Sightseeing Though Southern Luzon

After our vacation in the mountains, rumors started to fly that we were about to go back into combat again. Places that came with those rumors were Nasugbu, Batangas, Mt. Aiming, Tagaytay Ridge, the Genko Line, Nichols Field, Fort McKinley, Cavite, and Manila. These are places that were hard fought for and rough goings.

Date and time set for this action was January 31, 1945; time for H-hour would be 0815. The 511th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 457th, one platoon of the 221st Medics and one squad of the 127th Engineers had gone by LCI and C-46 to Mindoro. They would make the first mass jump for the division, the place to be was Tagaytay Ridge. The Navy would take the rest of the Division to Luzon for the beach landing.

Sixth Army was on a fast move toward Manila from the north and pushing the Japs south. Our Division was to cut off the Jap escape routes to the south. If all went well we would be given the green light to go on to Manila. About an hour before H-hour the Navy, from destroyers and rocket firing LCIs, started to shell Red Beach, which was our landing area. Right on schedule the Navy ceased fire and LCVP's carried part of the 1st Battalion of the 188th. There was very little firing from the Japs. 188th, 2nd Battalion was the next outfit sent in to the beach. C Company of the 188 was sent north to close out the Jap position at Nasugbu Point, and E Company of the 188th was sent south to take out the Japs at San Diego Point. The rest of the 188th moved quickly into the town of Nasugbu and took control of the airstrip there. We did such a fast and clean job that we were given permission to proceed to Manila.

The rest of the division, which were still on Navy vessels, came ashore. 1st Battalion, 187th landed, it was attached to Colonel Soule's 188th. The rest of the 187th landed, relieved C and E Companies of the 188th and also took over responsibility for the operation and defense of Nasugbu. One battery of the 674th remained to support the 187th and Battery A. 102nd AAA AW Battalion and the 152d AA-AT Battalion set up anti-aircraft defenses on the beach.

By 1430 the 188th were eight miles from the beach and at the Palico River Bridge. They moved so fast that the Japs, who had the bridge ready to blow, were caught on the far side of it. They tried to blow the bridge but we killed eight of them and the rest decided against dying that day. The rest of the Japs retreated toward Tagaytay Ridge. We lucked out with the capture of the bridge intact, allowing us to keep moving ahead.

Luzon was a whole lot different from Leyte, weather wise that is. The days were warm and nights cold, seldom ever rained and we, the mud rats of Leyte, could hardly believe it. By 1800, on January 31st, the 188th was at Turnalin and still moving forward. The 675th and 457th, had moved forward to Palico and had gone into firing positions. The 127th Engineers had removed the demolitions from the Palico River Bridge and had strengthened other bridges which the Japs had weakened. The Division Command Post was set up in the Palico Barracks.

You would think that by this time we would have stopped for a breather. We knew that we had the Japs on the run and confused. So we kept on moving by the light of a full moon. At midnight the 1st Battalion, 187th, cut through the 188th, to which it was attached, and continued to advance along Highway 17 toward Tagaytay Ridge. There was a little resistance by small groups of Japs but they were cut down fast

We approached the triple peaked mountains, Cariliao Mountain, Aiming Mountain and Batulao Mountain. Mount Cariliao rises 2,100 feet on the north side of the road and Mt. Batulao 2,700 feet on the south. At the foot of Mt. Cariliao was Mt. Aiming, some 1,200 feet high. All of these mountains were densely wooded. The three peaks afforded the Japs the advantage from which to oppose any troops coming up the road. We found that the Japs used these mountains to better their position. As we made contact they opened fire with machine guns, mortars, and rifles. From the caves and tunnels close to the road the Japs threw grenades onto the roadway.

On the morning of the 1st we called up the Fifth Air Corps fighters, who strafed the enemy position. The 188th, reinforced by the 187th, 1st Battalion and supported by the 674th and 675th, attacked and A Company of the 188th broke through the Jap position and charged up Mt. Aiming, blasting Japs on the way. A Company was separated from the remainder of the 1st Battalion, cut off and isolated from the rest of the attacking force for most of the day on the summit. The Japs, aware of the importance of Mt. Aiming, attacked A Company continuously but could not dislodge them from the hill. By late afternoon the remainder of the 1st Battalion, 188th, cut through and joined them on the summit. From there they could look down the throats of the Japs, but at the same time the mountain which they were on stood out like a sitting duck and Jap artillery tried to zero in on them.

With the 1st Battalion, 187th held its position on the north flank, the 188th moved into line with three battalions. The 2nd Battalion, 188th, moved fast to the south of the road, crossed a deep gorge, attacking the Jap position between Mt. Batulao and Highway 17. The 1st Battalion, 187th, moved between the two battalions of the 188th and, as the center battalion, attacked on the eastside of the road. The Recon Platoon moved toward Tagaytay Ridge on a trail north of Mt. Cariliao to check the strength of Japs on our north flank. The Pathfinders of the 511th Infantry moved through the enemy lines, reaching Tagaytay Ridge, and remaining concealed prepared to mark the drop zone for the 511th drop on the morning of the 3rd.

In a little over a day that the division had been on Luzon it had gone inland nineteen miles, cut through the enemy lines and we killed approximately 91 of the Japs. We paid dearly for this, with approximately 16 of our boys Killed In Action and 44 Wounded In Action. Playing big time poker with the Japs, whose amount was stated as 50,000 men or more? Against the power of an under-manned light Airborne Division, with less than 7,800 men including cooks, bakers, corpsmen, band members, dock detail and lots more that were not on the front lines at that time. We were even short replacements from our losses on Leyte, but we still raised extreme hell with the Japs. We were moving fast and furiously, trying to give the Japs the impression we had four aces, just as we would if we were playing poker and bluffing big time. We now had to kill the Japs main line at the triple peaks, it was a major move, if we failed we were in big trouble. Our supply lines were stretched thin, and one mistake and we were cut off from any help. We called for air strikes and heavy artillery to soften the way, we hit the Japs hard and fast over running the retreating Japs 31st Infantry Headquarters at Aga. What was found in this area were large supplies of every sort of military needs, including about a 100 ton of ammo that they would not be using on us. We also found three very deep tank traps across the highway, time to call in the127th Engineers to build bridges across those obstacles.

The 188th, 1st Battalion, went north through Kaytitinga. The 188th, 2nd Battalion, kept attacking the Jap positions in the coconut groves, in the northern foothills of Mt. Batulao. We were now up against the strongest position of the Jap across Highway 17. Jap rifles, mortars and artillery fire were on us all through the night. The plan was for the 188th to move east and the 511th to move to the west, catching the Japs in a squeeze play. Now we had to jump the 511th for the plan to work. In the early morning of the 3rd, the jump, plus the attack by the 188th on Shorty's Ridge took place. There were caves and tunnels all over Shorty's Ridge, air support, artillery and mortars beat against the mountain. Even using demolitions to blow away parts of the mountain to seal the caves with the Japs in them. By early afternoon the ridge and Highway 17 were secured, with the connection of the 188th and the advance units of the 511th. Now it was a move onto Manila.

All this fighting and moving was done on foot and up hill battles to the height of 2,400 feet. With Highway 17 open and ready for traffic, trucks were brought up for the advance to Manila, loading the 511th in those trucks. General Joe told the 511th, "Go as far and as fast as you can go until you are stopped cold." The 511th less the 1st and 3rd Battalions, piled into the trucks with a jeep patrol, and led by Colonel Haugen, set off for Manila. Naturally, the rest of the regiment started the thirty mile walkathon. We heard some great things about Manila. We wanted to see and enjoy this Pearl of the Orient, being we have not seen a city of any size since we left San Francisco. We then heard that the Japs were blowing the hell out of this city, we were not happy with that at all. First they blew up the Coca Cola plant and the largest brewery, this was a definite no-no. We had a few Coca Cola drinkers that were a bit peeved, but the major amount of us troopers were beer drinkers and we were damn right mad. The straw that broke the camel back was when we heard they destroyed the city's number one night club. Now we felt a raving, crazed, insane attitude towards our enemy, this was beyond cruelty, vile and felonious assault on us personally, we would make them pay for these unjust acts.

Highway 17 took us directly to the roughest fight we would have and that would be to smash the Genko Line. We got as far as Imus Bridge and were stopped by enemy fire, leaving a small holding force to engage the enemy. The major part of the regiment took a small detour via a dirt path on foot. The 511th ran into a stone garrison with a lot of Japs well fortified behind stone walls about 5 foot thick. Bringing up our 75's we just started to hammer on them for about 2 hours, killing about 25 and scaring the rest away.

Technical Sergeant Robert C. Steele of 511th, D Company: During the fight it was noted that the Jap holdout was in one of these stone buildings. To get to it was through an open field which was covered by some Jap machine-guns. Steele asked for cover fire from his platoon, moving alone toward the building climbed up onto the roof under enemy fire. He ripped a hole in the roof and then dumped gasoline down on the Japs inside. The gas and the Japs he lit up with a white phosphorus hand grenade. The hot smoking Japs hustled out from the building only to be blown away by Steele's men outside. Steele then went inside the stone fort and shot the remaining two Nips. For his extraordinary heroism Sergeant Steele was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Nation's second highest award. Steele was killed later in Manila on February 8, 1945. Steele's action allowed the advance of the rest of his company.

On the 4th, the 1st Battalion, 511th, had joined the 2nd Battalion near Imus. The trucks went back for the third time to bring up the 3rd Battalion, which had by this time reached Silang on foot. The regiment now was able to cut back to the main highway, secured the Imus Bridge crossing from the rear, and again started out for Manila. The 188th, having eliminated the Japs on Shorty's Ridge, left a company to secure the area, and took off for Manila on foot. The third and last jump of the 511th RCT was dropped. The 457th, complete with twelve howitzers, landed on Tagaytay Ridge opposite the Manila Hotel Annex. Sharp were the ways that the 457th got its guns to the top of the ridge and onto Highway 17. The Filipinos who watched the jump around the drop zone were put to work. They moved parachutes and ammunition to assembly points, while their caribou and ponies packed the pieces of the howitzers up the slope. The use of Filipino guerrillas, along with the 187th and the adding of the 19th Infantry Regimental Combat Team, had to patrol the main supply route, all 69 miles of it. The boys of the 187th were not a happy lot, for they were cut off from the fight for Manila. Without them covering our rear and fighting scattered Japanese attacks, the move on Manila would never have come off as well as it did. To add a sore to that was the fact that their unit was left off the DUC (Distinguished Unit Citation) by the War Department. More on that later.

© Copyright C. J. Johnson & Associates 1998
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