CASUALTIES 24 FEB 1945 "D" CO _________________ Charles R. Leabhart Bill Calhoun Paul Whitman Rosters are a "Work in Progress"

D COMPANY CASUALTY LIST AMBUSH AT WHEELER PT 24 FEBRUARY 1945 After the attack by E Co against Battery Monja had failed on the 23d February, D Co were ordered to attack it the following day. The decision to make this attack could have only been based on military logic, an inadequate map and dogged persistence.  The physical nature of Wheeler Point (its height above almost vertical cliffs) made it an ideal point from which to ambush men approaching it along the shoreline.  The attack was a complete failure and D Co were pinned down on the beach for two hours. They had to be evacuated under fire by landing craft. (See Sierra)                      Aid Station, Topside, Corregidor

* - Injury not recorded

Although there were more than one aid stations, only one, that found at Topside Barracks, served the entire combat team. The 2d Bn had no aid station of its own, and Cpl. Charles R. Leabhart, a medical technician, normally was detached there (rather than to a rifle company.)  Though there are some gaps in the information, some of the information on 2d Bn itself would not ordinarily have been kept in the same form elsewhere.  Cpl. Leabhart kept the handwritten record of all 2d Bn casualties in a bound logbook - not just then, but fortunately after he left the army.

FIRST IN THIS SERIES - 2d Bn AID STATION ROSTERS 

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                  N  O  T  E  S                 

[NJ*]=Basic is the term for the medics attached to the companies.  

[NL]=not listed on Templeman�s jump list, but they jumped
[NJ] ** missed operation due to burn
[NJ] *** chutes ripped by bullet(s)- forced to return to Mindoro and come in with 1^st Bn. along with Baldwin�s group of 7 F Co men plus the photographer.

Burl Martin states Montoya. Tony Lopez states Ostrander

[WIA] Wounded in Action
[IJ] Injured on Jump
[DOW] Died of Wounds
[Evac] Evacuated
[SSM] Silver Star Medal
[BSM-V] Bronze Star Medal with Valor device
[BSM] Bronze Star Medal
[MOH] Medal of Honor

**** Prior to Corregidor, the 2d squad of 1st Platoon had included Troopers Mammina and Hastings. They, together with  Lloyd McCarter from the 3d squad, had been AWOL and had returned to camp, having been notified from a source within the company that an "alert" was on.  All three were sent to the stockade, and Sgt. Albert  'Moose' Baldwin smoked his freshly acquired cigars.  Lt. Calhoun, recognizing McCarter's key role in the platoon,  sprung him from the stockade to go to Corregidor, leaving the other two, who were not generally liked.  When the 503d returned from Corregidor, Mammina and Hastings were transferred to an Infantry Division.  After the war, they returned to their homes in Chicago, where, it seems, they made serious enemies. Mammina was killed and Hastings fled the state to live permanently in California.

                               Of the 2065 men of both lifts, about 280, or approximately 13.5 percent, were killed or severely injured. Of these, 210 were injured on landing, and another 50 wounded either in the air or on grounding. Some 180 had to be evacuated and hospitalized. Three men who suffered malfunctions and two who swung into the sides of buildings, were killed, and an unfortunate eight mostly men who blew over the cliffs and landed in front of Japanese caves were slain in the air or before they could get out of their chutes. Six remained missing after the final count was in.

(James H. & William M Belote - Corregidor, The Stirring Saga of a Mighty Fortress, Playboy Press)

Among those who jumped at Corregidor, three had parachutes that failed to open. Eleven other men sustained fatal injuries when they crashed into demolished buildings or debris surrounding the drop zones. Fifty troopers were wounded either in descent or after landing. An additional 210 were injured -- many receiving severe compound fractures or concussions. The casualties for the 503d RCT troopers on 16 February were 21 killed in action, 267 wounded or injured, and an unknown number unaccounted for.

(Bennett M. Guthrie, Three Winds of Death, New Forums Press)