Courtesy Photo | All that remains of the 1st Platoon, Company F, 145th Infantry after a 25-day fight on...... read more read more
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In April 1945, the 37th Infantry Division was nearing the end of its monthlong rest and recuperation period following the difficult campaign to liberate the City of Manila. While the majority of the Buckeye Division had moved north to bolster the attack on the city of Baguio, the 145th Infantry had remained in Manila and was assigned to the Provost Marshall General of the Philippines. The troops were used to control traffic, protect public and private property by preventing looting and in general police duties.
This mission came to an end on April 15, 1945, when the regiment was attached to the 6th Infantry Division, then operating north of Manila in the Mariquina Watershed area. The following day, the 145th Infantry relieved the 20th Infantry on the left flank of the division and was ordered to attack and seize a hill mass that was a key terrain feature held by the Japanese Army along their Shimbu Line.
The mass, known as Mount Pacawagan, was described as a horseshoe-shaped football stadium that was 4,000 feet long and 3,500 yards wide, rising at the north end 1,500 feet above the valley floor. The rise was sloped at 60-degree angle. Directly east of Pacawagan was Mount Binicayan, with Sugar Loaf Mountain to the south. All three mountains were composed of large rock outcroppings, sheer rock cliffs and natural caves, and were separated by deep gorges.
Additionally, the Japanese forces had turned the mountain into a series of heavily constructed bunkers, caves, tunnels and communication trenches that provided mutually supporting fields of fire with rifles, machine guns, mortars and artillery. From this redoubt, the well supplied enemy planned for a long, determined stand, with the intent to counterattack into Manila and drive the Americans into the sea.
The attack by the 145th Regiment Combat Team, consisting of the 145th Infantry, 135th Field Artillery Battalion and a combat engineer company from the 117th Engineer Battalion, began at 2 a.m. April 21. On a pitch-black moonless night, the 1st and 3rd Battalions crossed 5,000 yards of open terrain and forded a river to reach the base of the mountain in just over two hours. At 5 a.m., an hourlong artillery barrage lifted, and the Soldiers began to claw their way up towards the top. As daylight emerged, the Japanese fire accelerated. By late afternoon, both battalions had reached their objective: the summit of the mountain. A last desperate struggle connected the two battalions just as darkness fell. A mission that had failed twice before and was planned as a weeklong operation was accomplished by the 145th Infantry in one day.
For the next five days the Soldiers fought bravely, with successes measured in inches and feet. Japanese mortar and artillery fire pounded the Buckeyes, both day and night.
“The days that followed were rough,” wrote Staff Sgt. Hubert Ray Willey of Company K. “We lost men every day. One night we were heavily shelled, and the Japs tried to infiltrate. We fought all night. A 150 mm mortar shell buried itself in the dirt at the edge of my foxhole. Thank God! It was a dud. The next day Sgt. Johnson came to check on us. He expressed surprise that we were still alive. He told me he thought we all would be dead.”
Soldiers from Anti-Tank and Service Companies, augmented by native Filipinos, hand carried food, water and ammunition up the mountain across paths under Japanese observation and fire. On their return trips, the men then carried dead and wounded down the mountain. Engineers were eventually able to level a trail to a nearby summit that permitted the movement of supplies to the top via trucks and tractors. The engineers also drug several M7 gun motor carriages from the regiment’s Cannon Company to a spot where they could counter the Japanese artillery with their 105 mm howitzers.
A pitched battle under the light of a bright moon on April 30 gave the Buckeyes the crest and central gorge of the mountain, but three more days of fighting were required to clear the entire hill mass. From their victory on Mount Pacawagan, the regiment assaulted and captured the town of Wawa and then turned to the bitterly defended Mount Binicayan and Sugar Loaf Mountain. Ten days were needed to complete the mission. As each cave and bunker were eliminated, the enemy became more fanatical and violent.
“Methodically, the rock crevices and the cliffs were overcome as even the fierce tenacity of the desperate Japanese could not stop the inspired and intelligent application of infantry weapons, infantry tactics and infantry guts by the 145th.” wrote the author of the official history of the 37th Infantry Division in World War II.
The intense 25-day fight took its toll on the Buckeyes. Companies were functioning as platoons and battalions were used as companies. The full strength of a World War II infantry regiment was roughly 3,200 Soldiers. On the last day of the fight, the 145th Infantry mustered 1,566 men, with most suffering from sickness and exhaustion. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who was in command of all land forces in the Pacific theater, referred to the struggle of the 145th Infantry as “the bitterest in the Philippines.”
“When we withdrew to Quezon City for R&R (rest and recuperation leave), it was like a graveyard, it was so quiet. No noise, no talking, just quiet,” wrote Company F veteran Bernard L. Patterson in 1996. “On the third day, the outfit came back to life.”
The 145th losses were 100 killed and 476 wounded in taking the mountains. Four Soldiers received the Distinguished Service Cross and 39 Soldiers earned the Silver Star for their heroism and valor. An additional Silver Star was earned by an officer in the 135th Field Artillery Battalion who was serving as a forward observer. Over 1,300 casualties were inflicted on the Japanese in direct infantry action. The Buckeyes destroyed major elements of five Japanese battalions, three machine gun companies, two medium mortar battalions and elements of 19 other enemy units.
| Date Taken: | 04.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2025 09:07 |
| Story ID: | 495739 |
| Location: | PH |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Infantry weapons, infantry tactics and infantry guts: 80th anniversary of the 145th Infantry attack of Mount Pacawagan, by Joshua Mann, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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