The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-05-28
FIGHT
 RANGES NEAR MANILA BOUNDS
BY FRANK H. BARTHOLOMEW
 United Press War Correspondent

BY FRANK H. BARTHOLOMEW
 United Press War Correspondent
 Wawa, Luzon, May 28-(UP) -l We found our way into this ruined town on foot today behind four tanks driving up the canyon of the Marikina where the fight to re- capture the last of the three dams which provide Manila's water sup ply is nearing a climax.
 When action broke off at night fall our tanks were still in lively battle with Japanese gun positions on each side of the canyon wall. The deep gorge was blanketed with artillery smoke and because the Japanese still were fighting stub- bornly it was necessary to pull our tanks back to a position of over- night safety.
 Today's action was fought only 20 miles east of Manila where the pleasant Marikina Valley narrowS into a canyon. Its head is penned between two perpendicular hills. These form the abutments of Wawa dam.
 Blu the other dams of the Manila water system, Ipo and Novaliches, already are in our hands.
 Today Maj Gen. William c. Chase, Fl Paso, Tex, commanding the 38th Division undertook to brink the Wawa battle to a head.
 We went up the canyon in two jeeps. The party included Chase, Brig. Gen. Robert H. Soule, Wash ihgton, D. C., assistant division commander, Col. William E. Lobit, Galveston, Tex, commander Of the 151st Infantry, Col. Alexander Kirby, Louisville, Ky, Maj. Peyton Hoge, Louisville, Ky, and Lieut.. Pat Murphy, New York City.
 At bend in the river where the Japanese had blown out the over- hanging road, we got out of the jeeps. The terrain here looked like the Merced river highway approach ing Yosemite National Park in Cal ifornia.
 On a sandbar in the Marikina river were four Sherman tanks which had detoured around the mine crater and were waiting for a bulldozer to finish ramp so they could ascend the bank and get back on the narrow highway.
 He went forward until stopped by the lively fire of a Japanese 20 nm gun dead ahead. The gun was mounted on a wheeled sledge and was firing from cave on our side of the river, just below WaWa Dam.
 The gun was supported alternate ly by the automatic fire of hidden Nambu and desultory firing by in- dividual snipers. They were work ing out on three platoons of our in- fantry which were cautiously push ing up both slopes of the canyon.
 We were dusted off with a little attention ourselves and ceased ad- vancing until the tanks caught up.
 Rain fell suddenly, drenching the troops, and adding thunder to the roar of cannonfire While we waited for the rain to stop rifleman came up the road from the rear He was Charles Starke, Sudan, Tex, who said he had built ships in the Kaiser yards at Richmond, Cal, before go- ing into the army.
 He went ahead with five other riflemen under the protection of the tanks to clean out the Japanese sniperS.
 The tanks numbered up. They were named, in declining order of nicety, Miss Charlotte, Miss Woodbridge, Muleshow and Bastard. Starke and his fellow riflemen followed behind the tanks. It appeared to this cor as though the narrow road up the narrowing canyon would be a poor place for tanks be- cause of the initiating Japanese fire from each canyon wall.
 But the scrappy 38th Division knows it's Japanese. The tanks rounded a bend that brought them under pointblank fire from the en- emy but tok the initiative and shot up every visible gun position and cave on both sides
 When the initial barrage ceased and the Japanese were temporarily silent, our party moved on forward. We passed an increasing quantity of wrecked cars, some on the bank and some in the river. The num- ber increased until we could see hundreds of them as we entered Wawa. Many were of expensive makes and late American models.
 It appeared that when the Japs fled Manila they rounded up every available car to cart out ammunition, troops and supplies.
 Fighting a rear guard action up the canyon, the Japanese had come to a point where they could retreat no farther because of the dam blocking the canyon. So their motor pool had been turned into a sham bles by our air and artillery fire.
 Beyond WaWa in the gorge our four tanks ran into a concentrated Japanese fire. It was impossible from the high ground in this wreck ed town to determine what damage, if any, had been sustained but all four tanks appeared to. be still in action after the smoke of explosions had filled the canyon from brim to brim.
 That ended visibility for the day and as we went back We could hear the tanks beginning a cautious withdrawal for the night under cover of darkness.