Some Japanese Atrocities

During the period August 28th to September 26,1941, I was enroute to the Philippine Islands on board the transport USAT President Pierce. My cabin mates on this voyage were a Captain of the Air Corps and a 2nd Lieutenant of the 200th CA (AA) New Mexico National Guard. Upon arrival at Manila, the Captain was assigned to the Air Corps and sent to Bataan with the American Forces there. The Captain served the Philippine Campaign in Bataan and was there when the area was surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. He was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese and became one of the "Death March" from Bataan to Camp O'Donnell.

When the "Death March " columns reached Orien (Orion), they were searched. On the person of the Captain they found 10¢ (sen) in Japanese money. Immediately the supposition was that the Captain, during the war, had killed a Japanese and robbed him. The Captain, with another American prisoner of was taken into custody, beaten severely, and shot to death in front of the other American Prisoners of war. After the release from Japan in 1945 and while in Portland, Oregon I made phone contact with the Captain's wife (he and I had, on the boat trip exchanged wives names and home addresses.) I asked if I could visit her and talk with her about her husband. She declined and I do not blame her. This was 4 years later, she had probably put it all behind her and did not want to reopen the door to old wounds again.

On the "Death March" from Bataan to O'Donnell in April, 1942 a Lieutenant, Air Corps pilot, saw his flying school friend shot and left to lie in the road to the side of him, simply because he was to weak to continue to march. Many other captives were murdered in this same way.

A private of the 31st Infantry, together with another American and seven Philippinos were captured in Bataan early in January 1942, when a small unit of infantry got cut off from the main body of troops. They were tied up for days and beaten until he wished that they would kill him instead. Finally, a Japanese came along and beat the heads of the Philippinos in with a hammer. The two Americans were then untied and imprisoned in Manila (Bilibid Prison). On Corregidor, at the surrender a group of Philippinos were captured by the Japanese at Monkey Point. They were tied to trees, bayoneted to death, each penis cut off and jammed into the owner's mouth and left tied there for all who passed to see.

Such brutalities as these indicate the illiteracy, ignorance and barbaric nature of the Japanese soldiers. One did not hate them, but a loathing developed against regimented troops, so devoid of culture, civilized learning, and sense of honor. They had consistently grossly violated principles of international law in their treatment of prisoners of war. I thought sometimes that this was due to lack of understanding and the difficulty of a literal speech translation between the occidental and oriental, and the resulting offenses generated in the conversation.

The Japanese immediately located many batteries of guns in Bataan and the artillery siege of Corregidor began. Corregidor was about 4000 yards across the water from Mariveles harbor. 105, 150 and 240 mm guns were used besides the small three inch field artillery weapons. The more prominent Corregidor batteries of James, Rock Point, Kaiser, Stockade, Keys, Hanna, Morrison and Grubs were used for counterbattery fire into Bataan, but were soon put out of action (they were 155 calibre rifle units). The guns of the enemy in Bataan were many and were sufficient to counterbattery all fire of the "Rock" and still make heavy barrage fire of  their own. The fixed seacoast defenses of Corregidor were not all accessible to the attack from the right flank of the Bataan area.

This enemy fire from Bataan was the beginning of an enormous artillery barrage of Corregidor by the enemy. It increased in intensity with the surrender of Bataan on April 9th. Bombing was also increased on Corregidor, after the fall of Bataan. By the 13th of April our battery position was well enough located that prior to planes coming in for bombing, the position was frequently shelled. Any time the battery was put into action and the gun muzzles elevated above the camouflage, the position was immediately shelled. Much of the camouflage was immediately destroyed and left the general area open to observation. The Japanese now had observation balloons up over Bataan.

Aerial bombardment of Corregidor continued by the new type of 97 Sleek Naval bombers. The majority of the courses at this time were too high in altitude and extreme in range for our battery to fire upon them. We were firing normally 20 to 30 rounds per day, when a course overhead would come into range for a short while and 8 to 10 rounds could be fired. From the period March 24th to April 13th, the battery fired about 274 rounds of three inch ammunition, and obtained effective hits on five enemy planes.

During the period April 13th to April 28th, action by the enemy was maintained about the same as previously, with some aerial bombing every day, and artillery fire from Bataan most every day and night. Counter-battery fire from Corregidor and the other fortified islands, was instigated several times during this period, but the firepower of the enemy was far greater. They had sufficient guns available apparently to engage all of our batteries and many left for very destructive barrage fire on Corregidor and Fort Hughes positions.

All of the AA positions were heavily shelled. Battery Chicago and Denver were shelled most, being in the more exposed and more accessible locations to the enemy guns. At Battery Hartford the camouflage was practically gone. The Japanese used 105 mm point detonating fuzes, very sensitive, for clearing away brush and camouflage, then they would fire for effect with the 150 and 240 mm guns. It was necessary to rebuild each night the earthen and sandbag walls used to protect the men and equipment. During the day's shelling, enemy fire would seriously damage our gun walls and communications systems. It was necessary to sandbag vulnerable gallery doorways of Battery Ramsey to prevent their shelling from exploding the shell and powder magazines of that battery.

 

The Quartermaster Mules

Corregidor still had 18 head of quartermaster mules. The mule drawn wagons were used on the garbage collection and general police work of the "Rock". It was a rather antiquated system and incongruous compared to the modern trucks in the Quartermaster supply. Nevertheless, these animals were there. They were in a stable at Middleside, at the head of Governor's Ravine, just across the road from our gun position at Battery Ramsey. During the siege of Corregidor, there was little police work done on the "Rock". It was difficult getting the company supplies distributed with the motor trucks and the slow rate of movement of the wagons, coupled with the shortage of personnel, precluded any attention given to police or garbage detail. Most men were in field position anyway, and were disposing of garbage by burning or in locally dug pits. Thus the mules stood idle in the stables and corrals, very fat and idle. They were exposed to bombing and shellfire, and frequently were injured by shrapnel.

The Regimental Executive Officer came one day to inspect our position. He noticed that we had a great number of flies around our kitchen area. He told me that I ought to do something about those flies, and to build fly traps for them. I would have had to trap the whole population of the mule corral as well. I ask him what would I use for bait. He said that a can of salmon would be good bait. I told him that if we ever got a can of salmon in the battery we would eat it, not the flies. He said to come down to Malinta Tunnel and he would give me a can of Salmon. That was real regimental help in the midst of the hell of war that we were experiencing.

At this time we were down to one third rations and meat supply was exhausted from the storage lockers on the "Rock". We were getting some "island beef," consisting of slaughtered carabao. We thought it to be a very good idea to slaughter the mules, and use them as a meat supply. Upon petition to the Quartermaster to do this we received a flat refusal. It was unthinkable. He must have been an old muleskinner. He acted like we wanted to invade Fort Knox. We were told that those mules who became critically injured by bombing or shell fire could be slaughtered for meat. In other words, after the mules had suffered the pain of being bombed or shelled we could then slaughter them for the meat.

After the bombings or shellfire of Governor's or Ramsey's Ravines, there would always be some mules standing with injuries. I remember broken legs and shrapnel through the ribcage or neck of some of them. Nevertheless, in the last days of the siege, these animals did become a real source of meat to the men of our battery and others in the 59th CA and the 60th CA (AA) regiments. The meat from these animals is very good really, more grainy than beef and I thought a little sweeter in taste, generally very tender. It was a welcome addition to our bill of fare in the field mess.

On April 20th the battery was out of action. Cables of the communications system and fire control system were torn up by shelling. A Technical Sergeant was at Number 1 gun, the Executive Officer was at the Director, and I was at the BC station. All battery personnel were in the Battery Ramsey parodos protected from shelling while the cable repairs were being made. We were reorienting and synchronizing the guns. Suddenly I looked up and a flight of 97 type bombers were about over our position. I phoned the Sergeant and the Lieutenant to duck for cover and I did the same. The bombs hit all over our position. Two were within 15 feet of my BC pit. This shook us all up plenty. I was alone and for the first time was really unsettled. I remember screaming Faye's name. When it was over rock, wire, brush and bomb fragments were everywhere and ammonium picrate bomb powder was all over me. I later had to take a bath to get the stuff off my body. Some of the bombs did not explode, but the impact shattered them and sprayed the powder everywhere. Then we got tangled in the wire in a mad dash through the following artillery barrage to get to shelter in the parodos of Battery Ramsey.

During this barrage an enemy 105 mm shell had exploded above the Number 1 gunpit, wounding three men of the battery. A Corporal had both legs mangled by shell fragments, one being amputated on the spot. He died later on May 3rd at the Corregidor (Malinta tunnel) hospital. Two privates were also wounded at this time. After this incident was over I went back to the gun pit and was really shook to see the one foot, shoe and part of the leg still remaining from the amputation.

The battery was put out of action many times, due to shell and bomb fragments injuring the cable system. The stony nature of the ground at the position prevented adequate burying of the cables. Mending cables caused the battery to be out of action a considerable part of the time. Within the regiment, cables had been destroyed to the extent that no spares were available.

Shelling of the position had become very regular. During the day, the artillery destroyed the earthen barricades. At night we rebuilt them. The Japanese had observation balloons in Bataan a few miles away and were aware of our slightest activity. The M-4 Director and Height Finder were the heart of our fire control system. We were concerned about their damage by shellfire. Accordingly on April 29th, we moved these instruments to a new location separated from the gun position at the rear of the Quartermaster Stables, at the head of Governor's Ravine. Since this position was better defiladed from Bataan, this move reduced considerably the amount of shelling received by these units of the battery and was considered justifiable since there were no replacements available. The position had only one drawback. These instruments were adjacent and behind the concrete tanks which housed the manure from the mule stables. We all wondered what would happen when a shell or bomb exploded these manure tanks and we were all left freckle faced with manure.

All activity of the battery was carried on under exposure to sudden attacks by the enemy. The Height Finder was put out of action twice, once repaired at the position and once taken to the Ordnance Shop for repairs. We missed no action due to this, but obtained our altitude readings from other batteries.

Heavy bombers, dive bombers, Zero fighters and enemy artillery were besieging Corregidor during this period. Three Naval seaplanes operated at dive bombing during the period May 1 to May 6. Planes dive bombed AA three inch and 50 calibre machine gun positions daily.