Evening star., 1942-02-16
Chicoeoon Kills 116 Jops, Captures Many More
Wins 3 Awards Fighting Alongside Fi|ipinos
BY CLARK LEE,

| w BuBS NV - - -
BY CLARK LEE, I
Associated Press War CORRESPONDENT.
WITH GEN. MACARTHUR ON
THE BATAAN PENINSULA, Feb. Is
OelayeO Capt. Arthur w. Wer-
muth Of Chicago, who has killed 116
Japanese and captured many more,
is Americas No. one-man army
to his fellow officers Of the 57th
Filipino Scout Regiment.
He absolutely accounted" for at
least 116 Japanese with his As
caliber tommy-gun and Garond
rifle, his fighting companions said
today.
He has won the Silver Star for
gallantry, the Distinguished Service
Cross for extraordinary heroism,
and the Purple Heart with two
clasps.
Thrice wounded, he spent over
two weeks in January more behind
the Japanese lines than the Ameri-
can lines. He has led 80 many enc
my attacks and prepared the way
for American counterattacks.
I had been trying to locate Capt.
Wermuth for three weeks, but when
I went to the front, he was In the
hospital. When I went to the hos
pital, he had returned to the front.
I finally located him today, just out
of the hospital and on his way to
battle. At dinner, got part Of his
story and other officers gave me the
rest.
Fearless Fighter.
Capt. Wermuth fights the war like
he played football for Northwestern
Military Academy at Lake Geneva,
Wis.-fearlessly and for keeps. This
190-pounder with Van Dyke beard
is perfectly at home in the Bataan
mountains where he has spent many
years. He knew life in the open
before he saw Bataan. His late
father owned q ranch near Rapid
City, S. Oak.
His companion on many Of his
adventures is foot l, 210-pound
Corpl. Crispin (Jock) Jacob. half
Filipino. Capt. Wermuth and Jock
would give their lives for each
other.
Capt. Wermuth first went on war
patrol on January 6 when the 57th
was holding the right flank Of the
Bataan front. He volunteered and
sneaked through several thousand
japanese to relieve an outpost cut
of from the American lines.
He led the outpost back to new
positions and five days later volun-
teered for q lone reconnaissance
patrol. He got behind the Japan
ese front lines into a foxhole when
long line of Japanese crossed
ridge a short distance ahead.
II worked them over with my
tommy-gun and got at least 80 like
ducks in a Coney Island shooting
gallery" he said.
Five Filipino scouts patrolling q |
nearby road heard the shooting and
joined Capt. Wermuth. Together
they killed so or so more Of the
enemy.
The following day with marine, |
Carl Sheldon, who was visiting the
front lines on pass, and q few |
scouts, Capt Wermuth crowled $500 |
yards through the enemy lines into |
the foothills and located nearly $50 |
Japanese in bivouac.
Captured Jap Captain.
He sent a runner back to notify q
oVf911nru hoffAYU Cont 1
Wermuth and Sheldon crawled
back a little, and the big American |
guns poured high explosives square,
ly into the bivouac. Returning to |
his lines, Sheldon wounded a jap
anese officer. They left him for
dead. g
I'VE were crawling away when
Sheldon called, Captain, Captain,
come here I looked over the knoll |
and there was a Japanese field
kitchen just below us, but luckily |
they hadn't heard U.s." Capt. Wer-
muth related.
1T was time to leave so We crawled |
into a trench and there we saw the
japanese officer still alive and limp
ing slowly. I threw up the tommy
gun at him. It was empty, but I |
didn't know it until I glanced at |
the clip.
Il shouted, Sheldon, come here
and get the gun on him. Sheldon
did"
The two returned with q captain
as prisoner.
In Capt. Wermuth's diary you
read that nothing much happened"
Crawling on patrol, he got a
sniper's slug in his knee, but he
walked back to the dressing station.
"Snipers are beginning to be a
bad nuisance to all of U.s." he said.
On January II he volunteered to
burn the enemy-held town of Samal.
He crawled through the Japanese
lines before dawn with five gallons |
of gasoline and walked behind the |
shacks where the japanese were |
sleeping. He sprinkled the gasoline
and threw a lighted match.
"1 scrammed because their artil- |
lery gave me only five minutes after |
they saw the first smoke" he said.
He was 200 yards beyond the
three block square town when jap
anese guns opened up from the
other side.
THAT was one of my lucky days."
he smiled.
Formed Anti-Sniper Unit.
Capt. Wermuth formed suicide |