"Nerts to You, Joe"

U.S. and Philippine scouts last week intercepted a Japanese suicide squadron on mountainous Bataan Peninsula, hounded & harried the sabotage-bent visitors into a dense, brush-covered last-stand some 125 yards square. Behind the dense, protective foliage the little men burrowed into foxholes. Snipers tied themselves in trees. So close were the two forces that the Japs' labored breathing was clearly heard. His arm in a bloody sling, Captain C. A. Crome shouted one last ultimatum: "Surrender, you bastards, we've got you surrounded!" The answer floated back in perfect English: "Nerts to you, Joe."

Associated Press Correspondent Clark Lee witnessed the subsequent bloody mop-up of the squadron's remnants, was pleasantly amazed by the cool efficiency of U.S. scouting forces, had first-hand glimpses of the Japanese fighting man in action. Reporter Lee's story:

"The Japanese continued futile resistance to the end with tenaciousness. . . . For some days our troops were able to advance only three to five yards through underbrush that was so thick it was impossible to see an arm's length ahead. Our troops were forced to crawl, inching their rifles forward with their fingers on the triggers. . . .

"The Japanese gave further signs that their fanaticism sometimes fades under fire. When grenades exploded near them, they were heard sobbing and moaning in fear. Many of them turned their backs to bullets that killed them. The Americans believed that many would have liked to surrender but feared they would be killed by their captors. ...

"In a last defiant gesture, two Japanese who were manning a now useless machine gun took off their shoes and hurled them at a tank. The Americans were unable to leave the tank without being shot, so they ran the steel monster over the Japanese position. . . .

"Foxholes and trenches were piled with Japanese bodies, in some places three deep. But at least one was still alive. He suddenly popped out of a foxhole 40 yards away and fired two quick shots that passed harmlessly over us. The target was possibly a fighter from Texas who was wearing a 10-gallon hat and looked like an important person. An American soldier coolly drew the firing pins from two grenades and tossed them accurately into the Japanese foxhole and then walked over and fired several rounds of his tommygun to make sure."

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