were nearly half a hundred sunken ships sitting on the shallow with their superstructures silhouetted above water paying mute tribute effective savagery of the American Air Force counterattack in the cpfe- year. A i Thetroops were forced to view their new home from 5 miles Qui in the ntil traHSP0I'TCfTi011 ashore was ready to receive them. Completing 24 on board the l'98 , by debarkation time September 14th, the casuals become adjusted to the somewhat tedious conditions of seagoing life departed apparently satisfied with their cruisem. While the troops were traversing the 5-mile run to the beach via the boats the long arm of fate struck. During a heavy downpour a bolt fof lightning skewered a loaded 98 LCVP and struck down two Dutchess Boatmen, H. S. Karas and N. A. Amon, both Slc13, sparinrg the other 2 Sailors and 30 soldiers in the boat. Karas died soon after and Amon died ashore the next evening in an Army Hospital. These men were buried with military honors in the Armed Forces Memorial Cemetery No. 2 CNorth of Manilal along- side the men who had fallen in the fighting while doing their bit. The tragedy of the fate that brought these men through Okinawa and the many months of traversing submarine-infested waters and then took them in the hour of victory, was apparent to all hands. T Life went on as usual. The Dutchessmen found liberty in the war wrecked, blasted, bustling city of Manila la fascinating experience. They braved the dirt, dust, and disease in climbing through the rubble of the buildings to dis- cover a full sized family eking out existence under a couple of pieces of tin. Everywhere there were marks of the fighting, and everywhere were evidences of the military unnecessary but deliberate demolition and burning of buildings by the Iaps. On all side the Americans were besiegedwith pitiful stories of lap cruelties. And on all sides the extravagant American insisted on paying black rnarket prices and cheerfully bedamned the liberated natives for taking his money. The buildings of the University of the Philippines were but battle-marked, flame-seared, gutted shells. On the campus a burned American tank stood Where it had been hit with its gun barrel pointed mutely at the sky. This hulk, in which American blood had been shed, might well have been labeled The Price of Freedom and left for successive generations of students to con- template. , The occupdtion of Iapan was progressing slowly, there was yet only a handful of Americans on the Iapanese home islands. Despite the usual desires see the States as soon as possible, practically everybody aboard WGS to learn that the Lady would not continue her sometimes -monotonous Ll of the Pacific but would have a . .hand in the occul9Cf'f10P of the rneland. The storerooms were jammed to the overhead with food. possible supplies were taken aboard, the ship was fueled, and the 9 men he Second Demobilization Increment C6 reservists who had become eligible Separation plus three regular Navy CPOs entitled to re-enlistment leavel D . ut ashore The Dutchess was ready for the occupation. W . 4 'lb-Guerilla. 6 in vAppend1x 4. Q S., Swlc, 947 074 04, SV6, USNR, Chicago, Ill. A i,,y Slc 921 15.15 SV6 USNR Philadelphia, Pa. X gf. l35l y A
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1 w accum l t dt , , dl .2 CBMs The eligible DuLlcTiSssmoeiieifeirexgdcgdarntccs CY1-1 RIEMC ,Division men as being veterans of New Guinea Le isempqfilf, rom mgyority of the infantrymen had the requisite Army, Demoblghzqcgrgn grin their Commanding General, Major General C L Mullins lr courfd nost -his way clear to releasing them until after the. Adrninistr' t' 'I L d gugcessfully completed. At the moment in the Nioponese hlolhlilarcildl thrge 1 0 armed lapanese for every American. Any light incident provoking would necessitate that capable combat organizquons be intact in .ghting strength in order to have an outside chance for survival. Loading progressed efficiently, the Dutchessrnen were now proficient the infantrymen proved themselves capable and adaptable Night after necessities had no ecwe or Sepqmtlon but held GS' P J H ' ,eligible for postwar. resenlistment ,l - A ' ll' 2 K . ' ' ' I' I I I g I . gl . night the light of The September moon in Lingayen Gulf would reveal the Assault Transports quietly riding to anchor in the still water while countless little bugs of landing craft ran tirelessly back and forth to the great scimiter Curves of the beach where they lined up gunwale to gunwale for 3 miles. As fast as a truck drove from the soil of Luzon into a waiting boat, the boat backed off, its ramp clamped shut, it was replaced by another boatg it headed out to the great Assault Transports etched in bulk against the velvety overhead out in the Gulf. The boat would come along the APA's steep side, the soldiers would climb up the steel ladders, the hook of the boom would pick up the truck, lift it high in the sky and then lower it into the ship's cavernous belly. More so than ever before the Dutchess was fulfilling her mission as an Assault Transport and justifying the weary months of training. With loading completed on the 23rd of September the residual troops moved aboard for a grand total of 80 officers and ll7l men. The rest of the 21 Assault Transports completed loading shortly thereafter, the time was at hand, but so too was the typhoon season at hand, the squadrons departure was delayed day after day as violent storms raged to the north. This delay proved fortuitous as it permitted acclimitization of the troops into their ship- board 'routine without the usual coincidental seasickness. The 2nd Battalion, inured to years of difficult living and experienced at adapting themselves to unusual conditions, proceeded to organize themselves for shipboard life more rapidly, efficiently, and thoroughly than any other unit embarked. ' The Dutchessmen utilized this period for swimming off White Beach and 'sightseein in the nati e villa es. These natives of Pangasian Province were Q Q T1 , even poorer than the Manilanos. Practically all the men wore some article of i'G.L. clothing, the only method of telling Philippine Army men was by DiClCing'out the individuals that were completely uniformed. The women, averaging about 4'l0 in height were dressed in clean light colored cottgn Everywhere the familiar greeting was l-lello Ioe-Gimme cigarette. l-ley Ioe!-I like you-you got chocolate? . The infantrymen had no further in White Beach. After several years of iungles and tent camps il1eY in the hot showers of the Dutchess and their dry.albe1t hot. berthing They embraced the Navy's more varied food with enthusiasm. For ,first few days 1600 to 1800 rations were served to the ll7l. embarked troop 1, G1-qduqllyl when appetites became satiated, ration consumption to the conventional eating of onlY One meal sf Cf mme' ' .QOII the 29th of September an oncoming storm occasioned the SCIUCiCl1'0f1'S berths to the typhoon anchorage on the west side of Lingayen Gulf A T t - l.ar e ships with a total of 15,000 embarked troops wen y one g , , , , in tropical downpurs with zero visibility was no Joke. list ot October the current typhoon had movedifar enough north+ p C 37 l Sued. 15 4 1 s P
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