3.   OUR OPERATIONS:

a. Infantry:   Our troops continued the assaulting of enemy caves and emplacements. In the BREAKWATER POINT area, fifty three (53) caves were sealed by demolitions, more were cleaned of enemy. In the ICE PLANT (32.7-40.8) vic­inity nine (9) caves were sealed.  In the BATTERY POINT area many tunnels were cleared and caves  and gun emplacements from MORRISON POINT west were exploited, nine (9) being blown.   What appeared to have been a medium tank was found in JAMES RAVINE.   This had been demolished on 19-20-45 by direct hit by a five hun­dred pound bomb.  In conjunction with an air strike, the CAPE CORREGIDOR area was cleared at least temporarily. Three (3) emplacements were sealed, others cleared. In the SEARCHLIGHT POINT area troops, in conjunction with Naval gunfire support, cleaned the area.  Caves sealed by demolitions this report - 79; to date - 84."

4.   CASUALTIES:

a. Our Casualties: 10 KIA, 27 MIA, 7 Jump IIA (additional reported), 13 MIA.
To Date- 85 KIA, 234 WIA, 193 Jump IIA, 13 MIA.

b.Enemy Known Casualties: This Report - 255 KIA, 3 Pw
To date-  1838 KIA, 3 Pw."

" 0845  The expected banzai didn't come off and nobody was sorry because they got a chance for a few hours sleep.  But there was plenty of noise. About 1930 last night there was a detonation and the whole barracks shook. Some thought it was an earthquake.  We discovered later that, on the information of one of the prisoners, the Navy had exploded over a ton of mines planted in the channel between the mainland and Corregidor.  Just before dark there was some small arms fire and all thru the night just occasional machine gun fire.   I think the Japs were confused by our new perimeter - if they had tried to break thru last night, Nips would have been all over the field.  We put out harassing fire all night.   75 Howitzers, 81mm mortars and even a 40mm were firing all night.  Even the P.T. boats moved in and shelled the underground infantry barracks at Morrison Pt.  Today there's more plans for holing up the tunnels with heavy fire by one heavy weapon the Navy and I think the Air Corps."

"Co. occupied perimeter about 50 yds below western end of drill field.  Patrols were sent out and they blew up one small tunnel." 

"Pfc. Homer Patterson was killed in Sheeney Ravine.  The same patrol captured 4 trucks, 2 automobiles & destroyed a 6 inch naval gun."

The entire company left our bivouac area early and moved down to the areas we occupied the night of 18-19 February.  We were to make a body count to determine the number of Japs killed that night.  I don't know why, because regi­ment ignored the count and the action after it was turned in. The 1st platoon moved to Battery Hearn and started to work. The dead were already bloating and smelling.  After we finished our count in the valley we dubbed it Maggot Valley.  I have already told of the numbers and locations, and how we did not pull out the smelly, fly-covered bodies. We could get a pretty close count by estimating the numbers in the two large craters and the smaller craters.  The same was true of the pile in the railroad cut.

 After spending the morning making this count we moved across the shallow valley, the roads and railroads and made our way up the brushy slopes of Way Hill to the top where our company CP was located.  We were glad to get out of sight from the valley.  The flies were terrible and the smell growing stronger by the hour as the hot sun seemed to increase the intensity of its heat.  This devastated valley, shorn of all vegetations, pockmarked with craters filled with dead corpses beginning to rot was the most repulsive sight and smell imaginable.  We hoped never to go around Hearn Magazine or Maggot Valley again, but for the next week or so this would be our highway every day.

Soon after we reached the command post a call came in over the SCR-536 Radio company network from a 2nd platoon patrol requesting help and stating that they were pinned down on trail west of Battery Grubbs; furthermore, they had wounded. Lt Bailey ordered me to take a squad and go to their relief.  I took one of my squads (I believe my 2nd squad, because Richard Lampman was along.  I also took our platoon medic, Roy O. Jensrud.   Jensrud was from Hibbing, Minnesota, and a very dedicated medic.  William C. Mathers, who was the 1st platoon leader on Negros, recently told me "That boy would walk through a machine-gun blast if somebody yelled "Medic."  I learned that on Corregidor. 

We headed down the hill and turned west on the road running down Maggot Valley. We soon could hear small arms fire and proceeded to the patrol who were lying on Rock Point Trail on the rim at the edge of the steep drop-off into Grubbs Ravine.  They were firing into the depths of the western end of ravine where many trees still stood.  My immediate concern was for Pfc Homer Patterson.  He was the only wounded man. A bullet had struck him a few inches below his arm pit, passed through his body and exited at about the same location on the other side. The patrol members said as they walked along the trail they drew fire from the area they were firing into.  When Patterson breathed, blood would bubble from both holes.  Jensrud immediately set about blocking the air from entering these holes. He placed a compress bandage over each hole and tightly bound them in place by wrapping strips of a poncho around Patterson's body.  Then he got the plasma going IV. He told me Patterson's lungs were collapsing and if he did not get immediate medical attention he would die.  We quickly fashioned a litter of tree branches and a poncho.  We, my squad and the patrol, took off at a trot, frequently changing litter bearers.  I don't think it would have been possible to get him to the aid station at Topside Barracks any faster; however, soon after reaching the station Patterson died.  The loss was hard on all of us, but Jensrud suffered most of all, even though he had done everything within his human capabilities to save this life.  This was the way so many of our men died, because they were hit too hard.  Loundes County, Mississippi had lost a son. We had lost a brother. 

"This 20 February  brings back one of my worst memories.   I have never forgotten it, only the names!  I have never had problems watching my own blood but I have always been squeamish about others - this time with Pfc Homer Patterson caused me to become very sick."

The company roved back to our bivouac area for the night.  The nights were quiet and peaceful now.  We enjoyed being up in the light house and on the water tanks.  During the earlier nights we never knew where the Japs were hiding - around us, under us, or just where.  Now they had to come up to get us.  We were ignorant of the structures on the island.  The U.S. built it, mapped every inch of it , but we had no briefing on the detail of the fortifications.  We had the poorest maps of any operation we participation in. The 1:25,000 maps were totally inadequate for such a small island.  Today we have the 1932 and 1936 1:200 maps which show the detail we should have had. So we operated with no details, no names, no plans of the structure.  Only in the few places such as Battery Wheeler where the name was painted on the structure did we know names.  But with only 850 Japs, defending a lot of detail is not necessary.  I believe that the senior officers who really knew Corregidor were so indoctrinated with the cloak of secrecy which had always surrounded the fortress that it never occurred to them that this information should have been available to us lowly front line soldiers.  I was to get a revelation of this truth in a few days.