The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-05-29
BY LEE G. MILLER

MANILA - (by Wireless) -
had returned to Manila about noon
after two weeks at sea, ready for
little rest. Uh huh. By nightfal]
l was jeeping through rain to the
43rd Division which was fighting
Japs only an hours ride from Ma
Mia. Lieut.. Bill Robinson talked me
into it against my better judgment.
Some miles from our destination
we had to switch off the jeep' S
lights and drive blind, lest Jap
artillery observers on high ground
get curious. From time to time we
would use dim hashlight to feel
for the roadside.
When we reached camp it was
so dark the driver could barely
find our tent by following white
lines stretched out along the ground
Some 155 nm. guns were blasting
away nearby, and continued inter-
n.ittently all night.
In the morning it developed there
wouldn't be a whole lot to see
after all this day. But Maj. Gen.
Leonard F. Wing, of Rutland, W,
briefed us on his maps, there uncer
the coffee and mango trees, and we
decided the best bet was to look
in on his 103rd Regiment.
The regimantal commanding Of
ficer turned out to be Col. Joseph
P. Cleland, of Omaha. who looks
like a West Pointer and is one
class of '25-Colonel Cleland has
white hair and mustache and was
surprised to learn he was only my
age-43.
I'm an old-looking young man,
he said. The Colonel looks lot un-
like a younger Fritz Kreisler.
Well, he took me and Russ Brines
in his jeep, and we drove alon :
newly made road as far as the
road went.
Then we walked. 1t was hellisnly
hot, and our path was just a trace
flattened in 10-foot high grass" by
infantrymen who had moved up
during the night to take another
hill on the way to Ipo Dam, which
the Japs still held.
Filipino laborers, hired to carry
water cans forward, were squat
ting by the dozens along the trail.
The Colonel would call out to them
as we passed, Lets get going with
that water. The men are thirsty
up there Some of the CARRIERS
got to their feet all right, but
others just stared.
Here and there we passed groups
of soldiers resting briefly, some OF
them intently reading mail that
had just been brought up. The Col
onel paused from time to time to
ask question or to issue an order.
Finally we reached the brow of
hill from which he wanted to look
at his forward positions on a ridge
beyond, occupied during the night
with little resistance. l sat down
and painted.
We retraced our steps through
the towering grass. The Colonel
stopped to talk business with Can't
Don Lichteig, of Wesley, Ia. ex-
ecutive officer of Cleland's second
battalion and according to the Colo
mel first-rate soldier.
We got back to our ieep, and bv
now a bulldozer had extended the
road little further through the
virgin grass, but we headed back.
Get that road scraper up here.
the Colonel told soldier. Tell him
one good pass at this road will
save it if it rains again"
We passed an MP, and the Colo.
mel told him to move on up to the
enc of the road and let the traffic
move as far as it could 90 He
tagged bulldozer ard told the
driver to doze turnaround along
the roadside to facilitate traffic
Artillery was moving up now.
There we're other hills to be taken
and nobody was sure where the
Japs might make stand.