d-day in the pacific (excerpt, chapter 12)

8/14/2019 D-Day in the Pacific (Excerpt, Chapter 12)

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c h a p t e r t w e l v e

into deAth vAlley

While the bttle o nut Poit ws gig, my egimets weeepye s eee suppt the mes. Whe the 165th 105th

regmets e Sp 16 17 jue, the 106th regmet,cmme by Ce russe G. ayes, eme b shp s

eseve. By 20 jue the stut Sp wte bgg the 106thshe tcpt m esve the cete the s. o22 jue rph Smth vste Me Cops hequtes met wth Ho- Smth’s che st, Gves Eske. Wth the 105th st ccupe the suthe e the s, Smth Eske scusse p t

move the 165th 106th regmets betwee the es o the 2 4thMe dvsos. The my wou tke ove the et (west) fk o the 4thdvs vce up the cete the s. Shty theete, rphSmth expe the p t hs egmet cmmes, Ce GeKeey the 165th Ce ayes the 106th. The egmets the27th dvs wee t mve w the mg 23 jue, the4th dvs’s t es, whch wee ppxmtey thee mes th

the my bse, the ttck m thee t 1000.1

Wth the vs Gum pstpe becuse the Btte thePhilippie Se, the 106th regimet ws elesed o deploymet oSp. The egmet e 20 jue eceve es t mvetw me es. The 106th 165th regmets beg the vce

t 0530 23 jue. The ssut btts the 165th regmet ve



inTo dEaTH VallEY 155

tme, eevg the 24th Mes t 1000. Ututey, pbemevepe wth the epymet the 106th regmet tw ts wpst. accg t my hst Emu lve, wh ccmpethe my tps t tht tme, the w s wee cgeste wth 4th

Me dvs suppy tc mvg suth whe the 106th ttempte tmve th. The 3 Btt, 106th regmet, ue leutet C-e H Mzy, h mxe success s esut, wth sme Mzy’scmpes tme the cmpes vg qute te. l Cmpy,ue Cpt Ches n. He, ws h hu ey ee thesect he by the 25th Mes, but K Cmpy, e by Cpt Wm

T. Hemwy, ve most hou te, t 1055. i to to the cou-

s tht h bee cuse by the ew w s, the pbemse whe my ces ve t the e eptue scveetht me es wee t est thee hue ys beh the pt -cte the mps.2 The ses h t bee t tht the mes h

pue bck the pevus eveg t cete me eesbe e ug

Fgue 16. am rym a. Spuce, am Eest j. Kg, am Ches-te W. nmtz, M Gee Se jm Sp, 1944; U.S. nvHstc Cete pht.



156 d-daY in THE PaCiFiC

the ght. athugh mes h tke the cect ct the pevusght, the my cmpes wee w the cut stut beg

some thee huded yds behid thei desigted poit o deptue.

despte these pbems, mst the ttck cmpes the 106thregmet mve w tme t 1000 (K Kg Hu). Becuse KCompy ws most hou te, leutet Cooe joh Mcdoough’s

2 Btto, 165th regmet, h to wt beoe movg ow oet t expse hs ut’s fk t eemy e.3

The my cte tw m bstces: the te the jp-ese. The ses h t vce t css hzus gu tht

they s ce “deth Vey,” sme the mst cut tety the

amecs ce Sp. Cw escbe ts etues:

The “vey” s ey teceke epesso o the este sope o the spwgmut mss tht s mst cet Sp cumtes the twegpek Mut Tptchu. The f the vey, ess th 1,000 ys wth,s omte og ts ete egth by the ugge sopes o Mout Tpotchu othe west sees hs, the hghest but 1,500 eet bve the vey f,o the est. Ths este h system ws to be ce “Pupe Het rge” by thesoes who ought thee. deth Vey, the, ws sot o tough to whch theme the 27th dvs wee t vce. The vey tse ws mst ev cve. . . . obvusy, ths te ws ey sute eese gst y ttckthugh the vey, the jpese me the mst t.4

as lve cte, the jpese he the hgh gu, they cuwtch d ticipte ameic ctios: “Fom his vtge poit topMt. Tptchu the eemy h exceet bsevt the whe etwk stce tw mes t the suth.”5 Pvte jh Muk

ak, oh, emembee deth Vey s k bw but tw thee hue ys we, wth hgh muts e se vetccs the the.6

Ths e cet Sp ws hevy eee by sme the bestjpese uts emg the s. “Ukw t the amec cm-m, the jpese h seecte ths e e the m eesve

positios.” The commd post o the 31st amy ude Geel Sito

ws stute t the the e deth Vey, the 118th ityregmet ue Ce it Tkesh, the 136th ity regmet ueCe ogw Yukmtsu, the 9th Tk regmet ue CeGt Tksh ptecte the vey. “atgethe ce sme u thu-

s me gue the pteu. They h spet my weeks pcg




the weps pg the btte tht wu be ught hee.”7 The

jpese eees use the cves bush to coce the wepos, they empye ths eesve vtge t wt the amec ses

t eve themseves bee cuteg.Ce abet Stebbs, the 27th dvs’s che st, escbe

the stut: “The cs hses wee pckete wth sm cves ge cves. The we e ws ugh, e wth bues, exce-et eesve pets. . . . We-pce, hste gus e y whees psse stkg u ces the e supte the ttck.”8 Thejpese wee pepe the amec ttck, ths tme they wsey

we the te t hep the cuse.

Ho Smth ccommote the jpese by sstg tht the mytke the esve vce stght t the eemy stgh. amyces wh wee wth the tps deth Vey sw the tepvtey queste Hw’ M’s tctcs. Ce russe ayes, cm-

me the 106th regmet, beeve tht “ he h te t vcepy css the pe gu t hm hs egmet ‘wu hvesppee.’” rph Smth s et tht “y uthe pushg tps tht ze wu y e t cese csutes, wthut ccmpshg

equte esuts.”9 nevetheess, the my ws ee t pcee. Eve-tuy bth ayes rph Smth st the cmms becuse these

eeces wth H Smth.The gmet o the 27th dvso pce the 106th regmet o the

west (Mt. Tptchu) se the vey ext t the 2 Me dvs,wth the 165th regmet t the est, cse t Pupe Het rge tet the 4th Me dvs. despte the t cutes eevg

the mes o 23 jue, the my move he wth ts pe ttck thtsme y mst es tme. The cmpg t g we tk ete week t cmpete. l Cmpy, 3 Btt, 106th reg-met, the et the my es (csest t the 2 Me dvs),mve ty ys he bee t t eemy mt e cmg mcves c w ew hue ys he. These cves “pvee spts jpese mche gus.” ag t the vety escp-

tve mes use by the ses, the tps ce ths c “He’s Pcket.”

despte comg e, the me cotue ow ut “ eemy motshe set jpese mmut ump the fyg ebs kept theme pe w ve hu.” l Cmpy me tte t

pogess tht y. Mewhe, K Compy, 3 Btto, 106th regmet,whch h ve t 1055 befy he up pt the esve, pushe




he s s s pssbe. By the cmpy ws stppe by mche-gu mt e but ctue t wk ts wy w t the shete sme ws. nethe l K Cmpy ws be t vce t ts g

bectve e tht y.10

The stut ws t much bette g Pupe Het rge theest (ght) se o deth Vey. The st obectve o the ssut compes the 165th regmet ws bee “H lve,” seve hue eet t,cvee wth tees, , ccg t Cw, “este wth jpese.” Bythe e 23 jue, a C Cmpes (1st Btt, 165th regmet)h ecce H lve the ug the ght.11 The tw cm-

pes h bscy mve bck t whee the mes h bee the y

bee. amy hst lve te the stut: “Whe the 27th dvstk ve the e ext mg [23 jue] they h t ght the e eptue m whch they wee ee t uch the ttck. The ghttk y, the pcess the dvs tk hevy csutes. Whe

the y’s ct ccue, rph Smth’s me wee pssess thee m whch they wee suppse t hve mve t 1000 tht y, butthey wee t ch the.”12

Hpg t push the amecs ut cet Sp, the jpese

uche ttck the ght 23–24 jue wth tw cmpes ty sx tks. Ses qucky estye ve the tks, but the

e tk ctue t ve thugh amec es, s lve escbet, “ke bg, wue, cge w m.” Fy, sht m ts tuetgu ht mmut ump cse t the 3 Btt, 106th regmet, “s the shes beg fyg, the jpese the cs Tptchuuse hevy ccett mt e. Wth twety mutes thewhe e ccupe by the thee e cmpes the 3 Btt ws

e. Fu me wee ke 27 wue.”13 a me bzkevetuy kcke ut the gue tk.

H Smth ws t stse wth the my esve 23 jue.i e sese, he ws ppey ccee. as the mes the cstsvce me py th the my the cete, me fks becme

expse. The mes wee ce t sw w e t mt c-tct wth my cmpes cet t them pevet gps m ppe-

g the amec es. “i csee the tw Me vss thefk wee eopze by the sggg the cete o the e,” Smth tewte, “ i pugge the gps betwee them the Twety-seveth. Weme tte hewy tht y. By ght my mp shwe u es s




eep U, wth the Twety-seveth vey tte he ts eptue pt st ccupyg the bttm the U.”14

Whe Smth ws cect t wy but tht cgut, me

umet sese he t ve up t hs bgt s he the v-s ce. He t tke the te t cset s he ke ths mp, he me et t ethk hs tctcs cetve wy tccut the tpgphy the cete the s. regess thestut ce by hs tps, hs tctcs eme the sme: ect ssutt the ce the eemy’s eesve pst. Smth eve ecsee

his sttegic coceptio o how the bttle might poceed, but istedbme the my especy ts ces. Qutg hs pes mty

heo, Smth obseve: “as npoeo hs s, ‘Thee e o b egmets,oy b cooes.’”15 appety Smth ws ot eeg to hs ow ee-shp, but the tht my ces. Whe the best gees evep c-tgecy ps cse the stut the gu ecessttes fexbty,

Hw’ M ws t fexbe.H Smth ee gee ttck 0800 24 jue. oce

g, the 165th regmet ws espsbe the sees hs tht meup Pupe Het rge, whe the 106th wu mve ecty t deth

Vey. The y t g we, s the cves ges g pveexceet cve jpese eees. athugh sme cmpes the

165th dvced 150 yds o 24 jue, othes mde less pogess. Thestut ws sm the 106th. Betwee 0800 0945 the tpshd moved oly fty to oe huded yds gist stog oppositio, s Cw te, “thee ws sg y btemet eemy e,especy m the cs Tptchu.” rph Smth, eeg the pessuem Me Cps hequtes but uwe tht he ws the vege

smss, ee hs tps t push the ttck: “avce 50 ys e h hus s mst ustscty. Stt mvg t ce.” Cp-t Hemwy’s K Cmpy espe vce. Cw escbethe stut: “They h pushe w ty ys wthut evet whethe ete c the et the vey seeme t pe up.” nevetheess,Hemwy pepe t ctue wth the ttck: “just s he gt up t wve

hs me w g he ws sht the he ke.” at est eght

the me wee ke s we. The tps h t wthw usg smkescee. Cw ccue: “Fy, but 1225, Ce Mzy bughtevey wep he h t be the jpese psts g the c He’s Pcket. Ue cve ths e the eme Cmpy i ws




be t cw scmbe bck t the cve the tees. F the y, csu-tes Mzy’s 3 Btt, 106th e h mute t 14 ke 109 wue.”16

The my h tte success deth Vey 24 jue. Hw’ Mespe wth tw cts—he emve rph Smth m cmm the 27th dvs ee the ses t pcee wth the sme pthe ext y— ect ttck t the vey. Bee hs smss, rphSmth peome two tsks tht Ho Smth h ot: he spet most o 24jue wth hs tps the t es e t vestgte the stut

sth, he eveope mgtve p o bekg the stemte deth Vey. Hs p ce fkg eccg pet,

wth e btt the 106th emg t the suthe e deth Vey t keep the jpese pce, whe the the tw btts the106th mve est the th e t suu the eemy. Wherph Smth ws beg escte Sp 25 jue, M Gee

Se jm, hs epcemet, mpemete ths p ttck.o 25 jue, whe the 2 Btt, 106th regmet, ue M

ame o’H, cvee the suthe e deth Vey, the 1st 3 Btts mve est beh the 165th the th. The p,

whch he the pssbty bekg the mpsse deth Vey, wspy execute ue t the cut Ce ayes, cmme the

106th. rthe th oow the oute coss couty tht Gees Smth jm h cte, ayes we hs uts t em s; whehs tps cme ue e, they etete t the pt eptue t thebegg the y. The ets t the suthe e deth Veywee theee usuccessu, the esve ee whee t h stte. a gy jm t ayes “he h e me chce he t

he hs egmet i wu eeve hm.”17

o 26 jue, jm ece t cus Pupe Het rge theeste se deth Vey. Ths tme the 3 Btt, 106th reg-met, ue leutet Ce H Mzy, the 2 Btt,

165th regmet, ue leutet Cooe joh Mcdoough e the wy. Whe sme pgess ccue, stubg evepmet t the suthe

e deth Vey ttcte jm’s ttet. M o’H’s 2 Bt-

to, 106th regmet, h ot me y eot to vce thoughout themg. ayes, s egmet cmme, ws he espsbe. jmue hs pmse epce ayes wth Ce abet Stebbs, thevs che st.

St kg wy thugh deth Vey, jm mpemete




ew p ttck 27 jue. Whe the 2 Btt the 165th, wue Stebbs, ctue ts ets Pupe Het rge, Mzy’s 3Btt, 106th regmet, ws ee t mve th g tht ge

the tu et cut west css deth Vey the ect Mt.Tptchu. at the sme tme, the 1st Btt, 106th regmet, ws t

ssut He’s Pocket. Foowg peptoy tey bge gst jp-ese psts Pupe Het rge, the 3 Btt vce by m-mg. The ttck ws success—the btt secue “H Kg” ws pepe t mve west css deth Vey by . Cw escbethe scee: “The te t the btt t ws steep spe w t

the vey ppe. The escet wu be me thugh thck, hgh tuts

gss mst the wy, the thugh ce es t w ge etht cut css the vey t tht uctue. decty t the btt t,but thus y wy, wee the cs Mut Tptchu.”18 Thetps wee subecte t css e s s s they escee t the v-

ey, but evetheess they he the pst espte beg w ts,wte, mmut. The 2 Btt, 106th regmet, s ethem, the uts ge gu gst the eemy. jm expessehs exctemet ve the pgess: “Cgtuts y’s wk we

e. i hve the utmst cece u ctue success vguspush gst the emg eemy. Keep up the g wk.”19

The pmsg evepmets 27 jue wee t epcte the exty. Whe amec suppy vehces ve wth mmut,the jpese use the tcts pts Pupe Het rge, espe-cy “H abe,” t e t the vey. as Cw te, the vehces“pmpty ppe the suppes scue cve.” Cmpy cm-

mdes set ptols to ecove the equipmet, but eemy motbge qucky ke seve wue twety-tw m i K Cm-pes (106th regmet). Csutes mute the te whe twjpese tks pee e the 2 3 Btts, kg tweve wug sxty-e.20 Pvte Muk ece the cet:

as u pt mve t the vey, the jpese pee e pe usw. [Ce] Mzy cmmucte t hequtes tht hs thty-sx mece utebe pst. Gee H Smth ws t cmpmety

hs espse the pt ws t t h the e. Whe the jpeseepye tw tks t the vey, the 3 Pt qucky kcke ut bth them. The jpese cew emege t wtheg e m the ses. despteu success gst the jpese tks, u pt ws cut the vey tppe ve thee hus, mst the pt ws wpe ut. We wee




ope bow. We wee sttg ucks tht bow. We wee pe ow. Fyeveye te t get ut thee they wee cut w. Mst them ’tmke t ut. oy u ve me the g thty-sx wee t csutes ths btte. We ’t st pye.21

Ce Mzy ws t e the ucky pt membes; he ws ke deth Vey 28 jue.

Gee jm h bee tempy epcemet rph Smth, 28 jue the ty-e-ye- M Gee Gege Ge Whtesbug, Geg, ve t tke cmm the 27th ity dv-s.22 ate eptg t H Smth, Ge mmetey beg

ssessmet the epymet hs tps. The 3 Btt, 106th reg-

met, ecmte by btte sses, ws eeve by the 1st Btt, 106thregmet, whe the 3 Btt, 105th regmet, ws set t the2 Btt, 165th regmet, the cmpg Pupe Het rge.

The 1st 2 Btts the 106th wee w deth Vey,

wth the epete 3 Btt mve t eseve. o 29 jue the myttcke jpese psts g, espte p tegece s we sey e tht mpee the pgess, the tps h egupe me sgct vces by ey te. Bee the y ee the

106th regmet h pushe w mst thus ys, the geste-y vce sce the btte deth Vey stte. Pupe Het

rge ws y tke the ext y, 30 jue, whe the 2 Btt,165th regmet, mve tw H abe t 0715. The mss ws ccm-pshe tw h hus te. at the sme tme, the 106th regmetg me s pgess the cete deth Vey, by the e the y the my h tte mst ts bectves.23 Wth the my ct deth Vey Pupe Het rge, the peg betwee

my me es h bee cse. The U-shpe gp tht weH Smth h bee emte, thee vss wee e pepe t cmpete the cquest the s.

The 27th ity dvs’s sw pgess deth Vey hs beesubecte t much ctcsm. T ssess the ctvesy, hweve, seve

ctos must be tke to ccout. deth Vey, He’s Pocket, PupeHet rge cue some o the most cut te o the s. Se-

g the ses ecty t deth Vey, cvee bth ses by hs cves, subecte them t wtheg css e. Ututey, H- Smth t evep p tht ccute the speccs thsce. Hs tctcs eme the sme egess the stut—ttck

stght tow the eemy. Fotutey, ote oces, both me



Tipo Pale

Garapan

0 10,000 YdsScale

Charan�

Kanoa

Aslito �

Airfield

Nafutan �

Point

Mt. Nafutan

Afetna�

Point

Agingan�

Point

Lake�

Susupe

Magicienne�

Bay

Mt. Fina Susu

Purple Heart Ridge

Death Valley

Hill 410

Hill 500

Hill 600

Hill 789

N

Map by Daniel S. Backlund

Obj. 6

25

241

106 105

23

6

2

Obj. 62 27

29 June

27 4

Kagman�

Peninsula

NTLF�

Res

Radio Road

Hill 700

Flame Tree Hill

30 June

29 + 30 June

X X

X X

8

165

1652

Tapotchau

Map 8. Positions on 29–30 June




my, wee smte th tht. rph Smth pve the st bek theppch t deth Vey whe he evepe fkg p, but he wse the y he cceve hs p.

lke rph Smth, jm shwe gty cetvty evs-g tctcs t sut the stut the gu, Ge ctue ths

pogess. i ssessg the eeshp pove by the sevces ths secto Sp, the my gees emstte the fexbty tht ws syckg t the vey tp Me Cps hequtes. at the sme tme,me ces eg the me g the csts emstte smcetvty geuty, cg the tps s we s the bectves.

Foowg rph Smth’s smss, jm me mpott chge

my eeshp whe he eeve Ce ayes, cmme the106th, 26 jue. Ths ct ws uste, s ew cmpes ayes’segmet h ppee emze, h t bee ggessve the pev-us y, h t bee pepe t vce tht mg. lke the

mie coutepts, howeve, othe my ofces peomed well dequety put themseves the e e s exmpe t the me. as Cw pte ut, “ tt twety-tw cmpy cmmes the165th 106th regmets wee ethe ke wue ct u-

g the pe.”24 Ce Keey, cmme the 165th regmet, wswue, s ws leutet Ce jh Mcdugh, cmme

the 2 Btt, 165th regmet. M Gegy Busseu the 165thws ty wue, Ce Mzy ws ke deth Vey.

The my’s slow pogess did cete dgeous situtio o themes by expsg the fks t eemy ttck. Mes wee ustte

eve gy whe they h to sow the ttck becuse the my ggebeh. The stut ws mst seus the est, betwee the my

the 4th Me dvs, s the mes wee mvg qucky up the est

cost. rthe th sovg the pobem by movg me es to the west,hweve, H Smth ee the my t ctue the sme ppchtht h ey e. Ftutey, rph Smth, jm, Ge

ttempte eet cogutos ut they cheve success. at the smetme, me cmmes the spt p ttet t the stut

the best t mt ctct wth the my uts the fks. Sp-

c ctct betwee the my the 2 Me dvs the westcst ws s pbem, but thee the ugge te ccute the

septo betwee the vsos eve moe th the ck o my pogess.Fce wth the cut cquests Mt. Tp Pe Mt. Tptchu,

the 2 dvs ws s mvg swy.




The btte deth Vey ste week, the my, whe tpeect ts execut ths phse the cmpg, peme we

ude the difcult cicumstces. Simulteously, the mies o thecosts wee cotug to emostte the toughess ubty ue

hsh cts. The 4th dvs cee Kgm Pesu whe the2 dvs sce Mt. Tp Pe Mt. Tptchu. a thee vssught h st t my me. i e week the amec ces stmst u thus me (3,987). lsses ech vs wee hgh: the27th ity st 1,465, the 2 Me dvs suee 1,016 csu-tes, the 4th Me dvs st 1,506. Ech vs ught thugh

cut te ce eteme eemy. despte the scces the tps, H Smth cete y the mes wth the vcty

ths e: “Ctuus pessue exete by the Sec dvs theet the Futh dvs the ght ebe the Twety-seveth tce up the sect.”25

athugh the jpese fcte hevy csutes, they suee eve

gete sses themseves. accg t amec tegece yss

Fgue 17. Mes g cptue jpese mut gu t eemy psts;cutesy Pvte r Sbug (USMC).




cptue eemy messges, “the jpese hgh cmm tse eze sey s d pus 5 tht wthut ecemets esseg u cm-pete e supemcy the cuse ws hpeess.” o 25 jue, leutet

Gee Sto set messge to Tokyo eetg the cutes they owce. i t t ecese vbe te tps, the jpesecoote seous shotges o oo, wte, mec suppes, eseves.St’s ssessmet ws hsh estc:

The ght Sp s thgs st w s pgessg e-sey, sce, gwth the temeus pwe hs bges, the eemy hs ct se . i ytme eve the epymet uts s vey cut, t ght the

eemy c mke ut u mvemets wth ese by usg umt shes.Meve, u cmmucts e becmg supte, s s becm-g cesgy cut. due t u seus ck weps equpmet,ctivity d cotol is hideed cosidebly. Moeove, we e meced bybzey w-fyg pes, the eemy bsts t us m ses wth ecev tey css-e. as esut eve we emve uts m the tes se them t the e the ghtg stegth s st cut w evey y. as the eemy ttcks wth ece ccett bmbs tey. Step bystep he cmes tw us ccettes hs e us s we wthw, s thtwheeve we g we’e qucky suue by e. . . . The ttck the eemypcees ceseessy, y ght s they vce wth the tecbmbmets t becmes ppet tht the the pt the s thebve-mete ess (1) wte (2) (3) suppy (4) te c t behe, wth u skeet stegth 20%.26

as the amecs vce tw hs hequtes, leutet GeeSto ws oce to move seve tmes ug the week o 23–30 jue, eve-tuy settg but twety-tw hue ys th Mt. Tptchu.

Whe the pspect jpese vcty ws qucky g, St seths usu es t the tps: “Psts e t be eee t the btte

e, uess he hs the es evey se must st hs gu.”27 amst evey jpese se we ths cmm t “the btte e.”

d-day in the pacific (excerpt, chapter 12)

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