FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Arthur Wermuth, Part 1 ~ February 18, 2013

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

Arthur Wermuth
"The One Man Army of Bataan"

Info from here.

(Thank you to DeaconBenjamin for bringing this hero to our attention!)

           

Arthur Wermuth didn't look like a U.S. Army officer. Sporting a mustache and Vandyke beard, the former football star from South Dakota endured his baptism of combat in the last week of 1941 and into first week of 1942. Departing Manila on the day after Christmas with the 150 men of Company D, 57th Infantry (Philippine Scouts), he had been ordered by Colonel George Clark to put his small force in the lines on Northern Luzon and "Dig in and hold!.

Facing Wermuth's small and generally untrained but equally determined force of Philippine Scouts was an entire division of Japanese, rapidly pressing south after landing on the northern coast of Luzon. After ten days of resistance, Captain Wermuth no longer had a force to command--only 37 of his soldiers had survived. They, along with other units of General Jonathan Wainwright's Northern Luzon force had been finally forced to fall back.

Meanwhile, General Wainwright aligned his forces south of the the Calaguiman River which flowed from nearly-mile-high Mount Natib which splits the Bataan Peninsula, eastward into Manila Bay. The river was a defining geographical feature in what became known as the Abucay Line, a final defensive position in efforts to hold out against Japanese General Homma's advance down the east side of Bataan, until promised reinforcements arrived. Straddling the river was the important junction barrio of Kalaguiman.

On January 9, when the Japanese launched the first in a long series of ferocious attacks against the Abucay Line, Company A of the 57th Infantry (Philippine Scouts) held positions near Kalaguiman, which was north of the Abucay Line and the main force of defenders. The Filipino soldiers and their American officers were battle-weary and demoralized in the face of continuing, and seemingly futile resistance. To bolster moral, Captain Wermuth, whose Company D had been nearly annihilated, was sent to to join them. Three days earlier Wermuth had demonstrated his uncanny combat abilities by proceeding alone past thousands of Japanese troops to reach an outpost isolated behind enemy lines. It had been the beginning of an incredible series of actions that would make the imposing figure of a man, who went into combat with a Thompson sub-machine gun slung over his shoulder and two .45 caliber pistols holstered like a western gunfighter, one of the first American heroes of World War II.

By the following night the continuing onslaught had forced the Philippine Scouts further south and the Japanese had entered and controlled Kalaguiman. At Allied headquarters it was determined that the only effective way to delay further advance was to destroy the barrio and then blow the wooden bridge across which enemy troops continued their advance south. Captain Wermuth volunteered to do the job.

Setting out before dawn, and toting two five-gallon drums of gasoline, Wermuth slipped past infiltrated enemy snipers, deep behind what was now the enemy line, and into Kalaguiman. With the wind blowing from the north, he crept all the way through the town, now inhabited by hundreds of Japanese soldiers, most of them still quietly sleeping in the huts of local villagers that their invasion had displaced to the surrounding jungles. Behind him, back behind the friendly lines, Filipino artillerymen were preparing their big guns for a major fire mission. The plan, worked out earlier that morning, was to begin shelling the city five minutes after the first wisps of smoke from Wermuth's fire were seen. The delay was all the time that would be allotted Wermuth to blow the bridge with a satchel charge of TNT he also carried, and effect his escape.

Creeping quietly all the way through the city, Wermuth reached the northern limits and then retraced his steps, spreading his gasoline against the walls of thatched-roof hamlets, inside which many enemy still slept despite the fact that it was nearly 10 a.m. The dangerous task at last done, he struck a match and began to head for the all-important bridge. The ensuing fire alerted the entire enemy force, many of whom streamed into the hard-packed dirt main street aflame and dying. Others began quickly to search for the intruder. Creeping through a dark alley, Wermuth found his way blocked by three enemy soldiers. So far the shadows had masked his presence but he knew time was running out. He also realized also that any attempt to shoot them down would expose his location and subject him to immediate and merciless gunfire. He glanced nervously at his watch as precious seconds ticked away. With four minutes left he started to raise his Thompson when the three Japanese finally moved away. Creeping quickly through the alley, he finally broke into the bright sunshine and began a desperate zigzag race towards the bridge.

Bullets began to spray all around him, one of them drilling into Wermuth's leg and forcing him to stumble briefly. Ignoring the pain he raced on, even as the first rounds of what might now be not-so-friendly artillery began to rain down on Kalaguiman. Fortunately, the firepower did distract the enemy enough to give Wermuth the time he needed to plant his charges, blow the bridge, and then carefully crawl his way back through the hidden Japanese snipers to reach friendly lines. There, doctors removed a small-caliber bullet that had lodged in his calf, barely missing bone, and Captain Wermuth earned his first Purple Heart.

For Captain Arthur Wermuth, it had been a risky but necessary venture. Behind him, beyond the burning ruins of the bridge and inside the smoldering ashes of Kalaguiman, lay the blackened bodies of more than 300 Japanese soldiers.

...come back next week for part 2...

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[Arrowhead1952]

He was actually trying to trap possums that were digging in his garden, but happened to catch Mr. Pepe one day.

[luvie]

*THUD*

uh....whew....thanks! (((hugs)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Don’t eat it all at once....you’ll be up all night.

I am off for home! Back in a bit.

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much for today's Scripture lesson, Mayor!

The passage "What is man that You are mindful of him?" puts me in mind of this great work of Henry Purcell:

Lord, What Is Man, Lost Man?



Keep Faith with the Fallen of Benghazi! Let the Obama Regime, for once, tell the Truth!

Fiat Justitia, Ruat Coelum!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[MoochPooch]

Evening, Kathy. Gut Shabbes — & happy Purim. I’ll be away for the holiday, & presumably out of reach of computer. So I bid you a nice weekend!

[left that other site]

I can't go to DU or Huffpo without making sure I have a five gallon drum of Muriatic Acid for the Cleansing Job to follow. (The local bricklayers are generous when i need them to be).

During FR's absence,I Read "Brave New World", and read several analyses on line.

Not a SINGLE one of these geniuses mentioned an incredibly interesting point that Huxley made in the VERY last sentence of the book.

John the savage is found hanging in the Lighthouse. His body hangs there and turns:

Slowly, very slowly, like two unhurried compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-south-west; then paused, and, after a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. South-south-west, south, south-east, east. …

What the literary critics failed to mention was that John, who was raised by Indians in the Southwest was, even in death, PRAYING. In Native American Spirituality, Prayer is initiated by turning to the Directions, North, South, East and West. Prayer is often ended this way too. It is analogous to the Catholic practice of making the Sign of the Cross at the beginning and end of a prayer.

In 1932, when Huxley wrote the book, little was known of how Indians prayed. Yet, Huxley had this as the close of his book. Of all the synopses I read, NOBODY mentioned this. Did I catch something nobody else caught? The Literary Critics were full of info about B.F. Skinner, Operant Conditioning, Hypnopedia(sleep learning) and the varieties of Psychotropic drugs that were like "Soma", but nobody seemed to "get" the very last sentence of the book. Am I imagining this? Have I discovered another aspect of this book that was written before I was born?

[luvie]

I shall savor. each. bite. :)

Be safe on your drive home...see ya in a few!

[Publius]

You could be right. Not every analyst possesses that kind of esoteric knowledge. Good catch.

[left that other site]

My best guitar student is on Wednesday. She can play the guitar solo to “Brown Eyed Girl”.

She’s 13.

I play bass with her, and I said we could get a job on a cruise ship...just avoid Carnival, as they have given new meaning to the nautical term “Poop Deck”.

[left that other site]

It’s a Violin Concerto, I think.

[luvie]

Surprise, surprise! LOL!

[left that other site]

:-)

[The Mayor]

It’s been a tough couple days! Good to be back.

[The Mayor]

Amen!

[Kathy in Alaska]

How fun that you two can play together....avoiding Carnival might be a good idea for a while. d:o)

[ConorMacNessa]

Bingo!

You're a digger! Those critics have neither the training nor the perspicacity to analyze a literary work. It was interesting for me to sit in some of the seminars we had in the English Department at Loyola - my classmates often had great insights into a particular work that sometimes even educated the profs.



Keep Faith with the Fallen of Benghazi! Let the Obama Regime, for once, tell the Truth!

Fiat Justitia, Ruat Coelum!

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Happy Purim, Mooch. Have a wonderful holiday and safe travels.

[left that other site]

Of course, there is some traditional “teaching” involved, but I always made my greatest musical leaps when playing in a band. I try to replicate this experience by playing bass with my guitar students and throwing them solos!

[left that other site]

Nowadays, a lot of College Professors would probably think the Dystopian Horror that was the “Brave New World” would be a positively delightful utopian society. What, with promiscuity, abortion, elites, and underlings, it’s the “perfect World” for them!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mac...we are back!!!! *HUGS*

Other than not having FR, hope you had a good day.

It is spitting snowflakes here....little snowflakes.