Evening star., 1943-06-09

road headed straight north, through
level rice fields. Up on the right
loomed Mount Arayat, with the
mountains of Zambales on the left.
That was the country of the tiny
Negritos, whose king had brought in
three trussed-up Japanese aviators
to Stotsenberg few days before and
had sworn blood feud against the
enemy.
Those mountains looked reassur-
ing. THE Japs can't land on the
west coast there and climb over
those mountains" I said. They'll
have to come right down the middle
from Lingayen, through this fiat
country and the plains of Panga-
sinan Province, and squarely into
our defenses."
The Filipinos along the road had
heard news of the landing at Lin
gayen and they apparently thought
we were reinforcements for the
front, because they waved at us
and held up their hands, with their
first two fingers separated in the "
for-Victory sign. There were Fill
pino sentries every few miles along
the road, and air raid wardens In
each village. Numerous times they
stopped us by blowing whistles, and
we got under the trees or sheltered
in bitches as Jap planes passed over
head. The Japs strafed various parts
OF the road throughout the day, but
we missed all the attacks.
In an hour and half we reached
Tarlac, capital of Tarlac Province
and the biggest Luzon city north of
Manila. We drove down the wide
main street and I telephoned Cronin
from the Tarlac exchange. All the
other public phones along the road
had been closed, and most of the
buildings in Tarlac, like those in the
villages, were boarded and closed.
THE telephone lines to the north
have been cut, but I'm going on up"
I told Ray. You probably won't
hear from me for a few days, but
I'll get the story as soon as pos
sible. Where we go will depend on
how things look ahead Well prob
ably spend the night in Baguio. I've
always wanted to see it,"
"Okay, but you better look out"
Ray said. "Baguio is past our ex-
treme right flank. Army communi-
cations seem to have broken down
and We have no news here up to
now"
We drove on, expecting momen-
tarlly to come to our third lines. I
expected to see trenches like those
in France in World War I. But
there were no lines and only few
sentries. One of them stopped us a
few miles north of Tarlac and we
showed him our press cards and
went on. wondering now when we
would come to our second line.
Cars from the north were speed
ing down the road. We saw one
that had stopped to repair a fiat
tire and went over to talk. An
American woman, with a baby in
her arms, was weeping. I'VE went
up to Baguio when the war started"
she said, thinking we would be safe.
But they have been bombing all
around us. Last night we heard the
noise of big guns over at Lingayen
Gulf, all night long. This morning
the Japs bombed Camp John Hay
at Bagulo again. We seem to be
surrounded. What shall we do?" I
advised her husband to keep going
until he got to Manila.
Trucks were loaded with beds and
chairs and all the people who could
crowd aboard. Filipino families told
us they had seen the Jap ships in
Lingayen Gulf that morning and the
planes had come over and many
people had been killed in Lingayen
City and the other towns along the
south shore. We treasured them.
Our Army is fighting them now.
Within short time you will be back
in your homes"
Traffic to the north was sparse
and we noticed that the nearer we
got to Lingayen, the slower it was
moving. Travelling fast, we over
took few jeeps and Army trucks
and motorcycle riders. Some of the
occupants were Americans.
Approaching the gulf at about 5
in the afternoon we reached a fork
in the road. The hand road led
out of De Mortis, miles away
on Lingayen Gulf. The right-hand
one went to Baguio We could see
the waters of the gulf, but no ships.
The Japs were further over to the
west. An American soldier rode up
and stopped his motorcycle.
Those Japs are pretty smart" he
said. They made feint at landing
on the south shore of Lingayen,
where we have strong defenses. Then
they sent their main forces along the
eastern beach from De Mortis, over
here to Bauang. which is about 20
miles north. The 26th Cavalry is
fighting them a couple of miles up
this left-hand road" He advised us
to turn back and then rode on,
slowly, toward the fighting We had
about two hours of daylight left and
had to decide fast
Juan wanted to take the soldiers
advice. Carlos was neutral Lets
go on up to Baguio, where head
quarters for this area are located"
said, land find out what the score
is. wanted to see Baguio, and this
might be my last chance. Well
have a good sleep in the cool air
and get going in the morning"
Juan objected. But the Japs NAV
cut this road in the night"
said, Hell, amigo, they are fight
ing the American Army now and the
American Army will hold them on
the beach forever. Hirohito's boys
will die right where they land"
Copyright 1943, by Clark Lee; the vik-
ing Press)
CONTINUED tomorrow
Miss Mary Wheeler to Speak
Mary Kate Wheeler, member