187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
General Swing ordered the 511th PIR to secure the route from Mahonag to the coast. By Christmas Day, the 511th had cleared the mountains and was ordered back to its base camp at Bito Beach. From its base at the head of the Talisayan River, 2/187th was ordered to secure the western end of the Japanese MSR. The Japanese pocket at Anonang had still not been wiped out. The 511th and 2/187th had both butted up against this formidable Japanese position.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
Early on in his mountain clearing campaign, Swing realized that the Japanese position at Anonang was substantial and that it would take a well-coordinated multi-battalion effort to knock it out. He decided not to attack it in strength while the major portion of his infantry assets was fighting across the mountains to the west, which was his major mission ordered by General Krueger at Sixth Army headquarters. Now that he had linked up with the 77th Infantry Division, he felt that he could deal with the final Japanese redoubt in his AO.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
The Japanese defenses at Anonang were on two parallel ridges. On the first ridge, the Japanese had dug spider holes, each between 8 and 10 feet (2.4 and 3.0 m) deep, for individual riflemen. They had also dug in machine guns with overhead cover and interlocking fields of fire on both ridges. All slope faces were studded with caves that overlooked and controlled the narrow trails. In the rear of the defensive position was a bivouac area, cached with ammunition, rations, and other supplies, large enough to accommodate a regiment.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
The position was a concentration point for the Japanese troops in the area and it was estimated that at least 1,000 Japanese were dug in along the ridges and gorges. The second ridge, where the Japanese had concentrated the bulk of their defenses and their manpower, would  become known among the 11th Airborne troops as Purple Heart Hill.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
On 18 December, C/187th moved from Manarawat and rejoined 1/187th at Anonang. 2/188th had been probing the Japanese-held ridges for three days, searching for an undefended or weakly held approach into the position – there were none. In the meantime, 1/187th had pulled back from Anonang and circled the Japanese stronghold in a wide arc, moving to the north, above the Japanese defenses.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
To the west of 1/187th was the Division Reconnaissance (Recon) Platoon that had traveled along the slopes of Mount Lobi to determine how far to the north that the Japanese stronghold extended; the Recon Platoon found instead that the position extended westward. Consequently, the Recon Platoon dug in on the northwest corner of the Japanese defensive network. Colonel Robert H. Soule, the 188th's commanding officer, was in overall command of the assault on Purple Heart Hill. he planned his attack for the morning of 26 December. For the assault, he had 2/188th, 1/187th, and the Recon Platoon under his command.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
First, he moved F/188th from Mahonag down the trail to the east to set up an ambush. He used the rest of 2/188th, located on a hill position southwest and across a gorge from the objective, first as a ploy, and then as part of the attack. Soule directed 2/188th to move southwest, away from the Japanese hill, leading the Japanese to believe that, like the four other infantry battalions that had moved out of the area, 2/188th was also moving out.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
Instead, 2/188th moved into a narrow, steep-sided riverbed that hid it from view, then doubled back and climbed a rock gully onto the southern slope of Purple Heart Hill. Then 2/188th turned left and moved up on the Japanese flank. As soon as they were within range and sight, the Japanese took them under heavy fire from deep entrenchments.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
The Japanese on Purple Heart Hill were so well entrenched and so numerous that Colonel Soule decided to blast them with as much artillery fire as he could muster before ordering any ground attacks. During most of the night of 26 December, artillery from Manarawat and Burauen, and 2/188th's mortars pounded the Japanese. Finally, after strong artillery preparation, 2/188th stormed Purple Heart Hill on the morning of 27 December and, after intense, close-in firefights and hand-to-hand combat, struggled to the top of the hill and held it.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
The entire battalion closed in at dusk but had no time to dig in; they just moved into the old foxholes and revetments from which they had blasted the Japanese. Those Japanese that had not been killed in the assault scattered to the north and west. Those moving northward ran into 1/187th, which was attacking southward along the gorge and up the other ridge. The Japanese fleeing westward ran into the Recon Platoon and the F/188th ambush along the Japanese MSR. The battle for Purple Heart Hill was over after almost five weeks of containment followed by the final attack.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
A search of the area found 238 dead Japanese. How many were buried in the subterranean galleries was unknown. It was also discovered that the elusive Japanese MSR, which wound from Ormoc Bay, ended at Anonang. Division intelligence reasoned that, because of its extensive defenses, the fact that Purple Heart Hill was the MSR's eastern terminal, Anonang was probably the Japanese 26th Division's CP.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
After the success at Purple Heart Hill and the juncture of the 511th PIR and 1/187th with the other US forces on the west coast, the main battles of the 11th Airborne Division on Leyte were finished. Most of the division withdrew to the Bito Beach base camp. The 674th and 675th GFABs, still bereft of their artillery pieces and acting as infantry, remained in the hills outside Burauen, scouting and patrolling the eastern approaches to the Leyte hills. By 15 January 1945, all division units had returned to Bito Beach.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
On 21 January, after a division parade and awards ceremony, reviewed by Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger, commanding general of the newly formed US Eighth Army, General Eichelberger told General Swing that he was "elated" that General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, had given him the "go-ahead" to invade Luzon with the 11th Airborne Division. He also assigned Swing a top priority: get to Manila, the major prize of the Pacific War to date, ahead of his competition, General Krueger's Sixth Army.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
The Battle of Leyte was over. The Americans had established a base of operations from which USAAF bombers could strike Luzon, the heart of the Philippine archipelago. Ahead was more intense fighting for the Allies. In the tents on Bito Beach, in the mess lines, and  wherever the GIs gathered, the main topic of conversation centered on the location of their next fight. They knew that the Sixth Army had invaded northern Luzon at Lingayen Gulf on 9 January.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Leyte, Clearing the Mountains
They had heard rumors that the 11th Airborne Division's paratroopers had been alerted for a jump ahead of the Sixth Army at Nichols Field outside Manila. But toward the end of the month, unit commanders received a supply of handbooks describing the terrain and geography of southern Luzon. Division staff studied the area from Nasugbu east to Batangas City and north to Manila. Rumor became reality when the division received orders for an operation in southern Luzon.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mounting Up
General Krueger's Sixth Army invaded Luzon at 09:30 on 9 January 1945 with two field corps, comprising a force of some 68,000 men. The Japanese defenders numbered about 275,000. To defend the largest island in the Philippines, most of the Japanese troops withdrew from the coastal regions and prepared for a long delaying action in the island's interior. Their objective was to hold Luzon as long as possible to prevent the Allies from using it as a base of operations against the Japanese homeland. The main Japanese force of about 152,000 was deployed in several mountain strongholds in the north; another 50,000 defended southern Luzon and the hills east of Manila; the third force of 30,000 was stationed west of the Luzon Plain in the hills dominating the huge Clark Field complex.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mounting Up
Back on Bito Beach, Leyte, the 11th Airborne Division received an Eighth Army order on 22 January to prepare for a two-pronged operation on Luzon. An amphibious RCT would land in the Nasugbu area on Luzon's southwest corner, seize, and defend the beachhead; an airborne RCT would move by air from Mindoro bases, land by parachute on Tagaytay Ridge, about 20 miles (32 km) to the east of the Nasugbu landing zone, and effect a juncture with the RCT moving inland from Nasugbu. The 11th Airborne Division, reinforced after assembling on Tagaytay Ridge, would prepare for further action to the north and east as directed by the Eighth Army.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mounting Up
On 24 January, General Swing issued the order for Operation Mike VI that outlined in detail the division's operation plan (OPLAN) for executing the Eighth Army order. The 188th Glider Infantry RCT (188th RCT) would lead the amphibious assault at Nasugbu, followed by the 187th Glider Infantry RCT (187th RCT) with the mission of protecting the southern flank and blocking the approaches from the Balayan Bay-Calatagan Peninsula area.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mounting Up
The 511th Parachute Infantry RCT (511th RCT), with the 457th PFAB attached, would drop onto Tagaytay Ridge when Swing could assure General Eichelberger, the Eighth Army's commanding general, that the amphibious force could link up with the airborne force  within 24 hours. The Seventh Fleet would shell the beaches for one hour before the landing and the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Air Forces would provide assault and close air support. The Eighth Army designated D-day as 31 January.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mounting Up
The order also scheduled an amphibious dry run for the 187th and 188th glider infantry units that were more prepared to enter combat by landing in a field than they were in wading ashore from a Navy landing craft. On 26 January, as directed, the first three waves loaded, pushed out into Leyte Bay, and then came churning back to "assault" Bito Beach. Swing deemed the dry run a success and ordered the division's amphibious elements to embark aboard their ships for the cruise to Nasugbu. The 187th GIR, glider and parachute trained, was now going to emulate the Marines – storm across the beaches from the sea.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mounting Up
The catch to the loading out of the division's amphibious elements was what ships the Navy would send, and this was not definite until the ships arrived at approximately 20:00 on 25 January. Most of the supply ships were completely loaded within 24 hours, except for the great bulk of engineer supplies, ammunition, and gasoline. The landing craft for the troops arrived at 07:00 on 27 January, and soon thereafter, the troops went aboard. The assault convoy of over 100 ships and landing craft of all types weighed anchor and steamed out to sea from Leyte that afternoon. An additional eight landing craft carried the 511th RCT to Mindoro.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mounting Up
Many 11th Airborne Division units went through staff and command changes. In the 187th GIR, Lieutenant Colonel George O. Pearson, 1/187th's commanding officer, took over as the 187th's executive officer; Lieutenant Colonel Arthur H. Wilson, 2/187th's commanding officer, replaced Pearson as 1/187th's commanding officer; and Lieutenant Colonel Norman D. Tipton returned from the 511th PIR to take over his old 2/187th.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Luzon Landing
At dawn on 31 January 1945, the convoy arrived off Nasugbu in clear skies and calm seas. On their landing craft, the men of the 187th and 188th RCTs could see the white landing beaches, the town of Nasugbu, and the green mountains of southern Luzon beyond. The Wednesday morning quietude was broken at 07:00 when USAAF A–20s and P–38s appeared overhead, dropped down on the deck, and strafed the beaches. At 07:15, the Navy began shelling and rocketing the designated landing area. An hour later, the shelling stopped and the beachmaster landing party headed for shore.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Luzon Landing
At 08:22, Generals Eichelberger and Swing received word aboard the Navy task force command ship USCGC Spencer (WPG-36) that the landing was unopposed. At 08:25, the first wave of eight landing craft motored ashore, ran up on the beach, dropped their ramps, and the 188th RCT's glider riders turned amphibians waded ashore. The first assault troops, a reconnaissance-in-force from Lieutenant Colonel Ernest H. LaFlamme's 1/188th, headed for their first objective, the town of Nasugbu 1,500 yards (1,400 m) away.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Luzon Landing
Some Japanese, from positions on hills to the north and on the south flank of the beachhead, fired rifles and machine guns sporadically and dropped a few mortar rounds along the beach until LaFlamme sent off patrols to silence the opposition. General Swing and the 11th Airborne Division staff transferred to landing craft and reached the beach just behind the 188th's second wave. By 09:45, the 188th had moved through Wawa, Nasugbu, and its airstrip and started southeastward along gravel roads toward the Palico River and the entrance to the section of Route 17 that led to Tagaytay Ridge. At 10:00, General Eichelberger ordered the landing of the remainder of the amphibious force. At 10:30, Lieutenant Colonel "Harry" Wilson led the 187th RCT ashore.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Luzon Landing
After 2/188th took Lian and the Japanese had been driven back into the hills, 1/187th was attached to the 188th RCT for the march inland and up the hill on the road to Tagaytay Ridge. The remainder of the 187th RCT assumed responsibility for the Nasugbu beachhead. One battery of the 674th GFAB remained behind on the beach to support the 187th RCT's defense of the beachhead. By 13:00, all combat elements of the two RCTs were moving inland. General Eichelberger and his small Eighth Army command group had landed and joined General Swing near the head of the column marching up Highway 17 to link up with the 511th RCT.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
By 31 January 1945, General MacArthur had become frustrated with the Sixth Army's slow advance on Manila from the north. MacArthur's primary objective on Luzon was the capture of Manila and the air base at Clark Field, which were required to support future operations. "Get to Manila," he ordered his two field commanders. General Eichelberger reasoned that if he could make the Japanese think that his small force moving up Highway 17 across Tagaytay Ridge and heading for Manila from the south was a larger force, he would have a tactical advantage and a relatively unopposed run-up to the capital.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
Planning to have troops on Tagaytay Ridge before dark on 1 February, Eichelberger directed General Swing to advance the 188th RCT, reinforced with 1/187th, forward as rapidly as possible. He thought that the entire 11th Airborne Division, including the 511th RCT, could assemble on Tagaytay Ridge on 2 February, and asked the Fifth Air Force to drop the 511th RCT a day earlier than originally planned.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
He also requested that the 24th Infantry Division move the entire 19th Infantry Regiment to Nasugbu from Leyte to protect the port and MSR up Highway 17 to Tagaytay Ridge and  free up 2/187th to join the rest of the 187th RCT on its march to Manila. The Fifth Air Force replied affirmatively, but General MacArthur agreed only to make another battalion of the 19th Infantry available in addition to the one that was already under Eichelberger's control and loading for Luzon.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
The 188th RCT's first objective was the Palico River Bridge carrying the shortest and best route to Tagaytay Ridge over a gorge 250 feet (76 m) wide and 85 feet (26 m) deep. Lying 5 miles (8.0 km) miles inland from Nasugbu, the bridge could hold the 11th Airborne Division's heaviest equipment. If the division could not seize the bridge intact, it would have to ford the Palico River south of Nasugbu and work its way along poor roads to Highway 17 east of the river crossing, a time-consuming process that would require considerable engineering effort and slow supply movement.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
By 14:30, the 188th RCT's lead battalion, 1/188th, had reached the bridge. The 188th RCT had moved inland so rapidly that Japanese sappers on the east bank preparing to blow the bridge were stunned by the sudden, unexpected appearance of the Americans and failed to explode the prepared demolitions. The lead elements of 1/188th ran down an open hill west of the bridge, dashed across the span, and routed the Japanese. The 127th AEB inactivated the demolition charges and reinforced the bridge sections that the Japanese had weakened. By 15:30, the bridge and surrounding area were secured and the entire 188th RCT and attached 1/187th were across the Palico River and at the junction of Highway 17 with the main road from Nasugbu.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
As Highway 17 began to rise more sharply, the advance slowed as the 188th RCT found itself moving cautiously through narrow passes, bordered by steep wooded banks, ideal for ambushes. At 18:00, the 188th RCT halted along Highway 17 about 4 miles (6.4 km) beyond the Palico River Bridge. The normal tactic of fighting the Japanese in the Pacific was to halt just before dark and set a perimeter defense before eating whatever rations were on hand and bedding down for the night.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
General Eichelberger discerned that if the 188th RCT kept moving at night, the Japanese might be thrown off balance and would not be able to practice their customary night probes of the American defenses. Eichelberger felt that he had the momentum and told General Swing to push on by the light of the full moon. At midnight, 1/187th passed through the 188th RCT and took up the lead. At 04:00 on 1 February, Lieutenant Colonel Wilson halted the march. Almost 20 hours after wading ashore at Nasugbu, the men slept for two hours and were up and off again up the road at 06:00, heading for Tagaytay Ridge.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
At daybreak, 1/187th approached a defile bounded by Mounts Cariliao, Talamitam, and Apayang to the northwest and Mount Batulao to the southeast. At the foot of Mount Cariliao was Mount Aiming. The five peaks gave the Japanese a perfect defensive position that dominated the highway. When they saw 1/187th advancing toward them, the Japanese opened up with artillery, mortars, and machine guns, the heaviest barrages that the 11th Airborne Division had encountered since landing. The hostile fire from the heights around the road that slowed the advance appeared to be from a Japanese outpost on Mount Aiming.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
As 1/187th advanced, they ran up against the Japanese main line of resistance (MLR) across Highway 17. Air and ground reconnaissance disclosed that the Japanese defenses were hinged on Mount Aiming and anchored on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Cariliao, north of the highway, and along the northern slopes of Mount Batulao, south of the road. Raising its crest over 1,300 feet (400 m) above Highway 17, Mount Cariliao provided the Japanese with excellent defensive terrain, while the rough slopes of Mount Batulao, almost 2,700 feet (820 m) high, afforded almost innumerable hideaways.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
To the 11th Airborne Division approaching along ground that gave little concealment, the key to the Japanese defenses appeared to be Mount  Aiming, a sharp, bare height of some 1,180 feet (360 m) off the southeastern slope of Mount Cariliao. The MLR was a string of caves, dugouts, and tank traps, all interconnected by a zigzag line of trenches, backed up with various Japanese artillery pieces emplaced to the north and east of Mount Aiming. Artillery rounds from these guns bracketed the highway. There were Japanese infantrymen in caves and trenches on Mount Aiming and across the highway. The Japanese defenses into which the 188th RCT had now run appeared to be the line to which the Japanese had been falling back; the Japanese were now ready to fight.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
General Swing gave Colonel Soule the mission of reducing the Japanese stronghold on Mount Aiming. Soule in turn directed 1/187th to lead the attack up the highway. He sent 1/188th to the left and north of the highway and 2/188th to the right and south. The 674th and 675th GFABs' howitzers were brought forward to support the infantry attack. The attack got underway at 09:00 when the 188th RCT's forward air control observer directed USAAF fighter and medium bomber close air support strafing and bombing of the Japanese positions.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
The artillery echelon fired concentrations on Japanese defensive positions and counter-battery fire on the Japanese artillery positions. Picking its way through what cover and concealment it could find, including a sharp gorge on the north side of Highway 17, A/188th broke through the Japanese lines and secured a foothold on the southern slopes of Mount  Aiming about noon. The rifle company became separated from the rest of 1/188th and was forced to dig in. The Japanese counterattacked A/188th all afternoon but failed to dislodge the Americans.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
In the face of Japanese machine-gun and mortar fire, the remainder of 1/188th finally cleared all of Mount Aiming. Seizing Mount Aiming pierced and split the Japanese defenses at the defile and helped reduce the volume of point-blank machine-gun and small-arms fire that had held up the division. While 1/188th held its position on the north flank, 2/188th moved south of the road and attacked the Japanese strongpoint between Mount Batulao and the highway. Meanwhile, 1/187th moved in between 1/188th and 2/188th and, as the center of the line, attacked eastward astride the highway.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
The delay occasioned by the fight at the Mount Cariliao-Mount Batulao defile had slowed the 188th RCT's advance and dashed General Eichelberger's hopes for assembling the entire division on Tagaytay Ridge by dusk on 2 February. General MacArthur had instructed Eichelberger not to bring in the 511th RCT until he was certain that the amphibious units could link up with the paratroopers within 24 hours of their drop. Since it appeared by evening that the 188th RCT might well have to spend all day on 2 February fighting its way through the defile, Eichelberger reluctantly directed General Swing to bring in the 511th RCT on 3 February.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
On the morning of 2 February, the 188th RCT launched an all-out attack to the east. At 08:30, the USAAF and the two artillery battalions hit the main Japanese positions between the two mountains. 1/187th and 2/188th continued the assault to the east, passing through 1/188th, protecting the 188th RCT's left flank on Mount Aiming. Despite strong close air support by the Fifth Air Force and division artillery, the 188th RCT could make little progress during the morning.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
The pace quickened shortly after noon when the Americans broke through to Aga, a barrio east of Mount Aiming, and the Japanese were forced to withdraw with the capture of a regimental CP at 13:00, which showed the haste in which the Japanese departed. In the defense of their CP, the Japanese had built three tank traps across the highway 20 feet (6.1 m) wide across the top, 4 feet (1.2 m) wide across the bottom, and 25 feet (7.6 m) deep, which the 127th AEB bridged.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
While 1/188th moved north, 2/188th continued to attack the Japanese in the northern foothills of Mount Batulao. So far, the 188th RCT had lost six KIA and 41 WIA, and had killed about 90 Japanese. By 18:00, 1/187th, now leading the attack along Highway 17, was 3 miles (4.8 km) beyond Aga and only 2 miles (3.2 km) short of the west end of Tagaytay Ridge when.it butted up against the third and strongest position of the Japanese MLR.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
The advance halted for the night and the battalion prepared to resume its drive the next morning to make contact with the 511th RCT, scheduled to start dropping on Tagaytay Ridge at 08:15. Throughout the night, the Japanese harassed the forward American units with artillery, mortar, and small-arms fire. The Japanese located the 675th GFAB's firing position and forced it to displace its guns.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
At 07:30 on the morning of 3 February, the 188th RCT, with 1/187th attached, attacked the final Japanese position in the stubbornly defended Mount Cariliao-Mount Batulao area. The three battalions advanced rapidly against little resistance until 11:00. 1/188th's lead company rounded a ridge-nose on the north side of a sharp bend in Highway 17 on the western edge of Tagaytay Ridge and halted after observing Japanese activity on another ridge-nose south of the bend. General Pierson arrived and Lieutenant Colonel LaFlamme told him that his point men could see Japanese on the high ground to the south.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
Colonel Soule drove up and was discussing the situation with Pierson when the Japanese opened up with artillery, machine-gun, and small-arms fire. Pierson jumped into a roadside ditch and Soule jumped in on top of him. Soule received a shell fragment in his buttocks and commented to Pierson that he had been hit. Not only were Pierson and Soule pinned down by the artillery fire, but so were many other high-ranking officers, including General Eichelberger and several colonels and lieutenant colonels. In one of the barrages, 1/187th's Lieutenant Colonel Wilson was wounded.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
In all, the barrage resulted in eight KIA and 21 WIA. The artillery barrages forced everyone to take cover. Soule removed himself from the ditch and immediately assumed command of the attack on the Japanese position. He sent orders to bring up 1/187th. Wilson ordered his lead company to swing around behind the Japanese position and take it from the rear. 2/188th moved off the road to the south and onto the Japanese-held ridge.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack Inland
By 13:00, the troops of 1/187th and the 188th, using flamethrowers and hand grenades, supported by the guns of the 674th and 675th GFABs, wrestled control of the ridge from the Japanese, killing over 300 in the battle. The position was obviously an important one in the Japanese defensive plan; it was honeycombed with enormous supply tunnels, reinforced-concrete caves, and strong artillery and individual firing positions. With the reduction of Shorty Ridge, named after Colonel "Shorty" Soule, the amphibious units of the 11th Airborne Division that had landed and fought their way up a difficult route of attack were ready to make contact with the paratroopers of the 511th RCT.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
At 08:15 on 3 February 1945, while the 188th RCT and 1/187th were reducing Japanese resistance on Shorty Ridge, the first of the 1,750 paratroopers of the 511th RCT (less the 457th PFAB) began dropping from forty-eight C–47s onto the Tagaytay Ridge DZ. Because of a shortage of transport aircraft, only about one-third of the 511th RCT could be airdropped in one lift; the jump was planned for three waves delivered over two days.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
The first elements to be dropped consisted of Colonel Haugen, the 511th RCT's commanding officer, and his regimental command group, 2/511th, and one-half of 3/511th – about 915 officers and men overall. Tagaytay Ridge made an excellent DZ for a mass parachute drop. The area selected for the DZ was flat and over 4,000 yards (3,700 m) long and about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) wide. The only dangerous feature was the possibility of being blown off the ridge and down into Taal Lake. It was well that there was no Japanese opposition, because the paratroopers landed in an inordinately scattered fashion.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
The Fifth Air Force transports had flown north from Mindoro to approach Tagaytay Ridge from the northeast in order to avoid Japanese antiaircraft fire from west of the DZ. The first 18 planeloads of paratroopers landed right on DZs marked by smoke pots set out by advance scouts. At this juncture, the aircraft in the second serial were nearly three minutes behind the lead serial. About 08:20, the second serial of thirty C–47s carrying 570 paratroopers dropped 6 miles (9.7 km) short of the DZ when its lead plane accidentally released a drop bundle.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
Taking this as a signal that they were over the proper DZ, all the paratroopers immediately "hit the silk." The second serial, under explicit orders to ignore the scattered parachutes on the ground, persisted in jumping short. The transport pilots, realizing they had not yet reached the proper DZ, attempted to halt the drop, but the jumpmasters continued sending the paratroopers out.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
At about 12:10, when the rest of the regiment, the other half of 3/511th and 1/511th, came in over the ridge in the second wave of fifty-one C–47s, only about 80 paratroopers from the first five aircraft of this group landed in the proper DZs; the remainder dropped their paratroopers on the collapsed parachutes from the misplaced airdrop. When all was said and done, only 425 paratroopers dropped onto the proper DZs; 1,325 landed between 4 and 6 miles (6.4 and 9.7 km) to the east and northeast. The regiment suffered about 50 jump casualties, of whom all but two were listed as "slightly injured." One paratrooper was killed and another was carried on the casualty lists as seriously injured.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
Despite the scattered landings, Colonel Haugen had all his troops reassembled by 14:00. He dispatched patrols westward to establish contact with the 188th RCT moving up Tagaytay Ridge and to secure the eastern end of Tagaytay Ridge where Highway 17 turned sharply north and downhill toward Manila. Haugen also sent patrols out along the roads and trails leading north and south from the ridge crest that found no signs of Japanese. Both Generals Eichelberger and Swing were with the 188th RCT's forward elements and contacted Haugen near the Manila Hotel Annex atop the ridge overlooking Taal Lake.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
That afternoon, 2/511th secured the DZ and, after 3/511th assumed DZ security, moved to the junction of Highways 17 and 25B to await further orders. The 11th Airborne Division CP moved into the Manila Hotel Annex, which was in a central position on the ridge and made a convenient control point for the troops moving east and north.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
Generals Eichelberger and Swing intended to have the reinforced 188th RCT hold Tagaytay Ridge and reduce the Japanese pocket on the western nose of the ridge while the 511th RCT pushed northward toward Manila with all possible speed during the afternoon of 3 February. Swing had sent all of his available motor transport forward to Tagaytay Ridge to move the 511th RCT northward in battalion-sized shuttles and directed the 188th RCT to follow when the situation permitted.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
Eichelberger's hopes that the 11th Airborne Division could start its dash to Manila on 3 February did not come to fruition, because there was not enough motor transport or gasoline available to permit it. Later in the afternoon, seventeen 2 1/2-ton cargo trucks were unloaded from landing craft at Nasugbu and sent forward. By 4 February, ten C–47s landed at Nasugbu's dirt airstrip, widened and cleared by the 127th AEB, with a cargo of gasoline that was immediately sent forward.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
After dark on 3 February, General Swing sent First Lieutenant George Skau and 21 men from the Division Recon Platoon, mounted in jeeps, up Highway 17 to reconnoiter the road to Manila. Swing cautioned Skau that he was driving into unknown territory and to radio back as soon as he encountered Japanese defenses.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
At 04:00 on 4 February, Skau reported back that the road was secure as far as Imus, a small town almost 25 miles (40 km) north of Tagaytay Ridge, where the Japanese had blown the Imus River bridge just south of the town, but he had found a dirt road that bypassed the bridge. It, too, had a bridge ready to be blown but the recon patrol had removed the charges. At 05:30, the 2/511th point moved out in two jeeps. Two hours later, the rest of 2/511th mounted trucks and set out from Tagaytay Ridge, over 12 hours behind Sixth Army elements already coming into Manila from the north.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
About 11:30, forward elements of 2/511th dismounted at Imus. About 50 Japanese, holed up in an old stone building dating back to the early days of the Spanish occupation, defended the alternate bridge that the recon patrol had found. Most of 2/511th walked across the Imus River along the top of a small dam south of the town, while D/511th, supported by several of the 674th GFAB's 75mm pack howitzers, undertook to reduce the Japanese strongpoint so that the trucks could continue up Highway 17.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
The 5 feet (1.5 m) thick walls of the old building proved impervious to the light artillery shells, so a soldier climbed on to the building's roof, knocked a hole through the roof, poured in gasoline, and started a fire inside with a white phosphorus hand grenade. As the Japanese came dashing out, they were summarily cut down by the men of D/511th. With the Imus bridge secure, 2/511th drove on another 3 miles (4.8 km) to Zapote.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
Here, Highway 17 ended at a junction with Highway 25, which led northeast across the Zapote River bridge to a junction with Highway 1, south of the Las Piñas River bridge. The Japanese had prepared to demolish the bridge and defend it from positions on the north bank, but 2/511th caught them by surprise and took the span intact after a hard fight. 2/511th halted at Las Piñas while 1/511th, coming north on a second truck shuttle from Tagaytay Ridge, passed through and continued toward Manila.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
The 511th RCT, by truck and on foot, moved forward and was now pushing against the southern Japanese defenses of Manila. Meanwhile, back on Tagaytay Ridge, the third wave of the 511th RCT airdrop, the 457th PFAB, dropped onto Tagaytay Ridge opposite the division CP at 08:15, and the 188th RCT with 1/187th attached, having cleaned out the Japanese on Shorty Ridge, left a company to secure the area and Colonel Soule led the rest of his command on foot toward Manila.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
With his division on a new mission and his MSR strung out over 70 miles, General Swing gave the 187th RCT (less 1/187th) the mission of securing the MSR. To assist in the vast task of covering the large area that the 11th Airborne Division had liberated, General Eichelberger brought ashore the 19th Infantry Regiment (less one battalion). The 187th RCT accomplished its mission by patrolling the area and establishing outposts along the entire MSR.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
The force was not large enough to take on large Japanese concentrations, but active patrols were able to drive the Japanese farther into the surrounding hills. One Japanese concentration was around Mount Pico de Loro; another was on Mount Sungay. In the future, the entire 11th Airborne Division would return to wipe out the Japanese pockets of resistance, but first, it had to assist in the subjugation of Manila. In a few days, both 187th RCT infantry battalions would move to the area south of Manila to join the 511th RCT in what would prove to be one of the 11th Airborne Division's bloodiest fights.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
Note: Whether the jump on Tagaytay Ridge was necessary is a question that cannot be answered categorically. Certainly, the drop was not required to secure Tagaytay Ridge – there were no Japanese there and elements of the 188th RCT were already on the west end of the ridge before the first paratroopers were out of their planes.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
On the other hand, with the allied naval forces short of amphibious lift and escorts to move the regiment any sooner, the 511th RCT, coming from Mindoro by water and then overland from Nasugbu, could not have reached Tagaytay Ridge until late on 4 February at the earliest. In such an event, the 11th Airborne Division, with insufficient strength to continue toward Manila, might have been forced to wait along the ridge another day, giving the Japanese ample time to redeploy its forces to defend Highway 17 north of the ridge.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Jump on Tagaytay Ridge
General Eichelberger hoped that the division could move in strength on Manila during 3 February and catch off balance the defenders south of the city. Whatever the case, the day or two saved by the 511th RCT's jump would prove to make no difference, for the Japanese had already fully manned strong defenses at the southern outskirts of Manila, though Generals Eichelberger and Swing could not know this on the basis of available information.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Following Highway 1 up the shoreline of Manila Bay, 1/511th left Las Piñas behind at 18:00 on the evening of 4 February 1945. The battalion ran into increasingly heavy harassing fire from Japanese riflemen and machine gunners. At Parañaque, 2 miles (3.2 km) beyond Las Piñas, the unit found a bridge across the Parañaque River, the southern boundary of metropolitan Manila, badly damaged, defended by Japanese on the north bank, and covered by Japanese mortar and artillery fire originating from Nichols Field to the northeast. It was here, only 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the Manila city limits, that the 11th Airborne Division ran into well-planned and heavily-manned Japanese defenses that could not be bypassed; they had found the right anchor of the Japanese Genko Line.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
The Genko Line consisted of a series of mutually-supporting reinforced concrete pillboxes extending eastward across Nichols Field and anchored at Mabato Point along Laguna de Bay (Laguna Lake). The rear of the Genko Line was based on the high ground of Fort William McKinley. Naval guns salvaged from damaged or sunken ships were set in permanent concrete emplacements, and horizontally-firing antiaircraft artillery was tactically located to assist in the defense. Many of the concrete pillboxes were two and three stories deep.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
The Genko Line held some 6,000 Japanese in over 1,200 pillboxes supported by 44 heavy artillery pieces, 164 antiaircraft artillery weapons that could fire vertically at aircraft or horizontally at ground troops. and over 500 machine guns; 100-pound bombs and antisubmarine depth charges were rigged as land mines. All roads leading to the Genko Line were heavily mined with 500-pound bombs armed with low-pressure detonators.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
The Japanese blocking force that halted the 511th RCT at the Parañaque River bridge was part of the Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces, ground combat units consisting of naval personnel organized for offensive operations and the defense of the Japanese naval facilities, and artillery units of varying armament. Northeast of the bridge, Nichols Field, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service base of operations, bristled with antiaircraft defenses. Heavy weapons attachments held Fort McKinley, which was 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Nichols Field. Other Japanese units manned antiaircraft artillery positions midway between Fort McKinley and Nichols Field.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
The Japanese also had a few troops at Nielson Field, 3 miles (4.8 km) north-northeast of Nichols Field. Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi commanded the Manila defenses. He had 20,000 men under his command, consisting of 16,000 naval troops and 4,000 army troops who had been trapped by the American pincers movement on Manila from the north and south. Before General Krueger's Sixth Army invasion from Lingayen, Admiral Iwabuchi believed that the main American effort would come from the south, and prepared his strongest defenses accordingly.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
The 674th GFAB had moved up into positions from which it could support the 511th RCT's advance. General Swing had established his CP in a cathedral near Parañaque. Lieutenant Colonel Hoska, the 674th's commanding officer, told Swing that he believed that his pack 75s could neutralize the heavy Japanese fire coming from across the Parañaque River bridge. Swing permitted him to try. Between midnight and 05:00 on 5 February, Hoska directed a single gun in a precision attack on the Japanese defensive positions, knocking out five machine-gun emplacements and two 20mm high-velocity antiaircraft guns embedded in the concrete breakwater wall 30 yards (27 m) across the river.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Admiral Iwabuchi ordered his men to blow up all of Manila's military installations and the port area, the bridges, and the municipal water and electrical power installations. On 5 February, the Japanese dynamited the northern port area and fled southward across the Pasig River, blowing all the bridges behind them. The blasts ignited fires that quickly engulfed a section of bamboo houses near the port. Shortly, much of the northern half of Manila was in flames.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
On the morning of 5 February, the 511th RCT forced a crossing of the Parañaque River and started north along Highway 1 over a narrow strip of land lying between the river on the east and Manila Bay on the west. During the next two days, the 511th RCT fought its way about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) northward in house-to-house and pillbox-to-pillbox fighting, depending heavily upon flamethrowers and demolitions, losing six KIA and 35 WIA, and killing about 200 Japanese. On 6 February, General Swing called a halt to the advance.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
That afternoon, the 188th RCT (with 1/187th attached) and 2/187th arrived from Tagaytay Ridge. Swing proposed sending the 188th RCT and 2/187th against Nichols Field, from where Japanese artillery rounds had been falling on the division's right, while the 511th RCT continued its drive into Manila in the west, on the division's left flank. On the night of 6–7 February, the reinforced 188th RCT and 2/187th moved up to their lines of departure south and southeast of Nichols Field, ready to launch their attack at daybreak.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
The 188th RCT attack on 7 February, across fairly open terrain, gained little ground in the face of heavy, concentrated, and accurate artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire from the Japanese defenses on and around Nichols Field. To the west, the 511th RCT managed to get its right wing across the north-south stretch of the Parañaque River to positions near the southwest corner of Nichols Field, but there it stopped.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
During the next two days, the 511th RCT secured a narrow strip of land between the Parañaque River and the airfield's western runway and overran some Japanese defenses at the northwest corner of the airfield. The 188th RCT made contact with the 511th RCT at the southwest corner of the airfield but could gain little ground on the south and southeast.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
On 10 February, its last day under Eighth Army control, the 11th Airborne Division consolidated its gains and established a solid line from the northwest corner around to the southeast corner of the airfield, eliminating the last Japanese resistance on the western end of the airfield. Meanwhile, elements of the 511th RCT had continued up Highway 1 beyond Nichols Field's northwest corner.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Despite four days' effort, the 11th Airborne Division had been unable to substantially reduce the volume of Japanese artillery fire originating from the Nichols Field defensive complex. Supporting airstrikes and the division's light 75mm pack howitzer and short 105mm howitzer artillery  were not designed for heavy duty, were almost ineffective against the heavy reinforced-concrete pillboxes held by Japanese, and had failed to knock out enough of the Japanese guns at the airfield to permit the infantry to advance without taking severe losses.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Nichols Field was the center of the Genko Line and contained an interconnecting network of pillboxes and gun emplacements linked by underground tunnels. The terrain around the airfield was open, providing the Japanese with excellent fields of fire for their flat-trajectory dual-purpose antiaircraft weapons. The Japanese had embedded several naval guns on the airfield's outer rim. On 11 February, the 511th RCT attacked northward along the bay front in its sector to within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the city limits.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
General Swing, Colonel Haugen, the 511th RCT's commanding officer, and Lieutenant Colonel Tipton, 2/187th's commanding officer, were in conference in the 2/187th CP when a Japanese 20mm shell penetrated a window and exploded in the room, wounding "Hard Rock" Haugen in the chest. He died on 22 February during an air evacuation flight from Mindoro to New Guinea. Lieutenant Colonel Edward H. Lahti, 3/511th's commanding officer, assumed command of the 511th RCT. Meanwhile, in a series of patrol actions, the 187th RCT had secured the southeast corner of Nichols Field and its southern runway.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
On 12 February, General Swing ordered a full-scale assault on Nichols Field. After airstrikes and artillery preparation succeeded in knocking out many Japanese artillery positions, 2/187th attacked eastward from the northwest corner of the airfield; the 188th RCT and 1/187th drove in from the south and southeast. Under cover of continuing artillery barrages, the infantry rushed forward to attack pillboxes and gun emplacements. In the afternoon, the Japanese counterattacked and were beaten back. By dusk, the 188th RCT and 1/187th had cleared most of Nichols Field.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Having reduced Nichols Field, the 11th Airborne Division continued its advance on 13 February. The 511th RCT advanced eastward astride the Manila-Fort McKinley road. The 187th and 188th RCTs continued their attack across Nichols Field. On the morning of 15 February, the division continued its attack across Nichols Field and toward Fort McKinley. The plan called for the 188th RCT, with 2/187th attached, to pivot and strike toward Fort McKinley and for the 511th RCT to continue its attack eastward, with all six battalions converging at Fort McKinley.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
At 12:15 on 15 February, following an airstrike coupled with an artillery and mortar barrage, G/187th lead off the attack. 1st Platoon, G/187th, started moving forward; there was no Japanese reaction. The platoon crossed a dry streambed and started up the slope of the other side. Suddenly, Japanese machine guns located in the streambed that 1st Platoon had just crossed opened up on the platoon's rear. Fortunately, the platoon was well dispersed.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Before any return fire could be brought to bear on the machine gun locations, a shouting, screaming mass of Japanese climbed out of the streambed and charged 1st Platoon. The platoon's machine-gun crews had their weapons mounted and firing within seconds. Their fire, combined with that of the BARs began knocking the Japanese down. They still came on in a seemingly endless stream. The leading Japanese closed with 1st Platoon and all semblance of organization vanished as it became every man for himself. G/187th's commander committed his 2nd Platoon to the fight.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
They knocked out several Japanese machine guns in the streambed that had ceased firing because their fire was masked by their own troops. Leaving a squad  to continue up the streambed, the remainder of 2nd Platoon crossed the streambed and entered the melee. For some unknown reason, the Japanese chose not to fight it out but attempted to pass through 1st Platoon to reach the shelter of their bunkers and pillboxes.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Realizing that the Japanese in the bunkers and pillboxes would soon start firing even if it meant killing their own men, G/187th consolidated its two platoons (less one squad in the streambed) and started up the hill. Help arrived when F/187th, on the left of G/187th, had swung to their right and reached the top of the hill first, putting the remaining Japanese between the two American infantry companies and cut off from their positions. Within minutes, all firing ceased and G/187th moved to the hillcrest to join F/187th.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Suddenly, without warning, a muffled explosion shook the area and the earth on top of the hill rose and settled, knocking most of the men to the ground. Preferring death to the disgrace of capture, the Japanese had blown the position while the Americans were on top of it, expecting the whole hill to be destroyed and killing everyone on it. Fortunately, the demolition charge was too small.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
The 11th Airborne Division had now seized two-thirds of the Genko Line. The 511th RCT, with 2/187th attached, had pushed through the left end of the line, then turned eastward to join the attack on Nichols Field. The 188th RCT, with 1/187th attached, had swung northward across Nichols Field and linked up with the 511th RCT and 2/187th. With the seizure of Nichols Field, the division, for the most part, had completed its objective in the battle for Manila. Since its amphibious landing at Nasugbu, the division had suffered 900 casualties.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
Of this number, the 511th RCT lost 70 KIA and 240 WIA; the 187th and 188th RCTs together lost 100 KIA and 510 WIA. The division had killed about 3,000 Japanese in metropolitan Manila. Following the fall of Nichols Field, the division regrouped for the assault on the last two bastions in the Genko Line: Fort McKinley and Mabato Point, the high ground on Laguna Lake about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) south of Fort McKinley. General Swing's plan was simple: blast the Japanese defenses with airstrikes and artillery, attack the blind sides and vulnerable points, squeeze the Japanese tighter, and, if they tried to escape, hit the escape routes with airstrikes and artillery, or previously-set ambush sites.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
On 14 February, General Swing assigned the mission of reducing Mabato Point and attacking Fort McKinley from the south to a special task force (TF) under the command of General Pierson, the assistant division commanding general. TF Pierson was composed of 1/187th, 3/19th Infantry, a company of M4 Sherman tanks from the US 44th Tank Battalion, and a platoon of combat engineers from C/127th AEB. The next day, TF Pierson advanced northward toward Fort McKinley.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
At the same time, the 188th RCT, with 2/187th attached, and the 511th RCT attacked in line eastward on TF Pierson's left flank in the face of heavy Japanese artillery and automatic-weapons fire from the fort. Between 15 and 17 February, the division consolidated its gains. On 16 February, during a reconnaissance of the eastern approaches to Fort McKinley, there was an enormous explosion that demolished the side of a hill. The concussion knocked some of the men flat. One explosion followed another as the Japanese destroyed their ammunition dumps.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Attack on Manila and the Genko Line
On 17 February, Swing received the go-ahead to launch his attack on Fort McKinley. 1/511th led the attack from the west with 2/187th on their right flank. As they closed on the fort, the artillery, antiaircraft, mortar, and small-arms fire from emplacements and pillboxes increased. Japanese suicide squads fought desperate delaying actions, but American casualties were comparatively light. Just inside the Carabao Gate, the main entrance to Fort McKinley, the attack was halted by division order; elements of the 1st Cavalry Division had crossed the Pasig River and were working toward the division from the northeast corner of the post. Aside from local patrolling, the Nichols Field-Fort McKinley fight was over. The Japanese had withdrawn to a new concentration area in the vicinity of Mabato Point.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
On 15 February 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Pearson, the 187th RCT's executive officer, took over the mission of reducing Mabato Point, which was on high ground on the western shore of Laguna de Bay or Laguna Lake, the largest lake in the Philippines. From their well-fortified strongpoint on top of Mabato Point, the Japanese had perfect observation and wide, grazing fields of artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire over open and rolling terrain. Tunnels were burrowed through the hill, opening into large rooms containing headquarters, communications centers, hospitals, supply rooms, kitchens, and living quarters.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
A Japanese soldier could move between positions without surfacing. Pearson deployed his forces in an arc surrounding Mabato Point. He held 3/19th Infantry on the heights south of Fort McKinley, sent 3/511th to control the southern exits from the area, and put 1/187th to the west along the Manila Railroad track that ran northwest-southeast across the area and close to Mabato Point; the 457th PFAB was prepared to support the ground attack with its pack 75s.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
Lieutenant Colonel Pearson launched his attack at midmorning on 18 February. A/187th and B/187th struck due east, advancing partially up the hill, but Japanese mortar fire forced both companies to withdraw off the hill. After reassessing the situation, Pearson decided to call in airstrikes and all the artillery fire he could bring to bear. In the afternoon, USAAF P–38s and P–51s and Marine SBDs blasted and strafed the area, along with hundreds of rounds of artillery and tank fire.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
The ground around the Japanese defensive positions was so hard that the aerial bombs merely chipped off pieces of the fortification; the artillery and tank fire was even less effective. Pearson then called for napalm airstrikes. The napalm did two things: it burned off the camouflage covering the cave and tunnel entrances, and when landing near a tunnel opening, burned up so much oxygen so rapidly that many Japanese suffocated inside the tunnels. Mabato Point was attacked again on the morning of 19 February. C/187th led the assault with armor support.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
The rifle company made its way partially up the hill and, again, was blasted off the hill by huge 150mm mortars. For days, 1/187th had been trying to locate the Japanese observers who were directing the mortar fire so accurately. Finally, several Japanese were spotted in trees. Sharpshooters were brought up and knocked the Japanese out of the trees. The mortar fire subsequently abated.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
By 21 February, the Japanese on Mabato Point were surrounded and cut off from their escape routes. Patrol boats were sent out on Laguna Lake to block the Japanese escape by water. That morning, a group of Filipino guerrillas and a young Filipino girl were escorted to Lieutenant Colonel Pearson's CP west of Mabato Point. The girl asked Pearson if a Japanese medical officer could surrender. When asked for the whereabouts of the Japanese officer, she pointed to one of the "guerillas," a nondescript little individual who promptly surrendered.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
Through an interpreter, the Japanese officer stated that there were perhaps 400 more Japanese in the Mabato Point area that would surrender unconditionally if given the chance. Pearson ordered a ceasefire and sent a Filipino messenger under a white flag of truce to the Japanese commander on Mabato Point. At noon, all fire would be halted for a half hour and any Japanese defenders who wished to surrender could walk out with their hands over their heads and move down the hill toward the American lines. The Japanese commander rejected the offer out of hand.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
Pearson resumed the attack at 12:30 with airstrikes, artillery concentrations, and tank fire. C/187th again led the attack up the hill. The Japanese attempted to repel the assault, but finally, the ground forces who were advancing along the arc of the attack assaulted the position with rifles, grenades, flamethrowers, and fixed bayonets. That night, the 15 surviving Japanese officers marched on their commander's order to Mabato Point and committed harakiri. Later that night, a group of Japanese tried to escape down a road to the south, unaware that 3/511th and a group of Filipino guerrillas had set up ambushes along the road; the result was a slaughter of the Japanese troops.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mabato Point
On 21 February, the Americans moved without opposition to Mabato Point. All organized resistance in the area of Nichols Field, Fort McKinley, and Mabato Point had ceased. By 25 February, both 1/187th and 2/187th had moved back to Tagaytay Ridge for a brief respite from battle. The tranquility would be short-lived. The Japanese were far from defeated in the Philippines.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
On 10 February 1945, the 11th Airborne Division had passed from General Eichelberger's Eighth Army to General Krueger's Sixth Army control and, consequently, to Lieutenant General Oscar W. Griswold's XIV Corps. On 23 February, General Griswold gave General Swing the broadly–defined mission of destroying all Japanese forces in Luzon south of Manila. More specifically, this meant the reduction of the Japanese defenses on Mount Macolod on the southeastern shore of Taal Lake, the seizure of Lipa, and the clearance of Highway 19, the main route through the Lipa Corridor, for 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Lipa.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
It was clear to Swing that the Japanese were far from defeated in this area. One Japanese force formed a well-dug-in line from Laguna Lake to Taal Lake along Mount Bijiang, Mount Makiling, and Mount Sungay. Another force occupied the Ternate-Mount Pico de Loro sector, driven there during the 11th Airborne Division's initial drive from Nasugbu. The Japanese also manned a strong defensive position along the Mount Macolod-Lipa Hill-Mount Malepunyo hill masses. A large number of Japanese were holed up on the Bicol Peninsula north of Legazpi.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
To assist the replacement-deficient 11th Airborne Division, General Griswold attached the 158th RCT. He told General Swing to open the Manila-Santo Tomas-Lipa-Batangas City highway so that the port at Batangas City on the southern shore of Luzon could be used to mount further amphibious operations. The Manila-Batangas City highway ran in a north-south line along the western shore of Laguna Lake and then to the east of Taal Lake. Griswold also told Swing to open Manila Harbor by clearing out the Japanese in Ternate, on the southern shore of Manila Bay, southeast of Corregidor Island.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
Swing knew that his new missions would require the total commitment of his seven-infantry-battalion division. At no time since the division entered combat did he ever have the luxury of units in reserve. Some of his battalions, through combat losses, were at a present-for-duty strength of just over 200 effectives. But Swing knew his division and his subordinate commanders, and he knew how to employ them effectively.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
The 187th RCT had not yet operated as a stand-alone RCT on Luzon; its two infantry battalions were usually attached to one of the other RCTs, proving the need for a triangular regimental organization in which the regiment's main body was composed of three maneuver battalions (as with the 511th RCT), rather than a square regimental organization with two battalions. In March, the 187th RCT fought as a stand-alone regiment.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
General Swing planned for the 187th and 511th RCTs to attack abreast, with the 187th RCT on the right, eastward through the narrow neck of land between Taal and Laguna lakes. He sent the 158th RCT along two routes, Balayan-Lemery-Bauan-Cuenca and Batangas City-Lipa, the two prongs to join at Lipa; he assigned 1/188th to attack the Japanese entrenched in Ternate and the Pico de Loro hills on the southern shores of Manila Bay.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
The 187th RCT was in a bivouac area to the west of Mount Sungay on the north shore of Taal Lake. The regiment sent out recon patrols to gather intelligence on the Japanese defensive positions dug in on Mount Sungay to its east. The 675th GFAB, the 187th RCT's attached artillery unit, harassed the Japanese on Mount Sungay with constant artillery barrages. While the infantrymen and artillerymen were fighting the ground battles, the combat engineers were carving out roads along the cliffs and defiles in the rugged mountainous terrain around Taal Lake with their small glider-borne bulldozers.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
One of the roads that they constructed was along a steep, sheer cliff on the north side of the lake. General Swing reasoned that if the 187th RCT moved down this cliff and took up position on the 511th RCT's right flank, it would gain much terrain for which the regiment would otherwise have had to fight by moving overland above it.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
The northern arm of the pincers in southern Luzon began to move on 7 March when the 187th RCT descended the steep southern slopes of Tagaytay Ridge to the northern shore of Taal Lake. Turning eastward, the 187th RCT met no opposition until, on the afternoon of 8 March, the lead elements came under heavy mortar and automatic-weapons fire from Japanese defenses about 300 yards (270 m) west of a hill 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Tanauan. With 1/187th on the left and 2/187th on the right, the regiment deployed to double-envelop the hill.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
With the aid of close-air and artillery support, it took three days of heavy fighting on the north side of the hill for the 187th RCT to overrun these defenses on 11 March. This key Japanese position consisted of a fortress of pillboxes surrounding a concrete water tank. On top of the hill, the 187th RCT routed the Japanese out of an underground garrison of large, interconnected caves in which many Japanese were sealed when the exits collapsed. After subduing the Japanese, the 187th RCT moved east to Tanauan and halted pending the outcome of the 511th RCT's attack south through the Lipa Corridor toward Santo Tomas.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
The 511th RCT had assembled at a barrio 7 miles (11 km) north of Santo Tomas. Here Route 1, which ran from Manila to Tanauan and then eastward through the Lipa Corridor between Mounts Makiling and Malepunyo, joined Route 21, leading eastward, through Los Banos, along the south shore of Laguna Lake. The 511th RCT's first task was to reduce the Japanese defenses on Mount Bijiang, a rough peak located at the northwestern corner of the Mount Makiling hill mass and controlling Routes 1 and 21 for about 5 miles (8.0 km) south and southeast of the 511th RCT's location.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
The 511th RCT launched unsuccessful frontal attacks against Mount Bijiang from 10 March through 13 March. Thereafter, supporting airstrikes and artillery reduced the defenses, which Filipino guerrillas finally overran on 19 March. Without waiting for this outcome, elements of the 511th RCT had pushed down Route 1 toward Santo Tomas. Meanwhile, other elements of the 511th RCT had moved eastward along Route 21 to a point about 3 miles (4.8 km) short of Los Banos, where the Japanese had reorganized their defenses.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
Neither the 511th RCT nor the 187th RCT, nor even both operating in concert, had the strength required to overrun the strong Japanese positions in the Santo Tomas-Tanauan region. Therefore, until 23 March, the two RCTs mopped up in the areas they already held, warded off numerous small-scale Japanese counterattacks, patrolled to locate Japanese defenses, and directed air and artillery bombardments on Japanese positions  Elements of the 1st Cavalry Division relieved both units on 23 March. The 187th RCT moved by motor transport from Tanauan over and around Tagaytay Ridge, south to Lemery, and north to Cuenca, at the southern base of Mount Macolod.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
The 158th RCT made somewhat better progress. Striking from the vicinity of Nasugbu on 4 March, the 158th RCT secured Balayan, at the northwestern corner of Balayan Bay, on the same day. The 158th RCT then drove eastward against negligible opposition, cleared the northern shores of Balayan and Batangas Bays, and, on 11 March, reached Batangas City, on the northeastern shore of Batangas Bay. On its way eastward, the 158th RCT had bypassed strong Japanese elements on the Calumpang Peninsula that separates Balayan and Batangas Bays.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
The 158th RCT had to clear the peninsula to assure the security of the northern side of the Verde Island Passage and to make the shores of Balayan and Batangas Bays safe for base development. In an operation marked by minor shore-to-shore operations by both Japanese and American units, the Americans cleared the peninsula by 16 March. Most of the Japanese garrison escaped to islands in the Verde Island Passage or the Lubang Islands. Meanwhile, other elements of the 158th RCT had made contact with strong Japanese defenses blocking the Batangas-Lipa road at Mount Macolod.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
Numbering some 1,250 men in all, the Japanese had the support of a 300mm artillery howitzer, two 70mm guns, ten or more 81mm mortars, a few lighter mortars, and a wealth of machine guns and automatic cannons, including many removed from disabled Japanese aircraft at the Lipa airstrips. The 158th RCT, launching an attack at Mount Macolod on 19 March, had the support of two 105mm and two 155mm artillery battalions. From 19 through 23 March, the 158th RCT overran the Japanese outer defenses east of the road and southeast of Mount Macolod, which lay west of the road.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
The 158th RCT captured two small satellites, the hill masses of San Jose and Santa Rosa. Additionally, the 158th RCT captured Cuenca. But the 158th RCT made little progress at Mount Macolod proper and, by 23 March, when General Krueger detached the 158th RCT from General Swing's command to prepare for the Bicol Peninsula landing at Legazpi, the Japanese still had a firm hold on the mountain.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
Thus, by 23 March, the 11th Airborne Division and the 158th RCT had closed with the Japanese MLR at the northern and southern entrances to the Lipa Corridor, had cleared the shores of Balayan and Batangas Bays, and had secured the northern side of the Verde Island Passage. Simultaneously, division elements had considerably reduced the threat to its line of communication (LOC) posed by the Japanese units isolated west of Taal Lake, although it was 1 April before the 188th RCT overcame the last organized resistance in the rough hills south of Ternate. Total casualties for the period from 4 March through 23 March were 75 KIA and 255 WIA, against almost 1,500 Japanese killed.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Southern Luzon
Command of the 187th RCT passed from Colonel Hildebrand to Colonel Pearson. Lieutenant Colonel Wilson departed 1/187th and became the 187th RCT's executive officer. Major David Carnahan replaced Wilson. When Colonel Tipton departed 2/187th and became the 188th RCT's commanding officer, he was replaced by Major James D. Loewus. Pearson was assuming command of the 187th RCT just as it was about to fight its bloodiest and, unfortunately, deadliest battle in its history – the reduction of Mount Macolod.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
Mount Macolod, about 60 miles (97 km) south of Manila, rises to 3,107 feet (947 m) on the southeastern shore of Taal Lake. The mountain's northern and western slopes rise nearly vertically from the water. On the eastern and southern slopes, the drop is also vertical from about 1,200 feet (370 m); then three ridges descend gradually to the base of the mountain. Two of these ridges lead onto the highway that passes through Cuenca and the barrio of Dita.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
The north-south (Cuenca) ridge would become known as Brownie Ridge and the east-west (Dita) ridge would become known as Bashore Ridge, named after the 187th RCT infantry company commanders that assaulted them. Brownie Ridge was the strongest Japanese position on the mountain and was honeycombed with tunnels and caves. The third ridge connected Mount Macolod to Bukel Hill, a lesser projection about 500 yards (460 m) east of the mountain. In the saddle between Mount Macolod and Bukel Hill, on the northeastern side of the mountain, the Japanese had constructed another defensive position. Beneath camouflage and foliage, the area bristled with artillery and automatic weapons carefully aimed and emplaced to cover all approaches with interlocking fields of fire.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
By 22 March 1945, the 187th RCT had completed its move from Tanauan to Cuenca and had occupied the positions of the departing 158th RCT. For its assault on Mount Macolod, General Swing assigned the 756th and 760th FABs (155mm), the 472nd and 675th GFABs (105mm), a 4.2–inch mortar company from the 85th Chemical Mortar Battalion, a platoon of Sherman tanks from the 44th Tank Battalion, and B/127th AEB.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
On the night of 23 March, a Filipino guerrilla patrol had probed a Japanese position east of Dita and lost six men in a firefight. The next morning, Colonel Pearson sent armor-reinforced F/187th and G/187th to clear out the area. The tanks leveled the houses in the area and the combat engineers deactivated land mines as the two rifle companies swept the outskirts of Dita. Northwest of the barrio, the Japanese, hidden in concealed caves, stopped the attack with heavy fire.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
Both rifle companies withdrew with one KIA and seven WIA after dark to defensive positions 200 yards (180 m) south of Dita and the Japanese moved into the barrio. Pearson understood that patrolling alone was not going to get the job done. He was opposed by a strong, well-armed, and well-concealed force, and that he needed airstrikes and massive artillery preparation to pound the Japanese before he sent his infantrymen in again. At 09:00 on 24 March, the four artillery battalions supporting the 187th RCT concentrated on the area and Bukel Hill.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
A squadron of USAAF P–47s bombed and strafed Dita and the surrounding area. F/187th and G/187th again tried to clear the Japanese out of Dita in house-to-house fighting. Intense Japanese defensive machine-gun fire again halted the attack. 2/187th suffered four KIA and multiple WIA before falling back to their defensive positions; an estimated 30 Japanese were killed. It was apparent that the Japanese were retreating into their underground tunnels during the USAAF bombing and strafing runs. On 27 March, using airstrikes with napalm and chemical mortar and artillery barrages, 1/187th circled Dita to positions north of the barrio, seized and dug in on Bukel Hill.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
For his attack on 28 March, Colonel Pearson sent both 1/187th and 2/187th in a frontal assault between the Cuenca and Dita ridges into the Mount Macolod area. G/187th attacked with flamethrowers and burned out three Japanese bunkers. Shortly, the company came under heavy machine-gun fire that slowed its advance. E/187th fanned out to the west of G/187th. Both companies fought their way to the top of a hillcrest, even though E/187th was pinned down by heavy machine-gun fire from ravines to the west.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
Major Loewus, 2/187th's commanding officer, was wounded by a Japanese sniper, evacuated, and replaced by Major Nat Ewing. Predictably, the Japanese started dropping mortar rounds. In an orderly fighting withdrawal, Ewing saved his command to fight another day. E/187th came off the mountain with 11 WIA. Both battalions were forced to withdraw. Their new positions now encircled the landward sides of Mount Macolod. During the period of 29 March to 1 April, 2/187th held position near Dita and 1/187th was dug in on Bukel Hill. The Japanese performed early-morning banzai attacks that were costly to both battalions. On 2 April, 1/187th and 2/187th attacked with all companies in line, and this time were able to clear the Dita area as far as the base of Mount Macolod, although they were unable to gain the ridges.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
On 4 April, the 187th RCT's S-2 (Intelligence) and two others were killed in a Japanese ambush along the highway near Talisay, a barrio about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northeast of Lipa at the western base of Mount Malepunyo. It was obvious to Colonel Pearson that the Japanese held Talisay with a sizeable force. At 07:00 on 5 April, F/187th and G/187th started a cross-country move to Talisay. Simultaneously, Japanese artillery rounds landed in Pearson's CP area near Munting, a barrio midway between Lipa and Talisay.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
About 1,500 yards (1,400 m) from the barrio, F/187th and G/187th were hit by the same Japanese guns that hit the 187th RCT CP. They did not have a chance to dig in but took cover in nearby ravines. The 674th GFAB was also caught on the move by the Japanese artillery fire. They moved into positions along the highway to open counter-battery fire. While the Japanese guns were pounding 2/187th, an aerial artillery observer spotted a muzzle flash in dense growth and directed the 674th


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
GFAB to pour in heavy counter-battery fire on the position; this sharp artillery action silenced the Japanese guns to the east before they could completely decimate 2/187th. When 2/187th reached the area, they found that the Japanese artillery commander, apparently unaware of the need to spread out his guns, had massed all of his artillery pieces in one position. The 674th GFAB's counter-battery fire had effectively knocked out the bulk of the Japanese guns.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
During the period of 3 April to 17 April, 1/187th probed the ravines and gullies that wrinkled Mount Macolod. On 17 April, they launched an all-out attack to throw the Japanese off the mountain. Preceded by heavy artillery fire, A/187th attacked along north-south Brownie Ridge, C/187th moved up the north side of Cuenca Ravine, and B/187th advanced on C/187th's right flank. The plan was to have all companies converge at the head of Cuenca Ravine. During the advance up the hill, there was little opposition.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
When the three companies converged, the Japanese hit them with mortar, machine-gun, and sniper fire from camouflaged positions, killing Captain Paul G. Bashore, B/187th's commanding officer, and two others in the hail of fire. An estimated force of 100 Japanese had stopped 1/187th at every turn, despite the concentrations of four artillery battalions and continuous airstrikes. The operation to date had cost 1/187th six officers, seven squad or platoon leaders, and a disquieting number of privates.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
Colonel Pearson prepared a task force for an all-out assault on Mount Macolod. He placed M18 Hellcat tank destroyers along the highway west of Dita and moved 155mm artillery howitzers up to the front lines where they could fire directly into cave mouths on the side of the mountain. For three days, a campaign was waged against the Japanese on the mountain. Every second of the day and night, some type of round landed among the Japanese positions – a burst of heavy machine-gun fire, a mortar round, or an artillery round.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
On 18 April, Pearson launched a coordinated attack with 1/187th and 2/187th abreast in a semicircle around the southern and eastern slopes. 1/187th used Bukel Hill as its point of departure. The advance was slow and rough, especially across the bare face of Brownie Ridge, where the troops had to run and crouch through machine-gun and mortar fire. On the afternoon of 19 April, G/187th moved up the south ridge without opposition. They arrived at the summit of Mount Macolod at about 15:00 and attacked down the western slope. Hand grenades were thrown down the slopes and into the caves.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
The Japanese ran down the slope as soon as they realized the Americans were above them and many ran out of the caves after a grenade was thrown in. Each cave was blown shut by the engineers. Constant radio contact was maintained to keep the platoons and squads abreast and to keep from allowing the Japanese to criss-cross the American rear. 1/187th also sealed all the caves in its area; C/187th rolled drums of gasoline into the caves near Cuenca Ravine and ignited them with grenades. The resultant fires killed many Japanese, burned off the vegetation, and prevented the Japanese from infiltrating between companies.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mount Macolod
By 20 April, the battle for Mount Macolod was over. That day, the 187th RCT lost 13 KIA and 11 WIA.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
After Mount Macolod fell, the last remaining Japanese stronghold in the 11th Airborne Division's AO in southern Luzon was Mount Malepunyo, a hill complex covered with tangled rainforest and bamboo thickets, surrounded by precipitous slopes and interlaced with sharp ridges. The highest peak stood at 3,287 feet (1,002 m) above the plains. There were no roads and only poorly-maintained jungle trails within the 30 square miles (78 km2) area of the mountain, which required the troops to hand-carry small loads, use Filipino bearers for resupply and casualty evacuation, and two-seater artillery light observation aircraft to airdrop emergency supplies.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
General Griswold felt that Mount Malepunyo was such a formidable Japanese position that he had originally planned to reduce the mountain with two divisions, the 1st Cavalry and the 11th Airborne. At this time, General Swing had his CP in Lipa. Late on the night of 22 April 1945, Swing received a call from XIV Corps headquarters, informing him that, instead of getting the whole 1st Cavalry Division, he would only have the 8th Cavalry Regiment attached for the operation.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
Swing's assault plan called for the 187th RCT to move to Tiaong to relieve the 188th RCT and block any Japanese withdrawal eastward off Mount Malepunyo. He moved the 188th RCT to Alaminos, north of the mountain, for an attack southward. He held the 8th Cavalry in position at the mouth of the "Grand Canyon," a gorge on the northeastern slope of the mountain. Swing assigned the main effort to the 511th RCT, on the 8th Cavalry's right flank, which was to attack eastward along the Malaraya Hill canyon and then turn northward to join the 188th RCT.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
Seven artillery battalions, some organic to the 11th Airborne Division and some attached, were spread out around the base of the mountain. Supplementing the artillery were a company of Hellcat tank destroyers, a company of Sherman tanks, and a 4.2-inch mortar company. The artillerymen of D Battery, 457th PFAB, broke down their pack 75s and lugged them up the side of the mountain to fire at the caves.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
The 187th RCT's area of responsibility was a large arc around the northern shore of Taal Lake. Colonel Pearson located his CP and 2/187th at Tanauan. 1/187th, directly under General Swing's control, was at Tiaong, tasked with cutting off the Japanese retreat from Mount Malepunyo.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
At dawn on 27 April, General Swing launched his attack. The artillery, located around the base and sides of the mountain, fired some 5,000 mixed-caliber rounds in front of the infantry. USAAF fighter-bombers pounded the Japanese positions. The 511th RCT's paratroopers positioned themselves close to the airstrike impact points because they observed that the Japanese scampered to their caves when they heard the approaching planes and, immediately after the bombing runs, moved out of their caves to man their fighting positions. Being so near, the 511th RCT killed many Japanese as they left their caves and bunkers.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
On 30 April, after more air and artillery strikes, and after a bloody fight, the 511th RCT was on Mount Malepunyo's high ground. The 511th RCT swept the slopes to flush out the last Japanese remnants. Patrols found large caves interconnected by wire communications and stocked with large ammunition and supply stores. Captured documents confirmed that the mountain fortress was the last stronghold of the Japanese southern Luzon defense force.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
Colonel Pearson deployed the 187th RCT's battalions along the likely Japanese escape routes. 1/187th laid ambushes up and down the Malaking Tubig River, east of Mount Malepunyo, for a distance of some 10 miles (16 km), endeavoring to cover every possible crossing; they accounted for about 400 Japanese killed or captured. On 1 May, the Division Recon Platoon reported contact with a Japanese company-sized force in the vicinity of Aya along Tagaytay Ridge. Since the contact was in the 187th RCT's sector, F/187th, reinforced with a mortar section and a light machine-gun section, was assigned to clear out the Japanese.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
F/187th moved out at dawn on 2 May and found the Japanese stronghold in short order. F/187th attacked the position from three sides, pouring in a heavy volume of fire. The total kill for F/187th that day was 92 Japanese. One of the squads was led by PFC Joe R. Siedenberg, a veteran of Leyte and Luzon. On 3 May, Siedenberg's squad was pinned down by heavy Japanese automatic-weapons fire. One of his men was wounded in the opening burst and fell, exposed to more Japanese fire.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
Siedenberg was hit in the chest as he crawled across the open ground to the wounded man, but he crawled on, gathered up the wounded man, and turned back to cover with the rest of his squad. On the way back, he was hit twice more but continued to crawl and carry the wounded man to safety. Back with his squad, Siedenberg died of his wounds. He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his gallantry. After the war and during the Occupation of Japan, the 11th Airborne Division's first post on Hokkaido was named Camp Siedenberg in his honor.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
The German act of military surrender to the Allies was signed on 7 May. The War Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) expected that, despite Germany's unconditional surrender, an invasion of Japan was required for total victory. Thirty divisions from the European Theater of Operations (ETO) were on their way to the Far East. General MacArthur's headquarters staff had the plans ready for Operation Downfall, the Allied invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. The operation had two parts: Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
Set to begin on 1 November 1945, Operation Olympic was the invasion of Kyushu, the southernmost main Japanese island. On 1 March 1946 would come Operation Coronet, the planned invasion of Honshu, the largest and most populous main Japanese island. Airfields on Kyushu captured in Operation Olympic would allow land-based air support for Operation Coronet. MacArthur had the troops. At the time, there were 1.4 million men in the Philippines; in December, there would be an additional million.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
The 11th Airborne Division had a part to play in both operations – in Olympic, a floating reserve; in Coronet, they would be the lead division of the XVIII Airborne Corps under Major General Matthew B. Ridgway to jump onto the Boso Peninsula forming the eastern side of Tokyo Bay and establish a beachhead for the amphibious landing of several armored divisions.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
By 10 May, the 11th Airborne division had regrouped and established a base camp on the outskirts of Lipa. During May, replacements began to arrive. The 11th Airborne Division shifted to a new Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) that added a battalion to each of the 187th and 188th GIRs, made the 188th GIR and 674th GFAB parachute units, and added the 472nd GFAB to Division Artillery. The 187th GIR became a Para-Glider Infantry Regiment (PGIR). The division's strength increased from 8,600 to more than 12,000. With the new TO&E, all the men could now become parachute qualified. General Swing established his third jump school at the Lipa airstrip. In about two months, the jump school would turn out over 1,000 newly qualified paratroopers, including most of the 187th PGIR's glider riders. He also set up a glider school.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
On 29 May, the 187th PGIR took over the garrisoning of Manila and came under the direct command of the Sixth Army provost marshal. Among other tasks, the 187th rooted out surviving Japanese soldiers, directed traffic, and guarded port areas. In general, the 187th helped control a city whose police force had not yet been re-established. When the 187th returned to Lipa, it reorganized under its new TO&E. 1/187th and 2/187th provided officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) for the new 3/187th. The plan moved a third of the veterans from each old battalion to the new battalion and filled out the ranks with replacements.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
By mid-June, the Japanese had been pushed back into the northwestern corner of Luzon. American forces were pushing northward up the Cagayan River Valley. At the northern end of Luzon was the port of Aparri. General Krueger decided to send an airborne task force to seal off that port. General Swing formed TF Gypsy, consisting of 1,030 men of the reinforced 1/511th, Battery C, 457th PFAB, a platoon from the 127th AEB, and two platoons from B/187th. For the first time in the history of the Pacific Theater, gliders were used in combat. Six CG–4As and one CG–13 were assembled.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
The 317th Troop Carrier Group (TCG) supplied fifty-four C–47s and fourteen C–46s for the paratroopers. TF Gypsy began loading out at 04:30 on 23 June. The first aircraft off the Lipa airstrip was a C–47; the rest of the aircraft followed with the towed gliders bringing up the rear. At 09:00, TF Gypsy dropped onto the DZ at Camalaniugan Airfield, a few miles south of Aparri on the western side of the Cagayan River. The paratroopers landed in the proper DZ but casualties were high: two men were killed by parachute malfunction and 70 were injured.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
High winds and rough terrain on the DZ contributed to the high casualty rate. Once the paratroopers were down, the gliders brought in the artillery and other heavy equipment. TF Gypsy headed south to meet the US 37th Infantry Division moving north. The two forces linked up on 23 June near the Pared River, 35 miles (56 km) south of the DZ. The airborne operation had proved both useless and unnecessary. For the Sixth Army, the meeting of the 11th Airborne and 37th Infantry Divisions marked the strategic end of the campaign in northern Luzon.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), World War II, Luzon, Mop Up
During June and July, the 11th Airborne Division was involved in training and reorganization. By the beginning of August, the usual rumors were making the rounds. It was said that the division was supposed to jump ahead of the forces making the amphibious landings in Japan. At other times, they were scheduled to land in China. In August, the war in the Pacific took a dramatic turn. On 6 August, Enola Gay, a B–29, dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. On 9 August, Bockscar dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. On 9 August, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. On 10 August, the Japanese government communicated its intention to surrender.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), Post–World War II, Occupation of Japan, Initial Operations
At 04:30 on 11 August 1945, the 11th Airborne Division duty officer woke General Swing with a top-secret message alerting the division to prepare to move all combat elements and equipment by air on 48 hours' notice to a staging area in Okinawa for the eventual occupation of Japan. In short, the message meant that General MacArthur, recently appointed Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), had selected the division to lead the Allies in occupying Japan.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), Post–World War II, Occupation of Japan, Initial Operations
By 05:30, Major Edward M. Flanagan Jr., the division G-3 (Operations) for air operations, was on a flight to Far East Air Forces (FEAF) headquarters at Brisbane, Australia. Upon arrival, he was informed by the FEAF Operations officer that transport aircraft would begin arriving at Lipa, Luzon in 48 hours. A few minutes later, the situation changed dramatically when Major Flanagan was told to immediately fly back to Lipa because the transports were already in the air and would be arriving in the afternoon.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), Post–World War II, Occupation of Japan, Initial Operations
Back at Lipa, Colonel Pearson received a call from the division G-3, alerting the 187th PGIR to be ready to move out by air in 48 hours. Pearson immediately met with his battalion commanders, repeated the warning order, and sent them back to their bivouac areas to direct their company commanders to have their troops standing by in their company areas. Units were sorted as to which men and equipment would fly to Okinawa and which would follow by sea. Men and equipment were inspected to ensure that each man had the proper military and personal gear for the trip.


187th Infantry Regiment (United States), Post–World War II, Occupation of Japan, Initial Operations
The lead elements of the 11th Airborne Division departed Luzon on 11 August. At 23:00 on 12 August, Pearson was notified that, at 06:30 on 13 August, vehicles would arrive to transport the 187th to Nichols and Nielson Fields in Manila for air movement to Okinawa; once there, Pearson would set up a temporary encampment and await the final peace terms settlement and the details of the division's air movement to spearhead the occupation of Japan. Shortly before 11:00 on 13 August, aircraft from the 54th TCW took off from Nichols Field carrying the 187th's lead elements to Okinawa. They landed at 16:45 that afternoon.