From Yap to Manila

Another alleged nation declared war on the U.S. and Britain last week: Japan's puppet government of the Philippines, headed by "President" Jose Laurel, one-time Supreme Court justice. He had cause to fear that his term might be growing shorter.

On two successive days, Vice Admiral Marc Andrew Mitscher's carrier-based planes struck in force at Clark Field, Nichols Field, Cavite Naval Base. They shot down 169 Jap planes, fired 188 on the ground (two week total: 978), damaged or sank 86 more ships. U.S. loss last week: 11 planes, 15 airmen.

Liberators and PBYs from General MacArthur's command struck repeatedly at Davao, capital of Mindanao. U.S. carriers, of which more than 50 now roam the Pacific, hammered Halmahera, the Jap island stronghold which MacArthur bypassed in occupying Morotai. Still other carrier planes ranged 325 miles behind Palau to strike the Jap base of Yap.

Present History. Meanwhile at Angaur Island, southernmost of the Palau group, the 81st Army Division proceeded to clean up lastman resistance--the mopping-up which always costs U.S. casualties--and to count its score of victory: 975 dead Japs.

The rest of the 2,500 Japs formerly on Angaur had apparently moved before the battle to next door Peleliu, where the 1st Marine Division, at a place called "Bloody Nose," met some of the stiffest resistance of the Pacific War.

Bloody Nose is a mile-long cliff, pockmarked by limestone caves, on which artillery and bombs had little effect. In these caves Japs had stored light artillery, mortars and machine guns. In front of the caves they had built concrete blockhouses which withstood 14-inch naval shells. Pillboxes, even those which had been pulverized, still contained live Japs.

Through these defenses, up these slopes, the marines fought. They rushed defiles on Bloody Nose, and burned out caves with flamethrowers. While they were at the bloody business, many of them were cut down by machine-gun and mortar fire. The division's 1st Regiment soon suffered 60% casualties. After ten days the marines had occupied five-sixths of the 2-by-6-mile island. Interim score: 7,313 Jap dead. Still to go: about 3,200 (estimated strength of the original garrison was upped from 8,000 to 10,500).

Past Experience. The Philippines alone contain 7,083 islands--many garrisoned by Japs. At least some of these must be taken before U.S. troops reach either China or the main islands of Japan. Simple arithmetic suggests that U.S. casualties in the Pacific may exceed U.S. losses in Europe. For the great mass of Japan's soldiers have yet to be met, and the Japs have proved far more fanatical than the Germans--whose surrender rate in France has been about eight times their death rate.

Said Under Secretary of the Navy Ralph Bard last week, "The enemy's position is not nearly so bad as we would like to believe, for in the Japanese inner citadel they retain great concentrated strength. . . ."

On Saipan, a correspondent of the Honolulu Advertiser, visiting the scene of the great victory which cost 16,000 American casualties, found servicemen swearing bitterly at the very idea of a V-day celebration in the U.S. Asked one hard-bitten marine: "Haven't they heard about the Japs?"

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