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Archives of World War II Remembered
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World War II Remembered: The Pacific Theater
By Jennifer King and Timothy Rollins
January 25, 2002
By the end of January, 1942, Japan's dream of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere seemed quite likely to come true. In the Philippines, the Japanese had landed during 8-17 December, 1941. By January, 1942 they had finally conquered Manila. The U.S. Army Garrison and Filipino Army forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, were pushing back onto the Bataan Peninsula. Admiral Thomas C. Hart, Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet, had left for Java in the submarine Shark on December 26th, leaving command of the U.S. Naval forces in the Philippines to Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell.
Rear Admiral Rockwell now commanded three river gunboats, three minesweepers, two district tugs, two civilian tugs, two converted yachts, two submarine tenders and six motor torpedo boats (the famed PT boat - the P designates the category of boat, patrol and the T for torpedo). Their mission was to give the Army whatever support they could in the defense of the Philippines. A radio station set up on Corregidor was the only adequate form of communication left.
The submarine tender Canopus, which had been bombed on 29 December and 5 January, was set up to look like a derelict by Commander E.L. Sackett, and provided with a decided list, tangled cargo beams and fake fires caused by burning oily rags in smudge pots. The Japanese, duly fooled, left her alone after that and Canopus became the general utility repair ship for both the Army and the Navy, providing crucial service.
The Army troops began their slow retreat down the Bataan Peninsula. The forces divided into two Corps, I Corps under the command of Major General Jonathan Wainwright and II Corps under Major General George M. Parker. Under repeated assault, II Corps' line was pushed back. The Japanese also landed a fresh enemy force at Port Binanga on 16 January. By 26 January, the united U.S. forces had fallen back to the reserve line, which ran across Bataan from Bagac to Orion.
The Navy could not do much for the beleaguered forces on land, save run patrols around the coast. Nevertheless, the Japanese were able to effect a landing at Longoskawayan Point near Mariveles, far behind U.S. lines. Commander Francis J. Bridget, who had been left in charge of the remnants of naval aviation in the Philippines, put together an unlikely battalion consisting of 150 of his own men, 130 sailors from Canopus, 100 Marines and some refugees from the Cavite Naval Yard. Lieutenant "Hap" Goodall from Canopus was named second in command.
Commencing 24 January, Bridget's Battalion fought a jungle war with the infiltrators. On the fifth day, the 57th Regiment of Filipino Scouts relieved them, and proceeded to pick off the Japanese invaders. Their expertise, and the deadly effect of mortar fire from Corregidor, forced the Japanese to retreat to the cliff side caves. Canopus' motor launches were reinforced with boiler plate and armed with a light fieldpiece and machine guns. They were then dispatched to shoot up the caves and kill any survivors. These "Mickey Mouse Battleships" were used twice, to great effect. After being beset by four Japanese dive bombers on the second mission, the boats were beached and Bridget's Battalion was detached and sent to Corregidor.
On 23 January, the Japanese staged another landing at Quinauan Point which threatened the Bagac-Orion line. This was beaten back, at high cost, by a battalion sent from General Wainwright. Another Japanese landing on 1 February was repulsed by P-40's and the motor torpedo boats under the command of Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley.
The remnants of the U.S. forces, the "Battling Bastards of Bataan", would doggedly continue to hold out in the face of overwhelming odds. The Japanese had blockaded the islands, and rations were cut by half, then cut again. Yet the gaunt and disease ridden men of the "BBB's" would withstand the Japanese until May, providing crucial time to the Allied war production efforts. ***
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Note: After retiring from active duty, Admiral Thomas Hart went on to serve an interim appointment in the United States Senate from Connecticut, winning himself many friends and very few enemies while in Washington.
He retired to his home in Connecticut, where he enjoyed the remainder of his days with his wife and died of a heart attack July 4, 1971 at age 94. He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia near his son who died of illness during World War II. His more than half a century of selfless devotion to his country remains an example to all who have worn the uniform past and present.
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