Battery Hearn- details

Hearn is always on the tour list, as is Crockett, because they're easily reached. It is particularly popular with the Japanese tourists who well recall the famous Banzai victory photograph of their troops.

The truth of the matter is that neither Hearn or Crockett played any significant role in the hostilities, due to their positions facing squarely towards the South China Sea and the naval assaults that never came.

Before they set upon Hearn with the paint brushes, it had a patina of age, experience and history.

Battery Hearn was formerly known as Smith No. 2 but the name was changed pre-war. Before the name change the batteries were called the Smith Brothers, a play on the name of the two Smith Brothers [their names were Pat and Pending] manufacturers of a popular brand of cough drops widely advertised on radio. The battery was renamed "in honor of the late Brigadier Clint C. Hearn." The authority was General Orders No.11, Headquarters Harbor Defense Manila and Subic Bays, Fort Mills, P.I. [i.e. Philippine Islands] dated October 29,1937. (A copy of these orders, tracked down by John Lindgren is available on the Membership CD ROM) Hearn is a big favorite with the tourists, who mill around it like moths to a flame and take their obligatory "been there, done that" firing-squad type photographs. Captain Herman Hauck put a link of chain in the recoil cylinder of one of Crockett's operational 12-inch guns. If it were ever fired by the Japanese, it would have self-destructed immediately.

There is STILL controversy about the night action of 18-19 February 1945, during which Lloyd McCarter won the CMH. It occurred near to the positions defending Battery Hearn. Bill Calhoun recalls: On the eventful third night, 18-19 February, F Company was given two positions to defend. Bill Bailey kept company headquarters, the 3rd platoon, one squad of the 2nd platoon, the direct fire 60mm mortar squad, and a section of light machine guns from the 3d machine gun platoon of 2d Bn headquarters Company to defend Way Hill. I was given the mission of defending the magazine of Battery Hearn (former Battery Smith #2) which was some 300 hundreds yards away. A deep valley separated us. We could not see each other because Way Hill was still heavily wooded. The vegetation and brush had been cleaned off around Hearn down across the valley and toward the sea past Battery Smith (formerly Battery Smith #1). This area had been in the middle of the target area where 3,140 tons of bombs had been dropped the past few weeks. It was completely denuded of brush. We could look down into the valley below us and see the road and railroad to Battery Grubbs for several hundred yards until they turned right disappearing around Way Ridge. My force consisted of my platoon, two squads of the 2d platoon, the two conventional 60mm mortar squads, a light machine gun section, a bazooka team, and two officers beside myself. `GO TO "THE BEST SOLDIER I EVER KNEW" by BILL CALHOUN`
`The 12" coastal rifles in action`


`Work on the 12" battery began September 1918 and was completed June,1921. The cost of the battery and magazine was $148,105.32 or more than 2 million in today's dollars. Source: Report of Completed Works dated November 1,1921.`