Evening star., 1945-05-20
Marine Runs for More
Grenades as Mates
Throw Rocks al Japs

"a, OF 5ll9 Illinois avenue NV
member of a four man demolition
squad that killed eight Japs in
skirmish in the northern hills O
Two Jima, told a Marine Corps com
bat correspondent how his squa,
threw rocks at the enemy when the,
ran out of grenades.
-Four Nips had been accounted fo
with rifle fire, and the Marine
moved down the hill to close in fo
the final kill when a barrage O
Jap grenades drove them back.
While I raced back for mor'
ammo" said Pvt. Sehweizer, 9Th,
gang kept the Japs busy by hurting
rocks every time the Nips left theil
hole to throw a grenade"
Pvt. Schweizer returned before
the Japs could take advantage Of
the situation, and the squad usee
a satchel charge to close the mouth
-Four Jap fighter planes came out
of the sun to surprise Marine 1st 1t
Edwarad L. Abner, %, of n Daring
ton street S.W. Two limped home.
1t. Abner was on routine patro
so miles northwest of Okinawa
when four fighters came down.
string of tracers across his wing
was his first indication the Japs
were present. After chasing the
first plane that dove at him for
20 miles, the Marine pilot hit the
Nip in the cockpit and he went down
The second Jap on his tail was be-
ing trailed by Navy Corsair flying
IN from a carrier. The Jap fired
once at 1t Abner as he went by,
then dived straight for the sea. The
Marine and Naval Air Corpsmen
had fired almost simultaneously, ex-
ploding the Jap ship in midair.
A 100-yard dash through enemy
fire with 75-pound hump on his
back is old stuff to Pfc. Gerald M.
Dufficy. 3742 Twelfth street NE. He
is mortar man of the 185th Regi-
ment, 40th Infantry Division, clear
ing caves and enemy strong points
in Northern Negros. Each man in a
mortar platoon carries an average
of IS pounds of mortar equipment,
plus ammunition and a full field
pack.
Ensign r. A. Smith, U. S. N R.,
1920 South Thirty sixth street,
Arlington, survived the recent crash
of his Hellcat fighter plane and was
rescued after six hours in the water
aboard a rubber raft, according to
the Navy Department.
Flying his fighter in the Western
Pacific, Ensign Smith made forced
landing after an engine failure. His
plane sank almost Immediately. His
division leader, however, was
circling overhead and dropped a
raft. 1t hit the water within 25
yards of the flyer. Another plane
later dropped a rescue kit.
A District PIT squadron officer
who trekked through dense Philip
pine Island jungles to spy on and
report enemy barge hideouts was re-
sponsible for the destruction of
scores of these vessels by 7th Fleet
PIT boats, the Navy revealed.
1t. William T. Tarrant, jr.. 27. of
2230 California street NV, was
dropped off on Cebu Island Feb
ruary a. He hiked north of Cebu
City and from ridge above the
lagoon, then famous as barge con-
centration center, observed while
shells from PIT boats landed on
their targets.
Later he landed at Catman, 30
miles north of Cebu City. and spent
two days in the hills with guerrilla
forces gathering data on another
barge rendezvous.
1t. Col. Joseph T. Kingsley, ir.,
Falls Church. Va, helps keep the
Super Fortresses flying over Tokyo.
He commands Liberty ship con-
verted into floating B-29 repair
shop. The ship, now in the Mari
anas may proceed to any newly
captured island where its facilities
are needed. rCol. Kingsley's father,
q major retired from the Army, has
an office in the Mills Building.
Maj. William l.. Porte, Chevy
Chase, Md, commanded troops in
two days of the bloodiest fighting
In all the bloody battle for Cebu-
the mission to take Hill 21-accord-
ing to a dispatch from the Americal
Division. Five officers and rs men
survived out of two rife companies.
1t. John P. Galbraith. %. of 1904
Woodbury. street, Silver Spring, Md,
shot down an enemy fighter plane
and destroyed two others on the
ground in the first AAF strike
against the japanese island of
Honshu, an Associated Press dis
patch from Two Jima reported. He
piloted one of large force of Two
Jima- based Mustangs.
1t. d. g. Charles f. Weickhardt,
ir., 1899 Forty fifth place Sc, shot
down a japanese torpedo bomber
near the Japanese mainland during
recent American feet attacks
against the island empire, the Navy
announced. 1t. Weickhardt in
tercepted the enemy bomber in
an attempt to bomb and strafe a
destroyer of the United States Car
rier Force and scored his kill after
a short chase, The enemy planes
gunner was picked up and taken
as prisoner of war. For his action,
the lieutenant was recommended for
q Gold Star in lieu of a second Air
Medal.
A dangerous reconnaissance
mission on Caballo Island, a few
miles off Corregidor, was success
fully carried out by platoon of the
l5lst Infantry, 18th Division, sew
eral days before the initial landing
on the strong point One of the
men was Pfc. George H. Ager, 34O0
Dent place NV.
Sergt, Charles De Ladurantaye,
1909 Lawrence street NE, landed
with assault elements of the 38th
Infantry Division at Zambales, near
SUbic Bay, Luzon, on January 2e
and served as surgical technician
through the battle of Zig Tag Pass