Columbus WWII Round Table

First-Person Accounts

Southwest Pacific Theater

ARMY AIR FORCES || ARMY

ARMY AIR FORCES

Philippine Island (The Fall of Bataan, 1942)--Army Air Force--by John A. Ryan, 2d Lt.
Ryan indicates that his air squadron was essentially eliminated on the first day of the Japanese attack on the Philippines and his unit fought as grounded airmen. Ryan describes his feelings about this experience and provides a detail description of the American and Philippine troops that were available to defend Bataan. He provides a detailed description of his experiences in the Japanese prisoner of war camp.

B-24s in the Southwest Pacific--531st Squadron, 380th Bomb Group--by Joseph H. Wells, S/Sgt.
Wells was a gunner on a B-24 crew which assembled at Boise, Idaho. When assigned to the southwest Pacific, the crew flew from San Francisco to Brisbane, Australia by way of Honolulu, Canton Island, Fiji and New Caledonia. The 380th Bomb Group was under command of the Royal Australian Air Force. Wells describes the various targets of his units including Timor, Java, Celebes Island, Borneo, Halamheras, Ceram, Kai Islands, New Guine, Paupa, Admiralty Islands and New Britain. He also describes in detail a mission against Balikpapan, Borneo, called the Ploesti of the Pacific. This mission took sixteen hours and forty-five minutes.

ARMY

Bouganville Campaign--129th Infantry Regiment--37th Infantry Division--by W. Wallace Stover, lst Lt.
Lt. Stover was commissioned in the U.S. Army Reserve after completing ROTC at Ohio State in June 1938. He entered active duty in May 1941 and was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division. The action described by Stover took place in November 1943 when the U.S. Marines landed at Empress Augusta Bay and established a small beachhead. A few days later the 37th Infantry Division came ashore. Lt. Stover led a combat patrol to establish an outpost about fifteen miles, and he describes this action in detail. Also included in the description is the action of Fijian troops led by New Zealand officers and NCOs.

An Island Landing in the South Pacific--129th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division--by Wallace Stover, 1st Lt.
The action described b Lt. Stover took place in August 1943 when the regiment was stationed on Esprito Santo in the New Hebrides. The regiment was ordered to send a reinforced platoon to investigate a possible invasion by the Japanese on the island of Uptupa in the Santa Cruz group. Lt. Stover led this patrol, investigated the island and describes in detail these experiences.

192d Tank Battalion-Philippines 1941--by John Rowland, Sgt.
Rowland was drafted in January 1941, received basic training at Fort Knox, and was assigned to the 192d Tank Battalion, a former National Guard formation. This unit arrived in the Philippines 20 November 1941. The 192d was sent north to the Lingayen Gulf and retreated into Bataan about 1 January 1942. Rowland describes the action on Bataan, the surrender and his participation in the "Death March." He was taken as a prisoner to Formosa, and Fuszn, Korea. He arrived in Mukden, Manchria in November 1942. He describes his work in a tool and die factory in Mukden from 1942 until 1945. Rowland spent time in an Army hospital and was discharged 8 April 1946.

Task Force "6814"--70th Coast Artillery Anti-Aircraft Regiment--Herbert M. Barnes, S/Sgt.
Barnes was graduated from Ohio State in 1940 and in April 1941 he was drafted into the Army. He trained in the R.A. unit, the 70th Coast Artillery (AA) Regiment. After December 7th, this unit was ordered to Maryland to protect the Glen Martin Airplane factory. The unit shipped overseas from Brooklyn on the John Erickson, traveled through the Panama Canal and over the Pacific to Australia. The unit then moved to New Caledonia, Barnes left the unit in March 1943 to return to the United States to attend O.C.S.

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