.
Before midnight, Lieutenant Colonel Beecher committed his battalion
reserve, a platoon of 30 Philippine Scouts, but the Japanese were
obviously firmly ashore and more reinforcements were needed to drive
the enemy back to the beaches. Lieutenant Colonel Samuel V. Freeny
organized a platoon of men, gathered from Malinta Tunnel, to
reinforce the beleaguered 1st Battalion. One of the U.S. Army
enlisted men complained, "I've never fired a rifle before, I'm in
the finance department." Freeny replied, "You just go out and draw
their fire and the Marines will pick them off." With the 1st
Battalion fully committed, Colonel Howard ordered the regimental
reserve under Major Max Schaeffer to report to Beecher. The 4th
Battalion was alerted to be ready to respond should more men be
needed.
Photograph courtesy of
61st Infantry Association |