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Story of Copt. Wermuth, 'One-Man Army of BataanAmericans Were in Tough Spot, FalEing Back toMariveles with Japanese Pouring in More Troops1tM(Kditor'» n«*te; In th«* following article, f« urth In n wrifw wril-(•■n «*ilt;liilt;ilirl.i for litternatiotuil New* S|n»clal SrnlcT, ('apt. Arthur Ucrnuillr of ( hicagn continues hi* narratKe of the exploit* which earned him the* nl«knanx1! low st ton m in rtio f ce of non hlnelleft breast, the bullet driving afire, and the speed la not aoj!of Mlh« one-man taan.)army” of HasiII\t»►B\ lt;lit \flTIII It \U R.MI I II« WrHIrn ltrl«*%l%el% for IwtrrnationalNft»i *prr*at Hffvlfr.lWorld rf»pright, IMS, mil tight* reserved IMANILA lt;INS). — By Jan. 25,1 1942, we were in n tough spot. Thej Japs kept pouring troops in! against us and we fell back toMariveles. which with Pilar and Bagno formed our main resistance points.It was vital that we keep our I supply lines open between themj and to do so we had to retake Mount Pucat, which the Japs had seized from our Navv and were using as an observation post.‘Snljwrfc' Handle JobThe Second battalion of the 57th division (Philippine constabulary)jacked for my suicide snipers to handle the job. and I carefully se-i lected 100 of mv best men. all of whom knew what they were goingup against.Cniike fighting In the open riee-fields, which the Jsps hated because they knew it was easv forus. this was to he all jungle fighting. The Japs were specially trained for this kind of combat, and jnaturally liked it.On Jap, 29 we started out cau-itiouslv. picked our wav at every step through a dense jungle. Reform long, we began .tinning intoJaps, some entienched in the thick underbrush and some in trees.Often we were unable to get a shot at a treed Jap. who was well concealed and camouflaged with a clear field of fire for himself Sometimes we would climb another tree close by to get a chance fora shot.Sense of PerceptionI was ploughing through dense underbrush once when a Jap jump-led me He rushed in with a bayonet. It is strange how jungle fighting quickly develops a senseof perception. I don't believe he had taken more than one step be fore I felt his pres* nee, ratherthan saw or heard him.Whirling just in time to knock |aside his rifle. I then closed in with a left to the jaw. and down hewent.His first effort, I knew, would l*o to attempt to kick me in (ho groin, but I ga%e him no chanceand throw myself on him just like a football player trying to prevent the hall-earrler from crawling another inch.Stabbing him several times in thechest with my jungle knife, I killed him. He yelled something at me as he hit the ground, hut I couldn’t understand him Maybe he was cussing me. I didn't waste timeto find out.Reached Mount PucatDuring the next 30 hours weInched aonjr. killing 65 Japs without losing a man in hand-to-handfighting. Finally we reached Mount Pucat. surprised a small observation post which we wiped out with grenade and rifle fire.Our position grew more precarious e\er\ da. though, with a ne\i*r-**nding stream of .lap* crowding us. pood was getting scarce, men were growing slrk. unit the list of dead and wounded mounted daily. Wr were weakening while the .lap* grew stronger.February was an unforgettablv-tough month for us. and not toogood for me.We wanted to reach Anavasonpoint, where the Japs were holdingback our battalion We particularly wanted to get to the fur sideof a small stream — perhaps 35yards wide—where they had eever-gun great.Ur poured In our own fire,threwr grenades, stnd then rushed.h\en no, that Jap machine gmi got nfvrril of tis before sonic of the boy* c ached it and wiped out the crew*f. mvself, was shot through theDischargedpiece of rth into mv lung and ran*ing hemori hnges which lasted 10 da vs. That was on Feb 3.Someone carried me to a hospital where the doctors told methnt if I got hit anymore. I'd looklike a sieveM|pl»ed From HospitalThey tieated me wonderfully, hut f was healing rapidly and gettingimpatient to r turn to mv outfit(\%Ilt;»%. «n l*b 15. without risking r**r mission I slipped awa? from th#UctrtitiIm* Milton g1Chester A. Badger, former prl-% ate fird class of the \rm, h.tsreceived his discharge a.ter four years and 27 dap in th«* srr%ire and two %eur* over-cat*. He wears the American Defense Service medal with one br« rize star, the (mhkI Conduct medal, the (meriean theater campaign ribbon, the European and Medifcrrai t an theater ! ribbon with seven bronze stars. Heis the son of Mrs. ( . A. I4ad;;er of501 Fifth avenue and II * husband of the former Pauline S' lives with her parents Sixth street.hospital and rejoined the battalionwhich was hung up at Signal hill, between Mariveles and Bagac,I was very weak and eotild not do anything, hut at least I was with my own buddies. I n-less Inu’vr been a soldier yourself. you can't know how niuehthat means. I’ve seen many wounded fellows stageer miles Just to ef bael. to their own outfits, rather thanstranger*.On April 5, our whole regiment -or what was left of it went upTrail 10. back of Mount Humat, and two days later I had some more bad luck. Moving along the edge of a ravine I stumbled—I must have been weaker than I thought and plunged down the ravine. winding up with a crash against a big boulder.lt; ant tired in HospitalI thought I had torn out mv side , 1Buddies carried m* out and took f me to Hospital No. 2. where they found I had ruptured myself.I was still In bed there when the daps captured the hospital, moving big guns in and around the hos pita! area.Then. I knew despair.Copyi ight. 1S4.V by Ktn« Feature* SyndItI.-)Ii* Ni \ T: I tm *« a prkaatr IkN* One Man \rm» * kepi tap Hit htfit*%in* tartlet* Ordered (• build an airfield lie rlrierii ranttrneted It •* lt»*t Jimp eraefced mp ft-prated!* IXatwhotfttFirst Aid To SoreEyesLavoptikiSf.T. INCH \I ICIII.I \s|• ORANGE, Oct. 3. The paitment has advised Mt Vanpelt that her brother. Sgt. Alexander A. Ingram. has beenfiom a Japanese prison •amp.stop little local ee trouble* before theySet htg t’*e soothing pleasant lavoptik W lyttn n«n»*. Prompt relief for sore, itiflrn-sl itching. burning ee*» or mom refunded AI*o mcIHo pimib'fd Of-I lid*, Pralsad by thauwnd*. Kit t,avopfikt reed . tidn. »Fe-cup Included*. At ail drug-l»Wa r de-i. Grace• e; ,l* —Adv..al machine gun emplacements.I inali t.ot l*ermis«ionPermission was granted me toeliminate one gun which was particularly annoying So. once again.mv suicide snipers came foithNow. 35 yards is a very shortdistance. College sprintets cover it in less than four seconds. Buf trv rushing that far through a shal-* •nR PI r If (VT M0MI V7VIf the gardenia tt the nmboJ p*9 PM de I M%e has centre /# he
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Wed, Oct 03, 1945
Page 8
Full Page
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Anonymous
CO, USA 22 Dec 2019
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