About LTC Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard Expertise I can answer both specific and general military history questions from ancient times to the present. I also provide references and footnotes where I obtained the answers from.
Expert: LTC Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard - 10/8/2009
Question My question has 2 parts. First - My Father-in-law was a replacement troop on Leyte in February 1945. His uniform shoulder patch confirms that he was a member of the 43rd Infantry Division and he goes on to say he was a part of 2nd Battalion, Co. A, 4 platoon. This is confusing to me. Could he be mistaken about some of this? I'm trying to retrace his service and am having a difficult time.
The second part of my question deals with the end of May 1945 near Ipo Dam. On patrol he captured a Japanese officer who gave him his sword. This officer (spoke English, had lived in San Francisco) was taken to headquarters and then sent back out to bring in more Japanese for surrender. Evidently he did this twice before one of the U.S. soldiers decided to shoot him and hide the body. The question is who was the commanding officer in this area at the time and where was unit headquarters my father-in-law would have reported to. He doesn't remember these details and would like to fill them in. Thanks you for any help you can offer.
Answer Dear Bruce,
The 43rd Infantry "Winged Victory" Division was commanded by Major General Leonard F. Wing and consisted of the following infantry regiments: the 103rd, 169th, and 172nd. Your father probably was a member of the 103rd, which was under the command of Colonel Joseph P. Cleland during the time period you mentioned. The Angat River flowed into Ipo Dam and was the unit's objective because the Wawa Dam was no longer connected to the Manila metropolitan system. The capture of the Ipo Dam would solve Manila's water supply problems. Your father's proper address was as follows: 4th Platoon, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 103rd Regiment, 43rd Infantry Division. During the time period in question, the 103rd, 169th, and 172nd faced the Japanese Kawashima Force. You will have to secure the S-3 Personnel Reports of the 103rd as well as the 43rd's G-2 and G-3 Periodic Reports for the dates you mentioned. They can be ordered from the U.S. Army Center of Military History located at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There is a big debate on who really captured the Ipo Dam-the 103rd or a guerrilla regiment commanded by Colonel Marcus V. Augustin. This regiment was called the Marking Regiment or Fil-American Marking Regiment or Yay Regiment or 1st Yay Regiment. Yay was Augustin's common-law wife. The book that you can get on this campaign is entitled The U.S. Army In World War II-The War In The Pacific: Triumph In The Philippines by Robert Ross Smith. You would go to Chapter XXII entitled The Reduction Of The Shimbu Group-Phase II: The Seizure Of Wawa and Ipo Dams. You can read it on the net by typing the following phrase in your search engine-HyperWar: US Army In World War II: Triumph In The Philippines (Chapter 22). May God Bless-Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
