Post by chadhill on Feb 22, 2013 4:45:27 GMT 8
Interesting photo, Bob. Looks like a Springfield bolt to me, rather than an Arisaka or Enfield.
I'm fascinated by those buttons and am trying to get a good idea where they were found, which could narrow down the name list. I thought Trail 2 was on the eastern side of Bataan near Orion and Limay, but maybe it extended further south than I realize. In any case, you found the buttons about 2-3 km north of Mariveles, and that caused another SWAG to pop up between my ears. The following map, showing the location of Hospitals #1 and #2, is from the late Captain Paul Ashton/M.D.'s fine book And Somebody Gives a D**n.
Hospital #1 was about 2.5 nautical miles nearly due north of Sisiman Bay, which would place it roughly 3 nm northeast of Mariveles Harbor. LT Holdredge, who had been wounded at Longoskwayan Point on January 25th, may well have been sent to Hospital # 1 for care. I do not know how badly he was wounded, but he had returned to Battery C in time for its evacuation to Corregidor when Bataan fell on April 9th (Battery A had transferred to the Rock on February 17th). Interestingly, although Holdredge was senior to both Hogaboom and Simpson, I can find no mention of him in any further combat, possibly due to his wounds. Perhaps some of his uniform apparel had been disposed of nearby the hospital, while on his way back to Mariveles.
Here is another possibility. When Bataan fell, 1st Lieutenants Micheiel Dobervich and Ralph C. Mann commanded a USMC guard detail at Bataan HQ, between Hospitals #1 and #2. When one of General King's staff told them of the impending surrender, he strongly suggested they rid themselves of "all their officer insignia, and any Japanese souvenirs". They no longer cared about any extra apparel, and may have discarded it on their way to Mariveles in a futile attempt to escape to Corregidor.
If you mean the buttons were found 2-3 km north of old Mariveles town on the west side of the harbor, then I'm SWAGGING the buttons did not belong to Dobervich or Mann, but to one of the three AA officers. While Dobervich and Mann had also previously commanded a USMC guard detail for USAFFE early in the campaign on top of distant Signal Hill, it's harder to see them shedding uniforms at that time. But then, who knows...
Because there were so few USMC officers on Bataan (and only about 200 Marines total), we have a very short candidate list...again, what a rare find, Bob!
I'm fascinated by those buttons and am trying to get a good idea where they were found, which could narrow down the name list. I thought Trail 2 was on the eastern side of Bataan near Orion and Limay, but maybe it extended further south than I realize. In any case, you found the buttons about 2-3 km north of Mariveles, and that caused another SWAG to pop up between my ears. The following map, showing the location of Hospitals #1 and #2, is from the late Captain Paul Ashton/M.D.'s fine book And Somebody Gives a D**n.
Hospital #1 was about 2.5 nautical miles nearly due north of Sisiman Bay, which would place it roughly 3 nm northeast of Mariveles Harbor. LT Holdredge, who had been wounded at Longoskwayan Point on January 25th, may well have been sent to Hospital # 1 for care. I do not know how badly he was wounded, but he had returned to Battery C in time for its evacuation to Corregidor when Bataan fell on April 9th (Battery A had transferred to the Rock on February 17th). Interestingly, although Holdredge was senior to both Hogaboom and Simpson, I can find no mention of him in any further combat, possibly due to his wounds. Perhaps some of his uniform apparel had been disposed of nearby the hospital, while on his way back to Mariveles.
Here is another possibility. When Bataan fell, 1st Lieutenants Micheiel Dobervich and Ralph C. Mann commanded a USMC guard detail at Bataan HQ, between Hospitals #1 and #2. When one of General King's staff told them of the impending surrender, he strongly suggested they rid themselves of "all their officer insignia, and any Japanese souvenirs". They no longer cared about any extra apparel, and may have discarded it on their way to Mariveles in a futile attempt to escape to Corregidor.
If you mean the buttons were found 2-3 km north of old Mariveles town on the west side of the harbor, then I'm SWAGGING the buttons did not belong to Dobervich or Mann, but to one of the three AA officers. While Dobervich and Mann had also previously commanded a USMC guard detail for USAFFE early in the campaign on top of distant Signal Hill, it's harder to see them shedding uniforms at that time. But then, who knows...
Because there were so few USMC officers on Bataan (and only about 200 Marines total), we have a very short candidate list...again, what a rare find, Bob!