Beyond Courage: One Regiment Against...
A vivid narrative of the men
of New Mexico's 200th and 515th Coast Artillery (AA) units. Cave skillfully
tells a story of hardship, bravery, unspeakable treatment, and a never-dying
belief that their country would liberate them. They were the first unit to
fire on the enemy in the Philippines and the last organized unit to lay down
their arms when
surrender came.
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Hispanics in Americas Defense
World War II - Bataan
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World War II began for most Americans on
December 7, 1941, when Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor. The war
had been in full swing for two years in Europe - and for four years in
Asia.
Although the Pearl Harbor attack was unexpected,
preparations for an eventual war had begun earlier. As part of the troop
movement to bolster the defense of the Philippines,
the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery (Anti-Aircraft) were sent to stations
around Clark Field near Manila.
Both units were from the New Mexico National Guard and had a heavy representation
of Hispanic officers and enlisted men.
They had been selected because many of the men in the unit spoke Spanish,
a principal language of the Philippines.
Upon their arrival, they became the largest single American military unit
in the Philippines.
Most of the 140,000 defenders of the island were members of the Philippine
Army (100,000).
The Japanese bombed Clark Field on December 8, 1941 and
Sgt. Felipe N. Trejo of Santa Fe, New Mexico and
Epimenio Rubi of Winslow, Arizona
were among the first American casualities.
The Japanese followed this attack with a troop landing on the northern
coast of Luzon on December 10. They drove steadily south toward Manila.
General MacArthur, who commanded all units in the Philippines realized
that he could not defend the entire island.
While holding back the Japanese as best as possible, he consolidated his
remaining forces on the Bataan Peninsula which jutted out into the South
China Sea west of Manila to form Manila Bay. Just off the tip of Bataan
was the island of Corregidor which guarded the mouth of the bay. MacArthur
put his headquarters on the island.
Despite desperate fighting, the Japanese pushed the American forces down
the peninsula, successively breaking through four defensive lines. On April
9, 1942, General Edward P. King was forced to surrender with 36,000 of
his troops. General Wainwright retreated to Corregidor where he and the
remaining forces held out for another month, finally capitulating on May
8, 1942.
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