Neither the PR nor the 2d Battalion S-3 Journal are correct in
recording "F" Company's action. I remember it vividly.
The 1st Battalion had taken Hill 3355. E company had been moved up
and ordered to advance down the ridge from this hill to Hill 4055.
They hit considerable resistance suffering one man KIA and four WIA.
They had to withdraw, but they were unable to bring back the body of
the man killed. Recovering bodies was a
must. In fact
sometimes we suffered because we attacked to recover a body when the
attack had to be made which was
advantageous to the enemy.
Capt Taylor ordered me to advance
down the side of the mountain along the ridge to a trail
junction. I am sure this is the
one located at (15.7-11.30) in PR above. He also said we were to
recover the body of the E
Company man killed yesterday.
He definitely was not happy that the body had been left.
I am sure he had to answer for this to RCT. We followed a
well-marked trail down the steep slope of the mountain on the
opposite side we had come up. Before we had travelled
far, perhaps 300 yards, we came to an almost vertical drop-off about
25-30 feet tall. The
only way down the face of this small cliff was to work down the
boulders. There was a small ledge at the top of this cliff. Tall,
slender trees growing at the base of the cliff formed a canopy above
the ledge with their tops. The trunks of these trees were about 2-4
inches in diameter. The trail ran down to the ledge, snaked
down the face, and then ran along the crest of a definite ridge.
Vegetation was light.
Rocks and boulders were plentiful. Visibility was good, because the
fog had not come in yet.
When our point came to
the ledge I had the company hold up and deploy. I always
had travelled behind my lead second scout when I was a platoon leader,
and I liked to stay up
near the front as the company commander. That was the only way I_
could stay up with the situation as it developed. I wanted a
solid base of fire established before the company started climbing
down that cliff in single file.
Several of us were
forward on the ledge visually searching down below when a few rifle
shots rang out. In a short time several machine guns joined in, so
that we were under heavy fire. The Japs, probably the ones "E"
Company had tangled with the day before, had moved closer to our
hill and set up near the base of the cliff knowing we would come
down the trail. The slopes of the mountain were so steep that this
ridge was the only way to the next mountain, Hill 4055. They thought
they would let the leading elements of the company get down the
cliff, open fire killing the men on the face and cutting off the men
who had already made it down the cliff.
Actually, even with all
the heavy fire coming in we were in no danger. The fire was passing
over our heads. In fact it was quite comfortable on the ledge. The
tree leaves had formed a thick mat so that it was like a nest. The
first Jap I saw was about 50 yards below by the trail. He squatted
and pulled his pants down. With my dysentery I could understand the
urgency of his call. About that time he tumbled over and did not
move. One of our men with an Ml had seen him, too.
The tree tops over the
ledge started shaking, so we knew there were Japs down there
probably trying to climb the trees. We dropped a few grenades over
the edge, and the shaking stopped.
The firing was heard up
at battalion headquarters, and soon here came Capt. Taylor with a
artillery lieutenant who was attached as a FO. They joined me in the
nest. Taylor ordered me to move the company back up the hill so the
artillery could be brought to bear.,
There was some delay in
getting artillery support, so Taylor told me to reoccupy our
positions of the night before and be ready to move back the first
thing next morning after a heavy barrage finished shelling the area.
After complying it was
mid afternoon. The supply train came in and with our long lost
company commander, Bill Bailey. After a short time I went to the aid
station and asked for something to stop the dysentery. Our battalion
surgeon, Capt. Charles Donus, put me on massive doses of sulfa and
paregoric-acid, and told me "You stay right here in the aid station,
I am going to send
you to the hospital, but tyou are
too sick to walk
down. Stay there a couple of days until you gain some
strength."
So the PR seems to be a
day ahead in the "F" Company action. The 2d Battalion S-3 journal
was also wrong but on two counts. "F" Company was not
attacking high ground in front, nor were we successful."