Evening star., 1945-10-11
Wainwright Tells Of Hiring Commercial Buses
To Move North Luzon Forces in Invasion
Continued From First Page,

in time to two planes. Throughout
the whole coming campaign our
fighters were used mainly for recon-
naissance. There weren't enough of
them to fight the enemy.
The rest of December was spent
in telephoning MacArthur's head
quarters and working at the job of
getting all the personnel of my
command at Stotsenburg under as
much cover as was available. The
26th Cavalry was moved from its
barracks and stables and camped in
a nearby woods. The horses of the
pack battery also were led to SIM
liar shelter. The men of the pack
battery stayed at their gun positions
in front of headquarters.
Used Passenger Buses.
And that day started to get some
transportation for the North Luzon
force. 1t was transportation of a
laughable kind, though not at the
time. I hired number of ordinary
passenger buses from two COM
mercial firms, which eventually
helped us in the long and heart
breaking withdrawal into Bataan.
I rented and bought smaller cars,
too, for staff work, administration
and couriers. When diligent efforts
failed to unearth additional cars to
rent or buy, sent junior officers out
on the roads and we got those cars
by stopping them and requisitioning
them on the spot. was sorry about
that, but our main chance of sur
vival depended on our mobility.
That sensed, on top of sensing that
Macarthur would be able to send
me few Of the supplies requested in
the list which Johnny Pugh, my
aide, had carried to Manila.
On December 9, MacArthur's chief
signal officer, Brig. Gen. Aiken, came
to Stotsenburg to inquire what I
needed in the way of communication
equipment. My own signal officer,
Josh Stansell, semiexplosively pulled
out of his pocket a carbon copy of
an unanswered requisition he had
sent in to MacArthur's headquarters
some time before.
Can't Do Much.
Gen. Aiken looked through it and
shook his head. He handed 1t back.
1--WE can't do very much for you,"
he said. You'll have to improvise."
So as of December 9 we had only
the public telephone and telegraph
system for our communications, and
our borrowed and appropriated
transport system ranged from lop-
sided buses to sports convertibles. |
We had no Navy and no air force
beyond the reconnaissance P-40s. All |
five of my divisions were still mobi-
lizing. The 26th Cavalry, my pack
battery and Philippine Scouts outfits
were the only efficient combat units
we had.
I drove up to Lingayen Gulf the
next day, the 10th, to inspect the
beach defenses of the 11th and 21st
Divisions. A number of Jap planes
shot over us on the way. going south
as we went north. But we were not |
molested. 1t seemed like a good
omen at the time, but when I got |
back to Stotsenburg that night I
knew where the bombers I saw
earlier in the day had gone. aIy
post was half-wrecked.
Worse, the bombers had sighted
that part of the 26th Cavalry as
signed to guard against paratroop
landings and had wiped out a
distressing number of men and
horses, including some of my only
seasoned men.
All Of them and their mounts
would have been smashed II Col.
Qater Brig. GEM Clinton A. Pierce,
a great little fighter from Brook
lyn, had not seen to it that part
of the 26th stayed in the woods.
It is hard to see a man die. But
for cavalryman 1t Is almost equally
hard to see gallant horse die.
The 26th lived to see them all
die. one by one.
Struck at Aparri.
The Japs invaded the Philippines
on December IL, 1941. They struck
and landed at little Aparri, on the
northern tip of Luzon, and on the
far southeastern coast of the Bicol
Peninsula at Legaspi. I was back
at Lingayen Gulf that day and
when I got my report from Aparri,
which was the landing which con-
cerned the North Luzon force, I
decided to let them land.
They were feinting at Aparri.
They had hit it with reinforced
brigade of about 5000 men, attempt
ing to pull some of my forces up
to that point and weaken the al
ready weak defense in the Lingayen
Gulf region.
Besides, I knew that the only way
south from Apart was down the
Cayagan Valley. I had a battalion
in the Belete Pass at the base of the
valley and dug in we'll enough to
stop fairly considerable force NOV
ing down that Way, So I made no