............
Evacuation
The original evacuation plan had been for a task force made up of men from the 188th Glider Regiment under Colonel Robert Soule to fight their way down National Highway 1 to Los Baños, then evacuate the internees overland to Manila. The amtrac battalion was only to deliver the bulk of Major Burgess' paratrooper battalion, then return to Mamatid empty while the rescuers returned with the internees. After an hour at the camp, however, Burgess determined from the sound of firing that Soule's task force was still at least three hours away from Los Baños. At the same time, he was well aware that thousands of Japanese troops were within striking distance of his location.
At the last minute the plans were changed--Burgess decided not to wait for the task force. The internees were to be evacuated by amtrac, and the paratroopers would return to Manila with Soule's task force. Burgess directed the amtrac commander, Lt. Col. Joe Gibbs, to order his men to load their vehicles with internees, then evacuate them to Mamatid and shuttle back and forth until both the internees and members of the raiding party were all withdrawn to safety.
Organizing the liberated prisoners, most of whom were milling about the camp with little sense of order, was a problem; the internees were ecstatic about being rescued, but were hardly in a mood to fall into any kind of formation. Major Burgess observed that the internees seemed to be drifting in advance of fires that had been started in some of the barracks during the raid, so he ordered his men to set fire to the camp in such a manner that the fires would lead the internees in the direction of the main gate, where the amtracs were waiting.
By 0900, two hours after the commencement of the raid, some order had begun to appear among the internees. Those who could do so had begun the two-mile walk to the beach, while those who were unable to make the hike were loaded aboard amtracs for the journey. After the infirm were evacuated, several amtracs began to aid the walking by providing a lift to the beach.
As the internees moved out of the camp, Major Burgess and his troopers began a systematic search to ensure that all internees were accounted for and that none were still in the camp. The soldiers did as thorough a job as possible. Because many of the Filipino guerrillas disappeared into the jungle after the raid, many Americans liberated at Los Baños never knew to what extent the irregular troops had contributed to their release.
By mid-day, the Soule task force had advanced in the face of enemy resistance to a point just outside Los Baños. By then the evacuation by amtrac was proceeding quite well, as the officers of the task force could see from activities on the lake. Colonel Soule elected to halt his advance at the San Juan River and to maintain a bridgehead in the event the paratroopers had to withdraw by land as planned.
From Los Baños, the internees proceeded to the village of San Antonio, where the head of the marching column arrived at about 1000. From there, the amtracs, filled with evacuees, formed up into columns of three and slid into the waters of the lake for the two-hour journey to Mamatid. While on the lake, several of the amtracs came under fire from Japanese shore positions. Little damage was done, although one amtrac had to offload its cargo of evacuees and be towed to shore by another vessel.
By noon the remainder of the internees and the rear guard of the 1st Battalion had reached San Antonio. Burgess still had not made contact with Soule, nor was he in contact with the 11th Division headquarters. Essentially, he was on his own. Around that time General Swing flew over the beach in a light liaison aircraft. After Burgess advised the general by radio that the raid had been successful and that he planned to evacuate the remainder of the group and his own men with the amtracs that were on their way back to San Antonio, the young major was flabbergasted at his commander's reply: Could he perhaps liberate the entire town of Los Baños, then move west to link up with the 188th and keep possession of the territory they had gained?
Burgess was in the middle of contested territory with what, for all practical purposes, was a raiding party, and with strong enemy forces within easy striking distance. He did not answer the general's request, but after carefully considering his situation, he simply switched his radio off and did not acknowledge that he had received the message.
At around 1500 the last amtrac shoved off from San Antonio with the final load of internees and troops. At Mamatid the internees moved to the former New Bilibid prison, where they prepared for the journey to their homes in the United States and elsewhere.
While the liberation of the internees from Los Baños went off without a hitch, there is a dark epilogue to the story. After the 11th Airborne Division paratroopers left the area, the Japanese moved back in. Ironically, the first Americans to re-enter the vicinity of Los Baños were the same paratroopers who had liberated the camp only days before. What they found in the barrios surrounding the camp this time was both nauseating and pitiful. Whole families had been tied to the stilts supporting their houses, then the dwellings had been set ablaze, collapsing around their helpless former inhabitants. Burgess estimated that more than 1,500 Filipinos had been cruelly killed, evidently in retaliation for the rescue of the internees.
There is some question as to the identity of those who did the killing. The Japanese in the area were reinforced by pro-Japanese Filipino units commanded by Japanese officers and NCOs. Many of the villages in the region were pro-Japanese "Makapili" as well--residents at odds with their countrymen who favored a return to American control.
One Japanese soldier later identified as having played a part in the reprisals in the area--including the murder of an American family that had lived near Los Baños and had not been interned--was Warrant Officer Sadaaki Konishi, the sadistic second-in-command of the camp at Los Baños. After the war, Konishi was implicated by certain Filipinos, tried for his crimes, and then executed as a war criminal.
A sweet operation.
Some good men in those days. Let us live up to their example.
Actually, there are remarkably good men in these days. By "men" I mean the word as in "mankind", as is the correct usage.
Met a young woman once who was in the pipeline to The Point. Because it is always the privilege of guys like me to see what young officers are made of, I took out my verbal stick and gave her some stout jabs with it. She will do. Plenty strong on the inside, where it really counts.
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on March 04:
1394 Prince Henry the Navigator sponsors Portuguese voyages of discovery
1678 Antonio Vivaldi Venice, Baroque violin virtuoso/composer (4 Seasons)
1754 Benjamin Waterhouse physician (smallpox vaccine pioneer)
1798 John Joseph Abercrombie Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1877
1826 John Buford Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1863
1828 Elisha Franklin "Bull" Paxton Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
1835 Giovanni Schiaparelli Italy, astronomer (discovered canals of Mars)
1888 Knute Rockne Norwegian/US football player/coach (Notre Dame)
1891 Dazzy Vance hall of fame pitcher (led National League in strike-outs 7-years)
1897 Francis "Lefty" O'Doul baseball player/organized Japanese baseball
1912 John Garfield New York NY, actor (Air Force, Destination Tokyo, Juarez)
1923 Patrick Moore England, astronomer/writer (A-Z of Astronomy)
1934 Jane van Lawick-Goodall ethologist/chimp expert (1974 Walker Prize)
1937 Ron Carter jazz bassist (Ron Carter Meets Bach)
1937 Yuri Aleksandrovich Senkevich Russian cosmonaut
1944 Bobby Womack Cleveland OH, R&B singer/guitarist (Woman's Got to Have It)
1948 Billy Gibbons rock guitarist (ZZ Top-Cheap Sunglasses, Legs, Fandango)
1950 Emilio Estefan Cuba, rocker (Miami Sound Machine-1 2 3)
1954 Irina Ratushinskaya USSR, poet (Grey is the color of hope)
1961 Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini boxer (killed a boxer in the ring)
1969 Chastity Bono Los Angeles CA, daughter of Sonny & Cher
1977 Anna Baitchik Miss Russia-Universe (1997)
Deaths which occurred on March 04:
1172 Stephan III King of Hungary (1162-72), dies
1484 Kazimierz the Saint, Polish ruler/saint, dies at 25
1595 Robert Southwell English poet, hanged for becoming a Catholic priest
1852 Nikolai Gogol writer, dies at 43
1866 Alexander Campbell Irish/US founder Disciples of Christ, dies at 77
1883 Alexander H Stephens Vice President Confederate States, dies at 71
1933 Willie Walker US jazz singer/guitarist (Dupree Blues), dies at 36
1948 Elsa Brändström [Angel of Siberia], Swedish philanthropist, dies at 59
1953 Sergei S Prokoviev Russian composer (Peter & the wolf), dies at 61
1974 Adolph Gottlieb US painter, dies at 71
1992 Arthur Babbitt Disney animator (Mr Magoo, Goofy), dies at 84 of heart failure
1994 John Candy actor (SCTV, Uncle Buck), dies from a heart attack at 43
1996 Minnie Pearl country comedienne (Grand Ole Opry), dies at 84
1999 Retired Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, dies in Arlington, Va., at age 90.
2001 Harold E. Stassen (93), former Minnesota 3-term Gov. and perennial presidential candidate, dies
Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1963 JACOBSON ELLWOOD L.
[REMAINS RECOVERED]
1963 MAKEL JANIE A.
[03/06/63 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1966 ANDREWS STUART M---STAMFORD CT.
1966 CONLON JOHN F.---WILKES BARRE PA.
1967 CARLOCK RALPH L.---DES PLAINES IL.
1969 GUFFEY JERRY
[03/04/69 ESCAPED]
1970 PARKER JOHN J.---TALLAHASSEE FL.
1971 ALLWINE DAVID R.---PHOENIX AZ.
[03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1971 ALGAARD HAROLD L.---FOSSTON MN.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SAR NEG"]
1971 HENTZ RICHARD J.---OSHKOSH WI.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SAR NEG"]
1971 MARKER MICHAEL W.---WICHITA FALLS TX.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SAR NEG"]
1971 OSBORNE RODNEY D.---KENT WA.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SAR NEG"]
1971 STRAWN JOHN T.---SALEM OR.
["RADIO CONTACT LOST, SAR NEG"]
POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.
On this day...
1152 Frederik I Barbarossa elected Roman-German king
1461 Battle at Towton: Duke Edward of York beats English queen Margaretha Edward IV recognized as king of England
1570 King Philip II bans foreign Dutch students
1634 Samuel Cole opened the first tavern in Boston, Massachusetts.
1665 English King Charles II declares war on Netherlands
1675 John Flamsteed appointed 1st Astronomer Royal of England
1681 King Charles II grants William Penn royal charter for Pennsylvania
1699 Jews are expelled from Lubeck Germany
1774 1st sighting of Orion nebula (William Herschel)
1789 1st Congress declares constitution in effect (9 senators, 13 representatives)
1791 1st Jewish member of US Congress, Israel Jacobs (Pennsylvania), takes office
1791 President Washington calls the US Senate into its 1st special session
1791 Vermont admitted as 14th state
1792 Oranges introduced to Hawaii
1793 President Washington's 2nd inauguration, shortest speech (133 words)
1797 John Adams inaugurated as 2nd President of US
1798 Catholic women force to do penance for kindling sabbath fire for Jews
1801 1st President inaugurated in Washington DC (Thomas Jefferson)
1809 Madison becomes 1st President inaugurated in American-made clothes
1825 John Quincy Adams inaugrated as 6th President
1826 1st US RR chartered, Granite Railway in Quincy MA
1829 Andrew Jackson inaugurated as 7th President
1829 Unruly crowd mobs White House during President Jackson inaugural ball
1837 City of Chicago incorporates
1837 Martin Van Buren inaugrated as 8th President
1837 Weekly Advocate changes its name to the Colored American
1841 Longest inauguration speech (8,443 words), William Henry Harrison
1845 James K Polk inaugrated as 11th President
1849 US had no President, Polk's term ends on a Sunday, Taylor couldn't be sworn-in, Senator David Atchison (pres pro tem) term ended March 3rd (Now you can amaze and astound your friends with your grasp of completely useless information)
1861 Confederate States adopt "Stars & Bars" flag
1861 Lincoln inaugurated as 16th President; 1st time US has 5 former Presidents living
1861 President Lincoln opens Government Printing Office
1863 Battle of Thompson's Station, Tennessee
1863 Territory of Idaho established
1865 Confederate congress approves final design of "official flag"
1865 President Lincoln inaugurated for his 2nd term as President
1869 Ulysses Grant inaugurated as 18th President
1873 New York Daily Graphic, 1st illustrated daily newspaper in US, published
1881 California becomes 1st state to pass plant quarantine legislation
1881 Holmes & Watson begin "A Study in Scarlet", 1st case together
1881 James A Garfield inaugurated as 20th President
1885 Grover Cleveland inaugrated as 1st Democratic President since Civil War
1889 Benjamin Harrison inaugurated as 23rd President
1893 Grover Cleveland (D) inaugrated as 24th US President (2nd term)
1894 Great fire in Shanghai; over 1,000 buildings destroyed
1895 Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony, premieres in Berlin
1897 William McKinley inaugurated as 25th President of US
1901 1st advanced copy of inaugural speech (Jefferson-National Intelligencer)
1901 President William McKinley inaugurated for 2nd term as President
1901 Term of George H White, last of post-Reconstruction congressmen, ends
1902 American Automobile Association (AAA) founded in Chicago
1909 President Taft inaugrated as 27th President during 10" snowstorm
1909 US prohibits interstate transportation of game birds
1911 Victor Berger (Wisconsin) becomes 1st socialist congressman in US
1913 1st US law regulating the shooting of migratory birds passed
1913 Department of Commerce & Labor split into separate departments
1913 Woodrow Wilson inaugurated as 28th President
1917 Jeannette Rankin (Representative-Republican-MT) becomes 1st female member of Congress
1921 Hot Springs National Park created in Arkansas
1923 Lenin's last article in Pravda (about Red bureaucracy)
1924 "Happy Birthday To You" published by Claydon Sunny
1925 President Coolidge's inauguration broadcast live on 21 radio stations
1929 Charles Curtis (R-Kansas) becomes 1st native American Vice President
1929 Herbert Hoover inaugurated as 31st President
1930 Coolidge Dam in Arizona dedicated
1930 Mrs Charles [Emma] Fahning is 1st woman to bowl a santioned perfect [300] game
1933 FDR inaugrated as 32nd President, pledges to pull US out of Depression & says "We have nothing to fear but fear itself"
1934 Easter Cross on Mount Davidson (San Francisco) dedicated
1936 1st flight of airship Hindenburg, Germany
1943 Transport nr 50 departs with French Jews to Maidanek/Sobibor
1944 1st US bombing of Berlin
1945 Finland declares war on Nazi-Germany
1949 Andrei Vishinsky succeeds Molotov as Soviet Foreign minister
1949 Security Council of UN recommends membership for Israel
1952 Ronald Reagan marries Nancy Davis
1959 US Pioneer IV misses Moon & becomes 2nd (US 1st) artificial planet
1960 Lucille Ball files divorce from Desi Arnaz
1964 Jimmy Hoffa convicted of jury tampering
1966 John Lennon says "We (Beatles) are more popular than Jesus"
1968 Joe Frazier TKOs Buster Mathis in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1968 Orbiting Geophysical Observatory 5 launched
1970 French submarine "Eurydice" explodes
1970 Jacksonville is 1st college basketball team to average 100+ points per game
1977 1st CRAY 1 supercomputer shipped, to Los Alamos Laboratories, New Mexico
1978 Chicago Daily News, founded in 1875, publishes last issue
1979 US Voyager I photo reveals Jupiter's rings
1984 Pee Wee Reese & Rick Ferrell elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
1985 War veterans returned to the "Bridge over the River Kwai"
1991 Iraq releases 6 US, 3 British & 1 Italian POW
1994 4 Arab terrorist founded guilty of bombing the World Trade Center
1995 George Foreman loses WBA boxing title, refusing to fight Tony Tucker
1997 Comet Hale-Bopp directly above the Sun (1.04 AU)
1997 President Clinton bans federally funded human cloning research
1997 For the third time in as many years, the Senate rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to require the federal government to balance its budget.
2001 President George W. Bush dedicated a $4 billion aircraft carrier in honor of former President Reagan.
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Pennsylvania : Charter Day (1681)
Thailand : Magka Puja
US : Constitution Day (1789)
Vermont : Admission Day (1791)
US : Bad Weather Week (Day 5)
US : TV Turn-Off Week (Day 5)
US : National Procrastinators Week (Starts Tomorrow)
Irish-American Heritage Month
Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Lucius I, pope, martyr
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Casimir, king of Poland, confessor (optional)
Religious History
1738 Moravian missionary Peter Bohler, 26, advised future English founder of Methodism John Wesley, 34: 'Preach faith until you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith.'
1804 The British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) was founded at a large interdenominational meeting in London. Its purpose was "to promote the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, without note or comment, both at home and in foreign lands."
1850 Future statesman James A. Garfield, at age 18, was "buried with Christ in baptism." Thirty_one years, to the day! after his conversion, Garfield took the oath of office as 20th President of the United States.
1942 Birth of Gloria Gaither, wife of songwriter Bill Gaither, and female vocalist in the Bill Gaither Trio. Gloria is also coÂauthor of the contemporary Christian songs, "Because He Lives," "Something Beautiful" and "The King is Coming."
1966 London's "Evening Standard" newspaper published an interview with Beatle John Lennon in which he remarked: 'Christianity will... vanish and shrink... We're more popular than Jesus Christ right now.' The quote touched off a storm of international protest, resulting in burnings and boycotts of the Beatles' records.
Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Thought for the day :
"Ever notice how irons have a setting for permanent press?"
Revenge is one of the "best" motivators in the world.