Pfc. Blaine WARD

Katie Gavin 
325 Iowa Street 
Crescent City, CA 95531

My father was in "D" Company, 503d PRCT. His name was Blaine Ward. I would like to find out more information regarding the 503d. I have his medals and I am not sure what they mean. I also have a picture of the company before they left the states in 1942( I am not sure of the year). I have his Discharge Certificate which states that he departed for the Asiatic Pacific Theater on Oct 20, 1942 and returned to the states on Oct 1, 1945. He was private first class. Would it help if I gave you his dog tag number? It is 19080064  7440A. I would appreciate someone from the company contacting me. 

This enquiry was of particular interest, because a search of the alphabetic database roster initially did not locate Blaine Ward. The roster, which was compiled by Don Abbott from several separate lists published in the Harold Templeman book "The Return To Corregidor"  unfortunately contains a number of errors - Templeman's errors, not Abbott's. There is good reason to believe that the lists furnished to Templeman were incomplete and contained several errors and that the errors weren't attributable to Templeman himself.

Templeman lists Pfc Binion L. Harrison, the assistant squad leader of my 3d squad who mysteriously suffered a severe burn to his arm late the night of the 15th.  A court of inquiry was threatened but never materialized.

1st Sgt Baldwin, S/Sgt Charles McCurry, Pfc Bill McDonald, Pfc Perry Bandt, and  Pfc Ralph Iverson are listed on both rosters as jumpers, but did not jump on Corregidor.  Their plane developed engine trouble, began losing altitude, and was forced to drop out of the airlift.  They jumped to safety and arrived on Corregidor by boat, and rejoined the Co., much to our relief. 

Pfc Theodore Yokum and Pfc Paul Narrow are listed in Return To Corregidor  as jumpers were also in this plane.  1st Lt Wm. E. LaVanchure, T/Sgt Phillip Todd, T/Sgt Joseph Shropshire ( he is listed but as a private), Pfc (Assistant squad leader) Wright, Pfc James, Bradley, and Pvt George Pierce are not listed, but jumped. Wright was a casualty.

Closer study may reveal other errors.

In looking at Return to Corregidor, G Co is screwed up. Their dead are not listed:

1Lt Gordon English,

S/Sgt James Reed,

Sgt John Holmes,

Pvt Rocco Difilipo,

Pvt Cecil Douglas.

Their roster shows 110 jumping.

I have not gone over this closely, but I know the records are not complete. I know some have disputed them, even claiming many more fatalities than actually happened. We should be careful, though, in dismissing a man as a jumper because the rosters do not list him.

John Lindgren

Your email got to me and I have some information that might be useful to you. I would like to say at the outset that I am only too pleased to reply to any questions you might have. Your father's long service in the Pacific with D Company deserves our attention to it even more. I don't know if Colonel Calhoun can be of too much help since he was with another company [F] but I'll send a copy of this to him. The material I present here is from documents  I have gathered over the years about "D" Company during WWII. 

Your father was indeed a member of "D" Company for a long time from Australia until the final battle for Negros Island in the Philippines. He was a rifleman in the first squad, second platoon.  I didn't know your father; I was in another platoon [mortar platoon]. On 2 December 1942 the company disembarked from the troopship, Poleau Laut, [a converted Dutch merchantman] at Cairns, Australia and three years later the company was disbanded. after the Japanese defeat. 

I do not show him on my Corregidor roster and that puzzled me. I looked through my morning report files and found what I think may solve the problem. The morning report is a document prepared daily by the company showing all personnel changes and absences; personnel joining, AWOL's, hospitalization, deaths, woundings, promotions, etc. 

He was definitely on Mindoro as the 10 January 1945 morning report shows him being promoted to PFC. A more telling entry however, may explain how he missed Corregidor, he was admitted to the hospital on 2 February. What he was admitted for is not shown. I have found his name on orders awarding him the Combat Infantryman's Badge [for Nadzab]. I found him on shipping lists to Noemfoor and Mindoro. I am nearly certain he was present for duty for the surrender as the medical records show he suffered a fractured foot on 26 July 1945, three weeks before the August 15 surrender. 

If you will send me your address I will send copies of any pertinent documents I have pertaining to your father and the history of his company. While all of these papers give you an idea of the company's war in the Pacific the best way to get a more personal view would be contact Company "D" survivors whose addresses are known. I will get those to you at a later date. One 2nd platoon NCO you might try is Harry Drews, 1218 Cedar Lane, Mount Carmel, IL 62803 [618] XXX XXXX. I hope this may be of some help.

 ttfn,

John Lindgren