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From Taygaytay To Ft McKinley.........


Trevor M. Larson
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Trevor M. Larson

Another Army in the pacific hero added to my collection. i'm very pleased to honor this fallen Angel of the 511. research paid off because i had the morning reports for the 511 on hand and very quickly located this trooper because of it!

2nd Lieutenant Thomas F. Egan # O-544626 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania attended Pen state university and upon graduation enlisted in the army. At some point he went through parachute training and then shipped to the PTO by November 1944. On January 20th, 1945 Lt Egan arrived on Leyte Island where he ended up in the 511th parachute infantry regiment’s replacement depot. There he was assigned to HQ company, 1st battalion. Shortly After the entire 511Th shipped over to Mindoro awaiting the weather to clear. Their entry into the Luzon campaign would be a combat jump at Tagaytay Ridge, 22 miles inland from the rest of the Division’s landing at Nasugbu. At 8:15, on February 3rd 1945, Lt Egan and the rest of 1/511 jumped unto Tagaytay. They quickly formed up and attacked west to assist the 188th Glider infantry regiment fighting the Japanese on Shorty Ridge resulting in a linkup at 13:00. Tagaytay was deemed Secure by 15:00 and the 511 reorganized for a push north up highway 17 for the prize of the campaign: the city of Manila. After a days march (with battles at Imus, Bacoor, and Las Pinas) the 511 reached Paranaque Bridge (the outskirts of Manila) and quickly became locked into vicious combat along the infamous Genko line. At 5:00 February 5th the 511 rushed across Paranaque Bridge and began a campaign of house to house fighting until a halt order was given on the 10th. The next two days 1/511 began mop up operations and then on the 13th swung east to assault Nichols field. The field was taken and then held against multiple Japanese counterattacks. 1/511 pushed further east to the final fortress of the Genko Line: Fort McKinley. Lt Egan and the 511 assaulted on February 17th, Sometime into the offensive Lt Egan was killed in action: he was 22. Fort McKinley would later become the Manila American cemetery. Lt Egan is Buried on the ground which he was killed on, at Plot N Row 12 Grave 15.

 

All said and Done Lt Egan was in the 511 for 28 days, 14 of which were combat days that included one combat jump, a lightning Advance, Vicious urban combat, the seizure of an airfield, and a frontal assault against a fortified stronghold in which he was killed in action. RIP Lt Thomas F. Egan

 

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Never made it back to claim it....another casualty of the not well known nor remembered liberation of the PI. The jump on Tagaytay Ridge ( around a mile from our house there) was made across from the Manila Hotel annex, now the Taal Vista Hotel, along a line just to the north of this point.

The intent was to secure the road ( now the Tagaytay Nasugbu road ) leading to the Tagaytay rotunda, which was and still is the junction of the road leading north to Manila.

There was little resistance in the area and the objective was readily achieved. The really hard fighting was yet to come against the Genko line in Taguig and Paranaque on the southern borders of Manila proper, where Ft. McKinley (now Ft. Bonifacio and the American Cemetary are located.

Another well personality known to us older folks, Rod Serling, was also heavily engaged in the fight there along with Egan.

 

CB

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Trevor M. Larson

Never made it back to claim it....another casualty of the not well known nor remembered liberation of the PI. The jump on Tagaytay Ridge ( around a mile from our house there) was made across from the Manila Hotel annex, now the Taal Vista Hotel, along a line just to the north of this point.

The intent was to secure the road ( now the Tagaytay Nasugbu road ) leading to the Tagaytay rotunda, which was and still is the junction of the road leading north to Manila.

There was little resistance in the area and the objective was readily achieved. The really hard fighting was yet to come against the Genko line in Taguig and Paranaque on the southern borders of Manila proper, where Ft. McKinley (now Ft. Bonifacio and the American Cemetary are located.

Another well personality known to us older folks, Rod Serling, was also heavily engaged in the fight there along with Egan.

 

CB

I have Serlings Autograph in the yearbook of a HQ3 511 vets grouping I have. The 511 dosent get much love compared to the other paratrooper regiments of ww2. I find the regiments history to be fascinating
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Unfortunately you are right, the 511 and practically every other unit in that huge and difficult campaign don't get much recognition.

Will you attempt to restore the uniform or keep it as is?

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Great Uniform and superb history and caretaking! If you are interested I will have to dig up my photos of the Jump on Tagatay ridge from my album belonging to a member of the 188th.

 

Mike

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Trevor M. Larson

Great Uniform and superb history and caretaking! If you are interested I will have to dig up my photos of the Jump on Tagatay ridge from my album belonging to a member of the 188th.

 

Mike

you go right ahead mike, I havent seen many photos of the operation
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Trevor, Will do. I even have some from the capture of Nichols field.

 

Mike

you go right ahead mike, I havent seen many photos of the operation

 

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Trevor. Here are two shots taken at and around Nichols field. The photo with the plumes of smoke is Manila burning. Will scan the shots of the jump and post hopefully this evening.

 

Mike

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Trevor M. Larson

Trevor,

 

the first one is Jumping on Tagaytay Ridge and the second is Lake Taal From Tagaytay Ridge.

 

Mike

beautiful shots!
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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...
Trevor M. Larson

On the 75th anniversary of the FT McKinley battle I made the long trek out to Luzon to pay my respects at Lt Egan’s and many other 511 troopers final resting places 

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  • 4 weeks later...
Jack Maguires
On 12/31/2018 at 11:27 AM, R Michael said:

Trevor. Here are two shots taken at and around Nichols field. The photo with the plumes of smoke is Manila burning. Will scan the shots of the jump and post hopefully this evening.

 

Mike

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May I ask where did you get these photos? My grandfather was in B Co 511 PIR and this is the first time I have ever seen pictures like these. Any other pictures from the 511th would be of interest to me. 

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Jack,

I picked this album up on ebay about 15 years ago. It wasn't listed as a 11th AB album but it was a feisty bidding war all the same.

 

mike

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  • 2 years later...
Trevor M. Larson

With further research there’s much more of this story that needs to be told.
 

On the night of February 4th 1945 company HQ1 had finished their long match from Tagaytay ridge and had taken up positions along the Parañaque bridge where they had been held up by enemy fire. At roughly 10 PM a lone jeep drove up to the line, it was challenged as it neared the front line. A halt order was given and  in return the jeep drove past the front lines and into Enemy fire. Inside the jeep was General Swing Co of the 11th AB, his chief of staff Col  Schimmelpfenning, and a driver. Gunfire erupted and a lone figure came stumbling back. It was general Swing, he was challenged by S/Sgt Ken Fuller, the challenge was answered with swearing. “Well, I wasn’t about to shoot him, but I couldn’t let him go by with that so I fired one round about three feet over his head” the infuriated General Swing demanded to know who was in charge here, who let him drive beyond the line and got His G-2 killed? S/Sgt Fuller then pointed to LT Egan, who by this point had a single day of combat and just 12 days in the regiment.  (Then) Cpl Stan Young recorded what General Swing Told LT Egan “you’ve killed my chief of staff, wounded my driver; and if I hadn’t been born God-Damned lucky, I’d be dead. Now, deploy or we’ll all be killed” Egan was then hauled back to HQ where he was chewed out some more and later returned “looking like a dog with his tail between his legs” 

 

he was the fall guy, but later turned into a hero 

 

on the night of February 13 1945 HQ1 was on the outskirts of Ft McKinley. Held in reserve, as darkness came they were informed a litter party was going to move down the road. The litter party came through but in the darkness they were accompanied by Japanese soldiers. Shots range out and a firefight ensued. The stretcher bearers dropped their wounded and fled; leaving them between American and Japanese crossfire. LT Egan rose the moment and shouted “let’s get those wounded off the road” he lead and way and crawled into the crossfire to drag wounded men one by one into a ditch for cover. 
 

Just 4 days later still on the same line where little progress had been made an infiltrator was challenged and then shot. Daybreak revealed him to be none other than LT Thomas Egan himself. Killed by members of his platoon when he had left his position to relive himself. 
 

in depth research can lead to some interesting revelations. LT Egan had a very short time as a member of the 511th, and for his time he paid the ultimate price. Dying and being buried in a far away land never to see home again. But he now has something very few in his regiment ever got; their story remembered and their story told. 

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