.
The Yard continued to burn as the
last Japanese aircraft departed. An aid station was set up in the
library of the Marine Barracks as the hospital had received a direct
hit. Approximately 1,000 civilians were reported killed and more
than 500 wounded were treated in the aid station. Marines formed
firefighting parties to put out the raging fires. The Filipino fire
companies surrounded the ammunition dump and prevented fire from
reaching the explosives, but the torpedo warehouse burned and the
warheads sporadically exploded, preventing the firefighting parties
from putting out the fire.
Photo:
Clifton B. Cates Papers,
Personal Papers Collection |