Post by legionnaire on Aug 8, 2008 0:03:57 GMT -5
Then:
The 38th Infantry Div. CY ("cyclones")
"The Cyclones" which was named from a tornado that hit their training base before they went to battle. It seems that, at least some of the men, were called "The Cyclones" before they were known as the Avengers of Bataan. Composed of Indiana and Kentucky National Guardsmen.
The 38th Infantry Division’s primary objectives were to execute a supporting
amphibious attack on the western shore of Luzon, to drive eastward across the
north neck of the Bataan Peninsula, to seal it off from the Japanese coming down
from the north, and to clear the peninsula of all enemy forces and to retake it totally.
The division and companion 34th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) landed on 29
January 1945 just north of Subic Bay. (Insert map #5-XI Corps Landing). Good progress was made driving eastward until the third day. In the midst of twisting jungle trails, well prepared and protected enemy strong points, honey-combed tunnels and trenches linking concealed foxholes, log and dirt pillboxes from which fire covered every avenue of movement, and inability to see but a few feet ahead, the division ran into a strongpoint that would soon be known as Horseshoe Bend.
It was the first of a major set of obstacles in what became known as
the battle for Zig Zag Pass.
the "Avengers of Bataan," struggled in February 1945 to open Highway 7 through ZigZag Pass. Possession of this road, running between Subie Bay and Manila, was vital to the liberation of Bataan.
painting by Rick Reeves
The operation was so significant that General Doulgas MacArthur personally dubbed
the soldiers of the 38th as the “Avengers of Bataan.”
They accepted it with pride and proclaimed it with signs, it appeared in news articles, an unofficial tab was made for wear above the CY shoulder sleeve insignia, and it is frequently mentioned in Southwest Pacific was histories. Although the War Department/Department of Defense never acknowledged it as an unofficial nickname, it is still used unofficially in direct association with the 38th.
Now:
Monument at Layac Identified as "First Line of Defense" ?
from the collection of images on the death march trail travel by Carlos. Thanks for posting those images Carlos.
s74.photobucket.com/albums/i265/PI-Sailor/Death%20March%20Markers/DMM%20No%2051%20to%2068%20Mabatang%20to%20Layac/?start=108
Here's my little discovery!
Here's another angle of the monument. if you see below the statue closes to the camera by the plants, there is a small plaque hidden by the vegetation.
upon enlargement it is the CY insignia of the 38th Infantry Division name is cast in metal. Hidden and forgotten.
That's why I always wondered why the sculptor shaped the Helmets a cross between the WWI Kelly which has the flatten like rim of British design and the full M1 helmet ,"Steel pot"
And unfortunately from a far they resemble Japanese soldiers.
And M1 helmets and Kelly Helmets were plentyful and easy to find during that time for reference model. Now somewere along the way of conceptualizing the monument ideas all got mixed up for the helmet as the original intention was the M1 Helmet worn by the 38th Infantry.
With the small plaque planted there has got to be identifying this monument dedicated to the 38th ID.
What is more baffling in the photo above as it shows them holding a Philippine Flag. Probably they wanted to memorialized gthe heroic stand of Filipino soldiers. But I suspect this monument was originally for the 38th CY Infantry Division the "Avengers of Bataan".
Philip
The 38th Infantry Div. CY ("cyclones")
"The Cyclones" which was named from a tornado that hit their training base before they went to battle. It seems that, at least some of the men, were called "The Cyclones" before they were known as the Avengers of Bataan. Composed of Indiana and Kentucky National Guardsmen.
The 38th Infantry Division’s primary objectives were to execute a supporting
amphibious attack on the western shore of Luzon, to drive eastward across the
north neck of the Bataan Peninsula, to seal it off from the Japanese coming down
from the north, and to clear the peninsula of all enemy forces and to retake it totally.
The division and companion 34th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) landed on 29
January 1945 just north of Subic Bay. (Insert map #5-XI Corps Landing). Good progress was made driving eastward until the third day. In the midst of twisting jungle trails, well prepared and protected enemy strong points, honey-combed tunnels and trenches linking concealed foxholes, log and dirt pillboxes from which fire covered every avenue of movement, and inability to see but a few feet ahead, the division ran into a strongpoint that would soon be known as Horseshoe Bend.
It was the first of a major set of obstacles in what became known as
the battle for Zig Zag Pass.
the "Avengers of Bataan," struggled in February 1945 to open Highway 7 through ZigZag Pass. Possession of this road, running between Subie Bay and Manila, was vital to the liberation of Bataan.
painting by Rick Reeves
The operation was so significant that General Doulgas MacArthur personally dubbed
the soldiers of the 38th as the “Avengers of Bataan.”
They accepted it with pride and proclaimed it with signs, it appeared in news articles, an unofficial tab was made for wear above the CY shoulder sleeve insignia, and it is frequently mentioned in Southwest Pacific was histories. Although the War Department/Department of Defense never acknowledged it as an unofficial nickname, it is still used unofficially in direct association with the 38th.
Now:
Monument at Layac Identified as "First Line of Defense" ?
from the collection of images on the death march trail travel by Carlos. Thanks for posting those images Carlos.
s74.photobucket.com/albums/i265/PI-Sailor/Death%20March%20Markers/DMM%20No%2051%20to%2068%20Mabatang%20to%20Layac/?start=108
Here's my little discovery!
Here's another angle of the monument. if you see below the statue closes to the camera by the plants, there is a small plaque hidden by the vegetation.
upon enlargement it is the CY insignia of the 38th Infantry Division name is cast in metal. Hidden and forgotten.
That's why I always wondered why the sculptor shaped the Helmets a cross between the WWI Kelly which has the flatten like rim of British design and the full M1 helmet ,"Steel pot"
And unfortunately from a far they resemble Japanese soldiers.
And M1 helmets and Kelly Helmets were plentyful and easy to find during that time for reference model. Now somewere along the way of conceptualizing the monument ideas all got mixed up for the helmet as the original intention was the M1 Helmet worn by the 38th Infantry.
With the small plaque planted there has got to be identifying this monument dedicated to the 38th ID.
What is more baffling in the photo above as it shows them holding a Philippine Flag. Probably they wanted to memorialized gthe heroic stand of Filipino soldiers. But I suspect this monument was originally for the 38th CY Infantry Division the "Avengers of Bataan".
Philip
