Lunga Point (CVE 94) - Naval Cruise Book

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;ill iiiiiy !) ■ Iiii-. It is worili iinylliiiii; lo l«- rid of lite ).i|)s. Diiriiit; llic (Aciiini; ol the second lull chiy with the mu-rillas tlic leader told lis to t;el ready to move as llie battalion was about to head north. He hoped that before many days we could ellerl contact with the American forces advancing south from the Lingayen area. Wc were delighted as we had become im- patient to get under way. Vc lived in dread that our commanding ofticer had already sent oHicial dispatches to our wives and parents, ■ ' The Navy Department deeply regrets to in- form you that your husband (or .son) is missing in action. VV ' e must spare our loved ones that grief and anxiety at all costs, and we well knew that every day, every hour hastened that inescapable event. VVc started just before dusk. We marched in single file across fields and streams. The guerillas would not let us walk through the streams ourselves but insisted on carrying us on their backs. We a oided the main roads and the areas where the Japs were known to be concentrated. In about six hours we reached a barrio which was an almost exact duplicate of the first. Here wt were assigned a thatched hut and a straw mat and were soon sleeping like exhausted children. The next day, the leader told us that wc had met up with the ist Battalion of Hukbelahops and that we would split up. two of us going with each of the battal- ions. Thus, in case one of the groups ran into trouble, at least two of us Americans would stand a good chance of getting back to our own forces. He also said that it was known that the Japs were combing the countryside for us. The roads were alive with Nip patrols. Ac- cordingly, we split up: Kirkpatrick and I went with the new group (ist Battalion) and Lt. Thalman and Gliszcinski remained with the original outfit. We were introduced to the commander of the ist Battalion, a Major and a veteran of numerous engagements with the Japs. In the early part of the war he had been captured, subsequently escaping to become an important cog in the vast guerilla organization. Ob- iously well educated, he was perhaps 25 years old, of slim stature and wore glasses. He was constantly attended by no fewer than six order- lies. He wore civilian clothes with an air of a well trained military man and he had been fighting the Japs since the day they first landed on tli - same Lingayen beaches which our forces had so recently s -cured. I ' or the next seven nights we travelled from barrio to barrio. C)ne night we halted about midnight tcj get some much needed rest. I was sotjn sound asleep. At about 0200 I was awakened by someone shaking my shoulder. ■ ' Oome quick, said a voice, Japs! We were instantly awake. The Major then in- formed us that one of his sentries had dis- covered a large Jap patrol moving down a road toward us, not 200 yards away. One platoon of guerillas had crossed a small stream and had stealthily established a defense line Ix-tween us and the Japs. In front of this line was a fork in the road, one prong leading to our position and the other away from us. If the Japs con- tinued clown the road and took our fork, there would be a skirmish. If they took the other fork, they would pass by withr ut discovering us. We waited tensely. In a few minutes a courier appeared out of the night and reported that the Japs had passed by. We breathed considerably easier. During the day we would hide in a barrio, keeping out of sight as much as possible. Once from our hut we saw a Jap raiding party ap- proaching the barrio bent on stealing food supplies. Quickly wc made our way to the opposite side of the village and waited until the Japs had departed. Had we Americans not been with them, the guerillas would have taken care of this raiding party with ease. However, the Major would not risk a skirmish for fear that our security would be endangered. During our nocturnal travels the Major said that we were headed north. However, we soon discovered that our route was far from a straight one. In fact, after having passed the same sugar mill several times, first on one side of us and then on the other, it dawned on me that we had been travelling in circles. I asked the Major the reason for this and he replied that the Japs had us blocked on the north and he could not risk a skirmish with their patrols until we had been delivered to our forces. ■Since it was dangerous for us to remain in one spot, it was best that we keep moving, even though we were getting nowhere. On Saturday, 20 January, we met up with a unit of the Alamo Scouts, a specially picked and trained group of two American officers and ten enlisted men. It was the mission of these intrepid explorers to range far ahead of our advanced lines and report on enemy loca- 160

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for us the bare necessities of life until we could make our way to our own forces. We found, however, that this money was valueless to us, since the Filipinos would not accept payment for food or other articles of supplies with which they were so generous. So we passed the money out to them as souvenirs and they re- ceived it with great elation. All of them carried invasion money issued by the Japanese military government but this they would throw on the ground and stomp on, crying Damn Jap Pesos — no good ! American pesos — they good! One of our pesos was the equivalent of about 40 Jap pesos in purchasing power. The Filipinos gave us .American and Jap- anese cigarettes. A Spaniard who owned a sugar mill and was the leading citizen of one of the barrios because of his affluence, gave us — of all things — a bottle of Golden Wedding whis- key! He had been hoarding this since before the days of the Jap invasion and had reserved it for a very special occasion. Many of the Filipinos offered us native gin, distilled from sugar cane. It tasted like American gin, but packed a much more formidable wallop. The food we were given was abundant but monotonous. It consisted of boiled rice, meat from the ubiquitous carabao, chicken, eggs, bananas, and fresh tomatoes which were us- ually on the green side. The carabao meat was tough but quite tasty and all the food was well seasoned. We considered this fare sur- prisingly good for a country .Nhose farms had been picked again and again by the Jap vul- tures. We knew, howe er, that our food came from carefully hidden supplies and that many were going without so that we could eat. The health of the people seemed fairly good in spite of the acute shortage of medicines and medical care. There was much evidence of malaria and of nutritional deficiency diseases. And many of the guerillas had nasty looking leg sores. I noticed one lad in particular who had an unusually ugly sore on his leg. It was open and exuding pus, and extended for six inches across the front of his leg. I told him to go out of the house and he soon returned with no fewer than fifty of his companions similarly afflicted. So we set up a regular hospital ward, applying sulfa powder and bandages from our first-aid kits as long as the supply lasted. To say that our patients were grateful is something of an understatement. We spent our first night. 1 1-12 January, as guests of the guerilla leader in a one-room, thatched-roof house with woven mats for beds. Several guerillas of subordinate rank also shared our room. At bedtime, I removed my Mae West, the bright yellow inflatable life jacket that all carrier pilots and air crewmen wear, my jungle knife and my revolver and holster. The latter I placed several feet from my pallet, whereupon one of the guerillas cautioned me to keep it within arm ' s reach as I might need it before the night was o er. Japs near — may come, he said. But the night and the next day were uncvent- fiil and Lt. Thalman, Glizczinski, Kirkpatrick and I were given an opportunity to get better acquainted with our new found friends. We discovered, for example, that the guerillas are strictly a military organization spending hours each day in close-order drill and maneuvers. The lads took great pride in their skill with the rifle. One youngster — he couldn ' t have been more than 1 5 — performed the manual of arms for a solid hour, .solely for my edification. Even the toughest Marine sergeant would have admitted that the kid was terrific. He doesn ' t remember how many Jap soldiers he has killed. During the early morning ve would see Jap planes flying low overhead. Then by mid- morning they would disappear and our own planes would come over. The latter we frantically signalled with the few flares we had salvaged from our plane and with our signal mirror, but to no avail. It gave us a helpless feeling. Just before dusk, the Jap planes would again put in an appearance. Although we had blasted many of them out of the sky and had destroyed many more on the ground, they still managed to get more into the air. We consoled ourselves with the thought that soon our forces would overrun the well hidden Jap fields and capture the planes our pilots couldn ' t find. I had been curious to know how the Filipinos felt about the damage inflicted on their homes and villages by our bombers. Many civilians had doubtless been killed and wounded by our air attacks, since the Japs had established fuel and supply dumps and many other kinds of ground installations throughout the island. These could not be destroyed from the air with- out cost to the Filipinos. Standing in the en- trance of our house one night I expressed my curiosity to the guerilla leader. He shrugged. The Filipinos are ery grateful to the .Ameri- canos. We kno - that some must die so that

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lions and aclnilN- l)y iiicans cjI portable radio gear which they carried. They travelled in a carabao drawn cart loaned to them by Fili- pinos. They obtained a fresh cart and animal at each barrio through which they pas.sed, sending the previous one back to its owner. The Scouts gave us the heartening news that tile following day our patrols would have reached the town of Tarlac, .so wc proceeded cautiously in that direction. On the next day — .Sunday, 21 January— wc made contact with the .American forces at a barrio four miles south of our expected rendezvous point. Here also we found the 2nd Battalion of guerillas with Lt. Thalman and Glizczinski. They had been following a course parallel to ours. It was a joyful re-union. The unit with which we had made contact was a large patrol of the 40th Infantry, Lt. Thalman ' s own out- lit. The Army was in the process of setting up a temporary headquarters in the town and the oflicials had turned out for a celebration. It was a gay affair with many speeches of welcome. .Several of our hosts were graduates of American schools and colleges and spoke perfect Engl ish. After the speeches the ladies of the town .served food and drinks to all. It reminded me for all the world like a Fourth of July celebration in Front Royal. Hcie we took leave of our friends and bene- factors. I thanked the Major and many of his men, but I am sure my words did not express the gratitude we all felt. Those fearless war- riors in the cause of freedom had saved our lives and tho.se of many other American airmen, . ' nd someday, when the medals are passed out, they will have to design a very special one of platinum and diamonds for them. Yes, Guer- rillas are Good Guys ! ol!ey ball on forward cic