Capt.Confederacy Posted February 18 #1 Posted February 18 On a recent foray into an antique mall, I chanced upon a stack of photographs from the same man who I was told was an Army photographer in WW2 in the Pacific theater. There were about 100 pics altogether showing scenes of jungle training in Hawaii, in transit photos on a ship, the jungles of New Guinea and the Philippines. All of them had censor marks on the back. The cost per photo was a bit daunting so I couldn't get the entire stack. I did grab some of the better ones which I'll post here. Thankfully, the fellow wrote the specifics of where and when on almost all the photos so there's not much of a mystery about the pictures. Apologies ahead of time for the curving of the images. The first up is a captured IJA command post at Bataan. Note the marked crates on the ground.
Capt.Confederacy Posted February 18 Author #2 Posted February 18 And this one shows a US artillery piece lobbing shells at Luzon in the Philippines.
Capt.Confederacy Posted February 19 Author #3 Posted February 19 Here's one showing a GI on liberated Corregidore.
Capt.Confederacy Posted February 19 Author #4 Posted February 19 Here's one showing a Japanese minefield on Corregidor (The "stalks" near the water are the triggering device for the mines.) Presumably, these were put out to blow up amphibious vehicles or landing craft.
Capt.Confederacy Posted February 19 Author #5 Posted February 19 And the best one of the bunch IMHO. I'm not sure where this attack is taking place, but I think it's likely during the retaking of Corregidor. Note the smoke from shell hits on the ground and in the water and the well-worn US flag on the ship.
mikie Posted February 19 #6 Posted February 19 Great photos! I had the opportunity to visit Corregidor about 30 years ago. It was my first visit to a WWII battlefield. The story of its recapture in 1945 is fascinating but sadly neglected. A D-Day in miniature. Thanks for sharing. mikie
Capt.Confederacy Posted February 19 Author #7 Posted February 19 42 minutes ago, mikie said: Great photos! I had the opportunity to visit Corregidor about 30 years ago. It was my first visit to a WWII battlefield. The story of its recapture in 1945 is fascinating but sadly neglected. A D-Day in miniature. Thanks for sharing. mikie Thanks! I'm glad you liked the pictures. I'd love to have visited Corregidor or any of the WW2 battlefields overseas. About the only WW2 fight location I've visited was at Fort Stevens on the Oregon coast which came under Japanese sub attack in 1942.
Blacksmith Posted February 19 #8 Posted February 19 Ok, please forgive me y'all, as Navy history is not my forte... While not much of that watercraft is visible in the picture, the distinctive front ramp looks like it might be on a Mark III Mechanized Landing Craft (LCM-3). I did just a bit of digging, and LCM 473 was mentioned in the history of the USS Denver (CL-58) - specifically during the landings on Corregidor: "... The morning of 16 February 1945, with TG 77.3 still steaming on station, had TU 77.3.2 break off at 0629 to sail for fire support stations for the landings on Corregidor. The landings were scheduled for 0830—starting with paratroopers from the 503rd Parachute Infantry. The paratroopers zoned in onto the main plateau while landing craft transported the 3rd Battalion, 24th RCT to the island. At 1026, Denver opened fire with her 5-inch batteries—laying into Corregidor with intermittent fire until 1040. At 1100, mechanized landing craft LCM-473 pulled up to the cruiser with casualties from infantry landing craft LCI(L)-338. At 1138, mechanized landing craft LCM-472 transferred additional casualties. A couple of other landing craft transferred casualties to Denver at 1245. TU 77.3.2 continued independent operations into the mid-afternoon and steamed on a retirement course for Subic Bay at 1625. The group pulled in at 1809, and Denver pulled alongside Winooski for refueling until 1946—anchoring at 2008." Excerpt from this page: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/denver-cl-58-ii.html Interesting photos, to be sure...
Capt.Confederacy Posted February 19 Author #9 Posted February 19 2 hours ago, Blacksmith said: Ok, please forgive me y'all, as Navy history is not my forte... While not much of that watercraft is visible in the picture, the distinctive front ramp looks like it might be on a Mark III Mechanized Landing Craft (LCM-3). I did just a bit of digging, and LCM 473 was mentioned in the history of the USS Denver (CL-58) - specifically during the landings on Corregidor: "... The morning of 16 February 1945, with TG 77.3 still steaming on station, had TU 77.3.2 break off at 0629 to sail for fire support stations for the landings on Corregidor. The landings were scheduled for 0830—starting with paratroopers from the 503rd Parachute Infantry. The paratroopers zoned in onto the main plateau while landing craft transported the 3rd Battalion, 24th RCT to the island. At 1026, Denver opened fire with her 5-inch batteries—laying into Corregidor with intermittent fire until 1040. At 1100, mechanized landing craft LCM-473 pulled up to the cruiser with casualties from infantry landing craft LCI(L)-338. At 1138, mechanized landing craft LCM-472 transferred additional casualties. A couple of other landing craft transferred casualties to Denver at 1245. TU 77.3.2 continued independent operations into the mid-afternoon and steamed on a retirement course for Subic Bay at 1625. The group pulled in at 1809, and Denver pulled alongside Winooski for refueling until 1946—anchoring at 2008." Excerpt from this page: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/denver-cl-58-ii.html Interesting photos, to be sure... Thank you! I've been trying to research that ship and came up with nothing. Thanks again.
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