.
On 13 December, 27 bombers appeared over
Olongapo at 1155 and bombs began to hit the Navy Yard and the
civilians in the town. No installations were hit, although bombs
straddled the regimental hospital located at the Riverside Cabaret.
Again, no weapons in the Navy Yard could reach the altitude of the
enemy aircraft. Corporal Earl W. Hettgar remembered staring up at
the Japanese aircraft, which were flying so low the Marines could
"look up into the bomb bays" of the aircraft. Many houses in the
town were destroyed with 13 civilians killed and 40 wounded.
Private First Class Neil P. Iovino became the first
4th Marines casualty when bomb fragments struck him in the abdomen.
The fragments shattered his gun stock first, preventing a more
serious injury. Two other Marines were also wounded. That night, the
men of the 2d Battalion were amused when they heard Radio Tokyo
announce that the 4th Marines had been annihilated. |