"LANSING"
 

Battery “L” 60th coast artillery (a.a.)
by Lt. C. S. Dronenberger

"This is our distinctive insignia of the 60th Artillery Regiment. The 60th had been organised 23 December 1917, and the motto "COELIS IMPERAMUS" means 'We Rule the Heavens.' I wore this badge on my campaign hat throughout the war, through the prison camps, the work details at Pasay, through the hell-ship ordeal, right through my time in Japan -  until some bastard stole it off me whilst I was in Okinawa on my way home from Japan. "
 
 

Al McGrew

Btry. "L" ("Lansing") 60 CA (AA) went into the field on the 29th day of Nov. 1941.  The battery went under orders to fire on any targets which were not identified as friendly immediately.  Normal field duties from 28th Nov. until December 8, 1941.  December 8, 1941, hostilities started with Japan and Btry went under full wartime status.  Btry Command Post was located at Geary Point on the South Shore Road, with other locations as indicated on the sketch.  Corregidor was first bombed on 29th of Dec. 1941, and on the 30/31.  The island was not bombed on the first and the Btry enjoyed a New Year's Day dinner complete.  On the 2nd of Jan. 1942 during a bombing raid of about 3 hrs. duration the Btry CP suffered a direct hit and the Battery Commander (Capt. Hamilton) and Cpl. Jackson, & 2 other men were killed. Capt. Hamilton and Cpl. Jackson are buried in the Command Post, it being impossible to remove the bodies.  The Btry safe with all records is also buried there.  The Command Post was moved that night to Breakwater Point and new line ran in from there to positions. The mess was moved to near Breakwater Pt. and guns were set up in alt. positions, two 1/2 between Geary Pt. and Bk.Water Pt. and 2 at Incinerator position.  Lt. C.S. Dronenburger assumed command of Btry and Lt. Haile was moved from Topside 8th tee position to Library on South Shore Rd. Corregidor was bombed again on 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8 of Jan 1942.

Btry was in action on 29th of December only out of these bombing raids. At the start of the war Capt. Hamilton, Lt. Dronenberger executive, Lt. Haile junior officer, commanded Btry.  All personnel in BP at CP at time of hit received Purple Heart and other commendations.

Japanese troops march through Malinta, with arms shouldered, whilst surrendered troops stand by attempting to come to terms with the unthinkable.

2. Btry "L" 60th CA.  Jan 8 to May 6, 1942.

On January 9, 1942, Capt. Kenneth L. Boggs was transferred from Battery H, joined and assumed command of Btry "L".  At this time our position was located as shown on the attached sketch.  As there were so many men assigned to the Middleside Incinerator position with no officer assigned thereto he established himself at that position, leaving the Btry Hqrs section at Breakwater where there was a cave, near the (illegible--south shore??) which was bomb proof.  On Jan. 12th the Incinerator position was nearly wiped out by enemy bombing. There were no casualties, however, and none of our ordnance equipment was destroyed except a few boxes of ammunition.  Our kitchen and tentage as well as most of the personal equipment of the men at this position was almost completely destroyed.  At this time we decided to move our machine guns from the Incinerator position, and after a reconnaissance by our Bn Commander, two guns were located on the parapet between the 3 6-inch seacoast guns of Btry Ramsey, at "H" Battery, 60th CA position.  One of our guns which had been damaged in the January 2nd bombing was returned from the Ordnance Repair and we moved our other gun from the Incinerator to ~ position above the Middleside Corral.

Work was started at this time on tunnels to be used as bomb proofs for off duty personnel.  One was located at the first bend of the Ramsey Trail in Ramsey Ravine, and another below the Philippine Treasury Vault on the South Shore Road.  In February when our tunnel in Ramsey Ravine was completed the Headquarters section was moved up from Breakwater into position into the tunnel.  During the months of February and March, there was very little enemy air activity and work was continued on improvement of our tunnels.  Our position #6 was moved from 0rdnance Point to the Machine Gun position on the Wilson Purle (??) Ridge occupied by "D" Btry, 60th CA.  Staff Sgt. Boyd left the battery to go over to the Cavite mainland, near Pico del Oro to join Capt. Ivy's Intelligence Section air warning force and scouting Patrol. Sgt’s. Peterson and Sanchez and Forhan went over to Bataan Peninsula on Signal Hill to join our Intelligence Section Air Warning Force. In February, three days after we moved our CP to its new position, enemy shellfire from Ternate, Cavite, completely destroyed our old position.  We built a mess hall and a number of small shelters near our new CP on Ramsey Trail and were very comfortable until April when enemy bombings, and enemy artillery fire from Bataan destroyed all of our structures.  During the month of April, all of our positions were very active when Corregidor began to be attacked by enemy dive-bombers.

Our Platoon position #6 was particularly active during this period.  This position had a 360°field of fire and as "D" Btry 60th Gun positions the Navy installations were frequent targets for enemy bombers, this position was hit many times. At one period on May 2nd these two guns at this position under the leadership of Corporal Cage Kimball were the only two AA machine guns east of Malinta Hill engaged in action.  During the entire day this position was being severely shelled from Bataan and this position suffered 14 hits by shell fragments on their sand bag revetment, but no one was wounded.

  During the entire period Jan 9th to May 6th only two men, Capt. Boggs and Cpl. Humphrey were severely wounded by enemy shell fire or bombing, although all positions were manned 24 hrs a day, and went into action each time an enemy target presented itself.

(Following notes refer to sketch)

CP1 - located ct Geary Ft.  Destroyed by bombing Jan 2, 1942.

CP2 (alternate) - located at Breakwater Point in a cave on Sea Shore Cliff       

CP3 (alternate) - Top of Ramsey Ravine near first Road Bend on Ramsey Trail

o       Position 1 - located near Btry Geary C.P.

o       Position 2 - located at Lubang Point

o       Position 4₁- located near Middleside Incinerator

o       Position 4 - located above Geary Point

o       Position 4₂ - located at Btry Ramsey

o       Position 5 - located near Middleside Incinerator

o       Position 5₁-located above Corral, M/S

o       Position 6 - located above Ordnance Point

o       Position 6₁-located in Btry D, 60th position

o       Capt. Bogg - stationed at CP3.

o       Lt. Dronberger in charge of #3

o       Lt. Haille in charge of #2

o       Lt. Swenson in charge of #1

o       Sgt Mace in charge of #5₁

o       Cpl. Matthews in charge of #4₂

o       Cpl. Kimball. in charge of #6

Hundreds of surrendered troops mill around awaiting orders as to their fate. The true circumstances of the surrender will not be known in the West for until 1943-44. Dispirited and directionless, many not knowing why they have been surrendered, groups of men stand around waiting for orders.  Some units maintained cohesiveness due to strong leadership, but others fell apart from lacklustre officers more interested in themselves than the welfare of their men. 

The Battery Histories which appear on this website are due to a long line of men,  many whose names will never be known.  These men, at the risk of their lives, wrote them from memory and created the original documents whilst incarcerated in Japanese POW Camps. They then concealed  the documents for the duration.   Not every battery history has survived the war, and their loss is part of the tragic story of Japanese indifference to human life in their custody.  

At the end of the line of these men who have preserved these histories, are George Munson and Al McGrew (himself a POW),  who have enabled us to put them into the public domain.

 3. An Account Relative to L/60

January 2nd, 1942, was approximately one month after I was detached from Headquarters Battery, 60th C.A.C. to the Quartermaster Corps at Fort Mills, Corregidor, and P.I.  My duties were driving a truck hauling food rations to the various battery kitchens and other kitchens, which included marine, officers, hospital, and civilian kitchens.

On the above-mentioned date I was driving down the south shore road at approximately 2 o'clock in the afternoon.  Suddenly I noticed a small hole appeared in the hood of the Dodge truck and kept on driving and looking at the hole, when suddenly another small hole appeared in the hood.  I realized then that there must be an air raid on.  (It was always impossible to hear the air raid siren when driving a truck.) I was a couple of hundred yards from the L Battery, 60th C.A.C. kitchen, which was my next stop, so I stepped on the gas and stopped by the kitchen, I shut the ignition and got out of the truck quickly.  No one was in sight, so I knew for sure an air raid was on.  I didn’t hardly know what to do, as I couldn't think of any place to take refuge. Then I thought of a cement culvert, so I started down towards it, as the planes were almost directly overhead.  The next thing I knew I was sitting on the ground, feeling like every bone in my body was shaken loose, feeling for my glasses which were gone; and, the smoke and dust was so dense I could hardly see.  The Nips had dropped several bombs, one which hit.50 caliber ammunition dump about 20 feet in front of me.  They had also hit a 155-mm.-ammunition dump at Battery South (now Battery Hamilton), A position on the hillside just above L Bat. which  was occupied by "K", Philippine Army.  All the ammunition was exploding.  Just then, through the haze of smoke and dust appeared Lt. Dronberger of L battery.  He said, "They hit our C.P. (command post).  Some men are trapped.  A fire is started, which must be put out first. Will you help me?"  "Sure," was my answer.  I got up and started running toward the kitchen to get a shovel.  Just then a man who I later learned was Private Herbert Klingbeal of Minneapolis, Minnesota, appeared from somewhere.  He went with me and I got a shovel from the kitchen.  We were running toward the C.P.  The Nip planes were coming over again.  They dropped a bomb about 30 feet in front of us, we got to that bomb crater, and they dropped one almost on the direct spot where I had picked up the shovel.  We went on and started fighting the fire. Another man appeared later, in few minutes, and helped us extinguish the fire.  (All I know about this fellow is that he was a sailor.  I never learned his name, rating, etc.).  During this time we were fighting the fire, the Nipponese planes came back over, either 3 or 4 times, strafing each time.  After putting out the fire, the 3 of us started digging out the cement and dirt around the C.P.  (The Nips had made a direct hit on the C.P.)  Finally the all clear was sounded and many more men appeared, who had taken refuge in the culvert I had originally intended to take shelter in.

Of the men we rescued (5 if I remember correctly), 1st Sergeant Harris of L Bat. is one of these lucky men.  The other 4 men were not so fortunate, they were crushed to death.  The remains of Capt. Hamilton, (who at that time was the L Bat. Commander) and those of Corporal Jackson remain buried where they died, because of the tremendously heavy cement blocks which are lodged over their bodies.

Returning to the Dodge truck, I found it shot full of bullet holes. The radiator was riddled, so I finished my run without any water in the radiator.  Finishing the run, I turned the truck in to the 3rd Echelon Shop for repairs.

The next morning when I went to get out of bed I found that I could hardly move, my body was extremely swollen - so Sergeant Donald Starr of the Quartermaster Corps took me to the hospital.  There Major Barry, Capt Haynes, and other Medical Corps officer found me to be suffering from shell shock & concussion.  As a result, I spent 12 days in the hospital before returning to duty.

In conclusion I want to say that I have always been a Christian and that I am still convinced that God in heaven has much more power than Nipponese planes, bombs and bullets.  Otherwise, I would be a corpse today.

-------------------------------------------------------

Lt. Col. Elvin L. Barr

Reg. Comm. (acting), 60th C.A.C.

Dear Col. Barr:

I have written this to the best of my knowledge.  However I realize that my handwriting, English spelling, and punctuation are not up to par.

There are several things I wish I could talk over with you.  One is the C.A. School at Fort Monroe.  You will probably remember that I was studying for the Corregidor exams for entrance to Ft. Monroe for the Automotive Transportation course.  Now I will be 36 in Sept.) and I’m wondering about the 35-year age limit???

Another thing is about re-enlistment.  I will have spent so much time in hospital by the time I come up for discharge, I am wondering if I will be allowed to re-enlist??  I would like to re-enlist in the automotive transportation.

Another thing - do you know of anybody who would loan me any amount up to 5 pesos for the same amount in gold when I am paid??  I think I could build up 5 pesos so I could repay it here by dealing in peanuts. However I would guarantee payment in gold when I am paid.  I figure the Gov't. owes me right at $700.00 on my base pay now.  The surplus on my dealings would be spent for eggs & fish.

Another subject I wanted to talk over with you was the subject of my Silver Star, Expert Gunners, and Rifle Sharpshooters medals.

So you see I have quite a lot I want to talk to you about.  I would greatly appreciate seeing you, but I am flat on my back.  Sure hope you can get over soon.

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