TO PREVENT THE JAPANESE WITH-
DRAWAL OF MORE THAN 10,000 MEN
FROM THESE TWO ISLANDS LED TO THE
NAVAL BATTLE OF VELLA LAVELLA.

THE STRENGTH OF ALLIED AIR,
GROUND AND NAVAL FORCES HAD
NOW SO INCREASED AS TO PROMISE
SUCCESS IN THE ASSAULT ON BOU-
GAINVILLE ALTHOUGH IT WAS WITHIN
CLOSE FIGHTER SUPPORT DISTANCE OF
RABAUL. IN PREPARATION FOR, AND IN
SUPPORT OF, THIS ASSAULT THE FIFTH
AIR FORCE FROM THE SOUTHWEST
PACIFIC COMMAND MADE SEVERAL
LARGE-SCALE ATTACKS ON THAT BASE,
WHILE THE AIR SOLOMONS COMMAND,
OPERATING FROM BASES ON NEW
GEORGIA AND GUADALCANAL BOMBED
THE JAPANESE AIRFIELDS ON BOUGAIN-
VILLE — ANOTHER NOTEWORTHY
EXAMPLE OF SKILLFUL COORDINATION
OF THE EFFORTS OF TWO WIDELY SEPA-
RATED COMMANDS.

PRECEDED BY DIVERSIONARY LAND-
INGS ON THE TREASURY ISLANDS AND
CHOISEUL, THE 3D MARINE DIVISION,
UNDER COVER OF AIR BOMBARDMENT
AND NAVAL GUNFIRE, LANDED AT
BOUGAINVILLE ON 1 NOVEMBER 1943. IN
THE BATTLE OF EMPRESS AUGUSTA BAY
THAT NIGHT A JAPANESE CRUISER AND
A DESTROYER WERE SUNK. U.S. ARMY
AIR FORCES, MARINE CORPS, AND
NAVAL CARRIER-BASED AIRCRAFT CON-
TINUED TO FIGHT A SERIES OF BATTLES
WITH THE JAPANESE WHICH EVENTU-
ALLY RESULTED IN THE ELIMINATION
OF RABAUL AS AN IMPORTANT AIR AND
NAVAL BASE.

ON 25 NOVEMBER FIVE U.S. DE-
STROYERS ENGAGED AN EQUAL
NUMBER OF JAPANESE DESTROYERS
REINFORCING BUKA AND, IN THE BAT-
TLE OF CAPE ST. GEORGE, SANK THREE.
IN FEBRUARY 1944 THE 37TH AND THE
AMERICAL DIVISIONS COMPLETED RE-
LIEF OF THE 3D MARINE DIVISION. ON 9
MARCH TWO JAPANESE DIVISIONS UN-
SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED MAJOR
COUNTERATTACKS AGAINST THESE
TWO DIVISIONS. HOWEVER THE ENEMY
CONTINUED TO HARASS THE PERIM-
ETER FOR SEVERAL MONTHS THERE-
AFTER.

ON 15 FEBRUARY 1944 THE 3D NEW
ZEALAND DIVISION OCCUPIED THE

38

GREEN ISLANDS, ONLY 140 MILES FROM
RABAUL. THIS COMPLETED THE LONG
NORTHWESTWARD ADVANCE IN THE
SOLOMONS.

5. INVASION OF THE PALAU ISLANDS

COINCIDING WITH THE FINAL OPERA-
TIONS IN NEW GUINEA TO THE SOUTH
AND FOLLOWING CLOSELY THE CAP-
TURE OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS TO THE
NORTH, UNITED STATES FORCES IN-
VADED THE PALAU ISLANDS. DURING
THE WEEKS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING
THIS INVASION, AIRCRAFT OF THE FIFTH
AND THIRTEENTH AIR FORCES BASED
ON NEW GUINEA HEAVILY BOMBED THE
PALAUS; CARRIER-BASED AIRCRAFT OF
THE THIRD FLEET AND LAND-BASED
AIRPLANES OF THE SEVENTH AIR FORCE
STRUCK WITH DEVASTATING EFFECT AT
FARFLUNG TARGETS TO THE NORTH,
EAST AND WEST. THEN THE AIRPLANES
OF THE THIRD FLEET PROVIDED DIRECT
AIR SUPPORT FOR THE ATTACKING
TROOPS. ITS WARSHIPS SUPPORTED THE
ASSAULT WITH GUNFIRE.

ON 15 SEPTEMBER 1944 THE THIRD AM-
PHIBIOUS FORCE LANDED THE 1ST
MARINE DIVISION ON PELELIU. AS IT
ADVANCED FROM THE BEACHHEAD
STRONG OPPOSITION DEVELOPED; THE
ENEMY LAUNCHED ESPECIALLY FIERCE
COUNTERATTACKS ACROSS THE AIR-
FIELD AGAINST POSITIONS REACHED BY
THE 1ST AND 5TH MARINE REGIMENTS.
REPULSING THESE ASSAULTS THE
MARINES PUSHED INLAND AND CAP-
TURED THE AIRFIELD ON THE FOLLOW-
ING DAY. THEIR PROGRESS WAS COSTLY
BUT THEY CONTINUED THE ATTACK
NORTHWARD AND WITHIN A WEEK
DROVE THE JAPANESE INTO THE ROUGH
TERRAIN TO THE NORTH. AT THE SAME
TIME, THE 7TH MARINE REGIMENT
OVERCAME STRONG OPPOSITION AND
SECURED THE SOUTHERN SECTOR OF
THE ISLAND.

ON 17 SEPTEMBER THE 321ST AND 322D
REGIMENTS OF THE U.S, ARMY’S 81ST
INFANTRY DIVISION LANDED ON AN-
GAUR, SIX MILES TO THE SOUTHWEST.
AFTER SUFFERING HEAVY CASUALTIES
FROM NUMEROUS PILLBOXES AND
DUGOUTS, THE TROOPS OVERRAN OR-
GANIZED OPPOSITION. WHILE ISO-

LATED POCKETS OF THE ENEMY WERE
STILL HOLDING OUT, U.S. ARMY EN-
GINEERS BEGAN TO DEVELOP A HEAVY
BOMBER BASE.

THE 321ST REGIMENT MOVED TO
PELELIU, WHERE IT RELIEVED THE 1ST
MARINE REGIMENT, AIDED BY MARINE
AIRCRAFT FLOWN FROM THE CAPTURED
AIRSTRIP ON PELELIU, INFANTRYMEN
AND MARINES PUSHED NORTHWARD
ALONG THE COAST AND FORCED THE
ENEMY INTO A SMALL POCKET ON MT.
UMURBROGOL. THERE HE STUBBORNLY
DEFENDED CAVE FORTIFICATIONS FOR
ANOTHER TWO MONTHS.

IN THE MEANTIME THE 323D INFAN-
TRY HAD OCCUPIED ULITHI, 300 MILES
TO THE NORTH, AND RETURNED TO
FIGHT ON PELELIU. THESE ISLANDS
WERE THEN DEVELOPED INTO NAVAL
AND AIR BASES WHICH WERE TO PROVE
THEIR VALUE AS SUPPORT AND STAG-
ING POINTS DURING THE LIBERATION
OF THE PHILIPPINES.

VISITORS’ BUILDING

The Visitors’ Building is located just
inside the main gate at the right of
the plaza. It contains the Superin-
tendent’s office, and a comfortably
furnished room where visitors may
obtain information sign the regis-
ter and pause to refresh themselves.
During visiting hours a member
of the cemetery staff is avail-
able in the building to answer
questions and provide information
on burials and memorializations in
the Commission’s cemeteries, ac-
commodations in the vicinity, travel,
local history and other items of
interest.

There is parking space in the Visi-
tors’ Building plaza and also imme-
diately in rear of the memorial. In the
interest of visitors, of whom many
take photographs, parking is not
permitted in front of the memorial.

PLANTINGS

In his design for the layout of the
cemetery the landscape architect vis-

ualized a park-like background for
the memorial and graves plots which
would assure a rotation of bloom to
embellish perpetually this resting
place of the honored Dead. In so
doing he achieved in effect the crea-
tion of a large botanical garden with
stately stretches of broad lawns and
magnificent vistas, using genera and
species which are representative of
the great wealth of flowering trees,
shrubs, palms and foliage plants of
the Philippines, the East Indies, and
the warmer climates of Southern
Asia, Africa and tropical America.

Itis impracticable to include in this
booklet the entire plant-list of the
cemetery, but visitors are invited to
refer to a copy of the plant-list which
is available at the Visitors’ Building.

The grass covering most of the
cemetery is Zoysia Matrella. All of it
has been propagated from two
square yards of sod shipped in 1951
from the United States Department
of Agriculture Experimental Station
at Beltsville, Maryland.

SAIPAN MONUMENT is situated
near the beach overlooking Tanapag
Harbor on the Island of Saipan,
Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands. It is part of an
American memorial park commem-

39


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ta
siuigini
eet Stile
tT og

+ pat

Graves Area with East Hemicycle in Background

AMERICAN AIRCRAFT WERE LAUNCHED
AT SUCH LONG RANGE, SO LATE IN THE
DAY, THAT A PERILOUS NIGHT RECOV-
ERY WAS INEVITABLE. NEVERTHELESS,
THE AMERICAN PILOTS BOLDLY
PRESSED THEIR ATTACK AND SANK A
CARRIER AND TWO TANKERS. MANY
AIRCRAFT FAILED TO RETURN.

IN ADDITION TO THE DESTRUCTION
INFLICTED BY U.S. NAVAL AIRCRAFT,
SUBMARINES OF THE PACIFIC FLEET
SANK TWO OTHER JAPANESE AIRCRAFT
CARRIERS ON 19 JUNE.

NORTHEAST ROOM

This room has six maps:

1. GENERAL STRATEGY IN THE
PACIFIC 1942-1945

EXPLOITING THEIR SUCCESSFUL AT-
TACK UPON PEARL HARBOR ON 7 DE-
CEMBER 1941, THE JAPANESE STRUCK AT
AMERICAN, BRITISH, CHINESE AND
DUTCH TERRITORIES. THE UNITED
STATES, FORCED INITIALLY UPON THE
DEFENSIVE, NEVERTHELESS DETER-

26

ae 4 ; & :
a NS

MINED TO HOLD OPEN THE LINE OF
COMMUNICATIONS TO AUSTRALIA, TO
AID IN THE DEFENSE OF THAT CONTI-
NENT AND TO DOITS UTMOST TO REIN-
FORCE THE PHILIPPINES. IN MAY AND
JUNE 1942 THE ENEMY OFFENSIVE WAS.
CHECKED AT THE BATTLES OF THE
CORAL SEA AND MIDWAY WHICH RE-
STORED THE BALANCE OF SEA POWER IN.
THE PACIFIC.

TO STOP THE JAPANESE ADVANCE IN
THE SOLOMONS WHICH THREATENED
THE VITAL SUPPLY LINE TO AUSTRALIA,
U.S. FORCES TOOK THE OFFENSIVE,
LANDING ON GUADALCANAL ON 7 AU-
GUST 1942. THE SUCCESSION OF HARD-
FOUGHT NAVAL BATTLES AND GRIM
STRUGGLES ON LAND AND IN THE AIR
WHICH FOLLOWED MARKED THE TURN-
ING POINT OF THE PACIFIC WAR. IN NEW
GUINEA, U.S. AND AUSTRALIAN FORCES
REPULSED THE JAPANESE THRUST TO-
WARD PORT MORESBY AND ADVANCED
ON THE LONG ROAD BACK TO THE
PHILIPPINES. THE CHINESE EFFORT WAS
AIDED BY SUPPLIES FLOWN OVER THE
HIMALAYAS FROM INDIA.

MEANWHILE SUBMARINES HAD BEEN
CONTINUOUSLY ATTACKING JAPANESE
SHIPS CARRYING OIL, RUBBER AND
OTHER MATERIALS ESSENTIAL TO THE
ENEMY’S INDUSTRY. THE RELENTLESS
ASSAULT AGAINST HIS COMBAT AND
MERCHANT SHIPS WAS TO CONTINUE,
FROM THE SEA AND FROM THE AIR,
WITH EVER-INCREASING ATTRITION
THROUGHOUT THE WAR.

TO PENETRATE THE ENEMY’S DE-
FENSES AND GAIN BASES FROM WHICH
AIRCRAFT COULD STRIKE AT THE JAPA-
NESE HOME ISLANDS, THE UNITED
STATES COMMITTED ITS MAJOR FORCES
ALONG TWO MAIN AXES OF ADVANCE.
ONE THRUST WAS TO CONTINUE THE
ATTACK NORTHWESTWARD SIMUL-
TANEOUSLY THROUGH THE SOLOMON
ISLANDS AND ALONG THE COAST OF
NEW GUINEA; THE OTHER WOULD
CROSS THE TREMENDOUS REACHES OF
THE CENTRAL PACIFIC VIA THE GILBERT
AND MARSHALL ISLANDS AND THE
STRONGLY DEFENDED MARIANA AND
PALAU ISLANDS. BY MID-SEPTEMBER
1944 ALL THESE MISSIONS HAD BEEN
ACCOMPLISHED, WHILE, SIMULTANE-
OUSLY, CONTROL OF THE SEA AND AIR
HAD BEEN WRESTED FROM THE ENEMY,
THUS DENYING ESCAPE TO HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF JAPANESE TROOPS
ON BY-PASSED BASES SUCH AS RABAUL
AND TRUK. MEANWHILE FAR TO THE
NORTH OTHER AMERICAN FORCES HAD
EXPELLED THE ENEMY FROM THE ALEU-
TIANS. IN BURMA ALLIED FORCES WERE
DRIVING FORWARD TO REOPEN THE
OVERLAND SUPPLY ROUTE TO CHINA
AND STIMULATE HER EFFORTS TO EJECT
THE JAPANESE INVADERS.

IN JUNE 1944 THE STRATEGIC AIR BOM-
BARDMENT OF JAPAN HAD BEGUN
FROM AIRFIELDS IN CHINA. WITH THE
CAPTURE OF THE MARIANAS, BOMBERS:
FROM THESE ISLANDS JOINED THE AS-
SAULT WHICH DEVELOPED BY WAR’S
END INTO A PROLONGED AND VIOLENT
BOMBARDMENT AIMED AT THE DE-
STRUCTION OF THE JAPANESE MILITARY
AND INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS.

TO LIBERATE THE PHILIPPINES AND TO
OBTAIN FORWARD BASES CLOSER TO
JAPAN, U.S. ARMY, NAVY, MARINE AND
AIR FORCES CONTINUED THEIR SUCCES-
SIVE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULTS. THE
LANDING AT LEYTE IN OCTOBER 1944
BROUGHT ON THE DECISIVE NAVAL
BATTLES FOR LEYTE GULF. AMPHIBIOUS
LANDINGS ON LUZON, IWO JIMA AND
OKINAWA FOLLOWED IN RAPID SUC-
CESSION. FAST CARRIER TASK FORCES
JOINED IN THE STRATEGIC BOMBARD-
MENT OF JAPAN; U.S. WARSHIPS
SHELLED THE COASTAL STATIONS
DENYING TO THE REMNANTS OF THE
JAPANESE FLEET THE SAFETY OF ITS
HOME HARBORS.

AFTER THE DEVASTATION FROM THE
AIR OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI,
THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT SUED FOR
PEACE; THE SURRENDER TERMS WERE
SIGNED IN TOKYO BAY ON 2 SEPTEMBER
1945.

2. GUADALCANAL—7 AUGUST 1942—
9 FEBRUARY 1943

FOLLOWING THE NAVAL VICTORY IN
THE CORAL SEA, THE UNITED STATES
LAUNCHED AN OFFENSIVE IN THE SOL-
OMON ISLANDS TO HALT THE JAPANESE
ADVANCE ON LAND. SUPPORTED BY
NAVAL AIRCRAFT, THE SOUTH PACIFIC
FORCE OF THE U.S. PACIFIC FLEET
LANDED THE 1ST MARINE DIVISION AT
GUADALCANAL AND TULAGI ON 7
AUGUST 1942.

THE JAPANESE REACTION WAS
PROMPT AND VIGOROUS, BOMBERS
FROM RABAUL ATTACKED TROOPS
ASHORE AND THE SUPPORTING NAVAL
VESSELS. ON 9 AUGUST A STRONG JAP-
ANESE FLEET CAME DOWN “THE SLOT”
AND ENGAGED U.S. AND AUSTRALIAN
NAVAL FORCES OFF SAVO ISLAND. AL-
LIED LOSSES WERE HEAVY. ASHORE THE
MARINES FOUGHT HERIOCALLY TO
CONSOLIDATE THEIR BEACHHEAD AND
COMPLETE THE AIR BASE AT HENDER-
SON FIELD.

FROM THEIR ADVANCE BASES BOTH
OPPONENTS STROVE TO BUILD UP THEIR

27


advanced the long-awaited return to
the Philippines by two months.

On 20 October 1944, the date
agreed on so quickly over a month
before, the U.S. Sixth Army, under
cover of naval gunfire and air bom-
bardment by the U.S. Seventh Fleet,
with aircraft of the U.S. Third Fleet
furnishing long-range support,
landed on the eastern shores of
Leyte.

In a desperate effort to destroy the
landing forces and prevent the
United States from returning to the
Philippines, the Japanese decided to
risk a major sea battle. The resultant
Battle of Leyte Gulf, fought on 23-26
October, was one of the most deci-
sive naval battles in history and
almost eliminated Japan as a major
sea power.

The U.S. Sixth Army continued its
advance, as the Japanese rushed re-
inforcements to Leyte, mostly in the
Ormoc Bay area on the western side
of the island, where they were re-
peatedly attacked by the U.S. Fifth
Air Force. In turn the U.S. Sixth
Army was reinforced. Despite tor-
rential rains and difficult terrain, the
advance continued and spread to
the neighboring island of Samar to
the north. In December, Army units
supported by Army, Navy and Ma-
tine Corps aircraft, landed at Ormoc
Bay to cut the last major Japanese
line of communications to the island
of Leyte. By the end of the month,
command of operations on Leyte
was turned over to the U.S. Eighth
Army. Severe fighting on Leyte con-
tinued in isolated areas for several
more months.

Meanwhile, in December, land-
ings also were made on southern
Mindoro to provide support for the
major landings scheduled on Luzon.
On 9 January 1945, the U.S. Seventh
Heet landed units of the U.S. Sixth
Army on the south shore of Lin-
gayen Gulf. Supported by the U.S.

Fifth Air Force, and by Marine
Corps and Navy aircraft, the U.S.
Sixth Army drove inland. By the end
of the month, Clark Field was recap-
tured, a large number of enemy
troops were driven into the moun-
tains, an additional landing was
made to cut off the Bataan Penin-
sula, and a third landing, that in-
cluded a parachute drop, was made
south of Manila.

As the advance on Manila con-
tinued from the north and the south,
the Bataan Peninsula was rapidly
secured. On 16 February, airborne
and amphibious units assaulted
Corregidor; resistance ended there
on 27 February. On 3 March, the city
of Manila was finally cleared of all
Japanese troops. With the exception
of Fort Drum, which held out until
April, U.S. forces accomplished in
less than two months what took the
Japanese six months to accomplish.

While the U.S. Sixth Army con-
tinued its campaign against the re-
mainder of the Japanese on Luzon,
the U.S. Eighth Army and the U.S.
Seventh Fleet were already em-
barked on a series of more than fifty
amphibious assaults to free the
other islands. On 19 February, forces
of the Pacific Ocean Area landed
U.S. Marines on the island of Iwo
Jima to begin a fierce 26-day
struggle to capture that island for-
tress. The assault on Okinawa com-
menced on 26 March and lasted
almost until the end of June 1945.

During this same period, after
securing Palawan Island, the U.S.
Eighth Army made its first landing
on Mindanao, and then occupied
Panay, Cebu, Negros and several
islands in the Sulu Archipelago,
providing bases for the U.S. Fifth
and Thirteenth Air Forces from
which to attack targets throughout
the Philippines and the South China
Sea. Following additional landings
on Mindanao, U.S. Eighth Army

troops continued their steady ad-
vance against stubborn resistance.
By the end of June the enemy was
compressed into isolated pockets on
Mindanao and Luzon where fight-
ing continued until the end of the
war. During these last months, Aus-
tralian troops also seized important
strategic installations on the island
of Borneo. By this time, a complete
reorganization of U.S. Forces had
been made in preparation for the
projected invasion of Japan. The two
Area Commands were replaced by
Army, Navy and Air Force com-
mands, the latter was increased
greatly in size by the transfer of the
U.S. Eighth Air Force from Europe
and creation of the U.S. Twentieth
Air Force. During the last two
months of the war, the aerial and
naval bombardment of the Japanese
home islands intensified. Hostili-
ties ceased on 15 August 1945. The
Japanese formally surrendered on 2
September 1945.

THE SITE

The cemetery site covers 152 acres of
gently rising ground which culmi-
nates at the memorial. It is the larg-
est in area of the cemeteries built
and administered by the American
Battle Monuments Commission,

and the largest in point of the
number of graves and of those Miss-
ing who are recorded upon the walls
of the memorial.

Major objections having been
found to all of the sites of temporary
cemeteries which had been estab-
lished during World War II, the
Government of the Philippines on 1
April 1948 granted permission to the
United States to establish a memo-
rial cemetery on part of the former
U.S. reservation of Fort William
McKinley. A tremendous amount of
grading, draining and landscaping
was required in order to convert the
rough terrain to the beautiful and
regular forms of the present ceme-
tery. Visitors may note that some
areas among the burial plots are
merely grassed, without head-
stones; generally this is because in
these areas the underlying rock is so
close to the surface as to make them
unsuitable for burials.

In this cemetery are buried 17,202
of our military Dead representing 40
percent of the burials which were
originally made in temporary ceme-
teries in New Guinea, the Philip-
pines and other islands of the
Southwest Pacific Area, and also in
the Palau Islands of the Central
Pacific Area. Most of these lost their
lives in the epic defense of the

The Memorial Chapel With Hemicycles


orating the American and Marianas
Dead in the Marianas Campaign of
World War II. The monument honors
specifically the 24,000 American
marines and soldiers who died re-
capturing the volcanic islands of Sai-
pan, Tinian and Guam during the
period of 15 June 1944-11 August
1944.

It is a twelve-foot rectangular obe-
lisk of rose granite in a landscaped
area of local flora. Inscribed upon the
monument are these words: “THIS
MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN HUMBLE
TRIBUTE TO THE SONS WHO PAID THE
ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR LIBERATION
OF THE MARIANAS 1941-1945.”

The GUADALCANAL AMERI-
CAN MEMORIAL is located on
Skyline Drive overlooking the town
of Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon
Islands. It honors those American
and Allied servicemen who lost their
lives during the Guadalcanal Cam-
paign of World War II (7 August
1942-9 February 1943). The Memo-
tial consists of a suitably inscribed
central pylon four feet square rising
24 feet above its base. Four radiating
directional walls point toward major
battle sites. Descriptions of the bat-
tles are inscribed on the walls. Both
the walls and the pylon are con-
structed of Red Calca granite.

40

r
wir”

CABANATUAN MEMORIAL is lo-
cated 85 mules north of Manila,
approxima miles south o: cit
of Eabaratusiy Luzon, The Philippines
It marks the site of the Japanese
Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp
where approximately 20,000 American
servicemen and civilians were held
captive from 1942 to 1945, after the
fall of the Philippine Islands during
WW IL The Memorial also honors the
heroic sacrifices made by Filipino ser-
vicemen and civilians in a mutual
quest for honor, freedom and peace.

The memorial consists of a 90-foot
concrete base in the center of which
rests a marble altar. It is surrounded
on three sides by a fence of steel rods
and on the fourth by a Wall of Honor
upon which are inscribed the names
of the approximately 3,000 Ameri-
cans who lost their lives while being
held captive.

Co-located on the site are the West
Point Monument, which pays hom-
age to the 170 American and 6 Fili-
pino graduates of the U.S. Military
Academy who lost their lives during
the defense of the Fhe ines or
while prisoner of war at Cabanatuan
and the Defenders of Bataan and Cor-
regidor (a Filipino veterans organiza-
tion) memorial which salutes their
American fallen comrades.

SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC

Upon request, and without cost, the

following information and services

are provided to family members

and friends of those interred or com-

memorated at ABMC’s cemeteries

and memorials:

¢ name, location and general infor-
mation about the cemetery, monu-
ment or memorial;

¢ plot, row and grave number and, if
applicable, memorialization site;

© authorization for issuance of fee-
free passports for members of the
immediate family traveling over-
seas specifically to visit an ABMC

grave or memorialization site;

¢a photograph of grave and/or
memorialization sites affixed to a
large color lithograph of the ap-
propriate cemetery and memorial;

* best route and modes of travel in-
country to cemetery or memorial
site;

general information about accom-
modations in the vicinity of the
cemetery or memorial;

* arrangement for floral decoration
of a grave or memorialization
site. (Weather permitting, a color
photograph of the floral decora-
tion in place is provided to the
donor).

' oy te WN ge (a
Seay

Corozal American Cemetery, Corozal, Republic of Panama

41


2009

Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial, Seine, France


POWERFUL COUNTERATTACK AND THEN
DROVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE SEINE.
BY MID-SEPTEMBER, JOINED BY THOSE
WHO HAD LANDED IN SOUTHERN
FRANCE, THEY WERE STANDING ON THE
THRESHOLD OF GERMANY.

ON 16 DECEMBER THE ENEMY
LAUNCHED HIS FINAL MAJOR COUNTER-
OFFENSIVE. THE SUPERB FIGHTING
QUALITIES OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS AND
AIRMEN HURLED BACK THIS ASSAULT
AND CARRIED THEM TO THE RHINE. U.S.
FORCES SEIZED A BRIDGE AT REMAGEN,
CROSSED AT OPPENHEIM, THEN JOINED
THE BRITISH IN THE MAJOR ASSAULT
CROSSING NORTH OF THE RUHR. SWEEP-
ING ACROSS GERMANY THE ALLIES MET
THE TROOPS OF THE U.S.S.R., WHO HAD
BEEN ADVANCING WESTWARD FOR TWO
YEARS, AND FORCED THE COMPLETE
SURRENDER OF THE ENEMY ON 8 MAY
1945.

2. Suppty Routes Across THE
Paciric OcEan—1941-1945

THE VAST DISTANCES OF THE PACIFIC
OCEAN IMPOSED ENORMOUS PROBLEMS
UPON THE UNITED STATES NAVY AND
THE SHIPPING WHICH IT PROTECTED, IN
THIS HEMISPHERE, THE LOGISTIC SUP-
PORT OF OUR MILITARY, NAVAL AND
AIR OPERATIONS INVOLVED THE BROAD-
EST WATER-DISTANCES ON EARTH. THE
AMERICAN ARMY AND NAVY WERE RE-
QUIRED TO SUPPLY THEIR FORCES, NOT
ONLY ACROSS THE CENTRAL PACIFIC,
BUT ALSO TO AUSTRALIA AND NEW
GUINEA BELOW THE EQUATOR. IN ADDI-
TION, SHIPPING FROM THE UNITED
STATES SAILED BOTH EASTWARD AND
WESTWARD TO INDIAN OCEAN PORTS
WITH CARGOES FOR THE CHINA-BURMA-
INDIA THEATER.

NOTWITHSTANDING HER INTENSE
PREOCCUPATION WITH THE CAMPAIGNS
IN EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA THE
UNITED STATES STEADILY BUILT UP HER
SUPPLY RESOURCES IN THE PACIFIC.
OVER THREE MILLION AMERICAN
FIGHTING MEN AND MORE THAN SIXTY
MILLION TONS OF CARGO WERE TRANS-

34

PORTED TO PACIFIC OCEAN AREAS FROM
THE UNITED STATES. AT THE MOMENT
OF THE GERMAN COLLAPSE AMERICAN
SUPPLY BASES HAD BEEN PUSHED FOR-
WARD TO THE RYUKYUS ON THE THRESH-
OLD OF THE JAPANESE HOMELAND. THE
UNITED STATES NAVY BORE THE HEAVY
RESPONSIBILITY OF SAFE-GUARDING
THE CONTINUOUS FLOW OF TROOPS AND
SUPPLIES OVER SEA LANES WHICH IT DE-
NIED TO THE ENEMY, ATTACKING HIM
WHENEVER AND WHEREVER HE COULD
BE FOUND.

SUPPLEMENTING THE NAVY, THE
ARMY AIR FORCES ESTABLISHED AIR
ROUTES ACROSS THE PACIFIC. THE AIR
TRANSPORT COMMAND EARLY ESTAB-
LISHED BOTH PASSENGER AND AIR EX-
PRESS ROUTES FROM CALIFORNIA TO
AUSTRALIA AND THE FAR EAST. AS THE
WAR ADVANCED, HEAVY BOMBERS WERE
FLOWN FROM CALIFORNIA TO GUAM,
SAIPAN AND OTHER PACIFIC BASES.

LOGISTIC SERVICES ASHORE AND
AFLOAT REPLENISHED OUR FIGHTING
SHIPS AND PROVIDED FOR THE SHELTER,
SUPPLY, HOSPITALIZATION AND EVACU-
ATION OF OUR SOLDIERS, SAILORS, MA-
RINES AND AIRMEN. THEY PREPARED
AIRFIELDS AND SUPPORTED THE STRATE-
GIC AND TACTICAL AIR ASSAULTS UPON
THE ENEMY. ON THE HEELS OF AMPHIBI-
OUS ASSAULTS AGAINST HOSTILE
BEACHES THEY LANDED AMMUNITION,
ARTILLERY, COMBAT VEHICLES, FOOD,
WATER, FUEL AND EQUIPMENT.

THE EFFORTS OF OUR MEDICAL PER-
SONNEL IN COMBAT AID STATIONS AND
HOSPITALS, BOTH AFLOAT AND ASHORE,
WERE OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE IN
MAINTAINING THE MORALE AND COM-
BAT EFFICIENCY OF OUR ARMY, NAVAL
AND AIR FORCES. THE DEVOTED EFFORTS
OF ALL OF THE OTHER MULTI-SKILLED
PERSONNEL OF SUPPLY AND TECHNICAL
ORGANIZATIONS ASHORE AND AFLOAT
WERE REQUIRED TO ENABLE OUR COM-
BAT FORCES TO FIGHT THEIR WAY TO
VICTORY OVER IMPERIAL JAPAN.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
WHILE CONTRIBUTING HER LAND, SEA

SSA

uw
"

4s

ap

MINDORD

Operations Map—Southwest Room

AND AIR FORCES TO THE PROSECUTION
OF WORLD WAR II, ALSO AIDED THE
U.S.S.R. BY FURNISHING OVER SEVEN-
TEEN AND A HALF MILLION TONS OF
EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES. OF THESE
MORE THAN EIGHT MILLION TONS WERE
SHIPPED ACROSS THE PACIFIC TO SIBE-
RIA OR FLOWN ACROSS VIA THE ALEU-
TIANS.

3. New Guinea—21 Jury 1942-11
May 1945

DURING 1942 NEW GUINEA WAS A MA-
JOR OBJECTIVE OF THE JAPANESE. A U.S.

NAVAL TASK FORCE BLOCKED THEIR
FIRST THREAT TO PORT MORESBY, KEY TO
AUSTRALIA, ON 4-8 MAY IN THE DECI-
SIVE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA. ON 21
JULY JAPANESE FORCES SEIZED BUNA
AND GONA, THEN CROSSED THE OWEN
STANLEY RANGE TO WITHIN 30 MILES OF
PORT MORESBY, TO BE DRIVEN BACK TO
THEIR BEACHHEAD BY AUSTRALIAN
TROOPS, ANOTHER JAPANESE FORCE,
DEFEATED AT MILNE BAY, WITHDREW
ON 5 SEPTEMBER. ON 16 NOVEMBER AL-
LIED FORCES OPENED THEIR ATTACKS
AGAINST THE BUNA-GONA BEACHHEAD

35


18

§
2
2
E
£
&
&
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$
2
5
x=
3
5
§
=

OF THESE BOMBARDMENTS AND THE
TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL FIRE POWER
OF THE THIRD AND SEVENTH FLEETS IN-
DUCED THE JAPANESE ON LUZON TO
WITHDRAW THEIR MAIN FORCES FROM
THE BEACHES AND CONCENTRATE THEM
IN DEFENSIVE POSITIONS IN MOUN-
TAINOUS AREAS OF THE INTERIOR.

IN DECEMBER, THE U.S. SIXTH ARMY
CONVOYED BY THE SEVENTH FLEET
SEIZED MINDORO, ESTABLISHING BASES
AND AIRFIELDS TO PROVIDE CLOSE SUP-
PORT FOR THE IMPENDING LUZON OPER-
ATION. MEANWHILE THE JAPANESE
MASSED OVER A QUARTER OF A MILLION
MEN TO DEFEND LUZON AND UN-
LEASHED DAMAGING SUICIDAL AIR AT-
TACKS AGAINST ALLIED NAVAL FORCES.

ON 9 JANUARY 1945, THE SEVENTH
FLEET LANDED TWO DIVISIONS FROM
EACH OF THE I AND XIV CORPS ON THE
SOUTH SHORE OF LINGAYEN GULF. SUP-
PORTED BY THE FIFTH AIR FORCE AND BY
MARINE CORPS AND NAVAL AIRCRAFT,
THE SIXTH ARMY PUSHED INLAND. INI-
TIALLY RRSISTANCE WAS ENCOUNTERED
ALONG THE LEFT FLANK, WHERE THE
MASS OF THE JAPANESE STRENGTH HAD
BEEN CONCENTRATED IN THE MOUN-
TAINS NEAR BAGUIO. ON THE RIGHT
THE AMERICAN FORCES CAPTURED
CLARK FIELD, DROVE THE ENEMY INTO
THE ZAMBALES MOUNTAINS, THEN AD-
VANCED TOWARD MANILA, WHERE
HEAVY FIGHTING ENSUED.

ON THE WEST COAST OF LUZON THE XI
CORPS LANDED ON 29 JANUARY AND
MOVED EASTWARD TO CUT OFF THE BA-
TAAN PENINSULA; SOUTH OF MANILA
OTHER UNITS OF THE EIGHTH ARMY
LANDED ON 31 JANUARY AND SWUNG
NORTHWARD. ALL PASSED TO THE CON-
TROL OF THE SIXTH ARMY. AFTER FIERCE
AND PROLONGED FIGHTING, MANILA,
BATAAN AND CORREGIDOR WERE
CLEARED OF THE ENEMY, AND MANILA
BAY WAS OPENED.

EAST OF MANILA THE FIGHTING
WENT ON FOR MANY WEEKS. CONSTANT
PRESSURE FORCED THE ENEMY DEEPER
INTO THE MOUNTAINS WHERE HE WAS

HELD ISOLATED UNTIL THE END OF HOS-
TILITIES. OTHER AMERICAN UNITS
CLEARED THE AREA SOUTH OF LAGUNA
DE BAY AND LIBERATED THE BICOL PE-
NINSULA, ASSISTED BY AMPHIBIOUS
FORCES LANDED AT LEGASPI.

IN CENTRAL AND NORTHERN LUZON
U.S. TROOPS AND PHILIPPINE GUER-
RILLA FORCES CONTINUED THEIR PRES-
SURE NORTHWARD FROM THE CENTRAL
PLAIN THROUGH DIFFICULT TERRAIN
DEFENDED BY A DETERMINED ENEMY;
CONSTANT ATTACKS BY AIR AND
GROUND FORCES FINALLY BROKE JAPA-
NESE RESISTANCE AT BALETE PASS IN
MAY. ON 1 JULY THE EIGHTH ARMY AS-
SUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR DESTROY-
ING THE REMAINING ENEMY FORCES ON
LUZON, RELIEVING THE SIXTH ARMY
FOR THE PROJECTED INVASION OF JA-
PAN.

6. Reoccuration or MANILA

BY 31 JANUARY 1945, THREE WEEKS
AFTER THE INITIAL LANDINGS ON LU-
ZON, THE U.S. SIXTH ARMY WAS READY
TO LAUNCH ITS OFFENSIVE TO LIBERATE
MANILA AND THE BATAAN PENINSULA.
THE 1ST CAVALRY AND 37TH INFANTRY
DIVISIONS ADVANCED ON THE CITY
FROM THE NORTH, WHILE THE 40TH DI-
VISION FOUGHT WESTWARD INTO THE
ZAMBALES MOUNTAINS TO SECURE THE
RIGHT FLANK AND MEET THE 38TH DIVI-
SION PUSHING EASTWARD TO CUT OFF
BATAAN. SIMULTANEOUSLY THE 11TH
AIRBORNE DIVISION ADVANCED ON MA-
NILA FROM THE SOUTH.

WITHIN THE CITY THE 1ST CAVALRY
DIVISION, IN A NIGHT ATTACK, CAP-
TURED SANTO TOMAS UNIVERSITY AND
LIBERATED 3,700 AMERICAN AND AL-
LIED PRISONERS INTERNED THERE. ON 4
FEBRUARY THE 37TH INFANTRY DIVI-
SION FREED OVER A THOUSAND MORE
FROM BILIBID PRISON. THESE TWO DIVI-
SIONS THEN CROSSED THE PASIG RIVER
AGAINST STIFFENING RESISTANCE
WHILE THE 11TH AIRBORNE DIVISION
OVERCAME SIMILAR RESISTANCE IN ITS
ATTACK UPON NICHOLS FIELD. THE 1ST

19


IN PROUD REMEMBRANCE OF THE
ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER SONS AND IN
HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICES
THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA xr
1941-1945.

Each hemicycle contains 24 pairs of
fin walls upon the four faces of
which are inscribed the names and
Particulars of 36,286 of our Missing:

United States Army and Army

Air Forces! . - 16,919
United States Navy . 17,582
United States Marine Corps - 1,727
United States Coast Guard .. 58

These gave their lives in the service
of their Country in the regions from
Australia northward to Japan, east-
ward to the Palau Islands and west-
ward to China, Burma and India but
their remains have not been identi-
fied, or they were lost or buried at
sea. Their names include men from
every State in the Union, also from
the District of Columbia, Panama,
Guam, Philippines, Puerto Rico,
Australia, Canada and New Zea-
land. At each end of each hemicycle
is a map room. The memorial area
offers many magnificent prospects
— over Manila toward Mount Ara-
yat to the north, and over the
Laguna de Bay toward Mount Maki-
ling to the southeast and Tagaytay
Ridge to the south.

Without confirmed information
to the contrary, a War Department
Administrative Review Board estab-
lished the official date of death of
those commemorated on the Tablets
of the Missing as one year and a day
from the date on which the indi-
vidual was placed in Missing in
action status.

2 It will be recalled that during World War II the
Air Forces still formed part of the United States
Amny.

12

THE WEST HEMICYCLE

The west hemicycle is entered from
the Memorial Court. At the extreme
north end is a map room which is
described in detail beginning on
page 33.

On the partition wall of each map
room facing the lists of the Missing
are these inscriptions:

HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF
AMERICANS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN
THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY AND
WHO SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES yy
1941-1945.

INCLUDED ON THESE ROLLS ARE THE
NAMES OF PHILIPPINE SCOUTS WHO
SHARED WITH THEIR AMERICAN COM-
RADES IN THE DEFENSE AND LIBERA-
TION OF THE PHILIPPINES vr 1941-1945.

The lists of the Missing are ar-
ranged according to the four Armed
Services, and alphabetically begin-
ning at the far (south) end. In the
west hemicycle are the Missing of
the United States Navy, and part of
the Missing of the United States
Marine Corps. The names are en-
graved in Trani, a marble quarried
near Bari on the east coast of Italy.

In the Travertine floor of each sec-
tion of the hemicycles and the map
rooms are carved the Great Seal of
the United States, obverse or re-
verse, the Seal of one of the States of
the Union, the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico; the 48 states (as of
1945) are in alphabetical order.

Along the frieze of this hemicycle,
facing the Memorial Court, are en-
graved the names of World War II
battles of particular significance in
the Navy’s and Marine Corps’ proud
record: MAKASSAR STRAIT; JAVA SEA;
CORAL SEA; SAVO; EASTERN SOLOMONS;
CAPE ESPERANCE; SANTA CRUZ; TASSA-
FARONGA; KULA GULF; VELLA GULF;
EMPRESS AUGUSTA BAY; LEYTE GULF;
GUADALCANAL; PELELIU. The facade

of the hemicycle nearest to the
chapel bears these inscriptions:

SOME THERE BE WHICH HAVE NO SEP-
ULCHRE x¥ THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EV-
ERMORE.

GRANT UNTO THEM O LORD ETERNAL
REST WHO SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES.

Much of the paving at the Memo-
rial is of Travertine; there are also
many panels of bluish pebbles (from
Luna, La Union, in the Philippines)
set in mortar.

THE CHAPEL

The chapel stands between the south
ends of the hemicycles. In front of
the steps leading to the door is the
obverse of the Great Seal of the
United States, carved in the Traver-
tine paving. The facade of the tower
which rises 60 feet above its podium
is decorated with sculpture in high
relief designed by Boris Lovet-
Lorski of New York City and exe-
cuted by Filippo Cecchetti of Tivoli,
Italy, who furnished all of the stone
for the Memorial. The sculpture
consists of a series of superimposed
groups, representing, from bottom
to top, the young American warrior
symbolized by St. George, fighting
his enemy, the dragon, in the jungle.
Above them are the ideals for which
he fought — Liberty, Justice, Coun-
try. Columbia, with the child sym-
bolizing the future, stands at the ze-
nith.

On the rear (south) facade of the
tower is this inscription:

TAKE UNTO THYSELF O LORD THE SOULS
OF THE VALIANT.

Beyond the bronze grille doors of
the chapel the entrance is lined with
blue glass mosaic; on the left this
prayer, abridged from that in the
Episcopal Book of Common Prayer,
is inset in gold tesserae:

O GOD WHO ART THE AUTHOR OF PEACE
AND LOVER OF CONCORD DEFEND US
THY HUMBLE SERVANTS IN ALL AS-
SAULTS OF OUR ENEMIES THAT WE
SURELY TRUSTING IN THY DEFENSE MAY
NOT FEAR THE POWER OF ANY ADVER-
SARIES.

Opposite, on the right side, is this
prayer abridged from that ascribed
to Cardinal Newman:

© LORD SUPPORT US ALL THE DAY LONG
UNTIL THE SHADOWS LENGTHEN AND
OUR WORK IS DONE THEN IN THY MERCY
GRANT US A SAFE LODGING AND A HOLY
REST AND PEACE AT THE LAST.

The altar, against the rear wall, is
of Perlato di Sicilia marble from the
west coast of that island. The entire
wall behind the altar is decorated
with mosaic; on a predominantly
blue background a tall, graceful fe-
male figure scatters flowers — an in-
scription proclaiming: TO THEIR
MEMORY THEIR COUNTRY BRINGS ITS
GRATITUDE AS FLOWERS FOREVER LIV-
inc. The chapel mosaics were de-
signed by Boris Lovet-Lorski of New
York City and fabricated and in-
stalled by Fabrizio Cassio of Rome,
Italy. The chapel is lighted through
tall stone unglazed grilleworks. The
priedieu and benches are of Philip-
pine Narra wood, the altar orna-
ments of bronze.

Located at the Chapel is a carillon
which on 3 February 1985 was pre-
sented and dedicated by the Ameri-
can Veterans of World War II, Korea
and Vietnam (AMVETS) as amemo-
rial to the Americans and Filipinos
who fought and died together for
the cause of freedom. Between the
hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
daily the carillon tolls the hour and
half hour. This is followed by two
patriotic songs. At 5:00 p.m., the
carillon plays the national anthems
of the Republic of the Philippines
and the United States, followed by a

13


Aerial View of the Cemetery

Philippines and the East Indies in
1941 and 1942 or in the long but vic-
torious return of the American
forces through the vast island chain.
The cemetery and memorial was
completed in 1960. The cemetery
was dedicated on 8 December 1960.

ARCHITECT

Architect for the cemetery was Gar-
dener A. Dailey of San Francisco,
who also designed most of the land-
scape development.

GENERAL LAYOUT

The entrance to the cemetery is at
the far (north) side of the large
grassed circle just beyond the mili-
tary sentinel’s post which is at the
junction of the McKinley and Nich-
ols Field. Roads. Immediately
beyond the gate is the plaza with its
circular fountain; at the right is the
Visitors’ Building.

10

Stretching from the plaza to the
memorial is the central mall which is
lined with mahogany trees (Swie-
tenia Macrophylla); circular roads
leading eastward and westward
through the graves area join the
straight roads along the edges of the
mall.

To the east of, and lower than, the
graves area are the service area,
deep wells and reservoirs. A purifi-
cation system provides potable
water within the cemetery.

THE GRAVES AREA

The graves area is divided into
eleven curved lettered plots of vary-
ing sizes forming concentric bands
around the high ground on which
the memorial stands. The 17,097
headstones within the plots form
segments of concentric circles and
mark the graves of 16,632 U.S. mili-
tary and 570 Philippine Nationals

Location of Cemetery Features

who were serving with U.S. Forces
in the Southwest Pacific. Of these
headstones, 13,434 mark the graves
of single identified remains; six
mark the graves of 28 identified re-
mains which could not be separated
individually; 3,641 mark the graves
of single unidentified remains (Un-
knowns); and 16 mark the graves of
100 unidentified remains which
could not be separated individually.
The heroic Dead interred in the
cemetery represent all of the then 48
States of the Union, as well as the
District of Columbia, Panama,
Guam, Philippines, Puerto Rico,
Australia, Canada, China, England,
Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Fin-
land, Jamaica, Burma and Peru. In
20 instances, two brothers lie side
by side.

Most of the white marble head-
stones were quarried in Lasa or Car-
rara, Italy; however, more than 100
were quarried and fabricated on the

Island of Romblon in the Philip-
pines.

THE MEMORIAL

The memorial is faced with Traver-
tine limestone quarried near Tivoli,
a few miles east of Rome, Italy. It
consists of the tower containing the
small devotional chapel, and the two
extensive hemicycles to its front
which embrace the Memorial Court.
The principal entrance to the memo-
rial area is by the monumental stair-
case at the south end of the mall. At
the top of these steps the Great Seal
of the Commonwealth of the Philip-
pines has been carved into the pav-
ing; this is the seal which was
authorized for use during World
War II and until the Republic had
been established. To the right and
left stretch the hemicycles; on the
end facade of each is the dedicatory
inscription:

11


AND EXPELLED THE JAPANESE ON 22
JANUARY 1943.

THE ENEMY NEXT ATTACKED WAU
BUT AUSTRALIAN TROOPS TRANS-
PORTED BY AMERICAN AIRCRAFT RE-
PULSED HIM. ON 2-4 MARCH, IN THE
BATTLE OF THE BISMARCK SEA, THE U.S.
FIFTH, AND ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR
FORCES TOGETHER WITH U.S. NAVY
SMALL CRAFT STOPPED HIS ATTEMPT TO
REINFORCE HIS HUON PENINSULA
GARRISONS. THE ALLIED FORCES CON-
TINUED THEIR OFFENSIVE ALONG THE
NORTHERN COAST; AMERICAN AND
AUSTRALIAN TROOPS CAPTURED
SALAMAUA ON 11 SEPTEMBER AND ON
16 SEPTEMBER THE AUSTRALIANS, AS-
SISTED BY BOMBARDMENTS BY THE U.S.
VII AMPHIBIOUS FORCE AND THE FIFTH
AIR FORCE, AND AN AIRDROP BY THE
503D PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT
UPON THE NADZAB AIRFIELD, CAP-
TURED LAE.

THE AUSTRALIANS EXTENDED THE
ADVANCE BY A DOUBLE ENVELOPMENT
OF THE HUON PENINSULA. ADDED IM-
PETUS WAS GIVEN TO THEIR ATTACK BY
A U.S. REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM
WHICH LANDED AT SAIDOR AND CUT
THE JAPANESE LINE OF RETREAT ALONG
THE COAST.

MEANWHILE ELEMENTS OF THE U.S.
SIXTH ARMY SUPPORTED BY THE U.S.
SEVENTH FLEET LAUNCHED AN OFFEN-
SIVE AGAINST THE JAPANESE STRONG-
HOLD OF RABAUL ON NEW BRITAIN.
THEY FIRST OCCUPIED WOODLARK AND
KIRIWINA ISLANDS; THEREUPON, SUP-
PORTED BY AIR AND NAVY BOMBARD-
MENT, THEY CAPTURED ARAWE AND
THE CAPE GLOUCESTER AREA.

THE DECISION WAS THEN MADE TO
BY-PASS BOTH RABAUL AND KAVIENG,
NEW IRELAND. THESE STRONG BASES
WERE FIRST NEUTRALIZED BY INTENSIVE
BOMBARDMENTS FROM THE SEA AND
AIR; THEN THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
AND EMIRAU WERE OCCUPIED IN RAPID
SUCCESSION.

IN ORDER TO SPEED THE GENERAL
ADVANCE IT WAS NOW DECIDED TO BY-
PASS THE STRONG JAPANESE BASE AT
WEWAK BY LEAPFROGGING SOME 350
MILES TO HOLLANDIA, WITH A SEC-
ONDARY LANDING AT AITAPE TO THE
EAST. AS HOLLANDIA WAS BEYOND THE

36

EFFECTIVE RANGE OF MANY OF OUR
LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT, THE FAST CAR-
RIER TASK FORCE FROM THE U.S. FIFTH
FLEET HELPED THE U.S. FIFTH AIR FORCE
TO DESTROY ITS AIR INSTALLATIONS,
ALSO THOSE TO THE WESTWARD. THEN,
IN RAPID SUCCESSION, THE U.S. SIXTH
ARMY SEIZED WAKDE, BIAK, NOEM-
FOOR, SANSAPOR AND MOROTAI. BY
THE END OF SEPTEMBER 1944 THE
FORCES OF THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC
AREA WERE POISED FOR THE ADVANCE
TO THE PHILIPPINES.

THROUGHOUT THE NEW GUINEA
CAMPAIGN CONTINUOUS SUPPORT WAS
RENDERED BY U.S. NAVAL FORCES.

4, NORTHERN SOLOMONS —
6 MARCH 1943-27 MARCH 1944

IN FEBRUARY 1942 THE AIR FORCES OF
THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH PACIFIC
COMMANDS BEGAN THEIR ATTACKS ON
‘THE JAPANESE AIR AND NAVAL INSTAL-
LATIONS IN THE NORTHERN SOL-
OMONS AND THE IMPORTANT BASE OF
RABAUL TO THE WEST. IN JANUARY 1943
ALLIED SURFACE SHIPS JOINED IN THE
NEUTRALIZATION OF SHORE TARGETS;
MINES PLANTED BY MARINE CORPS AND.
NAVAL AIRCRAFT AND MINELAYERS IN
HARBORS OF KOLOMBANGARA AND
BOUGAINVILLE CAUSED HEAVY LOSSES
OF JAPANESE SHIPS.

LATE IN JUNE 1943 THE 43D DIVISION
AND THE 1ST MARINE RAIDER REGI-
MENT, PROTECTED BY ALLIED FIGHT-
ERS, LANDED ON RENDOVA AND NEW
GEORGIA WITH THE MUNDA AIRFIELD
AS A PRIME OBJECTIVE. THE ENEMY’S EF-
FORTS TO REINFORCE HIS GROUND
TROOPS BROUGHT ON THE NAVAL EN-
GAGEMENTS OF KULA GULF AND
KOLOMBANGARA. THE REST OF THE U.S.
XIV CORPS (37TH AND 25TH DIVISIONS)
THEN MOVED INTO NEW GEORGIA, AND
AFTER FIERCE FIGHTING CAPTURED
MUNDA AIRFIELD ON 5 AUGUST. JAPA-
NESE ATTEMPTS TO REINFORCE THEIR
GARRISONS RESULTED IN THEIR DEFEAT
IN THE BATTLE OF VELLA GULF.

BY-PASSING STRONGLY DEFENDED
KOLOMBANGARA, THE U.S. 25TH DIVI-
SION AND 3D NEW ZEALAND DIVISION
CAPTURED VELLA LAVELLA. EFFORTS

37

Operations Map—Southeast Room


UNITS AND INSTALLATIONS IN THE PA-
CIFIC. IN JANUARY 1942 THE U.S. ASI-
ATIC FLEET AND THE U.S. FAR EAST AIR
FORCE UNITED WITH THE LAND, SEA
AND AIR FORCES OF THESE ALLIES TO
FORM THE ABDA COMMAND IN JAVA.

PITTING THEIR LIMITED DEFENSIVE
MEANS AGAINST OVERWHELMING
ODDS, THE ALLIES RESISTED THE SUC-
CESSIVE JAPANESE ASSAULTS. BUT AS
RESOURCES DIMINISHED THIS DEFENSE
WAS CONDUCTED WITH INCREASING
DIFFICULTY. UNDER PROGRESSIVELY
MOUNTING ODDS THE ALLIES SUFFERED
HEAVY LOSSES OF GALLANT DEFENDERS
AND VALUABLE NAVAL AND AIR CRAFT.

AMERICAN MILITARY PERSONNEL IN
CHINA, BURMA AND INDIA HELPED OR-
GANIZE AND CONSOLIDATE LOCAL RE-
SISTANCE TO THE JAPANESE ON-
SLAUGHT. BY 1 MAY 1942 THE ALLIED
FORCES IN BURMA HAD WITHDRAWN TO
THE MANDALAY-LASHIO LINE. LATER
THEY WITHDREW TO CHINA AND INDIA
WHERE CHINESE TROOPS WERE TRAINED
AND REARMED UNDER U.S. GUIDANCE.

BY MAY 1942, THE ENEMY HAD
GAINED CONTROL OF THE VAST EXPANSE
FROM BURMA IN THE WEST TO THE SO-
LOMON SEA IN THE EAST AND WAS
THREATENING AUSTRALIA. IN THE
MEANTIME THE AUSTRALIANS HAD RE-
INFORCED PORT MORESBY AND MADE A
DETERMINED EFFORT TO HOLD THE NEW
GUINEA BARRIER. IN THE DECISIVE BAT-
TLE OF THE CORAL SEA ON 4-8 MAY U.S.
NAVAL FORCES DEFEATED THE JAPANESE
AND TURNED BACK THEIR PORT
MORESBY INVASION FORCE. THIS
MARKED THE HIGH TIDE OF THE JAPA-
NESE ADVANCE.

3. Battie ror Leyte GuirF—23-26
Octoser 1944

ON 20 OCTOBER 1944, THE U.S. SEV-
ENTH FLEET COMMENCED LANDING THE
SIXTH ARMY ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF
LEYTE. THEREUPON THE JAPANESE DE-
CIDED TO RISK A MAJOR SEA BATTLE IN
A DETERMINED EFFORT TO DESTROY THE
AMERICAN FORCES.

16

THREE JAPANESE FLEETS WERE CON-
CENTRATED. THE LARGEST, THE CENTER
FORCE, MOVED TOWARD LEYTE FROM
ITS BASE NEAR SINGAPORE. THE FIRST
SECTION OF THE SOUTHERN FORCE PRO-
CEEDED SOUTH OF PALAWAN, THROUGH
THE SULU SEA, TO JOIN THE SECOND
SECTION IN ATTACKING THE AMERICAN
FORCES AT LEYTE GULF. THE NORTHERN
FORCE, WHICH INCLUDED THE ENEMY'S
MAIN CARRIER STRENGTH, ADVANCED
TOWARD THE PHILIPPINES FROM JAPA-
NESE HOME WATERS.

ON 23 OCTOBER AMERICAN SUBMA-
RINES ATTACKED THE ENEMY’S CENTER
FORCE IN PALAWAN PASSAGE, SINKING
TWO CRUISERS AND CRIPPLING A THIRD.
ON 24 OCTOBER THE U.S. THIRD FLEET,
ITS STRENGTH PREPONDERANT IN FAST
CARRIERS, ATTACKED THIS CENTER
FORCE IN THE SIBUYAN SEA; AIRCRAFT
INFLICTED SUCH HEAVY LOSSES AS TO
CAUSE THIS FORCE TO TURN BACK. JAPA-
NESE AIRCRAFT BASED ON LUZON THEN
COUNTERATTACKED, DESTROYING A
U.S. CARRIER,

DURING THE NIGHT OF 24-25 OCTO-
BER, THE ENEMY’S SOUTHERN FORCE
STEAMED INTO SURIGAO STRAIT DI-
RECTLY TOWARD THE WAITING U.S. SEV-
ENTH FLEET. THE JAPANESE WERE DECI-
SIVELY DEFEATED BY TORPEDO ATTACKS
FROM PT BOATS AND DESTROYERS AND
GUNFIRE FROM THE HEAVIER SHIPS
WHICH SANK TWO BATTLESHIPS, A
CRUISER AND THREE DESTROYERS,

MEANWHILE THE THIRD FLEET
MOVED NORTHWARD TO INTERCEPT THE
ENEMY'S NORTHERN FORCE WHICH WAS
APPROACHING THE TIP OF LUZON. IN
THE ENSUING BATTLE OFF CAPE ENGANO
ON 25-26 OCTOBER U.S. CARRIER BASED
AIRCRAFT, GUNFIRE, AND SUBMARINES
SANK FOUR JAPANESE CARRIERS, TWO
CRUISERS AND THREE DESTROYERS.

EARLY ON THE MORNING OF 25 OCTO-
BER, THE JAPANESE CENTER FORCE,
HAVING AGAIN REVERSED COURSE,
PUSHED THROUGH SAN BERNARDINO
STRAIT, TURNED SOUTH AND ATTACKED
THE ESCORT CARRIERS OF THE SEVENTH

FLEET OPERATING OFF SAMAR TO PRO-
TECT THE AMERICAN FORCES IN LEYTE
GULF. ALTHOUGH OUTNUMBERED AND
OUTGUNNED, THE ESCORT CARRIERS
AND THEIR SCREEN OF DESTROYERS
FOUGHT COURAGEOUSLY AND SANK
THREE JAPANESE CRUISERS; TWO AMER-
ICAN ESCORT CARRIERS AND THREE DE-
STROYERS WERE LOST. THEREUPON THE
SURVIVORS OF ALL THREE ENEMY FLEETS
WITHDREW.

ELIMINATING THE JAPANESE EMPIRE
AS A SEA POWER, LEYTE GULF BECAME
ONE OF THE DECISIVE NAVAL BATTLES
OF HISTORY.

4. Rerurn To THE PHiLirprInes—
Ocroser 1944

ON 20 OCTOBER 1944, UNDER COVER
OF NAVAL GUNFIRE AND AIR BOMBARD-
MENT OF THE SEVENTH FLEET, THE U.S.
SIXTH ARMY LANDED ON THE EASTERN
SHORES OF LEYTE; AIRCRAFT OF THE
THIRD FLEET FURNISHED LONG-RANGE
SUPPORT. THE 7TH DIVISION OF THE
XXIV CORPS ON THE LEFT TOOK THE DU-
LAG AIRFIELD THEN DROVE WEST AND
SOUTH, WHILE THE 96TH DIVISION CAP-
TURED SAN JOSE AND MOVED AGAINST
THE ENEMY TO THE NORTHWEST. THE
24TH DIVISION OF THE X CORPS ON THE
RIGHT, OVERCOMING STRONG RESIST-
ANCE ON THE BEACHES, FOUGHT ITS
WAY INLAND, THE 1ST CAVALRY DIVI-
SION ON THE RIGHT FLANK SEIZED TAC-
LOBAN AND ITS AIRFIELD, THEN AD-
VANCING NORTH IN COORDINATED AM-
PHIBIOUS AND LAND OPERATIONS SE-
CURED SAN JUANICO STRAIT, THE WEST
COAST OF SAMAR AND THE SHORE OF
CARIGARA BAY ON THE NORTHERN
COAST OF LEYTE.

THE JAPANESE RUSHED REINFORCE-
MENTS FROM THE NEIGHBORING IS-
LANDS AND FROM THE ASIATIC MAIN-
LAND. MOST OF THESE LANDED AT
ORMOC BAY WHERE THEY WERE REPEAT-
EDLY ATTACKED BY THE U.S, FIFTH AIR
FORCE. NEVERTHELESS, THE ENEMY WAS
ABLE TO CONCENTRATE POWERFUL

FORCES IN THE ORMOC VALLEY AND, BY
7 NOVEMBER, HAD ORGANIZED STRONG
POSITIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS TO THE
EAST. THE SIXTH ARMY IN TURN WAS
REINFORCED BY THREE ADDITIONAL DI-
VISIONS BUT DESPERATE RESISTANCE,
‘THE RUGGED TERRAIN AND TORRENTIAL
RAINS SLOWED THE ADVANCE.

IN DECEMBER THE 77TH DIVISION OF
XXIV CORPS LANDED ALONG THE EAST
COAST OF ORMOC BAY IN THE REAR OF
THE JAPANESE. SUPPORTED BY ARMY,
NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AIRCRAFT, IT
ADVANCED NORTHWARD TO SEIZE OR-
MOC AFTER FIERCE FIGHTING, THUS
CUTTING THE LAST MAJOR LINE OF EN-
EMY COMMUNICATIONS.

IN THE CARIGARA BAY AREA TO THE
NORTH, THE X CORPS FOUGHT THROUGH
THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN NEAR LI-
MON AND DROVE SOUTHWARD TO UNITE
WITH THE XXIV CORPS ADVANCING UP
THE VALLEY. ON 21 DECEMBER THEY
BROKE THROUGH THE OPPOSING LINES
AND MET NEAR KANANGA, THUS ISO-
LATING THE JAPANESE TO THE EAST;
FOUR DAYS LATER THE ISLAND WAS DE-
CLARED SECURE. MANY OF THE ISO-
LATED JAPANESE HAD ESCAPED TO THE
NORTH AND WEST TO JOIN OTHER EN-
EMY UNITS; SEVERE FIGHTING CONTIN-
UED AGAINST THE EIGHTH ARMY, NOW
IN CONTROL, UNTIL MAY 1945.

5. Luzon CampartGN—15 DECEMBER
1944-15 Aucust 1945

BY THE END OF 1944 PROGRESSIVELY
LARGER PROPORTIONS OF AMERICA'S
GREATLY AUGMENTED MILITARY RE-
SOURCES HAD BEEN CONCENTRATED IN
THE PACIFIC THEATERS OF WAR. WHILE
THE LEYTE CAMPAIGN WAS STILL IN
PROGRESS, POWERFUL U.S. FORCES
STRUCK AT THE NEXT TARGET, LUZON.
AIRCRAFT OF THE NAVY AND ARMY AIR
FORCES CONDUCTED DEVASTATING AT-
TACKS AGAINST ENEMY AIRFIELDS, SUP-
PLY CENTERS AND TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEMS THERE AND IN SURROUNDING
AREAS. THE INTENSITY AND ACCURACY

17


Manila American Cemetery
and Memorial

The American Battle Monuments Commission


THEIR ALLIES. A UNITED STATES AIR
ROUTE WAS ESTABLISHED OVER THE
SOUTHEASTERN RANGES OF THE HIMA-
LAYAS AND FOR MANY MONTHS WAS
THE SOLE MEANS OF SENDING EFFEC-
TIVE SUPPORT TO THE CHINESE WAR
EFFORT. THE U.S. TENTH AIR FORCE
PROTECTED THIS ROUTE FROM ASSAM
AND, WITH THE ROYAL AIR FORCE,
ESTABLISHED AIR SUPREMACY OVER
BURMA BY THE END OF 1943.

AT RAMGARH AN AMERICAN STAFF
TRAINED CHINESE TROOPS AND PRO-
VIDED THEM WITH MILITARY EQUIP-
MENT. LATER THESE TROOPS FOUGHT
AGAINST THE JAPANESE IN BURMA AND
WERE THEN AIRLIFTED TO CHINA TO
CONTINUE THE STRUGGLE.

TO INCREASE THE FLOW OF SUPPLIES
TO CHINA IT WAS ESSENTIAL TO REOPEN
SURFACE COMMUNICATIONS ACROSS
BURMA. BETWEEN DECEMBER 1943 AND
MARCH 1945 ALLIED GROUND FORCES,
WHO WERE TRANSPORTED, SUPPLIED
AND SUPPORTED BY AIR, DROVE THE
JAPANESE OUT OF NORTH AND CEN-
TRAL BURMA. ON THE HEELS OF THE
COMBAT FORCES U.S. ENGINEERS BUILT
THE LEDO ROAD, AN OUTSTANDING
FEAT OF MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND
CONNECTED IT TO THE BURMA ROAD
NEAR THE CHINESE BORDER.

OVER CHINA THE U.S, FOURTEENTH
AIR FORCE PROTECTED THE AIRLIFT OF
URGENTLY NEEDED SUPPLIES UPON
WHICH THE AMERICAN AND CHINESE
FORCES DEPENDED. IN SPITE OF ITS LIM-
ITED RESOURCES IT EFFECTIVELY SUP-
PORTED CHINESE GROUND OPERA-
TIONS, AND THROUGH ADVANCE BASES:
IN EAST CHINA STRUCK AT ENEMY SHIP-
PING IN ASIATIC WATERS. A WIDE-
SPREAD NAVAL INTELLIGENCE NET-
WORK BASED AT CHUNGKING PLAYED
ITS PART IN THESE ACTIVITIES.

BEHIND THE VICTORIES IN CHINA,
THE RECONQUEST OF BURMA, AND THE
TRIUMPH OF OUR AIR AND GROUND
FORCES, LAY CONTROL OF THE SEA BY
THE ALLIED NAVIES AND THE TREMEN-
DOUS EFFORTS OF THE SERVICES OF

22

SUPPLY WHICH MADE THE CONTINU-
OUS FLOW OF VITAL SUPPLIES POSSIBLE.
AFTER BEING SHIPPED HALF-WAY
AROUND THE WORLD ACROSS TWO
OCEANS AND PAST THREE CONTI-
NENTS, SUPPLIES WERE UNLOADED AT
INDIAN PORTS, THEN TRANSPORTED BY
ROAD, RAILROAD, FERRY, BARGE OR
PIPELINE TO ASSAM AIRFIELDS BEFORE
BEING AIRLIFTED IN HAZARDOUS
FLIGHT OVER THE MOUNTAINS FOR UL-
TIMATE DISTRIBUTION WITHIN CHINA.
BY FEBRUARY 1945, PIPELINES WERE
BEING EXTENDED FROM ASSAM TO
KUNMING, AND TRUCKS WERE ROLLING
ALONG THE LEDO-BURMA ROAD. THESE
EFFORTS ENABLED THE CHINESE TO
MAKE MATERIAL CONTRIBUTION TO
THE DEFEAT OF THE JAPANESE.

3. AMERICAN AIR FERRY ROUTES —
SUPPLY TO THE U.S.S.R. —
1941-1945

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
WHILE CONTRIBUTING ITS LAND, SEA
AND AIR FORCES TO THE PROSECUTION
OF WORLD WAR II, ALSO AIDED ITS
MANY ALLIES BY FURNISHING MILITARY
EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES. ITEMS OF
ALL KINDS WERE CARRIED BY VAST
FLEETS OF STEAMSHIPS TO EVERY
AVAILABLE PORT. ALSO IN THIS EFFORT
THOUSANDS OF AIRCRAFT WERE FER-
RIED FROM THE UNITED STATES ACROSS
THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND CENTRAL
AFRICA TO CAIRO, BASRA AND KARA-
CHI.

THROUGH THE PERSIAN GULF COM-
MAND AREA THE UNITED STATES DELIV-
ERED, FROM 1942 TO 1945, NEARLY 442
MILLION TONS OF SUPPLIES TO THE
U.S.S.R. THESE INCLUDED 4,874 AIRCRAFT
OF WHICH 995 WERE FLOWN IN; OVER
160,000 TANKS, ARMORED CARS AND
TRUCKS; 140,000 TONS OF GUNS, AMMU-
NITION AND EXPLOSIVES; 550,000 TONS
OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS; 950,000 TONS
OF FOOD; AND 1,000,000 TONS OF METAL
AND METAL PRODUCTS. THE UNITED
STATES ALSO FURNISHED TO THE
U.S.S.R., THROUGH OTHER PORTS,

MORE THAN 13 MILLION TONS OF ADDI-
TIONAL SUPPLIES.

4, Unirep States SUBMARINE OPER~
ATIONS IN THE PACIFIC

UNITED STATES SUBMARINES CON-
TRIBUTED MATERIALLY TO THE ALLIED
VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC. THEY DE-
STROYED NEARLY A THIRD OF THE JAPA-
NESE COMBAT SHIPS AND FIFTY PERCENT
OF THE JAPANESE MERCHANT MARINE.
THE COST WAS THE LOSS OF FORTY-NINE
SUBMARINES WITH THEIR GALLANT
CREWS.

IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE AT-
TACK ON PEARL HARBOR THE SUBMA-
RINES BEGAN THEIR CAMPAIGN
AGAINST JAPANESE SHIPPING. OPERAT-
ING THOUSANDS OF MILES FROM THEIR
BASES AND DEEP WITHIN ENEMY-CON-
TROLLED WATERS THEY STRUCK WITH
DEVASTATING EFFECTIVENESS. DURING
THE EARLY PART OF 1942, WHILE SUR-
FACE FORCES WERE RECOVERING FROM

JAPANESE SURPRISE ATTACKS, AMERI-
CAN SUBMARINES CONTINUED TO PRESS
THE WAR BY LONG-RANGE OFFENSIVE
OPERATIONS.

AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR THE
U.S, HAD 39 FLEET SUBMARINES IN THE
PACIFIC. THE NUMBER NEVER EXCEEDED
169, YET THEIR ATTACKS PRODUCED IM-
MEDIATE AND DAMAGING RESULTS.
THEY MADE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE
ENEMY TO HOLD HIS FORWARD POSI-
TIONS, TO SUPPLY AND REINFORCE
THREATENED AREAS, AND TO MAINTAIN
IN JAPAN AN ADEQUATE RESERVE OF
FUEL OIL, RUBBER, IRON AND OTHER ES-
SENTIAL MATERIALS. AS U.S. DOMI-
NANCE EXTENDED ACROSS THE PACIFIC
SUBMARINE ATTACKS BECAME INCREAS-
INGLY EFFECTIVE.

SUBMARINES PERFORMED SPECIAL
MISSIONS OF RECONNAISSANCE, SUPPLY
AND RESCUE. THEY EVACUATED PER-
SONNEL FROM BELEAGUERED AREAS,
NOTABLY FROM CORREGIDOR. THE SUP-
PLIES AND EQUIPMENT DELIVERED BY

Tablets of the Missing with Graves Area in Background

23


CAVALRY AND 37TH INFANTRY DIVI-
SIONS FORCED THEIR WAY THROUGH
THE CITY, EVENTUALLY REACHING THE
STRONGHOLD AT INTRAMUROS WHERE
THE FIGHTING WAS ESPECIALLY BITTER.
ON 3 MARCH MANILA WAS FINALLY
CLEARED OF JAPANESE TROOPS WHO,
IN DEFENDING THE CITY, HAD CAUSED
INCALCULABLE DEVASTATION.

MEANWHILE THE 38TH INFANTRY DI-
VISION, TOGETHER WITH ELEMENTS OF
THE 6TH AND 24TH DIVISIONS, SUP-
PORTED BY AERIAL BOMBARDMENT
AND NAVAL GUNFIRE, CLEARED THE
BATAAN PENINSULA. ON 16 FEBRUARY
AIRBORNE AND AMPHIBIOUS UNITS
LAUNCHED ASSAULTS AGAINST COR-
REGIDOR; JAPANESE RESISTED DESPER-
ATELY FROM CAVES, TUNNELS AND
CONCRETE MORTAR PITS UNTIL 27 FEB-
RUARY. FORT DRUM HELD OUT UNTIL
APRIL.

ON 28 FEBRUARY 1945, BEFORE THE
JAPANESE HAD BEEN COMPLETELY
ELIMINATED FROM MANILA AND ITS
OUTLYING FORTS, THE COMMON-
WEALTH GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIP-
PINES WAS CEREMONIALLY REIN-
STALLED AT MALACANAN PALACE.

7. LIBERATION OF THE PHILIPPINES —
20 OCTOBER 1944-15 AUGUST 1945

DURING THE LONG ENEMY OCCUPA-
TION OF THE PHILIPPINES, THE UNITED
STATES PERSISTENTLY FOUGHT HER
WAY BACK. BY THE FALL OF 1944 SUC-
(CESS WAS IN SIGHT.

THE FIRST STEP IN LIBERATING THE
ISLANDS WAS THE INVASION OF LEYTE
IN OCTOBER 1944. THE DECISIVE DEFEAT
OF THE JAPANESE FLEET AT THE BATTLE
FOR LEYTE GULF RENDERED IT POWER-
LESS TO PREVENT FUTURE AMPHIBIOUS
OPERATIONS. TWO MONTHS OF HARD
FIGHTING FREED MOST OF LEYTE WHICH
THEN BECAME THE CENTRAL BASE OF
OPERATIONS FOR THE LIBERATION OF
THE ARCHIPELAGO. THE NEXT STEP ES-
TABLISHED OUR FORCES ON MINDORO
IN DECEMBER.

20

IN JANUARY 1945, UNDER COVER OF
NAVAL AND AIR BOMBARDMENT, THE
SIXTH ARMY LANDED ON LUZON AND
ADVANCED DOWN THE CENTRAL
PLAINS FROM LINGAYEN GULF TO
MANILA. OTHER UNITS LANDED ON THE
WEST COAST OF THE ISLAND AND
SEIZED BATAAN PENINSULA AND COR-
REGIDOR. MANILA BAY WAS OPENED IN
EARLY MARCH. AFTER HEAVY FIGHTING
THE SIXTH ARMY DROVE THE ENEMY
INTO THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH AND
EAST LUZON.

THE EIGHTH ARMY AND UNITS OF THE
SEVENTH FLEET HAD ALREADY EM-
BARKED ON A SERIES OF MORE THAN
FIFTY AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULTS TO FREE
THE OTHER ISLANDS. DURING FEB-
RUARY AND MARCH U.S. FORCES SE-
CURED AIRFIELDS ON PALAWAN AND
ZAMBOANGA, THEN EXTENDED THEIR
CONTROL OVER THE SULU ARCHI-
PELAGO, ENABLING THE FIFTH AND
THIRTEENTH AIR FORCES TO PROJECT
THEIR STRENGTH FAR OVER THE WA-
TERS OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. U.S.
SEA AND AIR POWER BLOCKED ENEMY
TRAFFIC BETWEEN THE SOUTHERN IS-
LANDS AND THE JAPANESE HOMELAND,
THUS ISOLATING THE JAPANESE RE-
MAINING ON EACH OF THE ISLANDS.

SIMULTANEOUSLY THE EIGHTH ARMY
OVERPOWERED THE ENEMY IN THE VI-
SAYAN SEA AREA, THEREBY OPENING A
SHORTER SUPPLY ROUTE FROM LEYTE
TO LUZON. ON 17 APRIL SOME OF ITS
UNITS LANDED ON THE COAST OF MIN-
DANAO AND ADVANCED TOWARD
DAVAO GULF; OTHERS FOLLOWED AND
FOUGHT THEIR WAY NORTHWARD TO-
WARD MALAYBALAY TO MEET ADDI-
TIONAL AMPHIBIOUS FORCES WHICH
LANDED IN MAY. RESISTANCE WAS
STUBBORN BUT THE TROOPS PUSHED
STEADILY FORWARD INTO THE MOUN-
TAINS, PRECEDED BY MARINE CORPS
AND ARMY AIR FORCES AIRCRAFT
WHICH DEMORALIZED THE RETREAT-
ING ENEMY.

BY THE END OF JUNE, ON BOTH MIN-
DANAO AND LUZON AMERICAN SOL-
DIERS AND FILIPINO GUERRILLAS HAD

COMPRESSED THE ENEMY INTO ISO-
LATED MOUNTAINOUS AREAS. THERE HE
WAS SUBJECTED TO INTENSIVE AERIAL
BOMBARDMENT AND TO CONSTANT
PRESSURE UNTIL 15 AUGUST 1945 WHEN
HOSTILITIES CEASED. ON 1 JULY THE
EIGHTH ARMY ASSUMED RESPONSIBIL-
ITY FOR LAND OPERATIONS IN THE
PHILIPPINES; THE SIXTH ARMY RE-
GROUPED FORCES IN PREPARATION FOR
AN INVASION OF JAPAN.

SOUTHEAST ROOM
This room has seven maps:

1. Battie or THE Corat Sea—4-8

May 1942

THE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA WAS
THE FIRST NAVAL BATTLE IN WHICH ALL
LOSSES WERE INFLICTED BY CARRIER-
BASED AIRCRAFT, AND NO SHIP ON EI-
THER SIDE SIGHTED A SURFACE ENEMY.

BY MID-APRIL 1942 THE JAPANESE
HAD ESTABLISHED BASES IN THE NEW
GUINEA-SOLOMON ISLAND AREA, THUS
MENACING AUSTRALIA ITSELF. ON 3
MAY THEY OCCUPIED TULAGI, A SMALL
ISLAND IN THE SOLOMONS. PART OF A
U.S. NAVAL TASK FORCE CONSISTING OF
THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER YORKTOWN,
FOUR CRUISERS AND SIX DESTROYERS
MOVED NORTH TO CHECK THE INVA-
SION. AIRCRAFT FROM THE USS
YORKTOWN ATTACKED TULAGI ON 4
MAY SINKING AN ENEMY DESTROYER,
SEVERAL MINESWEEPERS, SMALLER
CRAFT AND SEAPLANES.

FOLLOWING THE TULAGI STRIKE,
YORKTOWN AND HER ESCORTS TURNED
SOUTH TO RENDEZVOUS WITH USS LEX~
INGTON EARLY ON THE MORNING OF 5
MAY. THE ALLIED TASK FORCE MOVED
NORTHWEST TO INTERCEPT THE JAPA-
NESE PORT MORESBY INVASION GROUP
AND A POWERFUL CARRIER STRIKING
FORCE. THEIR STRONG AMPHIBIOUS
FORCE, INCLUDING 1] TROOP-LADEN
TRANSPORTS PROTECTED BY A DE-
STROYER SCREEN, HAD LEFT RABAUL
AND WAS HEADING FOR A DASH
THROUGH JOMARD PASS.

ON 7 MAY LEXINGTON AND YORK-
TOWN AIRCRAFT SANK THE ENEMY CAR-
RIER SHOHO WHICH WAS CLOSELY SUP-
PORTING THE PORT MORESBY AMPHIBI-
OUS ATTACK FORCE. THE JAPANESE
WITHDREW THIS INVASION FORCE THUS
MAKING THEIR FIRST SIGNIFICANT RE-
TREAT IN WORLD WAR II. THE SAME
MORNING JAPANESE CARRIER AIRCRAFT
SANK USS SIMS AND THE TANKER
NEOSHO, WHICH HAD BEEN MISTAKEN
FOR A CARRIER AND CRUISER.

ON 8 MAY OCCURRED THE CLIMACTIC
CARRIER BATTLE. NAVAL CARRIER AIR-
CRAFT LOCATED TWO LARGE JAPANESE
CARRIERS PROTECTED BY FOUR HEAVY
CRUISERS AND SEVERAL DESTROYERS.
THE AIRPLANES HEAVILY DAMAGED THE
LARGE JAPANESE CARRIER SHOKAKU.
THE ENEMY IN TURN DAMAGED
YORKTOWN AND LEXINGTON, THE LAT-
TER SO SERIOUSLY THAT SHE HAD TO BE
ABANDONED AND SUNK.

THE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA WAS A
STRATEGIC VICTORY OF THE FIRST MAG-
NITUDE FOR THE U.S. NAVY. WHEN THE
PORT MORESBY INVASION WAS
THWARTED, THE HERETOFORE UNINTER-
RUPTED JAPANESE PUSH INTO THE
SOUTH PACIFIC WAS HALTED FOR THE
FIRST TIME. OCCURRING IMMEDIATELY
AFTER THE SURRENDER OF CORREGIDOR,
ITS MORAL VALUE TO ALL ALLIED NA-
TIONS WAS IMMEASURABLE. FURTHER-
MORE, DAMAGE TO SHOKAKU AND A
LARGE LOSS OF AIRCRAFT BY ZUIKAKU
PREVENTED THESE POWERFUL JAPANESE
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS FROM TAKING PART
IN THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY WHERE
THEIR PRESENCE MIGHT HAVE MADE A
CRITICAL DIFFERENCE IN THE OUT-
COME.

2. Cuna-Burma-Inpia THEATER—
1942-1945
AFTER THE LOSS OF BURMA IN 1942
THE PEOPLE OF CHINA, WHO FOR MORE
THAN A DECADE HAD BEEN RESISTING
JAPANESE ENCROACHMENT UPON THEIR
TERRITORY, WERE ISOLATED FROM

21


rifle volley and then taps ‘AS
THESE BELLS RING
HONORED DEAD REST
FREEDOM LIVES”.

THE EAST HEMICYCLE

On the facade of the hemicycle near-
est to the chapel are these inscrip-
tions:

COMRADES IN ARMS WHOSE EARTHLY
RESTING PLACE IS KNOWN ONLY TO
GoD.
LET US HERE HIGHLY RESOLVE THAT THE
CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY DIED SHALL
LIVE.

Beyond the map room are the lists of
the Missing of the United States
Army and Army Air Forces, the
United States Coast Guard, and part
of the Missing of the United States
Marine Corps. Along the frieze fac-
ing the Memorial Court are these
names of battles which are particu-
larly significant in the achievements
of the the United States Army and
Army Air Forces and the United
States Marines: BATAAN; CORREGI-
DOR; PAPUA; BISMARCK SEA; HUON
GULF; ADMIRALTIES; AITAPE; HOLLAN-
DIA; WAKDE; BIAK; NOEMFOOR;
BURMA; ANGAUR; LEYTE; MANILA; NEW
BRITAIN; BOUGAINVILLE; NEW GEOR-
GIA.

THE MAPS

The maps were designed by Marga-
ret Bruton of Carmel, California,
from data supplied by the American
Battle Monuments Commission,
and fabricated by the P. Grassi
American Terrazzo Company of
South San Francisco. They are of
tinted concretes with brilliantly col-
ored fine aggregates. Military data
are expressed by mosaic or ceramic
inserts; the borders and compasses
recall the art patterns of the Pacific
Islands. The descriptive texts which

14

amplify the maps and which were
cast with them are of plastic.

SOUTHWEST ROOM

This room has seven maps; the de-
scriptive texts thereon are printed
after the title of each:

1. Derense or Luzon — 8 DECEMBER
1941-6 May 1942

ON 7 DECEMBER 1941 (HAWAII TIME)
THE JAPANESE LAUNCHED A SURPRISE
ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, THEN SEV-
ERAL HOURS LATER BOMBED FROM THE
AIR U.S. MILITARY INSTALLATIONS IN
THE PHILIPPINES. TWO DAYS LATER THE
ENEMY LANDED ON LUZON ANTICIPAT-
ING AN EASY CONQUEST, BUT STUBBORN
RESISTANCE BY U.S. AND PHILIPPINE
FORCES SLOWED THE ADVANCE. MAN~
NING SUCCESSIVE DEFENSIVE POSITIONS
OUR TROOPS DELAYED THE ONCOMING
ENEMY, THEN EVACUATED MANILA AND
WITHDREW TO THE BATAAN PENINSULA.
ON 2 JANUARY 1942 THE JAPANESE OC-
CUPIED THE CAPITAL.

UNITED STATES FORCES INCLUDING
PHILIPPINE SCOUTS AS WELL AS THE
PHILIPPINE ARMY STEMMED THE JAPA-
NESE OFFENSIVE DURING JANUARY 1942
AND DEFEATED AN ATTEMPTED AMPHIB-
IOUS ENVELOPMENT ON THE SOUTH-
WESTERN SHORE OF THE PENINSULA.
THE ENEMY THEN POURED REINFORCE-
MENTS INTO BATAAN, WITHHOLDING
THEM FROM OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS
AGAINST NEW GUINEA AND THE SOLO-
MON ISLANDS.

UNTIL APRIL THE JAPANESE CONTIN-
UED TO BUILD UP THEIR STRENGTH
WHILE THE BELEAGUERED AMERICANS
AND FILIPINOS ON BATAAN WASTED
AWAY FOR WANT OF ADEQUATE FOOD
AND MEDICINE. CIVILIAN NEEDS AG-
GRAVATED THESE SHORTAGES.

ON 3 APRIL, FOLLOWING A DEVAS-
TATING AIR BOMBARDMENT AND A
THREE-DAY ARTILLERY BARRAGE, THE
ENEMY LAUNCHED AN ASSAULT UTILIZ-

View From Inside Chapel Entrance

ING EVERY ELEMENT OF HIS OVER-
WHELMING FORCES. RELENTLESS PRES-
SURE CQNTINUED DAY BY DAY, AND
COUNTERATTACKS FAILED TO HALT THE
JAPANESE ONSLAUGHT, NO LONGER
ABLE TO INFLICT DAMAGE UPON THE
ENEMY, THE BATAAN FORCES SURREN-
DERED ON 9 APRIL.

ON CORREGIDOR AND AT OTHER
FORTS IN MANILA BAY A COMPOSITE
FORCE OF U.S. MARINES, ARMY AND
NAVY PERSONNEL, TOGETHER WITH THE
COAST ARTILLERY GARRISONS, CONTIN-
UED TO RESIST. SUBMARINES DELIVERED
AMMUNITION AND FOOD AND MAIN-
TAINED TENUOUS COMMUNICATIONS.
BUT, PROGRESSIVELY, THE BATTERIES
AND BEACH DEFENSES OF CORREGIDOR
WERE DEMOLISHED BY CONTINUOUS
BOMBING AND SHELLING. ON 5 MAY THE
JAPANESE LAUNCHED THEIR FINAL AS-
SAULT. THE FOLLOWING DAY U.S. AND
PHILIPPINE FORCES SURRENDERED THE
ISLAND FORTRESS.

OF ALMOST 30,000 AMERICAN MILI-
TARY PRISONERS OF WAR, SOME 11,000
DIED BEFORE THE WAR ENDED. MANY
THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN CIVILIANS
OF ALL AGES WERE ALSO HELD IN HARSH
CAPTIVITY AS WERE UNTOLD NUMBERS
OF FILIPINO CITIZENS.

FOR OVER THREE YEARS THE PHILIP-
PINE ISLANDS SUFFERED UNDER ENEMY
OCCUPATION WHILE THE UNITED STATES
FORCES FOUGHT THEIR WAY BACK. DUR-
ING THESE LONG YEARS THE COURA-
GEOUS GUERRILLAS FOUGHT UNCEAS-
INGLY TO KEEP ALIVE THE FLAME OF
HOPE IN THE OPPRESSED BUT LOYAL CI-
VILIAN POPULATION.

2. Derense or SourHeast AstA—
DecemBer 1941-May 1942

IN DECEMBER 1941, THE NAVAL,
GROUND AND AIR FORCES OF THE JAPA-
NESE EMPIRE ATTACKED AMERICAN,
BRITISH, DUTCH AND AUSTRALIAN

15


42

:RE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY
A COMRADE IN ARMS
KNOWN BUT TO GOD

Decorated Gravesite of a World War II “Unknown”

THE AMERICAN
BATTLE MONUMENTS
COMMISSION

ESTABLISHED BY CONGRESS MARCH 1923

UNITED STATES OFFICE

American Battle Monuments Commission
Court House Plaza II

Suite 500

2300 Clarendon Boulevard

Arlington, VA 22201

Telephone: (703) 696-6897

(703) 696-6896

FAX: (703) 696-6666

Web site: www.abme.gov

EUROPEAN OFFICE

Street Address:

68, rue du 19 Janvier

92380 - Garches, France
Mailing Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
PSC 116

APO AE 09777

Telephone: (011-33) 1-4701-1976
(from U.S. & other countries)
33-0-1-4701-1976

(within France)

Fax: (011-33) 1-4741-1979

MEDITERRANEAN OFFICE

Street Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
c/o US. Embassy

Via Sallustiana 49

00187 Rome, Italy

Mailing Address:

American Battle Monuments Commission
Unit 9500, Box 11

DPO AE 09624-0011

Telephone: (011-39) 06-4674-3084

Fax: (011-39) 06-487-1624

PHILIPPINE OFFICE

Street Address:

Manila American Cemetery
and Memorial

McKinley Road, Global City
Taguig, Philippines

Mailing Address:

Manila American Cemetery
PSC 513, Box 5

FPO AP 96515-1800
Telephone: (011-632) 844-0212
FAX: (011-632) 812-4717

43


command had more forces readily
available); the northern Solomons
continued to be a part of the South-
west Pacific Area.

U.S. forces undertook their first
offensive in the Pacific on 7 August
1942, when U.S. Marines landed on
Guadalcanal. Subsequently, a suc-
cession of hard-fought naval battles
and grim struggles by U.S. Marine,
Army and Navy forces on land and
in the air led to the turning point of
the war in the Pacific. The bitter
struggle for Guadalcanal and other
islands in the southern Solomons
lasted six months until February
1943 and was extremely costly to
both sides. Simultaneously, in New
Guinea, after defeating another Jap-
anese force at Milne Bay, Australian
and American troops eliminated the
Buna-Gona beachhead on 22
January 1943.

From this point onward, the char-
acter of the war in the Pacific began
to change. The enemy’s next attack
on Wau in the Markham Valley was
repulsed by Australian troops who
were transported to the battle area
by American aircraft. A Japanese
attempt to reinforce garrisons on
New Guinea ended in disaster at the
battle of the Bismarck Sea, 2-4
March 1943, when the U.S. Fifth Air
Force and Royal Australian Air
Force together with U.S. Navy small
craft sank eight transports and four
destroyers.

At two conferences, one in May
1943 and the other in August, the
Combined Chiefs of Staff agreed to
accelerate the pace of the war against
Japan and selected the specific
routes of advance. The Joint Chiefs
of Staff directed the commander of
the Pacific Ocean Area to begin a
series of amphibious operations
across the Central Pacific. In the
Southwest Pacific Area, initially
there were two axes of operations.
Under the strategic direction of the

Southwest Pacific Commander, ad-
vances along both axes had already
begun.

Late in June 1943, the U.S. Third
Fleet’s Amphibious Force landed
Army troops and Marines on Ren-
dova Island and then on New
Georgia in the northern Solomons,
The Army completed the capture of
New Georgia in August. Bypassing
the strongly held island of Kolom-
bangara, Valla Lavella was attacked
and captured by U.S. Army and
New Zealand troops. The Treasury
Islands were then occupied by New
Zealand troops. Preceded by diver-
sionary landings on Choiseul, a
large force of U.S. Marines landed at
Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville,
on 1 November 1943. This attack,
reinforced by Army troops, per-
mitted the establishment of a naval
base and airfields from which the
U.S. Thirteenth Air Force, together
with the aircraft of the U.S. Third
Fleet, could neutralize the strong
Japanese base at Rabaul, New Brit-
ain Island.

On the other axis of advance, the
U.S. Sixth Army seized the islands
of Kiriwina and Woodlark in June as
bases from which air support could
be provided for future operations.
Then three attacks were launched by
U.S. Army and Australian troops in
rapid succession on the northeast-
ern coast of New Guinea; an over-
land advance and an amphibious
assault against Salamaua that was
completed on 11 September; a com-
bined parachute drop and an air-
borne assault which resulted in the
occupation of Lae on 16 September;
and an advance on Finschaffen
which was occupied completely by 2
October.

The next objective was the west-
ern end of the island of New Britain.
On 15 December, three Army land-
ings were made in the Arawe area
followed on 26 December by a larger

landing of U.S. Marines which cap-
tured the important air base at Cape
Gloucester. Then on 2 January 1944,
U.S. Sixth Army troops landed at
Saidor on the northern New Guinea
coast to cut the enemy escape route
along the coastal road. Throughout
these operations and those that
followed, continuing air attacks
against the enemy's supply lines
and airfields by Army and Naval
forces contributed materially to the
success of ground operations.

Although fighting still continued
on Bougainville and on western
New Britain, a decision was made to
bypass the enemy bases at Rabaul
and at Kavieng, New Ireland, as
they were being systematically neu-
tralized by intensive bombardment.
It was the plan of the Southwest
Pacific Area Commander to land
troops where the Japanese were
weakest and confine the stronger
Japanese forces to pockets from
which, because of incredibly diffi-
cult terrain and Allied air and sea
superiority, they could not break
out. The next nine months of 1944
were devoted to a continuation of
this strategy on an increasing scale.

The operation against the Admi-
ralty Islands, strategically important
because of their airfields and har-
bors, was scheduled initially for
April 1944. But on 29 February, as a
result of a reconnaissance by the
Southwest Pacific Area Commander,
U.S. Sixth Army troops landed on
Los Negros from ships of the U.S.
Seventh Fleet. During March and
April, the larger island of Manus was
occupied.

The next advance was along the
New Guinea coast. It came so swiftly
and was so far forward that the
enemy was completely taken by
surprise. The strongly-held Japa-
nese base at Wewak was bypassed
in favor of the Hollandia~-Humboldt
Bay area which would provide us

with excellent airfields and a good
staging base.

As the 350-mile distance was
beyond the effective range of many
of our land-based aircraft, the fast
carrier task force of the U.S. Fifth
Fleet was used to provide additional
fire support on the target areas and
bomb other targets to the westward.
On 22 April, three landings were
made by the U.S. Sixth Army, two in
the Hollandia area and one to the east
at Aitape.

These landings were so successful
that in May two more landings were
made farther to the west at Arare and
on Wakde Island. At the end of May,
another leap of over 300 miles was
made to seize airfields on the island
of Biak where fierce enemy resist-
ance was encountered. Because of
this holdup, the U.S. Sixth Army
seized Noemfoor in early July and
the advance continued to Sansapor
on 30 July, and to the island of Moro-
tai on 15 September 1944.

On the same day, 15 September
1944, Pacific Ocean Area forces, hav-
ing completed their long series of
advances across the Central Pacific
via the Gilbert and Marshall Islands
to seize Saipan, Tinian and Guam,
invaded the Palau Islands. Simultan-
eously, as the result of successful fast
carrier strikes on the Philippine
Islands, the commander of the Third
Fleet recommended that several
intermediate operations be cancelled
and that U.S. forces land in the Phil-
ippines as soon as possible.

The Pacific Ocean Area Com-
mander concurred and offered to
place additional forces at the disposal
of the Southwest Pacific Area Com-
mander, whose Headquarters
promptly replied that he would be
prepared to land on Leyte on 20 Oc-
tober instead of on 20 December as
previously planned. Immediate
approval by the Joint Chiefs of Staff


OWN STRENGTH ON GUADALCANAL.
ATTENTION WAS FOCUSSED ON HEN-
DERSON FIELD. AMERICAN EFFORTS TO
DEVELOP AND KEEP IT OPERATING
COULD NOT BE RELAXED NOTWITH-
STANDING CONTINUOUS SURFACE AND
AIR BOMBARDMENT. A SERIES OF HARD-
FOUGHT SEA BATTLES ENSUED WITH
SEVERE LOSSES ON BOTH SIDES — THE
BATTLE OF THE EASTERN SOLOMONS IN.
AUGUST, THE BATTLES OF CAPE ESPER-
ANCE AND THE SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
IN OCTOBER, FOLLOWED BY GUADAL-
CANAL AND TASSAFARONGA IN
NOVEMBER AND RENNELL ISLAND IN
JANUARY 1943. THE SEA BATTLE OF
GUADALCANAL WHEN OUTNUMBERED
U.S. CRUISERS AND DESTROYERS EN-
GAGED THE JAPANESE BATTLESHIP
FORCE WAS ESPECIALLY FURIOUS.

ON LAND THE JAPANESE, SUPPORTED
BY STRONG AIR COVER, ON THE NIGHTS
OF 12 AND 13 SEPTEMBER ATTACKED
BOTH FLANKS, AS WELL AS THE CENTER
OF THE MARINE POSITION ON THE RIDGE
SOUTH OF HENDERSON FIELD, BUT WERE
DECISIVELY DEFEATED. IN TURN, THE
AMERICANS, HAVING BEEN REINFORCED
BY ADDITIONAL MARINE AND ARMY
UNITS, ATTACKED THE JAPANESE POSI-
TIONS TO THE WEST ALONG THE
MATANIKAU RIVER FROM 23 TO 27 SEP-
TEMBER BUT WERE FORCED TO WITH-
DRAW; THEY RENEWED THE ATTACK ON
7 OCTOBER AND SECURED THE EAST
BANK OF THE RIVER TWO DAYS LATER.

THE JAPANESE BROUGHT IN REIN-
FORCEMENTS INCLUDING HEAVIER AR-
TILLERY. ON 23 OCTOBER STRONG JAP-
ANESE INFANTRY FORCES SUPPORTED
BY TANKS, ARTILLERY FIRE AND AIR
AND NAVAL BOMBARDMENT, AT-
TACKED ACROSS THE MATANIKAU BUT
WERE REPULSED BY THE 1ST AND 7TH
MARINE REGIMENTS. ON 24-25 OCTOBER,
THE ENEMY LAUNCHED TWO POWER-
FUL ATTACKS AGAINST THE SOUTHERN
PERIMETER. THE FIRST ATTACK
AGAINST HENDERSON FIELD WAS RE-
PULSED AFTER DESPERATE FIGHTING BY
THE 7TH MARINE REGIMENT AND THE

28

164TH INFANTRY REGIMENT. THE OTHER
ATTACK, NORTH OF MOUNT AUSTEN,
AFTER A BRIEF INITIAL SUCCESS WAS
ALSO REPULSED.

THE TENACIOUS OPPOSITION OF THE
JAPANESE MADE IT NECESSARY TO
REINFORCE OUR LAND, SEA AND AIR
FORCES HEAVILY. THE ARMY’S 25TH
AND AMERICAL DIVISIONS, AS WELL AS
THE 2D MARINE DIVISION, NOW
RELIEVED THE 1ST MARINE DIVISION.
ON 17 DECEMBER THESE DIVISIONS
LAUNCHED A DETERMINED ATTACK
AGAINST THE JAPANESE POSITION ON
MOUNT AUSTEN WHICH THEY CAP-
TURED A WEEK LATER. ON 10 JANUARY
THE ATTACK WAS RESUMED AND AFTER
HARD FIGHTING THE STRONGLY DE-
FENDED JAPANESE POSITIONS FARTHER
TO THE WEST WERE SEIZED.

RECOGNIZING THEIR PERIL, THE JAP-
ANESE, BETWEEN THE 1ST AND 8TH OF
FEBRUARY, EVACUATED ABOUT 13,000
MEN FROM GUADALCANAL UNDER
COVER OF DARKNESS. BY 9 FEBRUARY
1943 THE AMERICAN TROOPS HAD
OVERRUN THE LAST OF THE JAPANESE
POSITIONS AND THE HARD-FOUGHT
CAMPAIGN FOR GUADALCANAL WAS
WON.

3. FAST CARRIER STRIKES IN THE
PACIFIC — 1942-1945

BECAUSE THE ATTACK ON PEARL
HARBOR FORCED THE U.S. NAVAL
FORCES TO THE DEFENSIVE THROUGH-
OUT THE PACIFIC, THEIR FIRST OFFEN-
SIVE EFFORTS WERE LIMITED STRIKES
AGAINST SUPERIOR ENEMY CONCEN-
TRATIONS BY THE NAVAL AIR FORCES.

IN MAY AND JUNE 1942, U.S. FORCES
FOUGHT THE SUCCESSFUL BATTLES OF
THE CORAL SEA AND MIDWAY. THEN, AT
GUADALCANAL, THERE FOLLOWED A
SERIES OF HARD-FOUGHT NAVAL BAT-
TLES AND GRIM STRUGGLES ON THE
LAND AND IN THE AIR WHICH MARKED
THE TURNING POINT OF THE PACIFIC
WAR.

THE LONG ADVANCE TOWARD THE
JAPANESE HOMELAND BEGAN IN 1943.
THE VOLUME AND EFFECTIVENESS OF

AIR STRIKES WAS INTENSIFIED; DURING
THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE WAR THE
NUMBER OF AIRCRAFT CARRIERS WAS
INCREASED FROM NINE TO MORE THAN
FIFTY. THESE FORMED THE SPEARHEAD
OF THE TRIPHIBIOUS OFFENSIVES IN THE
GILBERT ISLANDS, THEN IN EARLY 1944,
THROUGH THE MARSHALL ISLANDS. IN
JUNE THE AMERICAN ATTACK ON THE
MARIANAS BROUGHT ON THE BATTLE
OF THE PHILIPPINE SEA IN WHICH THE
JAPANESE NAVAL AIR ARM WAS ELIMI-
NATED AS A DECISIVE FACTOR IN THE
WAR.
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS SUPPORTED THE
LANDINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 1944,
AND ON IWO JIMA AND OKINAWA IN
1945. FAST CARRIER TASK FORCES
JOINED IN THE STRATEGIC BOMBARD-
MENT OF JAPAN, RANGING AT WILL OFF
THE COAST OF THE JAPANESE HOME
ISLANDS, SINKING SHIPS AND RENDER-
ING HARBORS UNTENABLE. THE ROLE
OF THESE MOBILE CARRIERS WAS OF
MAJOR IMPORTANCE IN THE PROSECU-
TION OF THE WAR.
4, AIR ASSAULT ON JAPAN —
1942-1945

ON 15 JUNE 1944 U.S. ARMY HEAVY
BOMBERS FROM AIRFIELDS IN CHINA
LAUNCHED THE FIRST STRATEGIC AIR
ATTACKS AGAINST THE JAPANESE
HOMELAND. ON THE SAME DAY U.S.
AMPHIBIOUS FORCES ASSAULTED THE
MARIANA ISLANDS SO AS TO GAIN AIR
BASES CLOSER TO JAPAN. IN JANUARY
1945 AIRCRAFT FROM CHINA WERE RE-
DEPLOYED TO THESE NEW BASES.

EVEN BEFORE THE CAPTURE OF THE
MARIANAS WAS COMPLETE, AIRFIELDS
WERE BEING BUILT FROM WHICH THE
U.S. TWENTIETH AIR FORCE WAS LATER
TO CONDUCT ITS DEVASTATING BOM-
BARDMENT CAMPAIGN. FROM THE
FIRST MAJOR STRIKE ON 24 NOVEMBER
1944 UNTIL THE END OF HOSTILITIES IN
AUGUST 1945 THE OFFENSIVE CON-
TINUED WITH EVER MOUNTING INTEN-
SITY. THE OBJECTIVE WAS THE PRO-
GRESSIVE DESTRUCTION OF THE

Interior of Chapel, Altar and Mosaic

ENEMY’S MILITARY, INDUSTRIAL AND
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS. IN MARCH 1945
HEAVY BOMBERS ENGAGED ALSO IN
AERIAL MINE LAYING TO INTENSIFY THE
BLOCKADE OF JAPAN ALREADY ESTAB-
LISHED BY U.S. SUBMARINES.

THE CAPTURE OF IWO JIMA IN FEB-
RUARY AND MARCH 1945 WAS OF VITAL
IMPORTANCE TO THE AIR ASSAULTS ON.
JAPAN, THE AIRFIELDS THERE ESTAB-
LISHED SERVED AS A BASE FOR FIGHTER
ESCORTS AND A HAVEN FOR DAMAGED

29


32

Interior of West Hemicycle Showing Inscribed Names

OF MOUNT SURIBACHI, CAPTURING THE
SUMMIT. AN ASSAULT UP TO THE MOTO-
YAMA PLATEAU BROUGHT THE MARINES
DIRECTLY INTO THE FACE OF THE
HEAVIEST ENEMY DEFENSES. THEN AS
THE 4TH DIVISION ATTACKED ON THE
RIGHT AND THE 5TH DIVISION ON THE
LEFT, THE 3D DIVISION IN THE CENTER
CRACKED THE MAIN LINE OF JAPANESE
RESISTANCE.

FOR NEARLY TWO WEEKS MORE, WITH
CONTINUOUS SUPPORT BY SEVENTH AIR
FORCE AND CARRIER AIRCRAFT AND NA-
VAL GUNFIRE, THE MARINES PRESSED
FORWARD AGAINST A DETERMINED RE-
SISTANCE CONDUCTED BY A WELL-
TRAINED, WELL-EQUIPPED ENEMY,
FIGHTING FROM THOUSANDS OF DEFEN-
SIVE INSTALLATIONS AND DEEP CAVES.
DESPITE HEAVY AND CONTINUOUS
LOSSES THE MARINES MAINTAINED
THEIR DRIVE UNTIL FINALLY, AFTER 26
DAYS OF BITTER ASSAULT, THE ISLAND
WAS SECURED.

NORTHWEST ROOM
This room has five maps:

1. THe War Acainst GerMANY—
1941-1945

THROUGHOUT THE WAR IN EUROPE
WHICH BEGAN IN 1939 THE PROTECTION
AND CONTROL OF THE SEA AND AIR
ROUTES TO THE BRITISH ISLES WERE VI-
TAL TO THE ALLIES’ HOPES OF VICTORY.
FOLLOWING THE JAPANESE ATTACK ON
PEARL HARBOR, THE UNITED STATES
NAVY ACTIVELY JOINED THE ALLIED
FORCES ENGAGED IN THE BITTERLY CON-
TESTED BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC,
FIGHTING TO KEEP THE SEA LANES
OPEN.

IN AUGUST 1942 THE U.S. ARMY AIR
FORCES JOINED THEIR BRITISH COM-
RADES IN THE STRATEGIC BOMBARD-
MENT OF GERMANY. FOR NEARLY THREE
YEARS THIS AERIAL ASSAULT CONTIN-
UED WITH EVER-INCREASING VIO-
LENCE, STRIKING DEEP INTO ENEMY
TERRITORY TO DISLOCATE AND DESTROY

HIS MILITARY AND INDUSTRIAL SYS-
TEMS.

IN NOVEMBER 1942 AMERICAN AND
BRITISH FORCES LANDED ON THE
SHORES OF NORTH AFRICA BUT WERE
CHECKED JUST 16 MILES FROM TUNIS. A
COUNTERATTACK NEAR KASSERINE WAS
HALTED ON 22 FEBRUARY. THE FINAL
CAMPAIGN IN NORTH AFRICA OPENED
ON 22 APRIL 1943, BY 13 MAY ONE QUAR-
TER OF A MILLION AXIS TROOPS RE-
MAINING IN TUNISIA BECAME PRIS-
ONERS OF WAR.

ON 10 JULY 1943, UNDER COVER OF
NAVAL AND AIR BOMBARDMENT, THE
ALLIES LANDED ON THE SHORES OF SIC-
ILY. IN A SWIFT CAMPAIGN, LASTING
ONLY 39 DAYS, THEY EXPELLED THE EN-
EMY FROM THE ISLAND.

IN SEPTEMBER U.S. AND BRITISH
FORCES LANDED IN SOUTHERN ITALY,
SEIZING THE AIRFIELDS NEAR FOGGIA.
FROM THESE, U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES
LAUNCHED STRATEGIC AIR ATTACKS, IN
COORDINATION WITH THE ALLIED AIR
FLEETS ALREADY OPERATING FROM
ENGLAND, ON AUSTRIA, THE BALKANS
AND GERMANY. TO ASSIST THE GROUND
ADVANCE, A LANDING WAS MADE IN
THE ANZIO REGION BUT THE ENEMY’S
PROMPT REACTION PREVENTED EXPLOI-
TATION OF THIS BEACHHEAD. ON 11
MAY THE ALLIES LAUNCHED A GENERAL
ASSAULT, BROKE THROUGH THE ENEMY
DEFENSES AND ON 4 JUNE 1944 AMERI-

CAN TROOPS ENTERED ROME.
DRIVING NORTHWARD, THE ALLIES

BREACHED THE ENEMY'S “GOTHIC”
MOUNTAIN DEFENSE LINE BUT STIFFEN-
ING RESISTANCE HALTED THE AD-
VANCE. RESUMING THE OFFENSIVE IN
THE SPRING OF 1945 OUR TROOPS
CROSSED THE PO THEN SPREAD OUT TO
CLOSE THE NORTHERN FRONTIERS. ON 2
MAY 1945 THE ENEMY IN ITALY SURREN-
DERED UNCONDITIONALLY.

ON 6 JUNE 1944 UNITED STATES AND
BRITISH COMMONWEALTH FORCES
LANDED ON THE NORTHERN COAST OF
FRANCE. ON 25 JULY THEY BROKE OUT
OF THEIR BEACHHEAD, REPULSED A

33


Manila
American
Cemetery

and

Memorial

LOCATION

Manila American Cemetery is lo-
cated in the Global City, Taguig,
Metro, Manila. The location of the
cemetery is within the boundaries of
what was formerly the U.S. Army
Reservation of Fort William McKin-
ley. It can be reached most easily
from the city by taxicab or other au-
tomobile via Epifano de los Santos
Avenue (EDSA) to McKinley Road,
then to McKinley Parkway inside
the Global City. The Nichols Field
Road connects the Manila Interna-
tional Airport with the cemetery.
The cemetery is open daily to the
public from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The
cemetery is closed on January 1 and
December 25.

HISTORY
Several months before the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor, a strategic
policy was adopted with respect to
the United States priority att effort,
should it be forced into war against
the Axis powers (Germany and
Italy) and simultaneously find itself
at war with Japan. The policy was
that the stronger European enemy
would be defeated first.

With the surprise Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941
and the bombing attacks on 8 De-

Fort
‘BONIFACION

cember on Wake Island, Guam,
Hong Kong, Singapore and the Phil-
ippine Islands, the United States
found itself thrust into a global war.
(History records the other attacks as
occurring on 8 December because of
the international date line; actually
they all occurred during the same
daylight period.) The day after the
Pearl Harbor attack, the United
States declared war against Japan.
Within the short span of two days,
Japanese troops had landed on the
Malay Peninsula and Tarawa and
Makin in the Gilbert Islands, forced
Guam to surrender, and made their
principal landing on the island of
Luzon in the Philippines. On 11 De-
cember, Germany and Italy declared
war on the United States.

Despite the fact that Japan had
dealt a grievous blow to the strength
of the United States Navy in the
Pacific and was advancing on all
fronts in the southwest Pacific, the
basic decision of “Europe First” was
reaffirmed promptly by President
Roosevelt and British Prime Minis-
ter Churchill.

At the same meeting, in concert

with their military advisors, forma-
tion of the Combined Chiefs of Staff

was approved to coordinate the
operations of all Allied Forces; how-
ever, actual control of operations in
the Pacific remained with the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff. For all practical
purposes, the war against Japan was
relegated to second place, except for
the early months of the war when it
was essential to reinforce our Pacific
forces which now were so much
smaller than those of the Japanese.
There was little hope of saving the
Philippines, but it was decided that
the line of communications to Aus-
tralia must be kept open as it was
considered essential to the defense
of that continent. At first, it seemed
there was nothing that could stop
the Japanese advance. Hong Kong
fell on Christmas Day. Shortly there-
after, U.S. and Philippine troops
evacuated Manila and withdrew to
the Bataan Peninsula. In January,
the Japanese landed in the Nether-
lands East Indies, and simultane-
ously crossed over into Burma.
Singapore capitulated in mid-
February. The only bright spot at this
time was the magnificent resistance
by the American and Filipino forces
on Bataan. But even that bright spot
became a fading light as there was no
way for us to bring help to those gal-
lant defenders, whereas the enemy
was pouring reinforcements into
Bataan. On 9 April 1942, Bataan sur-
rendered; it was followed by Correg-
idor on 6 May. The superb defense of
Bataan and Corregidor, however,
threw the enemy off its timetable for
the conquest of the Philippines as
many Japanese reinforcements that
had been scheduled for deployment
to other areas had to be diverted to
Bataan. This delayed the Japanese
advance in New Guinea and the
Solomon Islands.

At the end of March 1942, the Joint
Chiefs of Staff divided the Pacific
into two commands — the Pacific
Ocean Area and the Southwest

Pacific Area. The latter command
included New Guinea and the Sol-
omon Islands which were the major
objectives of the Japanese in their
advance toward Australia. Anxious
to make up for lost time, the Japa-
nese occupied Tulagi, just north of
Guadalcanal, and dispatched a
strong force to invade Port Moresby
on the south coast of New Guinea,
as that territory was considered es-
sential to the defense of northern
Australia. This led to the battle of
the Coral Sea on 4-8 May where U.S.
and Allied naval forces won a major
and strategic victory. The Port
Moresby invasion force was forced
to turn back and two large enemy
aircraft carriers were put out of ac-
tion for an extended period of time.

With their advance checked in the
Coral Sea, the Japanese shifted their
main offensive toward the Hawai-
ian Islands and the Aleutians. The
decisive battle of Midway on 3-7
June 1942 restored to balance Allied
and enemy sea power in the Pacific.
Far to the north, the enemy bombed
Dutch Harbor. Then, without
opposition, occupied the islands of
Attu and Kiska. It proved to be the
last great enemy offensive against
American territory.

Following their defeat at Midway,
the Japanese launched a determined
effort to capture Port Moresby in the
southwest Pacific by attacking over-
land across the Owen Stanley
Range. On 21 July the enemy seized
Buna and Gona on the northeast
coast, then crossed the Owen
Stanley Range to within 30 miles of
Port Moresby where they were
stopped by Australian troops and
driven back.

In order to bring more forces to
bear against the enemy in the Sol-
omons, the boundary of the South-
west Pacific Area was shifted west-
ward to put the southern Solomons
in the Pacific Ocean Area (whose


AuajoueD 0} aousayuy

TO THEIR MEMORY

THEIR COUNTRY BRINGS
ATITUDE AS FLOWERS FOREVER LIVING

Altar in the Chapel


SUBMARINES TO FRIENDLY GUERRILLA
FORCES DID MUCH TO KEEP ALIVE THE
SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE IN THE PHILIP-
PINES. IN ADDITION U.S, SUBMARINES
RESCUED MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED
ALLIED AIRMEN DURING THE COURSE OF
THE WAR.

THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PERIOD OF
THE WAR AMERICAN SUBMARINES ALSO
PLAYED A SIGNIFICIANT PART IN THE
ALLIED WAR EFFORT BY SUCCESSFUL OP-
ERATIONS IN THE ATLANTIC AND IN-
DIAN OCEANS AND IN THE MEDITERRA-
NEAN AND CARIBBEAN SEAS,

5. Tue Marranas—15 June-10
Aucust 1944

TO PENETRATE THE ENEMY'S DE-
FENSES AND GAIN BASES FROM WHICH
AIRCRAFT COULD STRIKE AT THE JAPA-
NESE HOME ISLANDS, THE UNITED
STATES UNDERTOOK TO SEIZE THE MA-
RIANA ISLANDS IN THE SUMMER OF
1944. FOR SEVERAL MONTHS PRIOR TO
THE LANDINGS, FAST CARRIER TASK
FORCES AND AIRCRAFT OF THE SEVENTH
AIR FORCE CONDUCTED PRELIMINARY
BOMBARDMENTS OF THE TARGET AREA.

ON 15 JUNE 1944, UNDER COVER OF
NAVAL AND AIR BOMBARDMENT BY THE
FIFTH FLEET, THE 2D AND 4TH MARINE
DIVISIONS OF THE V AMPHIBIOUS CORPS
LANDED ON SAIPAN. THE JAPANESE RE-
ACTION WAS IMMEDIATE AND VIGOR-
US; THEIR CARRIER TASK FORCE
STEAMED TOWARD THE MARIANAS TO
MEET THE AMERICAN AMPHIBIOUS EF-
FORT. IN THE ACTION THAT FOLLOWED,
THE BATTLE OF THE PHILIPPINE SEA ON
19-20 JUNE, JAPANESE CARRIER AVIA-
TION WAS SUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIRED AS
A MAJOR FORCE IN THE WAR.

MEANWHILE THE MARINES AND THE
ARMY'S 27TH INFANTRY DIVISION
FOUGHT THEIR WAY ACROSS THE ISLAND
AGAINST DETERMINED RESISTANCE.
THEY THEN TURNED NORTHWARD AND
SEIZED THE DOMINATING HEIGHTS OF
MT. TAPOTCHAU ON 25 AND 26 JUNE. ON
THE LATTER NIGHT AN ENEMY ATTEMPT
TO BREAK OUT OF HIS ISOLATED POSI-

24

TION ON NAFUTAN POINT WAS DECI-
SIVELY DEFEATED, AMERICAN FORCES
CONTINUED TO PRESS THE ATTACK
AGAINST THE MASS OF THE ENEMY,
SLOWLY FORCING HIM NORTHWARD. FI-
NALLY, ON THE NIGHT OF 6-7 JULY, THE
JAPANESE MADE A.DESPERATE LAST EF-
FORT; THEIR FURIOUS ASSAULT WAS RE-
PULSED AND TWO DAYS LATER THE IS-

LAND WAS DECLARED SECURE.
ON 24 JULY, AFTER A LENGTHY PRE-

PARATORY BOMBARDMENT BY U.S.
SHIPS, AIRCRAFT, AND ARTILLERY FIR-
ING FROM SAIPAN, THE 4TH MARINE DI-
VISION FOLLOWED BY THE 2D MARINE
DIVISION LANDED ON NORTHERN TI-
NIAN. AFTER NINE DAYS OF SEVERE
FIGHTING, WITH CONTINUOUS SUPPORT
BY SEVENTH AIR FORCE AND CARRIER
AIRCRAFT AND BY NAVAL GUNFIRE, THE
MARINES SECURED THE ISLAND.

PRECEDED BY ONE OF THE HEAVIEST
SUSTAINED NAVAL AND AIR BOMBARD-
MENTS CONDUCTED IN THE PACIFIC,
THE 3D MARINE DIVISION AND THE 1ST
MARINE BRIGADE OF THE III AMPHIBI-
OUS CORPS MADE TWO SEPARATE LAND-
INGS ON THE WESTERN SHORES OF GUAM
ON 21 JULY. ON 24 JULY THE 77TH IN-
FANTRY DIVISION ASSUMED CONTROL
OF THE SOUTHERN BEACHHEAD. THE
NEXT DAY, WHILE THE 3D MARINE DIVI-
SION CONTINUED ITS ASSAULT TO GAIN
THE HIGH GROUND TO ITS FRONT, THE
1ST MARINE BRIGADE BEGAN CLEARING
THE OROTE PENINSULA, THAT NIGHT
THE CRISIS CAME ON BOTH FRONTS
WHEN THE JAPANESE LAUNCHED SPIR-
ITED BUT UNSUCCESSFUL COUNTERAT-
TACKS AGAINST BOTH UNITS.

THE INDIVIDUAL BEACHHEADS WERE
THEN LINKED TOGETHER AND AMERI-
CAN LINES CONSOLIDATED. SUPPORTED
BY ARMY, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS
AIRCRAFT, THE 77TH INFANTRY DIVI-
SION AND THE 3D MARINE DIVISION
LAUNCHED A COORDINATED ATTACK TO-
WARD THE NORTH END OF THE ISLAND
WHERE THE JAPANESE HAD CONCEN-
TRATED THEIR FORCES. BY 10 AUGUST
ORGANIZED RESISTANCE HAD CEASED.

6. Battie of MipwAy—3-7 June
1942

AFTER THEIR ADVANCE TOWARD AUS-
TRALIA WAS CHECKED AT THE BATTLE OF
THE CORAL SEA IN MAY 1942, THE JAPA-
NESE SHIFTED THEIR MAIN OFFENSIVE
NORTHWARD TOWARD THE HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS AND THE ALEUTIANS.

IN JUNE, JAPANESE OCCUPATION
FORCES, SUPPORTED BY THE JAPANESE
COMBINED FLEET, MOVED AGAINST
MIDWAY ISLAND, WEST OF HAWAII,
AND KISKA AND ATTU IN THE WESTERN
ALEUTIANS.

MEANWHILE, THE UNITED STATES RE-
INFORCED THE MARINE GARRISON ON
MIDWAY AND ALERTED THE PACIFIC
FLEET FOR THE DEFENSE OF THAT IS-
LAND. ON 4 JUNE AIRCRAFT FROM FOUR
JAPANESE FLEET CARRIERS ATTACKED
MIDWAY, IN ITS DEFENSE U.S. MARINE
ANTI-AIRCRAFT BATTERIES, AND LAND~
BASED AIRCRAFT MANNED BY MARINE,
NAVY AND ARMY AIR FORCES PILOTS,
DESTROYED MORE THAN 40 JAPANESE
AIRPLANES. THEREUPON NAVAL AIR-
(CRAFT FROM THE U.S. CARRIERS ENTER-
PRISE, YORKTOWN AND HORNET AT-
TACKED THE JAPANESE CARRIERS AND
SANK FOUR OF THEM. JAPANESE CAR-
RIER-BASED AIRCRAFT AND A SUBMA-
RINE ATTACKED OUR CARRIERS AND
SANK YORKTOWN. DISCOMFITED BY THE
AMERICAN AIR RESISTANCE THE JAPA-
NESE MIDWAY OCCUPATION FORCE
WITHDREW WITHOUT ATTEMPTING TO
LAND, LOSING A CRUISER IN THE OPER-
ATION.

FAR TO THE NORTH, JAPANESE AIR-
PLANES FROM TWO OTHER CARRIERS
BOMBED DUTCH HARBOR ON 3 AND 4
JUNE, MEETING RESISTANCE FROM U.S.
NAVY AND ARMY AIR FORCES AIR-
CRAFT, UNDER COVER OF THIS DIVER-
SION THE JAPANESE, WITHOUT OPPOSI-
TION, OCCUPIED THE ISLANDS OF ATTU
AND KISKA ON 7 JUNE.

THE JAPANESE LOSS OF FOUR AIR-
CRAFT CARRIERS AND THEIR COMPLE-
MENT OF 250 AIRCRAFT WITH MANY

FIRST-LINE PILOTS COMPLETELY RE-
VERSED THE STRATEGIC SITUATION IN
THE PACIFIC. THIS WAS THEIR LAST
GREAT OFFENSIVE AGAINST AMERICAN
TERRITORY. THEREAFTER THE UNITED
STATES TOOK THE OFFENSIVE AND
STARTED THE LONG ADVANCE TOWARD
THE JAPANESE HOMELAND AND FINAL
VICTORY.

7. Battie oF THE PHiLirPiIne SEA—
15-20 June 1944

WHEN, ON 15 JUNE 1944, THE U.S.
FIFTH FLEET LANDED THE 2D AND 4TH
MARINE DIVISIONS OF THE V AMPHIBI-
OUS CORPS ON SAIPAN, THE JAPANESE
REACTION WAS IMMEDIATE AND VIGOR-
OUS. BY THE VERY NEXT DAY THE JAPA-
NESE MOBILE FLEET, WHICH INCLUDED
NINE FAST CARRIERS, HAD SET UNITS IN
MOTION FROM MANY WIDELY SEPARA-
TED AREAS, EFFECTED A RENDEZVOUS IN
THE PHILIPPINE SEA, AND MOVED TO
THE ATTACK, THE COMBAT ELEMENTS OF
THE FIFTH FLEET, INCLUDING FIFTEEN
FAST CARRIERS, IMMEDIATELY MOVED
INTO POSITION TO COVER THE SAIPAN
AMPHIBIOUS OPERATION WHILE ITS
CARRIER-BASED AIRCRAFT CONTINUED
THEIR DESTRUCTIVE ATTACKS UPON THE
JAPANESE AIR BASES IN THE MARIANAS.

THE JAPANESE, EARLY ON THE MORN-
ING OF 19 JUNE, BEGAN LAUNCHING
AIRCRAFT AT EXTREME RANGE, PLAN-
NING THAT THESE SHOULD SUCCESS-
FULLY ATTACK THE AMERICAN SHIPS,
THEN LAND AND REFUEL AT GUAM.
FOUR SEPARATE ATTACKS WERE INTER-
CEPTED BY AIRCRAFT OF THE FIFTH
FLEET; OVER 300 JAPANESE AIRCRAFT
BEING SHOT DOWN BY AMERICAN IN-
TERCEPTORS AND ANTIAIRCRAFT FIRE,
DESTROYED ON THE GROUND OR LOST AT
SEA,

ONLY A FEW JAPANESE AIRCRAFT
WERE ABLE TO RETURN TO THEIR CARRI-
ERS, WHICH IN THE MEANTIME BEGAN
TO WITHDRAW TO THE NORTHWEST. THE
FIFTH FLEET PURSUED BUT DID NOT LO-
CATE THE RETREATING ENEMY UNTIL
THE AFTERNOON OF 20 JUNE WHEN

25


Visitors Building at Entrance Plaza

BOMBERS MAKING THE LONG OVER-
WATER RETURN TO THE MARIANAS.

IN JULY 1945 THE U.S. TWENTIETH AIR
FORCE, IN THE MARIANAS, AND THE
U.S. EIGHTH AIR FORCE, STATIONED ON
OKINAWA, COMBINED TO OPERATE AS
THE U.S, ARMY STRATEGIC AIR FORCES.
DURING JULY AND AUGUST THE U.S. FAR
EAST AIR FORCES AND MARINE CORPS
AIRCRAFT BASED ON OKINAWA PAR-
TICIPATED IN THE STRATEGIC ASSAULT.
AFTER THE DEVASTATION FROM THE AIR
OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI IN
AUGUST 1945, THE JAPANESE GOVERN-
MENT SUED FOR PEACE.

5. OKINAWA — 26 MARCH-22 JUNE
1945

EARLY IN 1945 THE GREAT CONCEN-
TRATION OF U.S. SEA, LAND AND AIR
POWER IN THE PACIFIC ENABLED OUR
FORCES TO CHALLENGE JAPAN IN HER
OWN WATERS. FOR MONTHS AIRCRAFT
FROM THE NAVY’S FAST CARRIERS AND
ARMY AIR FORCE BOMBERS FROM THE
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA AND THE
MARIANAS HAD BOMBED THE IMPOR-

30

TANT BASES IN THE RYUKYUS., THE AM-
PHIBIOUS INVASION WAS INITIATED
WHEN A DIVISION OF THE TENTH ARMY
LANDED ON KERAMA RETTO WEST OF
OKINAWA ON 26 MARCH. THERE FOL-
LOWED A DESPERATE THREE MONTHS
STRUGGLE ON LAND, ON SEA, AND IN
THE AIR.

ON 1 APRIL, UNDER COVER OF AN IN-
TENSIVE NAVAL AND AIR BOMBARD-
MENT BY THE U.S. FIFTH FLEET, TWO DI-
VISIONS OF THE U.S. ARMY XXIV CORPS
AND TWO DIVISIONS OF THE MARINE III
AMPHIBIOUS CORPS LANDED ON
OKINAWA ITSELF. THE TWO CORPS, AT-
TACKING ABREAST, PUSHED RAPIDLY
ACROSS THE ISLAND, THUS SPLITTING
THE JAPANESE FORCES. THE III AM-
PHIBIOUS CORPS THEN TURNED NORTH,
WHILE THE XXIV CORPS TURNED SOUTH
TO ATTACK THE JAPANESE MAIN DE-
FENSIVE POSITIONS.

TO INSURE EARLY WARNING OF THE
EXPECTED ENEMY AIR OFFENSIVE FROM
AIRFIELDS IN JAPAN, CHINA AND FOR-
MOSA, THE FIFTH FLEET ESTABLISHED A
RING OF DESTROYERS AND ESCORT VES-

SELS AROUND OKINAWA. INITIALLY THE
SUICIDAL ATTACKS OF THE JAPANESE
LAND-BASED KAMIKAZE AIRPLANES
WHICH CAUSED HEAVY LOSSES WERE
FOUGHT OFF BY THE CARRIER-BASED
AIRCRAFT AND ANTIAIRCRAFT FIRE OF
THE SURFACE SHIPS, ON THE NIGHT OF
6-7 APRIL, THE ENEMY SURFACE FLEET
MADE ITS LAST SORTIE FROM ITS HOME
WATERS. U.S. CARRIER AIRCRAFT AT-
TACKED THIS FORCE, SINKING A BAT-
TLESHIP, A CRUISER AND FOUR DE-
STROYERS. COMMENCING ON 9 APRIL
LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT OF THE U.S, MA-
RINES AND THE ARMY AIR FORCES RAP-
IDLY AUGMENTED THE CARRIER-BASED
AIRCRAFT AND ULTIMATELY CHECKED
THE KAMIKAZES.

ASSISTED BY LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT
OF THE MARINES AND THE ARMY AIR
FORCES, AND BY NAVAL GUNFIRE, OUR
MARINE AND ARMY DIVISIONS AD-
VANCED SOUTHWARD AGAINST FANATI-
CAL RESISTANCE AND FURIOUS COUN-
TERATTACKS. EACH SUCCESSIVE ENEMY
STRONGPOINT WAS CLEARED ONLY BY
PERSISTENT AND HEROIC EFFORT. BY
THE MIDDLE OF JUNE OUR GROUND
FORCES HAD BATTERED THEIR WAY
THROUGH THE FORTIFIED NAHA-SHURI
LINE. BY 22 JUNE 1945 THE LAST ORGAN-
IZED UNIT OF THE JAPANESE GARRISON
HAD BEEN DESTROYED. OKINAWA THEN
BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN STRATE-
GIC BASE WITHIN EASY RANGE OF THE
JAPANESE HOMELAND.

6. Iwo Jima—16 Fesruary-16
Marcu 1945

BEFORE THE CAPTURE OF THE MA-
RIANA ISLANDS HAD BEEN COMPLETED
IN AUGUST 1944 AIRFIELDS WERE UNDER
CONSTRUCTION ON SAIPAN AND GUAM.
FROM THESE, IN NOVEMBER, THE U.S.
ARMY AIR FORCES BEGAN INTENSIVE
AIR ASSAULTS AGAINST THE JAPANESE
HOMELAND. THE PROMPT SEIZURE OF
THE ISLAND OF IWO JIMA BECAME OF
VITAL IMPORTANCE BECAUSE IT COULD
PROVIDE THE ONLY EMERGENCY LAND-

ING FIELD FOR RETURNING AIRCRAFT IN
DISTRESS AS WELL AS A BASE FOR
FIGHTER ESCORTS.

SENSING THE PERIL TO THEIR EMPIRE
THE JAPANESE CONCENTRATED ON MAK-
ING IWO JIMA IMPREGNABLE, GARRI-
SONING THIS FORTIFIED ISLAND OF
ABOUT SEVEN SQUARE MILES WITH
MORE THAN 20,000 TROOPS IN CARE-
FULLY PREPARED DEFENSIVE POSITIONS.
AGAINST THESE, FOR SEVEN MONTHS
PRIOR TO THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT,
THE U.S. SEVENTH AIR FORCE AS WELL
AS FAST CARRIER AIRCRAFT SQUADRONS
AND NAVAL SURFACE SHIPS DIRECTED
BOMBARDMENTS OF INCREASING FRE-
QUENCY AND INTENSITY.

ON 16 FEBRUARY 1945 UNITS OF THE
FIFTH FLEET BEGAN A CONCENTRATED
GUNFIRE AND AERIAL BOMBARDMENT
OF IWO JIMA WHILE THE FAST CARRI-
ERS, IN A COVERING ACTION, STRUCK
AT TARGETS IN JAPAN, THEN RETURNED
THREE DAYS LATER TO JOIN IN THE AT-
TACK. ON THE MORNING OF 19 FEBRU-
ARY, UNDER COVER OF A HEAVY BOM-
BARDMENT, THE FIFTH FLEET LANDED
THE 4TH AND STH MARINE DIVISIONS
ON THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF THE IS-
LAND, THE ENEMY REACTED VIOLENTLY,
POURING CONCENTRATED FIRE FROM
PREVIOUSLY UNDETECTED POSITIONS.
AS THE MARINES ADVANCED ACROSS
OPEN GROUND THEY WERE RAKED BY
HEAVY FIRE FROM THE HIGH GROUND
ON THE FLANKS, THE 4TH MARINE DIVI-
SION ON THE RIGHT SUFFERED SEVERE
CASUALTIES AND THE ESCORT CARRIER
BISMARCK SEA WAS SUNK OFF-SHORE BY
ENEMY AIR ATTACK.

BY THE END OF THE DAY THE MARINES
HAD FOUGHT THEIR WAY ACROSS THE
ISLAND AND HAD ISOLATED THE JAPA-
NESE ON MOUNT SURIBACHI FROM THE
MAIN FORCES IN THE NORTH. ON THE

FOLLOWING DAY OUR TROOPS CAPTURED
AIRFIELD NO, 1, THE 3D MARINE DIVI-

SION LANDED ON THE THIRD DAY.
AIRFIELD NO. 2 WAS REACHED ON 23

FEBRUARY. SIMULTANEOUSLY THE 5TH

DIVISION STORMED THE STEEP SLOPES

31