual perimeter at the NCO Quarters.  "F" Company went back to their position at Post Headquarters-Light House.

 So ended our sixth day on Corregidor.  Had the Japs been able to mount an organized attack,  now would have been the time.  The hard work, burning heat, flies, and dust had taken their toll.  Our sleep was now the hypnosis of sheer exhaustion.