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Post by The Phantom on Oct 10, 2009 4:05:44 GMT 8
My books have crossed topics here, IN RESPECT TO RATIONS.
From "THE FALL OF THE PHILIPPINES"
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Post by The Phantom on Oct 10, 2009 4:29:39 GMT 8
My books have crossed topics here, as it relates to rations.
From "THE FALL OF THE PHILIPPINES"
"While the men on the line in Bataan believed that their comrades to the rear dined more fully and richly then they, all were convinced that those on Corregidor dined best of all.
General Wainwright discovered this when he moved to Corregidor to take over for Mac Arthur. Accustomed to the shortages of Bataan, he found Corregidor a land of plenty.
The troops there, it's true only ate two meals a day, and subsisted on half rations, but it was a full half ration, and it's components provided a balanced diet. It included such luxury items as bacon, ham, fresh vegetables, coffee milk and jam, items long gone from Bataan."
" The disparity between the Corregidor and Bataan rations was sharply raised when the Bataan Military Police halted a supply truck and confiscated the way bill.
This truck was delivering food to 3 antiaircraft batteries stationed on Bataan but receiving a Corregidor ration, to which they were entitled as organic elements of the harbor defense.
What they were not entitled to was the Bataan ration, which they were also drawing.
Such an irregularity would not have been surprising but when the way bill was examined it revealed a scandalous situation.
The items listed in the shipment would make any Bataan soldier envious. They included a case each of bacon and ham, 24 cans of Vienna sausage, one sack of cracked wheat, 25 pounds of raisins, 33 pounds of lard substitute, 24 cans of peas, corn, tomatoes and peaches, 6 cans of potatoes, 24 bottles of catsup, 50 cartons of cigarettes, and even 600 pounds of ICE."
The news of this disparity spread like wild fire among the front line troops, adding fuel to the already smoldering fire."
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Post by okla on Oct 10, 2009 5:19:30 GMT 8
hey phantom....No wonder the good colonel seldom missed chow call. Methinks the rations disparity that was described in this book is common in all wars. I have always read/heard etc, "the closer to the front line the more meager the rations". Seems to me it should be the other way around. The guys doing the heavy work of actual combat should be getting the choice goodies to eat, while the rear echelon should be satisfied with leaner issued foodstuffs since they were'nt risking life and limb in actual conflict. To be fair, in many instances, i am sure, that distribution of rations near the combat zone was fraught with difficulty and hazards. Even if sufficient supplies were on hand, getting it to the front line troops could be very difficult so the goods, many times, sat in depots near the MLR for later distribution. By the time that the supplies were issued, pilferage, outright stealing, spoilage, etc had diminished what was originally hauled forward for the actual fighting personnel.
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Post by fots2 on Oct 30, 2009 8:30:36 GMT 8
Last week while I was at the C1 (Fort Commander’s) Command Post, I remembered comments from Col. Bunker’s diary that had been posted by Phantom. A concrete cap had been added to reinforce the roof of C1. Here are some excerpts from the diary and then three before and after photos. You can clearly see the original roof and the later added reinforced concrete cap. SUNDAY, 8 FEB 1942"THE ENGINEERS MOVED IN ON US TODAY AND STARTED DRILLING 100 HOLES IN ROOF OF C1 PREPARATORY TO ADDING 2 FT OF CONCRETE TO OUR ROOF. NOISY AS HELL! THEY ARE BRINGING UP LOTS OF STEEL RAILS FOR REINFORCING THE CAP, AND RAILS WILL BE WELDED TOGETHER!" THURSDAY, 12 MAR 1942"ENGINEERS ARE STILL WELDING ATOP C1 AND ARE LAYING BIG PIPES EVERYWHERE TO CONVEY THE CONCRETE FROM THEIR MIXERS BELOW THE HILL. ALL PATHS ARE CLUTTERED WITH PIPES AND THE NOISE IS EVIDENT." SATURDAY, 14 MAR 1942"STARTED POURING C1 CAP TODAY BUT THE LIFT WAS SO GREAT THAT IT DIDN'T WORK VERY WELL.” SUNDAY, 15 MAR “THE ENGINEERS ARE WORKING ALL NIGHT POURING THE CAP ON C1 STATION----THE Japanese FIRING NOW HAVING CEASED (8:30PM)." TUESDAY, 17 MAR 1942“THE ENGINEERS ARE FINISHED POURING THE CAP ON C1!” Side view of the C1 Command Post just after construction in April 1908. Note the thin roof thickness. (photo courtesy batteryboy) Front corner of the C1 Command Post (south west corner). You can see the original thin roof on the bottom and the thick cap that was added in 1942. A closer view of the same corner
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Post by The Phantom on Oct 31, 2009 4:19:35 GMT 8
Great connection, past in print, 1942, to current conditions, 2009. Bringing history to life, thanks for the effort. That's a serious concrete cap!
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Post by The Phantom on Oct 31, 2009 4:56:52 GMT 8
Friday, 27 March
Got through my morning chores (shaving, breakfast, etc.) early and went to C1. Our first air alarm went off at 7:55. Japs bombed Mariveles Airfield heavily."
( Where was Mariveles Airfield?)
"Dropped bombs over Btry. Cheney and Monja? One caved in a MG shelter of 60th killing 2 men and setting fire which 1st Sgt. Lefew and others extinguished."
(MG shelter?)
"At 9:55 the japs dropped more bombs, probably at Bottomside, but we couldn't tell. However we were soon notified that," Port Power Plant will be shut down for repairs for an indefinite period". This is most serious, if it means that our refrigeration and ice plant is out of commission."
"The engineering gang didn't even report to work on our tunnel this morning, but when the air alarm went, all the Marines for miles around flocked into our tunnel. One Marine Major even ordered about 35 of his men to "rest there while off duty", and "of course it will be alright".
( Marines on beach defense below C! Tunnel?)
"General Moore came around and chatted, agreed to take up the marine problem with Col. Howard."
" More bombing about 2:30, dust blowing out over the water, thought Cheney was hit, but it was one of their cables that was hit, and may be 2 or 3 days until repaired."
" This afternoon, Fort frank saw some Japs on Patungan beach and so smoked them out with 100 rounds of 75mm and made a fine show."
" Capt. Tracy, my communications officer to be, was AWOL for 2 days( ever since he reported). I sent out a call through HD for him, and he reported by phone from HD Bombproof at 8:00pm!"
(HD Bombproof? where is that ?)
" Managed to get a shower at the mouth of our tunnel and felt much better. Stayed on watch until 12:30 am."
"Our turrets fired 6 shots, along about 10:00 pm at various points down Looc way. Their flash lights up the whole harbor and, queerly, seems to terminate in liquid fire pouring out of the muzzle onto the deck. And so to bed."
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Post by okla on Oct 31, 2009 5:25:42 GMT 8
Hey Phantom....Could MG mean machine gun? In this case, machine gun shelter. As for the mariveles airstrip, there was what was called an emergency airstrip just south of the Pucot River near the Quarantine Station at Mariveles. The other two strips (there may have been more, but I am not aware of them) were near the east road on the southeast coast of Bataan near Cacaben. If memory serves, Battery Boy is into research on the Bataan airfields. He might shed much more light on the Mariveles airstrip that the good Colonel Bunker speaks. Speaking of Colonel Bunker....his distaste (hatred???) for the US Navy and USMC surfaces on a regular basis, methinks. I truly believe that this attitude was firmly implanted in his DNA. He just can't hide it. The location of the emergency strip at Mariveles was shown on a map featured in the book "Conduct Under Fire", by John A. Glusman. Postscript....Could HD Bombproof be Harbor Defense Bombproof?
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Post by The Phantom on Oct 31, 2009 20:13:45 GMT 8
Okla, in the other book I'm presently reading; "THE FALL OF THE PHILIPPINES"
A bit of why the Army, Bunker in particular, was at odds with the Navy on Corregidor, and strangely enough some of the rift has to do with food............... And some talk on the food and water supplies on Corregidor at the time of the siege.
"As on Bataan there was a strong feeling amongst the troops on beach defense and at gun positions that those close to the source of supply in the tunnel enjoyed better meals then they. This belief was probably unfounded but it was true that until the end of March Naval personnel received foods that were not available to Army troops. The Navy, though it had cut it's rations and limited it's men to two meals a day, maintained it's own separate food stores and issued a larger and more varied ration than that provided by the Army. Long after Coffee, sugar, jam and canned fruits had disappeared from the Army's menu, they were still available in the Navy messes.
When General Wainwright arrived on Corregidor to assume command on March 21st, he ordered the Navy to place it's stores in the common pool and thereafter the sailors received the same ration as the soldiers."
Army rations at the time.........
" The ration, though adequate to maintain health, did not provide sufficient bulk to satisfy the appetite. Men no longer had the " comfortable full" feeling provided by the peacetime ration, and missed certain foods such as sugar canned milk, coffee, and canned or dried fruit, which by now were extremely scarce. Rice became an important part of the diet though the Americans did not like it. They said," this rice diet only fills you up temporarily."
"The air attacks of the previous 3 months had disrupted the normal distribution of rations and an occasional bomb had hit a kitchen, with tragic loss for men who had to miss a meal or lose a particularly prized item on the menu. One Battery lost its fruit Jello in this way. " The fruit in the desert, " mourned the Battery Commander, "represented the saving of canned fruit for a couple of weeks and it was the pride of the mess sergeant."
" Despite the shortages there was never any danger of starvation on Corregidor.The quantity of food on the island when Bataan fell was sufficient to last about 10 weeks more. This food had been forehandedly laid aside early in the campaign in the expectation that if and when Bataan fell, the Philippine division would make it's final stand on Corregidor. To provide for this contingency MacArthur, on 24, January, had ordered General Moore, the Harbor defense commander, to maintain a reserve large enough to feed 20,000 men- twice the members then on the island- on half rations until June 30th. On seeing this vast supply on Corregidor Wainwright got permission from MacArthur to send some of this reserve to Bataan although it seemed like crumbs there, before it fell.
" The men on Corregidor ate 2 meals a day. The morning meal, prepared the night before, consisted of toast and coffee, when there was coffee, and occasionally a piece of bacon or sausage. Supper was served after dark, about 2000, and consisted of salmon, canned vegetables, and rice pudding. Sometimes there was fresh beef or stew. Most Batteries were able to serve half a sandwich and a cup of hot beverage or soup during the noon hour, but many men kept bread in their pockets to gnaw on during the long intervals between meals."
"The cold storage unit was hit on March 27th and the next day all units received unexpectedly large amouts of fresh meat, and then none at all until the refrigeration was repaired. Finally about 3 april, in expectation of heavier artillery and bomb attacks, all units received large amounts of food, to store in their respective kitchens." "But even under the heaviest of bombardment there was no loss of food, as most was stored in Malinta and the cold storage plant under guard."
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Post by The Phantom on Oct 31, 2009 20:30:29 GMT 8
Water supply on Corregidor
" Corregidor's water supply because of it's dependence on the power plant, was perhaps the most vulnerable point of Corregidor's defense. Even before the surrender of Bataan there had been several interruptions because of power failures or damage to the pumps. When the water lines were damaged, water was distributed at various points on the island and each unit sent it's own truck to pick up it's daily supply. The water was carried in 12-inch powder cans, 2 by 5 and 1/2 ft, ideal for storage but heavy when full and difficult to handle.The water crews normally made the trips at night over the crater filled roads to the distribution points. There they might have to wait for hours to draw their supply. It was a ticklish job".
(Anyone else seen these cans still on the island?)
"By the middle of April the supply of water had become a real problem. On the second of the month Colonel Bunker noted in his diary that," Our water situation is getting critical.
"And on the 3rd, in anticipation of the fall of Bataan, all units were directed to lay in reserve supplies. At that time there was in the reservoirs a total of 3,000,000 gallons, but that would not last long if the pumps or power plant failed."
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Post by okla on Oct 31, 2009 23:44:26 GMT 8
Hey Phantom....You have inspired me to re-read "Fall of the Philippines". It's been about five years since I last prowled thru it. I also relied heavily on it way back in 1959 when i wrote a term paper in college dealing with those dismal days of early 1942. "Fall of the Philippines" occupies a prominent spot in my fairly substantial collection of military history books in my home. In fact i believe I will start the re-reading right after the football games this afternoon.
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