Pushing the Japs back up the Sayre Highway. Note the Foot Soldiers with their rifle walking, along the roadside. This section of the Sayre Highway was in good shape that day.
The Japs in their retreat up the Sayre Highway blew up about 75 bridges. We could not move trucks or Artillery until bridges or by-passes were built. Many times we were lagging far behind our advancing troops This photo is of a Bailey Bridge which our Army Engineers could erect in a relatively short period of time. I believe they came in sections and were then put together.
Because of blown up bridges, after I went back with a truck convoy, I could not get back up to the troops on the Sayre Highway. I was routed with other convoys further west and passed by Lake Lanao where I made this picture.
Our convoys arrive in Iligan and I believe that we were among the first American soldiers to arrive here. The Japs had moved all of their troops to the Sayre Highway in a futile attempt to stall our drive.
Another Army Regiment had landed in the North and moved south toward Malaybalay. Our Regiment, the 124th, had been relieved from the lead by the 155th, another 31st Division Regiment a few days before meeting up with the troops coming down from the North. Now for the first time since our initial combat in New Guinea we had friendly troops between us and the enemy. However it’s not time to relax as the Japs attacked behind the lines that night and against our 2nd Battalion perimeter. The result they had 73 killed and we lost 2 men. This photo pictures some of the dead Japs.
he Army 24th Infantry Division came in just ahead of us and went east to Davao. We, Army 31st Infantry "Dixie" Division, went north up the Sayre Highway with my unit the 124th Infantry Regiment leading the fight all the way to Malaybalay. Part of my job as Regimental Motor Sergeant entailed leading truck convoys, such as the one in this Photo, over these dangerous mountain roads.
"Here is a part of the ship convoy as we approach Mindanao for our landing which I believe to be in the Parang area."
July 4th1945, was a day of celebration in Malaybalay. The war is not over yet but the towns and highway have been cleared and the beaten Japs have fled back into the remote mountains. This picture shows a part of the crowd on their way to the celebration.
The Japanese soldiers are loading on our trucks for a ride to a compound, where they will await transportation back to Japan. While there our American guards are not for the purpose of keeping them from escaping but rather to protect them from the Filipino people.
fter trucking the Japanese soldiers to a compound, my trucks next hauled food to them. In this photo they are shown unloading one of the trucks.
2. Combat Activities Aug/Sep 1944:
Arriving at Eniwetok Harbor on 24 Aug U.S.S. Bunker Hill (CVL-25) joined TG 38.2. On 6 Sep 1944 AG 18 launched its first fighter sweep and strike against the enemy at Palau.
From that time through 30 Sep, AG 18 attacked the following targets:
Davao, Mindanao
Matina, Mintal + Dalaio Fields, near Davao, Mindanao
Visayas: Leyte, Samar, Cebu, Negros
Peleliu (Air Support)
Anguar (Air Support)
Luzon: Clark Airfield, Manila Bay, Subic Bay, San Fernando (La Union)
Calamian Group: Coron Bay, Busuanga
3. Target Coron Bay:
On 23 Sep reports from Combat Air Patrol (CAP) missions revealed unusual enemy activities in the Calamian Island Group, south-west of Mindoro. AG 18 and AG 19 each received orders to equip 12 Curtiss SB2C-3 "Helldiver" bombers with wing tanks and to send them out on a fighter-bomber attack on Japanese shipping in and around Coron Bay. The planes from AG 18 were to carry two 500-pound bombs each. The planes of AG 19 carried a single 1,000 pound / 454 kg bomb. These "Helldivers" were the latest models already fitted with the APG-4 automatic low-level bombing system. In the dive bombing role these planes dove at their target until they had the ship centered in their Mark VIII gunsight and released their bomb(s) at 2,000 feet (600 m.) altitude. 96 F6F "Hellcat" fighters were ordered for this attack. Some were to provide fighter escort and some were armed with bombs to attack the shipping. As a "fighter bomber" the F6Fs would also dive on their target and center it in their gunsight before releasing their bomb. AG 31 was one of the units ordered to provide fighter escort. The sortie was to cover a chart distance of 350 miles. The aircraft were to fly completely across the Philippines from their carriers patrolling east of Leyte to Coron Bay, Palawan.
a. VB-18 of AG 18:
Mark Zalick led AG 18`s bomber group VB-18. Taking off at dawn, they surprised 15 Japanese ships in the Bay, the Coron Passage and just west of Coron Island. Ships ranged in size from small freighters to 15,000 ton tankers. Upon teaming up to take on the ships they were dispersed as follows (as Mark Zalick recalled):
i) between Tangat and Lusong Islands:
1 x destroyer (DD) or destroyer escort (DE);
2 x 10,000 ts supply ships (AG);
2 x 5,000 ts supply ships (AG);
3 medium-sized supply ships (AG).
ii) between Lusong and Lajo Islands:
2 destroyers (DD);
1 auxiliary oiler (AO);
1 gunboat (PG).
iii) west of Lajo Island:
2 destroyers (DD) or destroyer escorts (DE)
iv) in Coron Passage:
1 x 7,000-8,000 ts supply ship (AG)
v) west of Coron Island:
3 Subchasers (SC)
b. VB-19 of AG 19:
Commander R. McGowan led AG 19's bombing squadron VB 19 on this raid. Twelve SB2Cs took off but two had to return to the ship. One bomber had engine trouble and another had a fuel system malfunction and couldn't draw fuel from its' external wing tanks. Only 10 of the squadron's planes made the 332 mile flight to Busuanga Island.
Commander McGowan's after-action report stated, "Due to attacks already begun in Coron Bay, and orders from the leader of the entire strike from another air group, this flight attacked targets described herein."
TA-AK Single Stack of 10,000 to 12,000 tons
TB-AK 7,000 to 9,000 tons
TB-AK 7,000 to 9,000 tons
"The ten planes on this flight dived upon the three AK's described above. There is some doubt as to which planes attacked which targets, but more planes attacked the large single stack TA-AK than the other two. The three ships were almost line abreast in a small harbor on the north side of Busuanga Island in the northern part of the Calamian Group. The only photographic evidence available in the ship's photographs is a K20 picture which was taken from either the fifth or sixth plane to dive and does not therefore show all of the bomb hits."
"Interrogation reveals a hit on the port side of the single stack TA-AK, and there were three or more very near misses on this ship, and a fire started on the port side near the outer railing topside near the center of the ship. A very near miss while strafing in a dive also showed damage with a small fire to a TB-AK, also on the port side at about the same position. The hit upon the TA-AK was believed to be the bomb of Lieutenant L. R. Swanson."
Editor's Comment: The After Action Report of VB-19 states that due to difficulties with dropping their external fuel tanks which had previously been encountered they elected to dive on these ships while still carrying the external tanks. The tanks interfered with their ability to hit their targets, otherwise, there might be three wrecks down on the north side of Busuanga instead of just Kyokuzan Maru.
