Post by pdh54 on Jul 9, 2012 8:34:09 GMT 8
I came across some interesting information today. I found a web site www.proviso.k12.il.us/bataan%20web/index.htm that is an ongoing school project for Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois. It is called the Bataan Commemorative Research Project. There is a page devoted to each man in the 192nd Tank Group.
One of the men, Sgt Zenon Bardowski has a page on his history, www.proviso.k12.il.us/bataan%20web/bardowski.htm
He had been on Bataan until April 8 1942 when he and his tank buddies evacuated to Corregidor. The following are excerpts from the article:
First- Mention of the US Army tank on Corregidor
Probably the strangest experience during the attack was Zenon having to fire on his own tank which was now being used by the Japanese. His former tank was the first tank to land on Corregidor. Not disabling the tank was a regret that Zenon had his entire life.
Second-Mention of Japanese use of Flamethrowers on Bataan
During the Battle of the Pockets, Zenon came to the aid of the tank crew of Lt. Ed Winger. Zenon's best friend, Cpl. John Massimino, was in the crew and shouted at him, over the radio, they needed his help. The tankers had knocked out a number of Japanese positions.
As Lt. Winger's tank approached another Japanese position, it was fired upon by Japanese flamethrowers. The crew was blinded and their tank ended up wedged between two trees. The tank was abandoned by it's crew.
Zenon had his tank pull up behind the trapped tank. He dismounted his tank and dragged the towing cables from the bow of his tank to the rear of Lt. Winger's tank. The Japanese managed to shoot the cable away from the hook, so Zenon had to run around to the rear of his tank and set the cable to make the rescue.
Zenon efforts saved Winger's crew. In the process of rescuing the tank crew Zenon's tank had destroyed a .57 mm Japanese trap and flamethrower. Zenon, himself, would be wounded before Bataan was surrendered.
Third- Mention of the first shooting down of a Japanese plane by an American tank.
Ten hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese bombed Clark Field. It was during this attack that Zenon is credited with being the first member of an American tank crew to shoot down an enemy plane during World War II. According to other members of the battalion Zenon's halftrack was at the end of the runway. A Japanese plane flew straight at it firing as it approached. Dirt flew in two tracks from the bullets. Bardowski stayed at his gun firing at the plane as it approached until he hit it. The plane fell from the sky with a smoke trail following it.
After the attack, the battalion members found the plane. The pilot was missing both his arms and legs. None of them had any feelings for the pilot. When a chaplain tried to get them to bury the pilot, one man urinated on him to show his contempt. The others simply walked away.
One of the men, Sgt Zenon Bardowski has a page on his history, www.proviso.k12.il.us/bataan%20web/bardowski.htm
He had been on Bataan until April 8 1942 when he and his tank buddies evacuated to Corregidor. The following are excerpts from the article:
First- Mention of the US Army tank on Corregidor
Probably the strangest experience during the attack was Zenon having to fire on his own tank which was now being used by the Japanese. His former tank was the first tank to land on Corregidor. Not disabling the tank was a regret that Zenon had his entire life.
Second-Mention of Japanese use of Flamethrowers on Bataan
During the Battle of the Pockets, Zenon came to the aid of the tank crew of Lt. Ed Winger. Zenon's best friend, Cpl. John Massimino, was in the crew and shouted at him, over the radio, they needed his help. The tankers had knocked out a number of Japanese positions.
As Lt. Winger's tank approached another Japanese position, it was fired upon by Japanese flamethrowers. The crew was blinded and their tank ended up wedged between two trees. The tank was abandoned by it's crew.
Zenon had his tank pull up behind the trapped tank. He dismounted his tank and dragged the towing cables from the bow of his tank to the rear of Lt. Winger's tank. The Japanese managed to shoot the cable away from the hook, so Zenon had to run around to the rear of his tank and set the cable to make the rescue.
Zenon efforts saved Winger's crew. In the process of rescuing the tank crew Zenon's tank had destroyed a .57 mm Japanese trap and flamethrower. Zenon, himself, would be wounded before Bataan was surrendered.
Third- Mention of the first shooting down of a Japanese plane by an American tank.
Ten hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese bombed Clark Field. It was during this attack that Zenon is credited with being the first member of an American tank crew to shoot down an enemy plane during World War II. According to other members of the battalion Zenon's halftrack was at the end of the runway. A Japanese plane flew straight at it firing as it approached. Dirt flew in two tracks from the bullets. Bardowski stayed at his gun firing at the plane as it approached until he hit it. The plane fell from the sky with a smoke trail following it.
After the attack, the battalion members found the plane. The pilot was missing both his arms and legs. None of them had any feelings for the pilot. When a chaplain tried to get them to bury the pilot, one man urinated on him to show his contempt. The others simply walked away.