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Post by EXO on Jan 5, 2011 10:43:02 GMT 8
Sparse yes, but not completely sparse! CAPT NOEL O. CASTLE, EXPERT TEAM SHOT WITH BOTH RIFLE AND PISTOL, WAS KILLED LEADING THE FIRST COUNTERATTACK ON DENVER HILL. HE IS SHOWN HERE AT THE CAMP PERRY MATCHES IN MARCH 1937, WHEN HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE MARINE CORPS RIFLE TEAM. corregidor.org/USMC/rkv/html/usmc_07_05.html [/b]
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Post by chadhill on Jan 5, 2011 12:16:26 GMT 8
Yes, EXO, thank you for including that link. Miller's account of the Water Tank Hill fight is probably the best that I've seen. We're fortunate that you made it available here. Another good reference is "Alamo of the Pacific", by the late Otis King (Sgt., USMC).
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Post by EXO on Jan 6, 2011 7:10:45 GMT 8
I spend a fair amount of time ensuring that introductory articles such as by J. Michael Miller are readily available to access via a subject menu system. Sure, these things are available elsewhere on the internet, in different forms, but people don't always know what keywords to look for beyond the bleedingly obvious ones. Nor will they bother to spend the time looking for anything requiring esoteric keywords. (Hence the need for introductory articles pitched to junior high-school levels.) Similarly, they may be able to find one or two images, but not a concentrated source of them. COL SATO CONFERS WITH HIS STAFF DURING THE FIGHTING FOR DENVER BATTERY HILL. THE ABSENCE OF AN AMMUNITION RESUPPLY THREATENED THE SUCCESS OF HIS LANDING.I suspect that there are vast tracts of the Corregidor website that see little action, and hence few know what's available, even the cognizenti. The site is now so big, I regularly find pages which I had forgotten entirely about. I do dream that people who see a spot on a page where an image or story should go would submit that image / story for inclusion. Silly me!
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Post by chadhill on Jan 7, 2011 5:11:04 GMT 8
Yes, EXO, it is a vast website. Every week or so I search it and find things I've not seen before. I tip my hat to you, it's at the very top of the WW2 websites.
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Post by okla on Jan 7, 2011 6:07:42 GMT 8
Hey Chad...I certainly echo you statement. There would be a huge void in my day (and most evenings) if this site disappeared. EXO does one heck of a job here and is to be commended. Fots and I joke about being "hooked", I, being stateside with no hope of ever visiting the PI, am hopelessly dependent on EXO and his splendid efforts. Wife is of the opinion that I spend too much time "prowling the Philippines" via this forum/website. She is probably right on target, but I told her that this is one little enjoyment this old goat ain't gonna give up. So there old woman. Stuff it!!!! Cheers.
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Post by chadhill on Jan 7, 2011 6:17:09 GMT 8
Looking at these photos of the salt water (tall) tank, I noticed what could be a smaller structure nearby that does not seem to resemble the fresh water (short) tank. As far as I know there was not a third structure near the two tanks on Water Tank Hill. The tanks were 260 feet apart, as noted in an earlier post. I do not have the digital 1936 or 1932 maps yet, only a small and very faded 18"x 8" copy of the '36 map which I got from a SeaBee in 1987, and it does not appear to show a third structure. Maybe the irregular top of the small structure in the February 1945 photo is just the short tank surrounded by tree tops. But what seems to be a structure in the 1942 photo almost looks like it has two square openings, and a top that is not flat. The other possibility is that I've been looking at these old photos so much that my eyesight has gone bonkers... Water Tank Hill, February 1945 Water Tank Hill, post-battle 1942
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Post by chadhill on Jan 9, 2011 10:45:06 GMT 8
Johneakin and all, I've found a discrepancy in the reported first name of USMC Sergeant Sweeney.
Both Frank Hough's official "History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War 2, Volume 1, Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal" and the Belote brothers' "Corregidor, Saga of a Fortress", call him Sergeant Major John H. Sweeney. Otis King, writing in "Alamo of the Pacific", refers to him as John.
However, while searching a list of names today on the American Battle Monuments Commissions website I found him listed as:
Thomas Frank Sweeney Sergeant Major, U.S. Marine Corps Service # 208378 Entered the Service from: Illinois Died 6 May 42 Missing in Action or Buried at Sea Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery Manila, Philippines Awards: Purple Heart
I then checked with the Water Tank Hill account written by Senior Archivist J. Michael Miller of the Marine Corps Research Center at Quantico (EXO has furnished a link above, if you don't have the monograph). Miller refers to him as Sergeant Major Thomas F. Sweeney.
I also learned that NARA has a Navy Department file on a "Sergeant Major Thomas F. Sweeney, USMC. Status: KIA" but I was not able to locate it, if it's even on line.
Finally, I found a brief entry at the WW2 Memorial website:
Thomas Franklin Sweeney U.S. Marine Corps Hometown: Rockford, Illinois Honored by: Ms. Barbara Sakkinen, Niece Activity During World War Two: Deceased May 6, 1942, Corregidor. Awarded Purple Heart Age 36
So, I would bet that his niece, the ABMC, and Mr. Miller are correct and that the older accounts mistakenly called him John, possibly due to Hough's error.
I've also found that USMC Quartermaster Sergeant John E. Haskin of Collingdale, Pennsylvania, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in 1946 for "gallantry in action at Corregidor, Philippine Islands, May 5, 1942".
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Post by JohnEakin on Jan 10, 2011 3:32:23 GMT 8
Perfect timing - I just transcribed these yesterday. The originals are so hard to read that there is no way one can just scan ahead, and even when I take my time it is often difficult to make out many letters. But here is what I found on a list of Corregidor casualties:
89. Floyd L. Tebo, Sgt, USMC, 227505 swore on July 26, 1943, that he saw the dead bodies of the following men who died on the dates noted on Corregidor Island, PI: Foreman, Edward W. Sgt 4th Regt USMC 5/6/42 Haskin, John A. S-Sgt 4th Regt USMC 5/6/42 Dunham, John W. Jr. PFC 4th Regt USMC 5/6/42 Armstrong, Paul E. Sgt 4th Regt USMC 5/6/42 Jerrett, Kenneth L. Pfc 4th Regt USMC 5/6/42
100. Fred D. Winton, PFC, USMC, 269084, swore on Aug 8, 1943, that he saw the dead bodies of Sgt Maj Thomas F. Sweeney, 4th Regt, USMC, and Sgt. George W. Smiley, 4th Regt, USMC, 280838, who were killed in action on May 6, 1942 on Corregidor Island, PI.
And even if I guessed right at the words, there are a lot of obvious errors in this list which was compiled while they were still in the camps.
Anyone recognize any of the other names?
I don't know how complete my list is - anyone have any idea of the total number of casualties from Corregidor?
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Post by JohnEakin on Jan 10, 2011 3:52:40 GMT 8
FWIW, I can't find Haskins on the ABMC database. This usually means that his remains were recovered after the war and returned to his family for burial in the states.
Also, while most of the entries for Corregidor just state that someone saw the dead body, there are quite a few which say the body was cremated or buried in the Corregidor cemetery. Most of the Corregidor cemetery entries are a few days prior to May 6, however, some are as late as May 9.
A few say the body was buried at the Barrio at Bottomside. A few others from Ft Hughes even give row and grave for the Ft Hughes cemetery.
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Post by chadhill on Jan 11, 2011 4:43:21 GMT 8
Johneakin, very good research. I checked the Water Tank Hill accounts by Miller, King, the Belotes, and Howell but could not find anything on the other names. I got on the DPMO site and found that the following marines were listed as body not recovered on 5/6/42 (some spelling differences): Armstrong, Paul E. SN 261240 Durham, John W., Jr. SN 292394 Jarrett, Kenneth R. SN 295542 Sweeney, Thomas F. SN 208378 I didn't find anything about Haskin on the ABMC site, either. Curiously, although NARA has a file on Sweeney, none turn up in a site search for Haskin. NARA indicates the file for Sweeney is in Record Group 127, "Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, 1775-9999", held at NPRC, Archival Operations Branch, in St. Louis. I will ask for a copy of it. I did learn that he enlisted in the USMC on 12/20/1926. Update: I have since learned that Sgt. John E. Haskin's SN was 233887 and he is buried in Vallonia, Indiana.
www.findagrave.com/memorial/116735449/john-elmer-haskin
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