Corregidor

SIDE NOTE

 

18/19 February

"The Night of 1000 Hours"

 

 

 

"THE NIGHT OF A THOUSAND HOURS"
_________________
Bill Calhoun
& Paul Whitman

 

 

 

 

 

"F" COMPANY AT BATTERY HEARN

 18/19 FEB 1945

 

"503rd platoon attacked a bunker until no opposition. F Company now consists of 3 officers & 113 EM."

Extract "F" Company History
18 February, 1945

 

The attack by the 503d platoon described in the F Co. history was the 1st platoon's occupation of Battery Smith,  met with no opposition. The three officers were: 1st Lt. Bill Bailey, 1st Lt. Bill Calhoun, and  1st Lt. Dan A. Lee who was assigned to the Company this day.  He was a replacement officer who had joined us just a short time before the Corregidor jump and had been assigned to 2nd Battalion Headquarters Company.

There were some forty or more bodies of the enemy dead lying around, mostly within our perimeter this morning.  I do not know if any were killed during the night.  I doubt it.  I feel these were killed during the afternoon of the 16th and the day of the 17th.  I never did find any evidence that the enemy was trying to infiltrate our position during the night of the 16th. 

The wind rattling the tin was the enemy.  In the bright, clear early morning sunlight the area looked so desolate and ravaged, it reminded me of pictures I had seen of devastated areas in World War I.  Smoke was still coming from the magazines of Battery Wheeler, and the odor of burned flesh hung in the breeze, permeated the area.  The heat from Wheeler was still radiating out quite a distance, discouraging close examination.  One thing was certain, and that was  there were no Japs alive in Battery Wheeler no matter how many tunnels led into it. The great battery, so awesome and impregnable yesterday, was now a tomb.

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