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THE COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLLEGE

LIBRARY

FRCM: August chanze

Col Ret

Call Number •5^12'3

C.I
FL Form 887 (Rev) 22 O t 52
USACGSC—P9-0798—T—26M—30 Sep 68
7

P R E P A R E D A N D EDITED BY T H E E I G H T H U . S. A R M Y

 \ S,

H
AMPHIBIOUS
HISTORICAL SECTION GHTH
MAY 1 4 1948

CONTENTS:

 C. I

under the banner of the eighth DEDICATION page 6

general of the army douglas macarthur GENERAL OF THE PACIFIC page 8

lieutenant general robert I. eichelberger THE EIGHTH'S COMMANDER page 12

the story of the amphibious eighth THE EIGHTH IN WAR AND PEACE page 1 9

the occupation leaders THE EIGHTH'S GENERALS page 4 6

the combat record OPERATIONS OF THE EIGHTH page 51

medal of honor, dsc, dsm FOR VALOR AND SERVICE page 67

the corps, the divisions, the combat teams THE FIGHTING FORCES OF THE EIGHTH page 75

the leaders in combat THE COMMANDERS OF. THE EIGHTH page 89

major general clovis e. byers CHIEF OF STAF page 9 6

combat planners THE EIGHTH'S WAR-TIME SECTION CHIEFS page 99

today's administrators THE EIGHTH'S SECTION CHIEFS TODAY page 107

a humorous slant: memphis and yokohama THE TRAVELS OF THE EIGHTH page 113

DEDICATED TO THE BRAVE OFFICERS AND MEN W H O F O

G H T A N D DIED U N D E R THE B-ANNER OF THE E I G H T H A R M Y

GENERAL OF THE ARMY DOUGLAS MACARTHUR

SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS

N O ARMY OF THIS WAR HAS ACHIEVED GREATER

GLORY AND DISTINCTION THAN THE EIGHTH

GENERAL OF THE PACIFIC

When as Supreme Commander of fhe OccupaHon, General of me Army Douglas
MacArthur made, his dramatic entry into Japan he climaxed one of me most outstanding
military careers in United States history.
The military epic that is General MacArthur's life story started from the day of his
birth. He was born the son of Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur in Little- Rock, Arkansas,
where his father was stationed at the time. Raised in an army atmosphere, it was natural
mat he should enter the United States Military Academy. On June 11th 1903, he graduated
a\ the head of his class with the commission of a second lieutenant of Engineers.
Shortly after leaving West Point the youthful MacArthur was on his way across the Pacific
bound for the Philippine Islands—the land which was in the years to come to furnish the setting
for the greatest chapters of his life. His assignment on engineer construction work gave him
an early opportunity to study the Philippine people and the Islands.
He relumed to the States, only to be reassigned to the Orient in October 1905 to serve
as aide to his father who. was then on duty in Tokyo. A secret mission which was entrusted
to him at the time afforded him additional opportunity to travel in the countries of the Far East.
 Following his tour in Japan he served as Aide to President Theodore Roosevelt until 1907.
During these years, he developed many friendships with the leaders of the Washington administration
and government which were to last through the adventurous years to come and served him in good
stead when later confronted with the gigantic task which came before him.
The ten years following his White House activities were filled with professional assignments and
duties which served to broaden his experiences and deepened his brilliant understanding of military
affairs and requirements. Four years with the General Staff climaxed this period of endeavor prior
to our entrance into the First World War.
It was at this time that General MacArthur conceived the idea of the Rainbow Division — the
Division that was destined to serve so gallantly. As Chief of Staff he was instrumental in directing
its organization and training. He arrived with the Division in France in October 1917
His World War service encompassed practically all of the major offensives. In turn he served
in the Vanvouleure, La Franche and Rolamont training areas; and later in the Luneville, Baccarat,
Esperance-Souain sectors. Following these actions he was engaged in the Champagne-Marne
defensive, and in the Aisne-Mame offensive. He was in command of the 84th Infantry Brigade when
that organization went through the poignant days of the St. Mihiel, Essey and Pannes, Woevre,
Meuse-Argonne and Sedan offensives. The General then assumed command of the 42nd Division
until November of 1918; completing his foreign tour with the Army of Occupation.
After the close of the war, General MacArthur served in the office of the War Department
Chief of Staff.
When in 1919 he started a four-year term QS Superintendent of the West Point Military Academy,
General MacArthur saw an opportunity to modernize the training and improve the administrative and
executive, offices of the Academy. Many graduates of these years are the leaders who directed
the streamlined victory of this war.
General MacArthur added three more tours of duty in the Philippines during the years of 1922­
1925; 1928-1930; and 1935-1936. His 1928 assignment to the Philippines was that of Philippine
Department Commander. In 1935 he became Military Adviser to the Commonwealth of the Philippines;
and in 1936 Fieid Marshal of the Philippine Army.
From 1930 to 1935, General MacArthur served as Chief of Staff of the U. S. Army, an assign­
ment for which his earlier duties qualified him preeminently. The effects of these years as Chief of
Staff were far reaching and effectively constructive.
When he was retired from the Army in 1937 his withdrawal from public office lasted less than
four years. As conditions in the Orient became increasingly critical, President Roosevelt again called
on Pacificwise General MacArthur, this time to assume command of the United States Army Forces
in the Far East.
In March, 1942, President Roosevelt directed General MacArthur to leave Corregidor and
establish our outpost in Australia. There he was to organize and prepare to lead our forces back
for the liberation of the Philippines. In mid-April, General MacArthur was given the Command of the
Southwest Pacific Area; and heading this command he began the long march which was to end in
Japan with the complete surrender of the Japanese Empire.
As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan, his policies have transformed Japan from
a ruthless military dictatorship into a democratic government and in the short period of its existence
under his guidance, its leaders have formulated and adopted one of the world's most enlightened
constitutions. The Japanese now have freedom of thought, speech, and religion; militarism has been
destroyed, both as a factor in international policy and as a national ideal; land reform is transforming
feudal peasants into self-respecting landowners; the strength of the Zaibatsu, which lowered the living
standards and stifled the free economic life of Japan, has been broken, and much progress has been
made in the restoration of the peacetime economy of the nation. In his wisdom, General MacArthur has
not imposed these reforms from above but has insisted that the Japanese bring about these changes
through their government by democratic processes. In doing so he has won the admiration of the
world and the respect of the Japanese people. In a world where many nations are torn by internal
strife, Japan under the guidance of the Supreme Commander has been a model of constructive progress
and has made rapid strides toward the day when it will take a respected place among the nations.
The concept which has guided General MacArthur throughout the occupation was indicated in a state­
ment he made on the second anniversary of Japan's defeat:
"History records no other instance wherein Ihe military occupation of a conquered

people has been conducted with the emphasis placed as it has been here, upon moral values

involved between victor and vanquished. Right rather than might has been the criterion."

In recognition of his outstanding services as a soldier and statesman General MacArthur has
been awarded the following decorations and awards by the people of the United States and nations
the world over:

Congressional Medal of Honor French Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor

Distinguished Service Cross with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
Distinguished Service Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
Distinguished Service Medal (Navy)
Silver Star with Six Oak Leaf Clusters
Bronze Star Medal
Air Medal
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Australian Pacific Star
Belgian Commander Order of Crown
British Knight Grand Cross of the Bath
Chinese Grand Cordon of Pas Ting
Czechoslovakian Grand Cross Order of White Lion
Ecuadorian First Class Decoration Abdon Calderon
French Grand Officer Legion of Honor
Legion of Honor Fourragere (French)
French Croix de Guerre with Four Palms
Greek Medal of Valor
Guatemala Cross of Military Merit of the First Order
Hungarian Grand Cross Order of Military Merit
Italian War Cross
Italian Grand Cordon Order of the Crown
Mexican Grand Cross of Military Merit
Netherlands Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-
Nassau with Swords (Military Division)
Philippine Medal of Vefor
Philippine Distinguished Service Star
Philippine Defense Medal
Philippine Liberation Medal
Polish Grand Croix Polonia Restitute
Polish Virtutae Militaire
Rumanian Grand Cross Order of Military Merit
Yugoslavian Grand Cross Order of White Eagle 1 1
L I . GEN. ROBERT L. EICHELBERGER

C O M M A N D I N G EIGHTH U. S. ARMY

TO THE TROOPS OF THE EIGHTH ARMY

The accomplishments and victories of the "Amphibious Eighth" may be viewed with pride
and wifh me realizaMon that they will go down in history as outstanding achievements.
To all who valiantly served to overcome an aggressive adversary that at me end victory
might be assured and mat me ideals of our country might be perpetuated, I extend my heart­
felt gratitude. And to those for whom there was no returning we extend our solemn pledge
that their death shall not have been in vain —
Since our victorious entry into Japan well over two years ago it has been our privilege
to serve as occupational forces to implement the policies and to execute the directives of our
Supreme Commander, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. The mission of the occupa­
tion has been one to challenge your best qualities as soldiers and as proponents of the demo­
cratic way of Nfe. In both you have served your country well!
May you who have served or are serving with the Eighth know that it is you who have
provided its glory and distinction.

13
 T H E E I G H T H ' S C O M

14 THE GENERAL WITH HIS FAMOUS B-17, "MISS EM" THE COMMANDING GENERAL WITH LT. COL. LEONARD WING AT ZAMBOANC
 The arrival
in Japan of Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger with the
advance elements of the Amphibious Eighth Army on August 30,
1945 terminated a period of wartime combat leadership thaf
began in the jungles around Buna and included the engagements
in New Guinea, the Netherland's East Indies, and the Philip­
pines. The war was over but many great problems still had
to be faced. Above all others was the difficult problem of
executing the directives of the Supreme Commander over Japan,
a nation in whose defeat his own soldiers had played such
a decisive role. His success in meeting this problem is
manifested in both the American and the Japanese reactions.
Robert L. Eichelberger was born in Urbana, Ohio, on March
9th, 1886, the youngest of five children—four boys and a
girl. His father, a successful attorney-at-law, believed in teach­
ing his children to be .self-reliant and Bob spent several sum­
mers in his boyhood working on his father's farm. Along with
a love of the outdoors he developed an interest in sports and
played on the varsity of his high school football and baseball
teams. This zest for sports was to stand him in good stead
when he took over as Superintendent of the United States
Military Academy.
He received his appointment to West Point in his sopho­
more year at Ohio State University and became Lieutenant
Eichelberger on June 11th, 1909.
One of the greatest turning points of Eichelberger's life was
M A N D E R
his marriage, on April 3rd, 1913, to Miss Emma Gudger of
Asheville, North Carolina, who was to prove a constant inspira­
tion to him. During the war, his repeated references to her
were an indication of his devotion; even his personal Flying
Fortress was named, "Miss Em."
His military trail led through Indiana, Texas, the Panama
Canal Zone, New York, and the Mexican border. His pre-
World War I service culminated in his appointment to the
position of professor of military science and tactics at Kemper
Military Academy in the latter months of 1916.
His first love, however, was field service with the infantry
and with the outbreak of the war he became a battalion com­
mander in the 20th Infantry and, later, in the 43rd Infantry. In
July, 1917, he was assigned as G-3, Eighth Division.
Arriving in Siberia on September 2nd, 1918, he served as
Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations Division, and Chief Intel­
ligence Officer, American Expeditionary Forces, Siberia, until
April 3, 1920; he participated in operations in Suchan Valley
during June and July, 1919. Completing this tour of duty he was
transferred to Manila, where he served as Assistant Chief of
GENERAL EICHEIBERGER, GENERAL S W I N G A N D COLONEL BOWEN NEAR CAVITE Staff, Military Intelligence Division, Philippine Department, unril
 AWARDING THE PURPLE HEART TO PVT. HAROLD THOMPSON, 40TH DIVISION

October, 1920; and on special duty for the Philippine Department in China, unMI February 24th, 1921.
In 1921, during the Limitation of Armaments Conference in Washington, D.C., General Eichelberger
served as American liaison officer with me Chinese delegation. After compleMon of the conference,
he remained on duty with me Military Intelligence Division until August 1st, 1924.
He attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth in 1926 and served on
the staff of the school from the time of his graduation until the summer of 1929 when he attended
the Army War College. Later he served on the staff at West Point and as Secretary of the War
Department General Staff under General MacArthur and General Malin Craig.
Returning to troop duty in January, 1939, he assumed command of the 30th Infantry at the
Presidio, San Francisco. The War Department, however, realizing the inevitability of the Second
World War and recognizing the need for the best possible leadership at its most important training
school appointed him Superintendent of West Point on October 18th, 1940. In January, 1942, he
was released to organize the 77th Division which was reactivated under his command in March 1942.
In June he was appointed to the command of the I Corps with which he went to Australia in
August 1942.
The I Corps first entered the fighting in the Pacific Area in the combined American-Australian
offensive against the Japanese in the jungle defenses in the Buna afea.
On December 1st, 1942, when he assumed command at the front, he found a force weakened by
malaria and reduced in combat effectiveness by its failure to crack the Japanese defenses. General
Eichelberger analyzed the situation quickly, reorganized and regrouped units, corrected weak points in
command, improved the suppiy, and developed methods of breaching the enemy lines. Above all,
16 he furnished the battle weary troops with inspirational leadership. The revitalized force attacked,
 GENERAL EICHELBERGER AND GENERAL BYERS OFFSHORE NEAR LEYTE

taking Buna Mission on January 2nd, 1943.

General Eichelberger's success at Buna resulted in his being placed in command of all Allied
Forces in the Buna-Sanananda area and he turned his efforts toward taking Sanananda. Within three
weeks the last Japanese position was reduced.
After Sanananda fell, the I Corps returned to Australia where General Eichelberger trained and
rehabilitated his troops until he moved to Goodenough island in February, 1944. It was here that
General MacArthur gave him the assignment of taking the great Japanese stronghold at Holiandia, Dutch
New Guinea. This operation, which isolated a great Japanese Army, was successful and the I Corps
was soon busy at the task of constructing a base of operations complete with port and airfield
facilities from which further operations were conducted.
The 41st Infantry Division (reinforced) assaulted the strongly defended island of Biak on May
27th, 1944. After the Division had suffered bloody reverses in the early stages of the fighting,
General Eichelberger and his I Corps staff were sent to Biak to take charge. Wilhin a week after
their arrival the main objective had been captured.
The American Force in the Pacific was now to launch the great offensive against the Philippines
and, on September 7th, 1944, General Eichelberger assumed command of the Eighth Army in Holiandia,
New Guinea. Space limitations prevent even the brief mention of all of the combat landings of this
army. To mention a few.- Palawan, Zamboanga Peninsula, Southwestern Luzon, Cebu, Negros, Bohol,
the Sutu Archipelago, and Mindanao — fully two-thirds of the land area of the Philippines—-were taken
by the divisions of the Eighth Army.
General MacArthur had assigned the main assault at the heart of Japan to the Eighth Army ;
however, the sudden end of the war obviated this mission. As a result, on the 2nd of September, 17
 1945, the Commanding General of the Eighth Army stood on the deck of the battleship, " U . S. S.
Missouri," proud in his knowledge of the part he had played in bringing rhe Japanese to their knees.
Two years have passed since the day of the surrender. General Eicheiberger as Ground Force
Commander is still in Japan, his divisions spread from Hokkaido to Kyushu; the people are placid
and are working hard to absorb the principles of democracy; the soldiers are noted for their exem­
plory conduct. His administration of the Occupation has been a success.
To this great commander, leader, and administrator, for his outstanding services the United States
and other nations of the world have presented high honors and awards. These indications of
appreciation and esteem are presented herewith :
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS: For extraordinary FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO SILVER STAR: For gallantry
heroism in action, 28 June Jo 3 July 1919, while serving as in action at Biak, Netherlands East Indies, on 23 June 1944.
Assistant Chief of Staff, .G-2, American Expeditionary Force, SECOND OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO SILVER STAR: For
Siberia. gallantry in action at Davao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands,
OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE on 4 May 1945.
CROSS: For heroism in action in New Guinea during the LEGION OF MERIT: For performance of outstanding
Papuan Campaign, 23 July 1942 to 8 January 1943. service as Commanding General, 77th Division, in 1942.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL: As Assistant Chief of BRONZE STAR MEDAL: For heroic achievement in con-
Staff, G-2, for his conspicuous service with the American nection with military operations on Zamboanga, Mindanao,
Expeditionary Force, Siberia. Philippine Islands, 1 to 12 March 1945.

FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE DISTINGUISHED AIR MEDAL: For meritorious achievement while participat-

SERVICE MEDAL: As Commanding General, I Corps, for
meritorious service in the Southwest Pacific Area from 24
January 1943 to 1-9 August 1944.
SECOND OAK LEAF CLUSTER TO THE DISTINGUISHED
SERVICE MEDAL: As Commanding General of the Eighth
Army from September 1944 to May 1945, he commanded
operations in many islands of the Philippine Archipelago
and destroyed organized Japanese resistance on them in a
series of masterful amphibious operations.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL (NAVY): For excep­
tionally meritorious service to the Government of the United
States in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding
General, I Corps, the Papuan Campaign, Southeastern New
Guinea, from 25 August 1942 to 23 January 1943.
SILVER STAR: For gallantry in action in Luzon, Philippine
18 Islands, on 3 February 1945.
ing in aerial flights in the Southwest Pacific Area from 1
December 1942 to 1 August 1945.
PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION: Headquarters, I Corps,
for Buna Campaign, 1943.
OAK LEAF CLUSTER PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION:
11 th Airborne Division, for operation south of Manila,
February 1945.
HONORARY KNIGHT COMMANDER OF THE MILITARY
DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE
BRITISH EMPIRE: For courageous and valiant leadership
as Commander of the Buna Sector of the Papuan Campaign.
GRAND OFFICER OF THE ORDER OF ORANGE-NASSAU
WITH SWORDS: Awarded by Queen Wilhelmina of
Holland for liberation of Hollandia and Biak.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE STAR OF THE C O M M O N ­
WEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: For meritorious service
rendered in the reconquesl and liberation of the Philippines.
 H
GHTH IN
WAR
AND PEAC
 THE EIGHTH ARMY IN WAR AND PEACE

By land, by sea, by air the Eighth Army has swept, always triumphant, from Memphis, Tennessee,
to Tokyo, Japan.
The Eighth Army began its role in the Pacific War on the 7th of September, 1944 when
Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger assumed command in Hollandia, New Guinea. Two days
later, the Army received its first mission.
When it arrived in the Southwest Pacific the Eighth Army Headquarters consisted, almost intact,
of the experienced Second Army Staff built up by Lieutenant General Ben Lear and Lieutenant General
Lloyd R. Fredendall during three years of training in the States.
General Eichelberger brought from his old command, the I Corps, his chief of staff, Major
General (then Brigadier General) Clovis E. Byers, and his G-3, Brigadier General (then Colonel)
Frank S. Bowen, Jr., who had served under him in the battles of Buna, Sanananda, Hollandia, and
Biak. The Deputy Chief of Staff, Colonel Arthur P. Thayer; G - l , Colonel August E. Schanze; G-2,
Colonel George A. A. Jones; and G-4, Colonel Henry C. Burgess, remained in the positions they
held in the Second Army. When the staff was assembled in Hollandia in September, it was a well
tempered unit, ready for action.
Eighth Army's first mission involved assuming control of all operational areas in New Guinea,
New Britain, the Admiralties and Morotai and taking command of about 200,000 troops dispersed
in 20 localities extending from Australia to Morotai. These first four months prior to initiation of
major Eighth Army amphibious operations furnished an excellent opportunity for reorganizing and
training the staff to meet the peculiar administrative, logistical, and tactical conditions of the South­
20 west Pacific.
 MEMPHIS 1944 YOKOHAMA 1945

In the early fall of 1944, General MacArthur outlined to General Eichelberger his brilliant scheme
for the liberation of the Philippines and his proposed employment of the Eighth Army. As the plan
finally crystalized, Sixth Army was to take Leyte, establish a beachhead on Mindoro, and strike a
blow against Luzon at Lingayen Gulf.
Eighth Army would move up to Leyte and conduct operations to regain control of the southern
Philippines, feint toward southern Luzon from Mindoro, and support Sixth Army in Luzon by delivering
two sharp blows on the west coast; one at Bataan and the other south of Manila.

By the first of the year, Eighth Army Headquarters had moved to Leyte and assumed control of
operations in the Philippines south of Luzon. The long drawn out task of hunting out the 27,000
Japanese remaining on Leyte began, and continued on a decreasing scale for several months as the
enemy was gradually exterminated.
At the same time, Brigadier General William C. Dunckel's Western Visayan Task Force,
composed of the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team, and elements of the 24th Division,
pierced through the Japanese-infested Visayan Islands to take Mindoro. This action also caused the
enemy additional concern regarding the possibility of a landing on the southwestern coast of Luzon.
It was the last preparatory step for the heavy blow struck at Lingayen.
Near the end of the first month of 1945, as the XIV Corps, under Major General Oscar W.
Griswold, moved from the beachhead at Lingayen down the central plain toward Manila, the Eighth
Army entered the Luzon picture.
On January 29th, Lieutenant General Charles P. Hall's XI Corps, composed of the 38th Division 21
 THE INFANTRY MAKES A WET LANDING ON PANAY PATROL FROM THE AMERICAL ADVANCES IN NORTHERN CEBU

and a Regimental Combat Team of the 24lh Division, struck the ZambaJes coast about 15 miles
northwest of Subic Bay. The Corps mission included the seizure of our pre-war naval base at
Olongapo, the protection of the XIV Corps' right flank, and the blocking off of Bataan Peninsula.
General Hall achieved complete strategic and tactical surprise and the assault waves waded ashore
unopposed. The initial objectives were captured so rapidly that General Eichelberger was able to
hand the force over to General Walter Krueger only 24 hours after the landing. In three days, the
Corps captured Olongapo and moved out across the base of Bataan Peninsula toward Manila.
The second Eighth Army blow was aimed at Nasugbu, 45 miles south of Manila. In view of
reports of large and shifting Japanese concentrations in the area, it was prescribed that no exploi­
tation of a successful landing could be made unless personnally ordered by the Commanding General,
Eighth Army; the same limitation applied to committing the reserve parachute regiment from the air.
It was essential, therefore, for General Eichelberger to be present. D-Day found him in the field.
Major General Joseph M. Swing's aggressive 11th Airborne Division, reinforced, effected its
landing at Nasugbu on January 31st. The Japanese were completely surprised and within three hours
after the landing General Eichelberger made the decision to drive on to Manila. That was the
beginning of the famous beachhead that was to become 200 yards wide and 50 miles long.
Brushing aside infantry-artillery delaying action, the 11th thrust inland to run up against well
organized positions in hill masses flanking the road. On February 2d, the 188th Infantry, under
Colonel Robert H. Soule (promoted to Brigadier General as a result of his brilliant execution of this
operation), decisively defealed the Japanese holding these positions, and drove on up the road that
22 same day. On February 3rd, the 511th Parachute Regiment dropped on Tagaytay Ridge, key point
 UNLOADING TO START A SCOUTING MISSION ON CEBU

on the road to Manila, and moved out to spearhead the column. One hundred and four hours after
the initial landing, the 11th ran up against heavily fortified positions, supported by artillery up to
eight inches in caliber, extending across the narrow corridor in the southern outskirts of Manila.
The reduction of these positions was underway when the operation passed to Sixth Army control on
the 1 Oth of February.

Thus a flexible, aggressive, battle-wise command, immediately at the scene of the action, was
able with only a light force to outflank and neutralize 10,000 Japanese troops in southern Luzon and
prevent the full concentration of forces that would have massed to defend Manila. After the
Nasugbu blow the Japanese south of Manila never again regained any semblance of effective
organization.

By the time Eighth Army's job in Luzon was finished, preparations were well under way for the
Visayan Campaign. General MacArthur's strategic plan for the liberation of the central and southern
Philippines was a classic. First, bases for air and light naval forces on Palawan and in the
Zamboanga Peninsula — Sulu Archipelago areas would be seized to complete the isolation of the
central Philippines, bring under control the vital seaways to the west and south of the Philippines,
and render the large Japanese forces in Mindanao and the Celebes strategically impotent. Then, the
big ports and developed areas on Panay, Cebu, and Negros Islands would be taken in a rapid
succession of amphibious strikes. From these points, the Eighth could reach out to reoccupy the
entire Visayan area. The liberation of isolated Mindanao was to follow. By conducting these
operations concurrently with the Luzon Campaign, the entire Philippines would be free and Ihe bulk
of our troops, would be made available for operations against Japan by the time Luzon was cleared. 23
 AMERICAL TROOPS CRAWL ASHORE UNDER JAPANESE FIRE O N CEBU ISLAND

To support its operations in the southern Philippines, the Eighth Army had the cruisers, destroyers,
submarines, PT boats and amphibious components of the Seventh Fleet; the bomber, fighter,
reconnaissance, and transport elements of the Thirteenth Air Force, and four Marine Air Groups.
Great credit is due to these supporting forces for their participation in the operations. The Seventh
Fleet transported troops, protected convoys, and furnished fire support for landings. The Thirteenth
Air Force and the Marine airmen performed invaluable services in close support, air supply, evacua­
tion, troop transportation, and reconnaissance.

The veteran 41st Division, under the leadership of Major General Jens A. Doe, was given the
p b of securing Palawan, Zamboanga, and the Sulu Archipelago. On the 28th of February, a task
force built around the 186th Regimental Combat Team, commanded by Brigadier General Harold
Heney, landed against an estimated 1,700 Japanese near the key Palawan port, Puerto Princesa.
Resistance to the landing was negligible; and a demoralized enemy fled to the hills. While recon­
struction of the ruined Japanese airfield was rushed, the force started the tedious process of occupying
the remainder of Palawan and nearby islands and destroying the Japanese garrisons.
Eleven days after the the Palawan landing, under cover of the planes of the Thirteenth Air Force
and the guns of the Seventh Fleet, the 41st assaulted the beaches west of Zamboanga City The
surprised garrison of about 9,000 was unable to defend its beaches and airfields and by the day
after the assault, the 41st had seized the airfields and had driven down to capture Zamboanga City,
Harassed by extensive mine fields and spasmodic delaying action, General Doe drove the Japanese
back into their main mountain positions. At the same time amphibious blows were launched against
24 the 2,500 Japanese on Besilan, Jolo, and the Tawi Tawi groups. It took more than a month of
MEN OF THE 40TH DIVISION MOVE FORWARD ON PANAY ENGINEERS BRIDGE A STREAM IN MINDANAO

heavy mountain fighting to knock out the Japanese resistance at Zamboanga, but by the third week
of April, the bulk of the enemy forces in ihe areas had been destroyed; and the Eighth had airbases
at Zamboanga and throughout the Sulu Archipelago.
The Eighth had cleared the way for the imminent invasion of Borneo by our Australian Allies.
The next major strike after Zamboanga was against Panay Island. The 40th Division was withdrawn
from the battle of Luzon and turned over to the Eighth Army for the job. Under command of Major
General Rapp Brush, the division formed the nucleus of the task force which, on the* 18th of March
waded ashore at Tigbauan 14 miles west of the port of lloilo and raced eastward against light delaying
action to take lloilo in three days. The 2,200 Japanese on Panay could make no strong effort to
defend the vital port and fled to the hills in disorder.
There were an estimated 15,000 well-organized Japanese troops concentrated in the northwestern
coastal plains of Negros and opinion varied as to whether the Eighth should hit them with the
available five battalions or build up a strong force. General Headquarters offered reserves; but this
would mean a delay. General Eichelberger's previous successes had been based on the utilization
of a single mobile army reserve to cover several operations. These experiences, then, decided the
issue, and preparations for a landing on the central coast opposite lloilo were initiated immediately.
The 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team, reserve force, under Colonel George M. Jones,
was alerted for a drop on northern Negros.
General Brush struck Negros on the 29th of March. A small gallant raiding party, led by Second
Lieutenant Aaron Hanson, captured the vital Bago River Bridge intact, use of which was essential to
a rapid northward advance, before the prepared demolitions could be set off. In the first two days, 25
 11TH AIRBORNE PREPARES FOR THE BIG JUMP-LUZON THE END OF THE PHILIPPINES C A M P A I G N - M A N I L A

the 40th drove northward to take the key City of Bacolod and its airfield. The disorganized Japanese,
unable to execute their scheme to block the Eighth's advance up the coastal highway at the succes­
sive river lines lying across the path, started withdrawing into the rugged interior of the island as we
drove northward.

By May 10th, northern Negros was ours. It had been unnecessary to drop the 503rd; but it
was brought in by water to aid in the reduction of the Japanese mountain positions which the enemy
defended doggedly for weeks before they could be overrun.
On the 26th of March, between the dates of the Panay and Negros landings, the battle-wise
Americal Division, less the 164th Infantry, under Ma|or General William H. Arnold, initiated operations
against the 15,000 enemy on Cebu Island. The troops of the Americal Division went ashore rapidly,
and, after dashes with delaying detachments on the road leading from the landing beach reached
Cebu City within 30 hours.

The Japanese made no effort to defend the ruined city but withdrew in good order to honey­
combed positions that had been prepared in the steep hills overlooking the harbor. Defense of the
excellent positions was stubborn and unyielding. Initial losses were heavy and the division's 164th
Regiment, under Colonel William J. Mahoney, was brought in to deliver the knockout punch in a
successfully coordinated division attack.
Remnants of the Japanese deserted their positions and scattered to the hills. While our troops
and guerrilla forces cleared the island of remaining Japanese, the 164th Regimental Combat Team
26 struck at Dumaguete in southern Negros to eliminate the last important Japanese stronghold in the
 ^uts-T^d* - 1J^

THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF HIROSHIMA

Visayas. Landing on 26th April against light resistance, our forces drove the ever-withdrawing
enemy into the mountains of the hinterland. By 16th June, the last resistance was overcome.
Although not officially closed until June 20th, the Visayan operations were virtually complete by
the end of April. After the compaign, General MacArthur paid tribute to the Eighth Army and to
General Eichelberger with the statement:
"...my heartiest commendation for the brilliant execution of the Visayan campaign. This is a
model of what a light but aggressive command can accomplish in rapid exploitation."
In 44 days the Eighth Army had conducted 14 major landings, and 24 minor ones, averaging
almost one a day.
The key points of the Visayas once seized, the Eighth Army prepared for Mindanao. The strongest
Japanese concentration on Mindanao, later proved to be 30,000, was on heavily defended Davao
Gulf near Davao City. At the other end of a muddy east-west road connecting the Davao Gulf to
the west coast lies the Cotabato area, where approximately 2,000 Japanese were located. Midway
along the road, another narrow twisting trail-like road, the Sayre Highway, leads northward to
Macajalar Bay. Along this road was a third Japanese concentration consisting of between 10,000
and 12,000 troops. Thorough advance reconnaissance revealed that an amphibious assault at the
beaches near Davao would be too costly. The decision was made, therefore, to strike at Cotabato
and extend the Eighth Army's control over the island from a base to be established there. This
course would be slower but would save countless American lives.
Major General Franklin C. Siberf's X Corps was designated to undertake the Mindanao operation. 27
 OPERATION CORONET
SHOWING MAJOR GROUND COMBAT ELEMENTS ALLOCATED FOR THE OPERATION SIXTH ARMY

He was given two reinforced divisions; the 24th, under Major General Roscoe B. Woodruff; and the
31st, under Major General Clarence A. Martin. Initial plans for a landing at Malabang 30 miles
north of Cotabato were changed enroufe when Colonel Wendell W. Fertig's guerrilla information
showed that the Japanese were withdrawing from the area and that guerrillas had occupied rhe
objective airstrip. On April 17th, the 24th Division effected their main landing at Parang, 10 miles
north of Cotabato; only a battalion went in at Malabang. The following day, Cotabato was taken
amphibiously. The unpredictable Japanese, caught unaware, could attempt no strong defensive action
at any point; so the Eighth Army utilized the opportunity with a quick thrust toward Davao.

At the same time, an attempt was initiated to secure as a line of supply the twisting, treacherous
waterways of the great Mindanao River which paralleled the Davao Road at its midpoint. Mounted
in the heavily-armed assault craft of the amphibious 3rd Engineer Special Brigade, commanded by
Brigadier General David A. D. Ogden, a regiment attacked up the river line. Both the overland and
waterborne expedition advanced rapidly. Brushing aside minor resistance, they reached the halfway
point across the island in a four-day drive. The enemy forces in the north were now cut off from
those around Davao. The river route proved useable and the poor road was abandoned as a main
line of supply.

Our unexpectedly rapid advance to the center of the island placed us within striking distance of
Davao Gulf and created a remarkable opportunity to assault the Davao Gulf positions from their
defenseless rear before the Japanese could prepare adequate defenses. The situation was reminiscent
of Singapore. General Woodruff did not hesitate. While rhe 31st moved up to strike northward
28 toward Macajalar Bay, he sped on to Davao Gulf. April 27th, just 10 days after the landing at
 EIGHTH ARMY
FOUR CORPS
ELEVEN DIVISIONS FIRST ARMY

Parang, the 24th reached the gulf. The beachhead which was now established did away with the
long and tenuous overland route, and supplies could be brought in directly by sea.
The same day the gulf was reached, General Woodruff attacked northward up the coastal road.
His objective was Davao City. Three days later he had captured the city, while the enemy dug in
above Davao for a fight to the finish.

The 24th Division, which was strung out for 50 miles along the inadequate narrow road, knifed
deep into an enemy force numbering 30,000.
General Eichelberger proclaimed the achievement as one of the bright pages of the war. The
rapid exploitation and the fearless, offensive action had reduced a four months' job to a two weeks' task.
With the taking of Davao City, the strategic victory was won ; but one of the most brutal land
battles of the Philippines Compaign had just started.

The 31st Division ran into real trouble. The rainsoaked, rutted road disintegrated rapidly. This
eventuality was anticipated, however, and while General Martin's spearhead thrust forward, supplied
largely by air, the 108th Regimental Combat Team, commanded by Brigadier General Robert O. Shoe
of the 40th Division landed at Macajalar Bay to secure a new coastal base. Landing on May 10th,
the force fought southward against sporadic delaying action to join with the 31st Division 13 days
later. The new supply road was soon in operation and the two forces merged to destroy the enemy
area which had faded into the mountains east of the road. By the 10th of June, the remnants of the
enemy had been driven into the hills to starve or die of disease.

It took General Woodruff's 24th Division nearly two months of hard fighting to destroy the 29
 JAPAN SUES FOR PEACE - MANILA THE EIGHTH'S COMMANDER GREETS GENERAL MacARTHUR AT ATSUGI

fanatical enemy in the Davao area. By the end of June, General Franklin Sibert's X Corps had ex­
tended its control over all Mindanao.
On July 1st Eighth Army assumed control of the entire Philippines when it was directed to take
over the Luzon operation. Although organized Japanese resistance had been declared broken on
Luzon, the remaining armed enemy troops had to be hunted down, dug out of holes, and destroyed
in order to complete the liberation of this island. The XIV Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General
Oscar W. Griswold, assumed the tactical control of the operation with the 6th, 32nd, 37th, and
38th Divisions plus elements of three divisions and one regimental combat team under his command.
The mopping up was handled aggressively by all units and by the 15th of August the enemy force
had become so reduced as to become tactically impotent. The actual strength of the Japanese, as
indicated by casualties and surrender reports was well over 50,000.
Upon the close of the Visayan and Mindanao operations in June 1945, the Eighth Army faced its
greatest task. General Eichelberger's veteran army was to strike the main blow in the invasion of
Japan. Sixth Army was to start the show with Operation Olympic aimed at the southern island of
Kyushu late in October. Then early in 1946, the Eighth and the First Armies were to apply the crusher,
Operation Coronet, an assault on Tokyo Plain—the heart of Japan. Preliminary invasion planning was
started while mop-up operations were still underway on Luzon.
Suddenly the schedule changed ! On August 6th the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
Two days later the Russians plunged into the war. By August 10th the Japanese had had more than
enough and publicly sued for peace. Eighth Army was assigned the mission of taking over the
30 occupation of northern Honshu and was not caught unprepared. As far back as June, General
 THE SUPREME COMMANDER SIGNS THE INSTRUMENT OF SURRENDER

Eichelberger had directed his staff to begin planning for this eventuality.

Two complete plans for the initial landing were evolved, the first an amphibious one, the second
a combination of airborne and amphibious landings. The latter was subsequently adopted. The
Japanese capitulated on August 15th, and four days later an advance echelon of the Eighth Army
was flown to Okinawa, prepared for any emergency. By this time conferences between Japanese
emissaries and members of General MacArthur's staff had indicated that the landings and the occupa­
tion would be peaceful. Plans were predicated upon the full cooperation of the Japanese. The
enemy forces would be disarmed under their own supervision and the Allied occupation would be
progressive following demobilization in specified areas. The plan was designed to avoid possible
incidents which might renew the conflict.

A small reconnaissance party landed at Atsugi Airfield, 20 miles southwest of Tokyo, on the
morning of August 28th. The primary mission of this group was to determine the condition of the
airfield and to establish operational facilities.

In what has been termed the most daring landing in history, General Eichelberger arrived in Japan
with the first echelon of the 11th Airborne Division shortly after daybreak on August 30th. This small
group of men were landing in a hostile country where they were outnumbered thousands to one by
nearly 4 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 men still under arms in Japan. Other units of Eighth Army arrived in rapid succes­
sion. On September 2nd, the surrender terms were signed in an impressive ceremony on the Missouri
in Tokyo Bay. Three days later the flag of the United States was raised over the American Embassy
in V o k y o . It was then that General MacArfhur gave the Eighth Army's Commander the memorable
order: 31
 LU

-Vr

EIGHTH ARMY

General Eichelberger, have our country's [lag unfurled and in Tokyo's sun let it wave in its
[ull glory as a symbol of hope for the oppressed and as a harbinger of victory for the right.
By mid-October Eighth Army had completed its primary mission of occupying northern Honshu
pothly, rapidly, and efficiently the troops of three corps, consisting of seven divi­
ental combat teams, took up their occupation posts in Japan. During this time
sited the men of his command impressing them with the thought that they were
the United States of America. Sixth Army, which had been assigned Southern
r
d Kyushu, completed its part of the occupation mission by the end of October,
with the inactivation of the Sixth Army, Eighth Army took over the occupation
of Japan with its 75,000,000 population. At peak strength, late in 1945, the two Armies had a total
strength of nearly half a million men. Six months later there remained only one army with a strength
well under 200,000. Nevertheless the occupation was running smoothly and quietly—a situation many
had thought impossible at the beginning.
The most bitter war in Pacific history had left Japan prostrate. Small groups of dazed, weary-
eyed Japanese stared silently and impassively at the first Americans to land. The drab ruins of
Yokohama were almost deserted, particularly by the women who had fled to the country in terror of
the invadeySW^At first the American veterans were wary — a few days before they had been waging
BCOF
a bloody^j|L^gainst these people — yet firmness to duty was combined with an admirable restraint
from c r i ^ ^ ^ J ^ y came not as arrogant conquerors in a defeated land but to uphold the traditions
for which they fought. The natural friendliness of the Gl and the cooperative attitude of the Japanese
quickly overcame fears and prejudices. The lesson these soldiers taught has had a tremendous
impact on Japanese hhought. After a year of occupation, General MacArthur could say :
 THE ZONES OF RESPONSIBILITY

I wish to pay tribute to the magnificent conduct of the troops. With few exceptions they

could be taken as a model for all time as a conquering army . . . Nothing has so tended to impress

Japanese thought — not even the catastrophic fact of military defeat itself. They have for the first

time seen the free man's way of life in actual operation and it has stunned them to new thoughts

and new ideas.

Whereas bands of demobilized soldiers and underground organizations might have been expected
to wage guerrilla warfare or offer resistance in other ways, neither of these potentialities developed.
Occupational personnel travel casually and unarmed throughout Japan and mingle freely with a co­
operative populace which almost universally shows great respect for, but little fear or resentment
toward, the American. Arms have not been carried except when on duty since the first weeks of the
occupation. The number of overt acts against occupational personnel have been so limited and so
minor in nature as to be almost negligible.
The Japanese who had fearfully speculated concerning their fate as they first watched our troops
from the shadows of their ruined cities now have new hope and faith in the future. With civil rights
which heretofore they have never enjoyed, with the rebuilding of their cities, and with the restoring
of their peacetime economy all eyes are hopefully turned toward the eventual peace.
Eighth Army had accomplished its initial mission—to bring in troops and occupy the strategic areas
and governmental centers of Japan—but that was only part of the job. "Mercy teams" had been
organized to expedite the release of the thousands of Allied prisoners in Japanese stockades. These
teams arrived in Yokohama on August 30th along with the advance echelon of Eighth Army. They
were aided by United States planes which swooped over the prison camps to drop food and. supplies. 33
 YOKOHAMA 1945 YOKOHAMA 1947

Allied prisoners were released and processed for evacuation at the rate of 1,000 a day so that the
liberation of all prisoners in the camps in Honshu, Hokkaido, and Shikoku was accomplished in only
18 days. Eighth Army was weeks ahead of the most optimistic pre-occupation estimates and, in all,
recovered and evacuated 23,985 persons !
Sixteen divisions and hundreds of smaller units participated in the occupation, but the majority
were either inactivated or returned to the United States within the first fe-w months. By the middle of
1946, except for various headquarters and service units, the only American forces remaining were the
24th and 25th Infantry Divisions under I Corps and the 1st Cavalry and the 11th Airborne Divisions
under IX Corps. I Corps occupied Kyushu, Shikoku, and most of the southern half of Honshu, IX
Corps the northern half of Honshu, including the Tokyo area, and Hokkaido.
Non-tactical units in Japan under General Eichelberger's Command include the 138th AAA Group.
Kobe Base, the 3rd Transportation Military Railway Service, the 2nd Transportation Major Port, the 4th
Replacement Depot, the 49th General Hospital and eleven station hospitals, and more than 200 other
units such as depots, school, signal units and military government teams.
The occupation took on a truly international aspect with the arrival of the British Commonwealth
Occupation Forces under Lieutenant General Northcott in the spring of 1946. This force is under the
operational control of Eighth Army. One British Indian Division and two independent brigades—one
from Australia and one from New Zealand—took up posts on southern Honshu. Units of these
troops share honor guard responsibilities with picked American units in Tokyo.
The primary mission of Eighth Army, apart from the physical occupation of Japan, is to insure
34 "that Japan comply with the terms agreed on in the instrument of surrender and contained in all direc­
 DOKO DES'KA ?

fives issued to the Japanese by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers."
Basic instructions for the conduct of the occupation were delivered to General MacArthur in the
form of a document known as the "Initial Post-Surrender Policy for Japan." Though it was written at
the close of a bitter and costly war, the document is remarkable (or its lack of vindictiveness and its
concern for the welfare of the common people of a nation which had so recently been a treacher­
ous and unscrupulous foe. The policy was ruthless, however, in so far as it dictated that the milita­
rist and the influence of militarism which led Japan into war be totally eliminated from her political,
economic, and social life. Japan was to be completely disarmed and demilitarized and her war
making potential destroyed in order "to insure that Japan will not again become a menace to the
United States or the peace and sepurity of the world." Our second objective was "to bring about
the eventual establishment of a peaceful and responsible government" which would "conform as
closely as may be to the principles of democratic self-government. . . "
Subsequent instructions, which have implemented rather than changed the general policies.outlined
above, are approved by an eleven-nation Far Eastern Commission and transmitted to General MacArthur
who is responsible for putting them into practice. He is assisted by a four-power Allied Council
an advisory body only, seated in Tokyo. The Japanese Government receives orders in the form of
directives from General MacArthur, and Eighth Army is responsible for the enforcement of these
directives throughout Japan.
The first of the objectives, that of demilitarizing Japan, was accomplished with startling speed.
The Japanese War and Navy Ministries were converted into demobilization ministries which disarmed
and demobilized more than 2,500,000 Japanese soldiers and 1,300,000 sailors, then in Japan, in less 35
 DESTRUCTION OF WAR MATERIEL

than [our months. The occupational troops seized all military installations and huge amounts of
munitions, arms, and other material. Military installations, except for those needed by the occupational
forces, have been gradually returned to the Japanese—many a former airfield is now covered with
growing crops. Army stockpiles of food and clothing were returned to the people for domestic use.
Hundreds of tanks, thousands of airplanes, and millions of weapons were scrapped and their metals
recast into implements of peaceful pursuits. Nearly one million tons of explosives have been destroyed
by demolition, burning, or dumping at sea—a tricky and dangerous job accomplished by Eighth Army
Ordnance experts. Underwater clearance teams have swept all important harbors. Small caches of
unreported arms and munitions are still being discovered, but no organized plan to circumvent the
directives has come to light.

In order to shatter Japan's war-making potential, Eighth Army, on orders from the Supreme Com­
mander, has seized and held for reparations more than 900 industrial plants which had been used to
manufacture the materials for Japan's war machine.

The end of the war found over 6,500,000 Japanese overseas, scattered from Manchuria to
Singapore and throughout the islands of the Pacific. Nearly 1,165,000 non-Japanese Asiatics living
in Japan wished to return fo their native lands. Making use of both American and Japanese shipping,
a repatriation program was instituted in the autumn of 1945. The responsibility for repatriation was
placed on the Japanese Government under Eighth Army supervision. By mid-1947, Military Government
repatriation officers could proudly announce that more than 5,500,000 persons had been returned to
their homes, both to and [rom Japan, through nine repatriation centers. The slightly less than a
36 million Japanese still remaining overseas were practically all in Russian-controlled areas (rom which
REPATRIATION OF FOREIGN NATIONALS DEMOBILIZATION OF THE ARMED FORCES

repatriation was slowly taking place through the three centers still in operation.
In December 1945, the Eighth Army tribunals began the arduous task of bringing Japanese war
criminals to trial. 175 cases involving 368 defendants were completed in the first 20 months. Ten
commissions worked steadily to bring speedy justice to the more than 500 suspects still awaiting trial.
The responsibility for the conduct of these trials, except for the prosecution, rests with Eighth Army
which must try all such cases save those of the top-ranking suspects held before the International
Tribunal in Tokyo. Penalties given by the courts have been severe, but both the Japanese and the
world press have attested to the fairness and justice with which the trials have been conducted.
War criminal suspects and those already convicted, numbering well over one thousand Japanese,
are held by Eighth Army in Sugamo Prison, a modern penifentiary on the outskirts of Tokyo. This
institution has received much praise, both for the efficiency with which it is operated and for the
humane yet strict treatment accorded the prisoners.
The secret police, Japan's Gestapo, was dissolved. The treacherous Black Dragon Society and
other ultra-nationalistic organizations were outlawed. Military exercises were prohibited in schools
and text books revised to eliminate militaristic teaching. The Shinto religion, which had been twisted
to support the militaristic clique and to glorify Japan's "divine* destiny," was denied state support
and its influence eliminated from the schools.
The Zaibatsu, giant family monopolies, had lowered the living standards of the majority of the
Japanese people and stifled free economy. These corporations have been broken up and their hold­
ings turned over to a government agency for resale to the public. Anti-monopolistic legislation has
been written into the law books. 37
 FIRST WAR CRIMES TRIAL EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN

With the demobilization of the Japanese Army and Navy, the destruction of the tools of war,
the elimination of militarism as an ideal, the punishment of war criminals, and the dissolution of the
Zaibatsu, the downfall of Japan's military power was more or less completed. The accomplishment
of the second objective—"to bring about the eventual establishment of a peaceful and responsible
government. . . "—has also been achieved to the extent possible for the time, but history will indicate
the ultimate value the Japanese will place on this rare heritage by the zeal with which they will
guard and defend it.

Beginning with his famous "Bill of Rights" directive in the second month of the occupation,
General MacArthur has issued a steady flow of orders to the Japanese Government designed to
guide the thinking of the people into new paths and to establish a government that will be a true
expression of the people's will. Legislation controlling freedom of speech, press, assembly, and
religion was abrogated. Women were made equal with men in the eyes of the law. Political
prisoners were liberated. The trade union movement was legalized and quickly mushroomed into
thousands of unions with nearly five million members. The political-economic purges have barred
nearly half a million wartime militarists and profiteers from public life. School teachers have been
carefully screened to remove those who still nurture militaristic and ultra-nationalistic ideals. The
school curriculum has been revised, text books rewritten, and the educational system decentralized.

Under the occupation, two elections, as free as any in the world, have been held. More than
seventy percent of the eligible electorate, including women for the first time, have voted in the
general elections. In its voting, the public has indicated a preference for a middle course and elected
38 few candidates from either the right or left extremes.
 LAND REFORM BECOMES A REALITY

A new constitution has been adopted, one of the most enlightened in the world. It renounces
war as a means of policy, recognizes the dignity and rights of the individual, creates a Diet and a
Cabinet directly responsible to the electorate, and transfers sovereignty from the Emperor to the
people. The Emperor, by his own admission no longer divine, has been shorn of power and most
of his wealth but still commands the respect and veneration of the mass of the Japanese.
There can be no real political freedom where the mass of the people are in economic want and
bondage. Endless encouragement and help has been given to the Japanese by the Occupational
Forces in the rehabilitation of peacetime industry, the increase of farm production, and the restoration
of foreign trade. Thousands of tons of American food has been distributed among the people to
fill the gap until their own economy is self-sufficient. A land reform program has been instituted with
the aim of making five million tenant farmers independent.
Fifty-four Eighth Army Military Government Teams stationed throughout the country, in addition to
Special Staff Sections at Army and Corps level keep close watch on the progress from totalitarian
feudalism to a democratic form of government and economic self-sufficiency. One team serves each
of the 46 prefectures and each of the eight administrative regions. The primary mission of Military
Government is to supervise the execution of the directives of the Supreme Commander. The Eighth
Army policy has been based on the idea that the Japanese people are responsible for their present
condition and must work out their own salvation, none-fhe-less, every effort must be made to revitalize
industry, agriculture, mining, fishing, commerce and trade, and other phases of the economic life in
order to make the people self-sufficient as rapidly as possibie. Through constant surveillance health
and public welfare standards have been raised.
There is much groping and fumbling by the Japanese people in their struggle to practice 39
 FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY

democracy. They must be helped to gain a real understanding of their responsibilities and privileges.
The old guard is clever and resists change in subtle ways. Sometimes a firm hand is essential. The
occupation army must remain constantly alert to insure attainment of the objectives.
In carrying out the occupational mission, Eighth Army has been faced with many new and difficult
problems of organization, supply, and deployment of troops. Commanders have had to exercise to
the fullest their ingenuity, imagination, and skill to meet and solve these special problems.
The redeployment and readjustment programs have placed a particular burden on Eighth Army in
maintaining military efficiency and a high level of morale. The occupation was barely under way
before large numbers of "high point" veterans began boarding ships to return home. The 4th
Replacement Depot was assigned the task of processing these men. By November 1945, the depot
was handling 25,000 each month. During the first two years of the occupation 387,325 men passed
through the depot on their way home. Incoming replacements totaled 170,776. The 1 Uh Replacement
Depot processed 35,000 returnees during the two months it served under Eighth Army, and several
divisions were returned directly without clearing through the depots.
Because of this tremendous turnover, the Eighth Army had undergone three distinct changes in
personnel during the first two years of the occupation. First to arrive were the veterans of the
Pacific War. These were largely replaced by men trained for combat who had not seen action.
Finally came the young draftees with a liberal percentage of regular army men.
The large turnover made it especially important to classify, screen, and give specialist instruction
to all arrivals. In addition to their normal duties, all units have been exceedingly busily conducting
40 "on-the-job" training and surveying the skills of replacements to make maximum use of their respective
DEMOCRATIZE THE SCHOOLS IMMUNIZATION TO SAFEGUARD HEALTH

talents. A large percentage of the draftee replacements had little more than five weeks of basic
training. These men completed their thirteen weeks training schedule under Eighth Army tutelage.
Nine large schools train technicians in the various technical branches of the army, and the divisions
conduct similar schools. Tactical units have held numerous field exercises and maneuvers to keep
their organizations at a high standard of proficiency. A number of disasters — earthquakes, tidal
waves, fires, and floods — have found the troops well organized and prepared for any emergency.
The people of stricken areas have learned that they can rely on immediate and generous aid when
disaster strikes.
Bringing in supplies and distributing them to the widely scattered units throughout the country is
a special problem. The 2nd Major Port in Yokohama operates the world's fifth largest port where
most of the shipping brings in troops and supplies for Eighth Army. Kobe Base receives supplies
for troops in the southern part of Japan and also reclaims army property—equipment valued at more
than thirty million dollars having been repaired there during the first two years of the occupation.
All passenger and freight trains used by the Allied Forces in Japan are the responsibility of the 3rd
Transportation Military Railway Service. This unit operates sleepers, diners, baggage cars, nearly
600 passenger coaches, hospital cars, Post Exchange trains, and other railway facilities in addition
to handling nearly 200,000 tons of Allied freight each month.
The Quartermaster Section has developed and is operating the two largest hydroponic farms in
the world. These furnish the occupational personnel in Japan and Korea with fresh vegetables.
Apart from its principal job of procuring and issuing the supplies which keep the army going, the
Q M Section also operates shoe and equipment repair shops, sales commissaries, service stations
and a wide variety of other service installations. 41
 2D T MAJOR PORT DELIVERS FOOD A N D SUPPLIES GUARD AT THE IMPERIAL PALACE

The Post Exchanges furnish occupational personnel with the combined commodities of very nearly
all the shops to be found along Main Street in Home Town, U.S.A. The Army Exchange Service
operates nearly 200 principal and sub-branch Post Exchanges and the popular soft drink and snack
bars. Along with a huge volume of sales of regular merchandise, the Post Exchanges provide
barber and beauty shop services, radio and watch repairing shops, garages, tailor shops, photo
developing services, clothing for dependents and civilians, and household goods for dependent
homes. Gross sales in the Post Exchanges total over $60,000,000 annually; large business indeed I
Early in the occupation numerous schools were opened by the Information and Education Section
under the Army Educational Program. At the end of two years they had been consolidated into
seven Educational Centers in the areas where troops were concentrated, two Area Schools serving ­
divisions, and ten unit Schools serving regiments. In addition to the thousands of students who have
received instruction in these schools, many more have registered for United States Armed Forces
Institute courses, and all have participated in the Troop Information Program. The Troop Information
and Education Section also maintains seven Armed Force Radio Stations which provide programs
to lighten the leisure hours and provide information of local and world interest.
To augment the school training program throughout Eighth Army an extensive athletic and
recreation program was organized by Special Service. Millions of dollars worth of supplies — from
fishhooks to pianos — have been issued. Every soldier has equipment and facilities available for
participating in many athletic activities. To increase interest and keep competition at a high piteri,
All-Japan Tournaments in the major sports have been conducted on the division and major command
level.
Located at scenic spots throughout the country are 27 hotels where soldiers may rest in pleasant
42 surroundings while on leave.
 EIGHTH ARMY DEPENDENT HOUSING

Fifty "circuit-riding" professional librarians maintain a high standard of service in the two
metropolitan and 185 smaller libraries which have been established for the troops. Motion picture
theaters are open nightly, and numerous plays and variety shows have been provided, including those
given by Japanese performers.
The American Red Cross with its helpful field directors, cheerful hostesses, and well equipped
service clubs performed invaluable services for the troops throughout the first two years of the
occupation. The second anniversary of the end of the war found the Army taking over the 56
Service Clubs from the ARC for continued use and enlisting the services of many of the Red Cross
girls as army hostesses.
The arrival of dependents was another important factor in the maintenance of a high level of
morale. The first families arrived in June 1946, and to date over 8,000 families have been brought
to Japan. The Engineers have been responsible for the planning, building, and remodeling of the
thousands of homes in which these families are quartered. AN of the homes conform to high
standards of American living. Schools are provided for the children, and commissaries and Post
Exchange services have been enlarged to meet household needs.
Eighth Army was successful in war; it has been successful in peace. Careful planning, excellent
leadership, and conscientiously performed duty have resulted in an occupation which has demonstrated
to a defeated people the best that America has to offer in the realm of human values. All this is a
tribute to the American soldier in Japan. Secretary of War Patterson crystalized the thought when,
speaking of the troops of Eighth Army, he said, "...they are the best representatives the American
nation could have...It is an Army capable of carrying out the difficult duties of the occupation, — an
Army of which the American nation is proud." 43
 THE
EIGHTH ARMY
MILITARY
GOVERNMENT
44 OF JAPAN
TOKYO-KANAGAWA
SPECIAL DISTRICT

HOKKAIDO
SPECIAL DISTRICT
 H
EIGHTH'S
GENERALS
 CORPS COMMANDER

MAJOR GENERAL ROSCOE B. WOODRUFF

Graduated me United States Military Academy in 1915, saw service on me Mexican border and,
as a company commander, served in France in 1917. He continued in the military service after
World War I and climaxed his pre-World War II record with his assignment in 1939 as Chief of
Training Branch, G-3, War Department General Staff. He was promoted to Brigadier General in
January 1942 and became Assistant Commanding General of the 77th Division. He took the VII
Corps to Europe in May 1943 and later assumed command of the XIX Corps. General Woodruff
returned to the United States in March 1944 and was subsequently assigned to the command of
Army Garrison Force 248 in Hawaii. In November 1944 he took over the 24th Infantry Division in
the Philippine Islands, a command he held until assigned I Corps for the occupation of Japan in
November 1945.
General Woodruff holds the Distinguished Service Medal with cluster, the Silver Star with two
clusters, the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Army Commendation Ribbon. 47
 IX CORPS COMMANDER
MAJOR GENERAL CHARLES W. RYDER
Graduated the United States Military Academy in 1915 and, after a short period of service on
the Mexican border, served in France with the 1st Division. In the post-war years he instructed at
the Military Academy and at Fort Benning, Georgia. From 1930 to 1933 he served with the 15th
Infantry Regiment in Tientsin, China. Upon his return to the United States he joined the War Depart­
ment General Staff. In 1937 he left this post to become Commandant of Cadets at the Military
Academy. He returned to field duty in January 1941 when he became Chief of Staff of VI Corps,
a tour which was to be followed by his assignment as assistant commander of the 90th Infantry
Division and his promotion to Brigadier General.
He went overseas in May 1942 as commander of the 34th Infantry Division but assumed
command of the entire Eastern Assault Force shortly after his promotion to Major General in July
1942. With this force he cleared Algiers ; and later led the 34th Division through the Tunisian and
Italian Campaigns.
Following his return to the United States on July 25th, 1944, he assumed command of the IX
Corps which he took to the Philippines. After the Japanese surrender he brought this command up
from Leyte to assume duties of occupation force in Hokkaido and Northern Honshu.
General Ryder holds the Distinguished Service Cross with cluster, the Distinguished Service
Medal, the Legion of Merit with cluster, the Silver Star with cluster, the Purple Heart, and the Army
48 Commendation Ribbon.
 MAJ GEN CHARLES L. MULL1NS, JR LIAM C. CHASE MAJ GEN JOSEPH M. SWINC
24 INF DIV 25 INF DIV I CAV 11 AB DIV

LT GEN H.C.H. ROBERTSON BRIG GEN ROBERT W . CRICHLOW JR BRIG GEN FRANK C. McCONNELL 49
BCOF KOBE BASE 2D MAJOR PORT
NEW GUINEA MAPIA-ASIA LEYTE MINDORO PALAWAN ZAMBOANGA PANAY NEGROS CEBi
 OPERATIONS
O H
BOHOL MINDANAO LUZON JAPAN GHTH
 NETHERLAND'S EAST INDIES NEW GUINEA
General Robert L. Eichelberger took command of the Eighth Army on September 7, 1944.
Two days later it received its first mission — the destruction of the enemy remaining in New
Guinea and the Netherlands East Indies and the staging of units for the pending assaults on
the Philippines. Units that were to become a part of this army were scattered throughout
Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Admiralties and New Guinea. In many areas — Biak,
Morofai, Wakde-Sarmi, Noemfoor, and Sansapor — fighting was still in progress. Highly train­
ed and battle-hardened combat units completing their assignments in the New Guinea and
Netherlands East Indies operations hastily staged for new assaults on the Philippines, one
thousand miles closer to the Japanese homeland ; long range bombers of the 5th Air Force
based on Biak in the Schouten Islands, were delivering heavy strikes on the Philippine Islands
to soften up Japanese positions there; the stage was set and the Eighth Army was ready for
52 its subsequent role in the drama of the Pacific War.
MAPIA-ASIA
The first amphibious assaults exclusively under the control of Eighth Army were the Mapia-
Asia landings : the objectives were to take bases suitable for the establishment of LORAN
(long range navigation by radar) stations, and to close the communication gap between the
Biak airbase and the advance lines in the Philippines. Committed to this mission were units
of the veteran 31st Division which was still engaged in the struggle on M o r o t a i ; the 2d Bat­
talion of the 167th Infantry was assigned the Mapia landings, while Company F of the 124th
Infantry was designated to make the landings on the Asia Islands.

The landings began on November 15, 1944, with the assault on Pegun Island of the
Mapia g r o u p ; five days later the Mapia-Asia Islands were secured, signalling the comple­
ion of the first assault mission of the Eighth Army.
^v

 DD
H
D
NES

 •
•
t

LEYTE-SAMAR
Eighth Army entered the Philippine Campaign when General Eichelberger, with the advance
elements of his staff, arrived at Tacloban airstrip on November 2 1 , 1944. The Eighth Army
rook over the Leyte-Samar Operation officially on December 26, 1944. Under its control
during this operation were two corps (the X and XXIV), ten divisions (1st Cavalry, 11th Air­
borne, Americal, 7th, 24th, 32nd, 38th, 77th, 81st, and 96th Infantry Divisions), and the 112th
Cavalry Regimental Combat Team. Although it was designated as a mop-up operation and the
planning was based on an estimated Japanese strength of 5,000-8,000, the divisions of the
Eighth Army were to spend many months in the difficult and hazardous task of disposing of
a far greater enemy force, numbering more than 25,000. The ability of the fighting men of
these divisions and the quality of their leadership was attested by the efficiency with which
rhis task was accomplished and by the low number of American casualties. This accom­
plishment was even more remarkable in the light of the dual mission of Eighth Army-the elimi­
nation of Japanese resistance on Leyte, and the staging and supplying of units engaged in other
operations in the Philippines. While actively engaged in combat operations the Eighth Army
unloaded, staged, and reloaded a convoy of over 40 ships carrying the XXIV Corps for the
Okinawa Operation. All of this activity was concurrent with the staging and supplying of
Sixth Army units.

With Leyte secured it became a major supply base. From its headquarters at Telegrafo
the Eighth Army Staff directed the operations in the Philippine Campaign.
MINDORO-MARINDUQUE
The concept of the Mindoro-Marinduque operation was initially to confuse the Japanese as
to the American intentions in southern Luzon by diversionary action, and later to establish air
fields on Mindoro to permit close fighter support of the American units engaged in Luzon.
The Western Visayan Task Force, created especially for this purpose, launched its assault on
December 15 1944 Responsibility for this operation passed to Eighth Army on January 1,
1945 The combat units committed were the 19th and the 21st Regimental Combat Teams of
the 24th Infantry Division and the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team. Their smooth co­
operation was to a large extent, responsible for the rapid completion of the operat.on.
 t

, SUBIC BAY-NASUGBU
The briefest of the Eighth Army operations was the assault on Subic Bay in Zambales Province.
This was a three-fold mission: to protect the exposed right flank of XIV Corps, to regain
the pre-war naval base at Olongapo, and to blockade the Bataan Peninsula. The mission was
assigned to the XI Corps, consisting of the 38th Division and the 34th Regimental Combat
Team of the 24th Division. The initial penetration was made on the Zambales coast about
15 miles northwest of Subic Bay on January 29, 1945. This surprise maneuver made possible
an unopposed landing and the operation was so successful that General Eichelberger was
able to hand the force over to the Sixth Army 24 hours after the landing.

The plan of rhe Nasugbu Beach Operation was originated at a conference between General
Douglas MacArthur and General Eichelberger in November 1944 at the Army Headquarters
on Leyte. The Eighth Army was to land an assault force on southwestern Luzon with the
mission of diverting Japanese combat units from the engagements in northern Luzon, disrupting
the Japanese lines of communications, and advancing on Manila. This mission was to be
under the personal direction of General Eichelberger.
The landing was made on the 31st of January, 1945, by the 11th Airborne Division
reinforced with two battalions of the 19th Infantry, 24th Division. The entire operation, from
the Nasugbu beachhead and the parachute jump on Tagayfay Ridge to the swift drive into the
outskirts of Manila, an advance of over 50 miles in four days, was characterized by rapid
exploitation and dynamic forward movement.
The 1 lth Airborne received an earned "well-done" when Eighth Army relinquished control
58 of the operation on the 10th of February.
VISAYAN PASSAGES
The one operation which contributed more than any other to the amazing total of amphibious
landings made by units of the Eighth Army was the "Clearance of the Visayan Passages."
Although Mindoro and Marinduque belong to the Visayan Island Group and it might be
assumed that the landings on these islands in December and January initiated the operation,
such was not the case. The concept was first presented in a letter from General MacArthur
dated February 5, 1945, on the progress of the Luzon Campaign, in which he called on the
Eighth Army to institute operations at the earliest practicable date to clear the islands bordering
the passages. The commanders of the Allied Naval and Air Forces were to synchronize their
efforts in these areas in accordance with the plans and requests of General Eichelberger.
The first landing was made February 19th on the island of Biri and the last was made on the
3rd of April on Masbate Island. Units engaged included elements of the X Corps, the 24th,
Americal, and 40th Divisions.
 , PALAWAN
Victor III, the first of five operations bearing the code name "Victor," was launched against
the Palawan Group which forms the western boundary of the Philippines. This group which
stretches in a southwesterly direction from Mindoro to Borneo afforded an excellent potential
base for aircraft patrolling the South China Seas. The task of taking Palawan was given to
the 186th Regimental Combat Team of the veteran 41st Division. The regiment staged at
Mindoro and embarked at San Jose on the 26th of February. The landing was made at
Puerto Princesa on the 28th. The pre-landing bombardment demoralized the enemy garrison
and the preliminary objectives were taken by noon of H-day. The Japanese showed little
inclination to fight and the entire Puerto Princesa area was soon taken. The other islands of
the group (Busuanga, Dumaran, Balabac, and Bugsuk) were then cleared, the last of these
60 being taken on April 16th.
I

ZAMBOANGA-SULU: VICTOR IV

The Victor IV operation was rhe last major combat assignment for the 41st Division. The
iniMal landing was aimed at rhe port of Zamboanga which was raken on March 11th,
D-day plus one. 1 he rroops then took the entire coastal area in the vicinity of Zamboanga
before continuing rheir drive down rhe Sulu Archipelago. Many minor landings were made
in the island chain before rhe operation was completed. The landing on Sanga Sanga brought
rhe unit ro within 35 miles of Borneo. The landing on Jolo, tradiMonal seal- of the Sultans of
Sulu was second only in imporfance ro rhe main landing at Zamboanga. The guerrillas on
rhis island were the fierce Moros conquered by General Pershing during rhe Philippine
Insurrection. They helped considerably to bring this operation to an early and successful
conclusion by fheir ruthless attacks on [he Japanese.
 VICTOR I : PANAY-NEGROS
The 40th Division, with the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team attached, was
assigned the mission of taking Panay and Negros Occidental. Most of the Japanese units
originally stationed on Panay had been transferred to Leyte during the early phase of the
Leyte Campaign. The ones remaining were restricted to the city areas by guerrilla pressure.
The initial landing was made on the 18th of March at Tigbauan, on Panay. The small
force defending the beach was annihilated. The division advanced quickly on lloilo utilizing
tanks for the spearhead. The city was captured the next day and the remnants of the
Japanese force were driven into the hills. With the completion of this phase of the opera­
tion, the 185th Regimental Combat Team landed on Negros Occidental on the 29th of March.
Before this action was terminated, both the 160th Regimental Combat Team and the 503rd
Parachute Regimental Combat Team were committed. The action was completed and civil
62 government was restored by the 9th of May.
CEBU-NEGROS: V,CTOR
Cebu and Bohol and the Dumaguete area of Negros Oriental were the last areas in the
Visayas sMll in Japanese hands. Cebu was the best fortified and defended island remaining
to them. Eighth Army Headquarters estimated that in Cebu City alone there were over
8,500 troops. The Americal Division, only American division to be activated in the Pacific
combat zone, utilized tracked landing vehicles for the initial penetration at Talisay, southwest
of Cebu City, on the 26th of March, 1945. The beach defenses were so elaborate and
effective that eight of these vehicles were knocked out before the units were able to cross
the beach. It took almost a month to break the Japanese resistance in the Cebu City area
but the operation progressed rapidly after this had been accomplished. The landing on
Bohol was made by the 3rd Battalion of the 164th Infantry on the 10th of April and the
island was completely cleared of Japanese by the end of April. The final phase of the
Victor II operation was the taking of Negros Oriental by the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the
164th Infantry. This landing was made on the 26th of April and within one month the area
was under American control.
 '• V \

V,CTORV; MINDANAO
Victor V, with Mindanao as its target, was the most important operation exclusively under
Eighth Army control. The island had been isolated from the rest of the Philippines by the
earlier Victor operations. The most noteworthy tactical maneuver of this operation was the
drive to the Davao Gulf, an advance of over 100 miles which was accomplished within nine
days after the landing at Parang on April the 17th. The Japanese had the advantage of
terrain and much of the fighting occurred in country which was impassable to vehicular
traffic ; how well the foot-slogging infantrymen and the engineers carried out their mission
was indicated by the speed with which they took their successive ob|ectives.

The tactical force of Victor V was the X Corps which consisted of the 24th and 31st
Divisions supported by the 108th Regimental Combat Team of the 40th Division, the 162nd
Regimental Combat Team and the 3rd Battalion of the 163rd Infantry of the 41st Division, and
64 the 3rd Battalion of the 164th Infantry, Americal Division.
LUZON
The Eighth Army assumed control of the entire Philippines when, on July 1, 1945, it was
directed to take over the Luzon operations. Although organized resistance had been declared
broken, the remaining armed troops had to be hunted down, dug out of holes and caves,
and destroyed in order to complete the liberation of the island. The actual strength of the
Japanese, as indicated by later figures on casualties and surrenders, was well over 50,000.
Leading this force was the notorious "Tiger of Malaya," General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
The XIV Corps assumed the tactical control of the operation and, under its command
were the 6th, 32nd, 37th, and 38th Divisions and elements of the 43rd Infantry Division, the
11th Airborne Division, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 158th Regimental Combat Team.
The mopping-up was handled aggressively by all units and the enemy force had become
tactically impotent by the 15th of August when General Eichelberger directed that all offensive
action cease.

JAPAN
The Japanese surrender ended the feverish preparations of the Eighth Army Staff for the
contemplated attack against the heart of Japan— the Kanto plain — the Tokyo-Yokohama
area. The grim outlook of an amphibious assault against an army of millions was altered to
one of occupying the homeland of a conquered enemy. The staff sections worked night
and day on " Blacklist," the top secret plan which had been evolved months before to take
care of jusr such an eventuality. Members of the staff landed with the earliest combat
troops on the 30th of August; the 11th Airborne and the 1st Cavalry began their
initial reconnaissances of the metropolitan area of Tokyo-Yokohama. Two days later the
staff members joined the other military leaders aboard the battleship " M i s s o u r i " to witness
the signing of the surrender documents by the Japanese representatives. On the same day
the Eighth Army Headquarters convoy steamed out of Leyte on its way towards Yokohama
to join the advance command post.
The Eighth Army Zone of Responsibility was northern Honshu and Hokkaido. This was
extended January 1946 to include southern Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. At its peak
strength the Eighth Army controlled six corps. Of this force the I Corps with the 24th and
25th Divisions and the IX Corps with the 1st Cavalry and 11th Airborne remain.
T H O S E W H O S E R V E D T H E I R C O U N T R Y E Y O N D T H E

 FOR
VALOR
AND
CALL OF D U T Y SERVIC
 FOR CONSPICUOUS GALLANTRY AND INTREPIDITY AT THE RISK OF HIS LIFE

THE MEDAL OF HONOR

JAMES H. DIAMOND
Private First Class JAMES H. DIAMOND (Army Serial No. 34872309), as a member of a machine-gun
secMon, Company D, 21 sr Infantry Regiment, Army of me United States, displayed extreme gallantry
and intrepidit/ on 8, ' , 10, and ?45, at Mintal, Mindanao, Philippine Islands. When a
Japanese sniper rose from his fox hole to throw a grenade into their midst, this valiant soldier
led the enemy with a burst from his submachine gun and simultaneously directing the fire
of 105mm and .50 caliber weapons upon the enemy pillboxes immobilizing his and another machine-
gun section, he enabled them to put their guns into action. When two infantry companies established
a bridgehead, he voluntarily assisted in evacuating the wounded under heavy fire and, securing an
transported casualties to the rear through mortar and artillery fire so intense as
to render the vehicle inoperative, despite the fact he was suffering from a painful wound. The
: again volunteered, this time for the hazardous job of repairing a bridge under
heavy enemy fire. On 14 May 1945, when leading a patrol to evacuate casualties from his battalion,
rough a virtual hail of Japanese fire to secure an abandoned machine
ied as he reached the gun, he succeeded in drawing sufficient fire upon
the patrol could reach safety. Private DIAMOND'S
disregard of danger, and eagerness to assist his comrades will ever
heroic sacrifice to those for whom he gave his life.
Posthumous Award-War Department General Order No. 23 dated 6 March 1946
HARRY R. HARR
Corporal HARRY R. HARR (Army Serial No. 33256924), an acting squad leader of Company D,
124m Infantry Regiment, Army of me United States, displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity
near Maglamin, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, on 5 June 1945. In a fierce counterattack, the Japanese
closed in on his machine-gun emplacement hurling grenades, one of which exploded under the gun,
puffing it out of action and wounding two of the crew. While the remaining gunners were desperately t
attempting to repair their weapon, another grenade landed squarely in the emplacement. Quickly
realizing he could not safely throw the unexploded missile from the crowded position, Corporal
HARR unhesitatingly covered it with his body to smother the blast. His supremely courageous act,
which cost him his life, saved four of his comrades and enabled them to continue their mission.
Posthumous Award-War Department General Order No. 28 dated 28 March 1946

MELVIN MAYFIELD
Corporal MELVIN MAYFIELD (Army Serial No. 35003011) Company D, 20th Infantry Regiment, Army
of the United States, on 29 July 1945, displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while fighting
in the Cordillera Mountains, Luzon, Philippine Islands. When two Filipino companies were pinned
down under a torrent of enemy fire which converged on them from a circular ridge commanding their
position, Corporal MAYFIELD, in a gallant single-handed effort to aid them, rushed from shell hole
to shell hole until he reached four enemy caves atop the barren fire-swept hill. With grenades and
his carbine, he assaulted each of the caves while enemy fire pounded about him. However,
before he had annihilated the last hostile redoubt, a machine-gun bullet destroyed his weapon and
slashed his left hand. Disregarding his wound, he secured more grenades and dauntlessly charged
again into the face of point-blank fire to help destroy a hostile observation post. By his gallant
determination and heroic leadership, Corporal MAYFIELD inspired the men to eliminate all remaining
pockets of resistance in the area and to press the advance against the enemy.
War Department General Order No. 49 dated 31 May 1946 ' 69
 THE MEDAL OF HONOR

JOHN C. SJOGREN
Staff Sergeant JOHN C. SJOGREN (Army Serial No. 36421567), Company I, 160th Infantry Regi­
ment, Army of the United States, led an attack on 23 May 1945 near San Jose Hacienda, Negros,
Philippine Islands, against a high, precipitous ridge defended by a company of enemy riflemen, who
• were intrenched in spider holes and supported by well-sealed pillboxes housing automatic weapons
with interlocking bands of fire. The terrain was such that only one squad could advance at a time,
and from a knoll atop the ridge a pillbox covered the only approach with automatic fire. Against
this enemy stronghold, Sergeant Sjogren led the first squad to open the assault. Deploying his men
he moved forward and was hurling grenades when he saw that his next in command, at the opposite
flank, was gravely wounded. Without hesitation, he crossed 20 yards of exposed terrain in the face
of enemy fire and exploding dynamite charges, moved the man to cover, and administered first aid.
He then worked his way forward and, advancing directiy into the enemy fire, killed eight Japanese
in spider holes guarding the approach to the pillbox. Crawling to within a few feet of the pillbox
while his men concentrated their bullets on the fire port, he began dropping grenades through the
narrow firing slit. The enemy immediately threw two or three of these unexploded grenades out,
and fragments from one wounded him in the hand and back. However, by hurling grenades through
the embrasure faster than the enemy could return them, he succeeded in destroying the occupants.
Despite his wounds, he directed his squad to follow him in a systematic attack on the remaining
positions, which he eliminated in like manner, taking tremendous risks, overcoming bitter resistance,
and never hesitating in his relentless advance. To silence one of the pillboxes, he wrenched a light
machine gun out through the embrasure as it was firing before blowing up the occupants with hand
grenades. During this action, Sergeant SJOGREN, by his heroic bravery, aggressiveness, and skill
as a soldier, single handedly killed 43 enemy soldiers and destroyed nine pillboxes, thereby paving
the way for his company's successful advance.
70 War Department General Order No. 97 dated 1 November 1945
 EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM IN A MILITARY OPERATION AGAINST THE ENEMY

" '

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS

Achille, John J. Corporal 1 lth Airborne Division
Bjorkland, Robert J. 1st Lieutenant 31st Infantry Division
Braswell, William W. Technical Sergeant 24th Infantry Division
Bridger, James R. Private First Class 40th Infantry Division

Clifford, Thomas E. Colonel 24th Infantry Division

Colgan, Aquinal T. Chaplain (Captain) 31st Infantry Division

Crouch, Theodore Captain 24th Infantry Division

Cushing, James M. Lieutenant Colonel 82nd Division; P.A.

Dalton, Ellis C. Private First Class 6th Infantry Division

Edwards, Robert J. Major 7th Infantry Division

Evans, Winford A. Staff Sergeant 6th Infantry Division

Fell-, Leon G. Technician 5th Grade 1st Cavalry Division

Finney, Harold L. Sergeant 1st Cavalry Division

Fiori, Angelo M. Private First Class Americal Infantry Division

Flaherty, David K. Private First Class 24th Infantry Division

Flint, Donald H. Private First Class 40th Infantry Division

Graham, Lawron O. Private First Class Americal Infantry Division

Grotto, Anthony F. Private First Class Americal Infantry Division

Haffenreffer, Adolf F. Captain Americal Infantry Division

Hansen, Glen J. Private First Class 41st Infantry Division

Harper, Robert D. 1st Lieutenant 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Hendershott, Robert I. Private First Class Americal Infantry Division
Herauf, Peter A. Technical Sergeant 6th Infantry Division 71
 Hinds, Ervin M. Private First Class 40th Infantry Division
Hughes, Ray N. Private First Class 40rh Infantry Division
Jackman, Sail E. Staff Sergeant Americal Infantry Division
Jarosz, Emil W. 2nd Lieutenant 24th Infantry Division
Jepma, Samuel Sergeant 24th Infantry Division
Jordon, William O. Jr. Private 24th Infantry Division
Kersten, Marvin G. Private First Class 40th Infantry Division
Kinder, Wendell B. Technical Sergeant Americal Infantry Division
Langham, Albert J. • Private First Class 41st Infantry Division
Laule, Walter F. Private First Class 24th Infantry Division
Lear, George A. Private First Class 7th Infantry Division
Lott, Malcolm E. Private First Class 1st Cavalry Division
Martin, William R. Private 7th Infantry Division
Mclnnis, John L. Private First Class XI. Corps
Mendoza, Henry R. Private First Class 7th Infantry Division
Miklovic, Frank Private First Class 40th Infantry Division
Murray, John J. Staff Sergeant 31st Infantry Division
Newman, Aubrey S. Colonel 24th Infantry Division
Nokes, William A. Sergeant Americal Infantry Division
Obermayer, Charles R. 1st Lieutenant 31st Infantry Division
O'Dea, Michael J. Captain Americal Infantry Division
Patterson, John F. Private First Class 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Petrisek, Edgar Technical Sergeant Americal Infantry Division
Postlethwait, Edward M. Lieutenant Colonel 24th Infantry Division
Quarles, William R. Private First Class 24th Infantry Division
Richards, William H. 1 st Lieutenant 32nd Infantry, Division
Richmond, John R. Captain 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Robbins, Joseph Staff Sergeant 40th Infantry Division
Rodgers, William J. 1 st Lieutenant 222nd AAA Searchlight Battalion
Schimmelpfenning, Irvin R. Colonel 1 1 th Airborne Division
Serrano, Conrado N. Private 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Smart, Marvin L. Staff Sergeant 32nd Infantry Division
Solley, Charles M. Jr. Private First Class 41 st Infantry Division
Soule, Robert H. Colonel 1 1 th Airborne Division
Spragins, Robert B. Lieutenant Colonel 24th Infantry Division
Stokes, Wilmer E. Technical Sergeant 24th Infantry Division
Swing, Joseph M. Major General 1 1 th Airborne Division
Szymanski, Teddy Private First Class 24th Infantry Division
Szymko, Michael Technical Sergeant 24th Infantry, Division
Torres, Joseph R. Private First Class Americal Infantry Division
Warren, Richard A. 1 st Lieutenant 40th Infantry Division
Warkins, Otis H. St-aff Sergeant 37th Infantry Division
Whifaker, Donald J. Staff Sergeant 6th Infantry Division
Williams, George D. Lieutenant Colonel 31 st Infantry, Division
Wilson, James Private First Class 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Woehl, Herbert J. Staff Sergeant 40th Infantry Division
Wollard, J. C. Captain Americal Infantry Division
72 Bold Face type indicates Posthumous Award
 FOR EXCEPTIONALLY MERITORIOUS SERVICE I N A DUTY OF GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL

Lieutenant General Charles P. Hall XI Corps
Major General Rapp Brush 40th Infantry Division
Major General Clovis E. Byers Headquarters, Eighth Army
Major General William C. Chase 1st Cavalry Division
Major General Percy W. Clarkson 33d Infantry Division
Major General Jens A. Doe 4 1 st Infantry Division
Major General Paul J. Mueller 81st Infantry Division
Major General Innis P. Swift 1st Cavalry Division
Brigadier General Thomas F. Hickey 31st Infantry Division
Brigadier General Hugh F. T. Hoffman 1st Cavalry Division
Brigadier General Eugene McGinley Headquarters, Eighth Army
Colonel Frank S. Bowen, Jr. Headquarters, Eighth Army
Colonel Henry C. Burgess Headquarters, Eighth Army
Colonel Rex V.D. Corput Headquarters, Eighth Army
Colonel David M. Dunne Headquarters, Eighth Army
Colonel George A. A. Jones Headquarters, Eighth Army
Colonel August E. Schanze Headquarters, Eighth Army
Colonel Arthur P. Thayer Headquarters, Eighth Army 73
GALLANTRY, DETERMINATION, ESPRIT DE CORPS

DISTINGUISHED UNIT CITATION

11 rh Airborne Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Company
20m Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion
21st Infantry Regiment, Cannon Company
40th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
117th Engineer Construction Battalion
151st Infantry Regiment, Company E
158th Infantry Regiment, Company G
161st Infantry Regiment, Cannon Company
185th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Platoon, Company F
187th Glider Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion
188th Glider Infantry Regiment, Headquarters and Headquarters Company
188th Glider Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion
188th Glider Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion
457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, Air Section
457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, Batiery Division
511th Airborne Signal Company
511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion
511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion
511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion
674th Glider Field Artillery Battalion
161st Infantry Regiment, Company E
 GHTING
FORCES
O
H GHTH
 I CORPS

CORPS
Major General Roscoe B. Woodruff, Commanding
Brought to the Southwest Pacific by General Eichleberger who commanded it during the Papuan
and New Guinea Campaigns. Fought throughout the entire Luzon Campaign. With head­
quarters in Kyoto, I Corps occupies the southern part of Honshu and all of Kyushu with the
24th and 25th Infantry Divisions.

IX CORPS
Major General Charles W. Ryder, Commanding
Served in Hawaii and on Leyte in the Philippines. Came under Eighth Army control in August
1945. With the 1st Cavalry and the 11th Airborne Divisions it performs occupational duties
in northern Honshu and Hokkaido with headquarters at Sendai.

X CORPS
Major General Franklin C. Siberr, Commanding
Hit Leyte on D-Day in the invasion of the Philippines. Executed the, Mindanao Operation.
With the 24th and 41st Infantry Divisions was assigned occupational duties in Shikoku and the
sector of Honshu later occupied by the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces. Relieved
76 of occupational duties and inactivated in January 1946.
 XXIV CORPS

XI CORPS
Lieutenant General Charles P. Hall, Commanding
Fought through the jungles of New Guinea. Participated in the Luzon Campaign. The 112th
Cavalry and 158th Regimental Combat Teams, the Americal and the 43rd Infantry Divisions
and the 1st Cavalry and 97th Infantry Divisions served under this Corps in the occupation of
the vital Kanto Plain area of Japan until relieved in February 1946, to prepare for inactivation.

XIV CORPS
Lieutenant General Oscar W. Griswold, Commanding
Earned the nickname of "King of the Solomons" in a campaign through those islands. Thrust
southward through Luzon to become the "Liberators of Manila" With the 11th Airborne and
the 27th Infantry Divisions occupied six prefectures in northern Japan until relieved 1 December
1945, for movement to the United States.

XXIV CORPS
Lieutenant General John R. Hodge, Commanding
Saw hard fighting in the Philippines throughout the Leyte-Samar Operation. Invaded Okinawa
and was instrumental in cracking the last-ditch stand of the enemy. WithW the 6th and 7th
Infantry Divisions occupies the American Zone in Korea. 77
 1 CAVALRY

7 INFANTRY

6 INFANTRY

AMERICAL DIVISION
Activated in N e w Caledonia, the only unnumbered division in [he American Army, this division
has one of the longest combat records in the Pacific War. It had its baptism of fire in
Guadalcanal, fought on Bougainville, and in the Philippines on leyfe, Samar, Cebu, Bohol,
Negros, and other islands. It was one of the first divisions to occupy Japan.

1ST CAVALRY DIVISION

Hell for Leather. This old Regular Army outfit has an imposing record in the Pacific fighting
of World War II. It won the tough Admiralty Islands invasion, was among the first troops to
land on Leyte, fought its way into Manila on Luzon, and was the first outfit to march into
Tokyo. "First in Manila—First in Tokyo."

6TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Sight Seeing. Units of this Regular Army Division have fought in every war of the United
States from the Revolution down to the present. In World War II they served on Hawaii,
fought at Toem-Maffin Bay and cleaned out Sansapor in New Guinea, were in on the original
78 invasion of Luzon and helped mop up the Cagayan Valley on that island.
 24 INFANTRY

7TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Hourglass. This divison was in the early fighting of the Pacific war at Attu. Later they
fought at Kwajalein in the Marshalls, saw a rough time in Leyte, and wound up a fine combat
record by turning the left flank of the enemy's Shuri defense after helping to invade Okinawa.

11TH AIRBORNE DIVISION

The only Airborne division in the Pacific, it proved the effectiveness of its type of warfare.
After fighting on Leyte it made a combined landing-drop on Luzon south of Manila and made
a spectacular forced march on that city taking Cavite in the same operation. Later a drop
near Aparri put the final squeeze on the enemy in the Cagayan Valley. Finally, it led the
critical "D-Day" landing in the occupation of Japan.

24TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Victory Division. Units of this Regular Army outfit have an enviable record of participa­
tion in other wars of the United States. In World War II it saw action in New Guinea and
Biak. On Leyte they made a landing and were in the thick of the fighting. Elements landed
at Subic Bay to help free Bataan, fought in the retaking of Corregidor, Mindoro, and other
Philippine islands. The division spearheaded the invasion at Mindanao, the last Japanese
stronghold in the Philippines. 79
 27 INFANTRY

25 INFANTRY

31 INFANTRY

25TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Tropic Lightning. Activated from units of the old Hawaiian Division. Its first contact with
the Japanese was at Guadalcanal in 1943. After this action it participated in many other
Southwest Pacific Island operations. Its final wartime action was in Luzon. The divison is
now part of the occupation force under I Corps.

27TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Galla Vanter. This National Guard division from New York saw action at Makin Island in
the Gilberts, Eniwetok Island in the Marshalls, Saipan in the Marianas, and helped to invade
Okinawa. Those spots were among the toughest assignments in the Pacific War. The 27th
landed on "D-Day" after playing a prominent part in the "March to Tokyo."

31ST INFANTRY DIVISION

Dixie. This hard fighting National Guard outfit from the Deep South was in the ugly
Druiniumor River battle at Aitape, New Guinea, and made the initial landing on Morotai in the
sweep toward in Philippines. On Mindanao it made a brilliant sweep up the Sayre Highway
80 to clean the enemy out of the central Bukidnon Province.
 33 INF/.. I7RV

17 INFANTRY

32ND INFANTRY DIVISION

Red Arrow. Often called "Les Terribles", this Wisconsin and Michigan National Guard

division was one of the first divisions in the Pacific and saw acMon at Buna and Aitape in

New Guinea, and on Morotai. In the Philippines they were in combat on Leyte and in the

difficult mountain areas of Luzon such as the Villa Verde Trail.

33RD INFANTRY DIVISION

Prairie. This National Guard outfit from Illinois served [or a while as Hawaiian Island
defense troops. The division moved to Dutch New Guinea for mop-up operations in the
Wadke-Sarmi area and from there to- action on Morofai. In the Philippines on Luzon, after
action at Rosario, the "Prairie" boys saw plenty of mountains in the drive on Baguio.

37TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Buckeye. This Ohio National Guard division first saw action on New Georgia, then af
Bougainville in the Solomons. Later, on Luzon, they were in the bitter street fighting in Manila,
went north and helped capture Baguio. From mere they launched their sensational drive that
liberated the Cagayan Valley. 81
 40 INFANTRY

43 INFANTRY

38 INFANTRY

41 INFANTRY

38TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Cyclone. "The Avengers of Bataan." This National Guard unit from Indiana, Kentucky,
and West Virginia served in the defense of Hawaii and conducted mop-up operations on
N e w Guinea and Leyte. Landing at Subic Bay on Luzon they recaptured the " h a l l o w e d "
ground of Bataan. Later they saw action in the Bamban Hills and took Montalban Dam east
of Manila.

40TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Sunshine. After serving as Hawaiian defense troops this National Guard division from
the Southwest States saw its initial action in the jungles of N e w Britain. In the Philippines
they made invasions and fought on an impressive number of islands including Luzon, Mindanao,
Panay, Negros, and Masbafe.

41ST INFANTRY DIVISION

SunseL One of the veteran outfits in the Pacific, this National Guard division from the
Northwestern States was the first complete American division to land in Australia. From there
they fought north through British and Dutch New Guinea, and Wadke, Biak, and Noemfoor
Islands. In the Philippines they made invasions on Palawan, Mindanao, and on islands of
82 the Sulu Archipelago.
 81 INFANTRY
77 INFANTRY

43RD INFANTRY DIVISION

Winged Victory. Another veteran jungle fighting unit this New England National Guard
division fought at New Georgia, including Munda Airfield, and other islands in the Solo-
mons. In New Guinea they were in the bitter jungle fighting at Aitape. Landing on D-Day
in Luzon they saw fierce fighting from the Lingayen Gulf to Ipo Dam. It was among the first
divisions to occupy Japan.

77TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Statue of Liberty. This division won high praise for its brilliant invasion of Guam. In the
Philippines they made a landing near Ormoc which was of vital importance in ending resistance
on Leyre. Later they saw fighting in the invasion of Okinawa and le Shima. It was among
the divisions chosen to occupy Japan.

81ST INFANTRY DIVISION

Wildcar. In World War I the "Wildcats" hung up a fine combat record and innovated
the shoulder patch as a division insignia. In World War II they continued their record as a
fighting division by invading and capturing Anguar and Peleliu in the Palaus. It was among
the first occupation troops in Japan. 83
 96 INFANTRY

7 I I - <• ­

93RD INFANTRY DIVISION

The only N e g r o combat division in the Pacific, this outfit savv- action on Bougainville. From
there they went to N e w Guinea and to M o r o t a i [or mop-up operations. Elements o[ the
division garrisoned Z a m b o a n g a on. M i n d a n a o and other islands in the Philippines.

96TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Deadeye. This unit was activated in Oregon in 1942, completed its training in Hawaii, and
saw its first action during the Leyte landing. Although engaged in only two campaigns —
Leyfe and Okinawa — it suffered more casualties than any other Army division fighting in
the Pacific Theatre. The division took two of the toughest defense positions on the island
of Okinawa, Yonabaru Airfield and Conical Hill.

97TH INFANTRY DIVISION

The Trident. The 97th is the only Eighth Army division that also served in the European
Theatre of Operations. In the closing months of the war against Germany they fought from
the west bank of the Rhine, into the Ruhr pocket, through central Germany, to end their part
of the campaign in Czecho-Slovakia. Japan's surrender found them in the States preparing
for operations in the Pacific. They embarked at once and soon larded in Japan to take their
84 place in the Army of Occupation.
 158 INF RCT

503 PARA RCT

98TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Iroquois. This division, activated at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, in 1942, was responsible
for the defense of the Hawaiian Islands. Additionally, it supplied a large number of trained
fighting men to combat divisions at the various Pacific Fronts. In September 1945 it assumed
occupational duties in Japan and was inactivated five months later.

The Eighth Army pays tribute to its fighting units smaller than divisions which made vital
contributions to victory in the Pacific. Among the many units deserving of recognition are the
112th Cavalry Regimental Combat Team, the 158th Infantry Regimental Combat Team, the
503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, and the 2nd and 3rd Engineer Special Brigades.

The Army, the Navy and the Air Corps combined to win the battle of the Pacific. The
Eighrh Army is proud to have fought and worked with the following units : 85
 3RD AMPHIBIOUS FORCE

FAR EAST AIR FORCE

7TH FLEET

SEVENTH FLEET, UNITED STATES NAVY

Admiral Thomas C. KinjCaid, Commanding.
Scourge of fhe Japanese Navy, fhe Sevenfh Fleef played a major role in fhe co.nquesf of fhe
Pacific. If successfully conducfed fhe complex and hazardous amphibious operaHons in esfa­
blishing Eighfh Army beachheads on more fhan a score of Pacific islands. The Fleef high­
lighfed ifs long fighfing record in fhe Surigao Sfraifs naval baffle.

THIRD AMPHIBIOUS FORCE

Vice Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson, Commanding.
A veferan unir in fhe conquesf of fhe Pacific, fhe Third Amphibious Force was activated in
fhe summer of 1942. Beginning wifh fhe landings on Guadalcanal, Bougainville and ofher
landings in fhe Solomons, if carried fhe war norfh and wesf fhrough fhe Green Islands and
fhe Palaus fo Leyfe and fhe Lingayen Gulf in fhe Philippines. Finally, if landed fhe Eighfh
Army froops in Japan, wifh fhe firsf landing faking place before fhe acfual signing of fhe sur­
render documenfs.
FAR EASTERN AIR FORCE
General George C. Kenney, Commanding.
Coordinafing fhe American air forces fighfing in fhe Pacific, fhe famous "FEAf/' smashed,
fhe once powerful Japanese air force. Acfivafed in Ausfralia in fhe summer -of 1942, Far
Easfern Air Force moved norfh fhrough New (Guinea fo fhe Philippines and participated in fhe
86 occupation of Japan.
 USASCOMC

13TH AIR FORCE

FIFTH AIRFORGE
Lieutenant General Ennis C. Whitehead, Commanding.
The Fifth Air Force fought the Japanese in the air and bombed and sfrafed fhem on the ground
from southern New Guinea to the Philippines; and then became a part of fhe occupation
force in Japan.

THIRTEENTH AIR FORCE

Major General St. Clair Street Commanding.
Known as "The Jungle Air Force", this veteran Pacific ourfif is famous for its long-range
bombing missions. It fought north from New Caledonia, through the Solomons, the Admiral­
ties and Morotai to the Philippines; and bombed distant targets in the Netherlands East Indies.

USASCOMC M. r M , F . t r . A.
Major General James L. Frink, Commanding.
This unit was activated in the Philippines in the summer of 1945. Its purpose was to coor­
dinate the services of supply for the invasion of Japan. Forward elements of United States
Army Service Command-Coronet landed with the first troops at Yokohama. Operating under
direct control of Eighth Army, it coordinated the many services and efficiently supplied all
Eighth Army troops in Japan.
The Eighth Army also owes tribute to the 12th, the 24th and the 32nd Marine Air Groups
that fought with it in the battle for Mindanao and Zamboanga. 87
L E A D E R S O F T H E E I G H T H ' S F I G H T I N G F O R C E S I N T H E

 COMMANDERS
O
M A R C H T O H GHTH
J A P A N
 MAJ GEN ROSCOE B. WOODRUFF I CORPS MAJ GEN CHARLES W . RYDER IX CORPS

LT GEN JOHN R. HODGE XXIV CORPS MAJ GEN WILLIAM H. ARNOLD AMERICAL DIV

90
MAJ GEN FRANKLIN C • SIBERT X CORPS LT GEN CHARLES P. HALL XI CORPS LT GEN OSCAR W . GRISWOLD XIV CORPS

MAJ GEN VERNE D. MUDGE 1 C A V DIV MAJ GEN CHARLES E. HURDIS 6 INF DIV MAJ GEN ARCHIBALD V. ARNOLD 7 INF DIV
MAJ GEN JOSEPH M. SWING 1 1 AB DIV MAJ GEN JAMES A. LESTER 24 INF DIV MAJ GEN CHARLES L. MULLINS, JR 25 INF DIV

MAJ GEN PERCY W. CLARKSON 33 INF DIV

92

MAJ GEN GEORGE W . GRINER 27 INF DIV MAJ GEN CLARENCE A. MARTIN 31 INF DIV MAJ GEN WILLIAM H. GILL 32 INF DIV

MAJ GEN ROBERT S. BEIGHTLER 37 INF DIV MAJ GEN WILLIAM C. CHASE 38 INF DIV MAJ GEN RAPP BRUSH 40 INF DIV
MAJ GEN JENS A DOE 41 INF DIV MAJ GEN LEONARD F. WING 43 INF DIV MAJ GEN ANDREW D. BRUCE 77 INF DIV

MAJ GEN HERMAN F. KRAMER 97 INF DIV MAJ GEN ARTHUR M HARPER 98 INF DIV

94

MAJ GEN PAUL J. MUELLER 81 INF DIV MAJ GEN HARRY H JOHNSON 93 INF DIV MAJ GEN JAMES L. BRADLEY 96 INF DIV

MAJ GEN FREDERICK A. IRVING EIGHTH ARMY AREA C O M D BRIG GEN JULIAN W. C U N N I N G H A M 112CAVRCT BRIG GEN HANFORD B. McNIDER 158 INF RCT
 CHIEF OF STAFF
Major General Clovis E. Byers, Eighth Army's Chief of Staff, has served in this capacity since the
Army's arrival at Hollandia, New Guinea, in 1944 shortly after its activation. That was not,
however, the beginning of his association with General Eichelberger. The initial relationship, which
was later to prove so successful, was established at West Point in the early 1930's when General
Eichelberger, as a major, served as adjutant and secretary of the Academic Board, and General
Byers, then a first lieutenant, performed the duties of tactical officer and assistant adjutant. The
efficiency and military knowledge of the clean-cut lieutenant impressed the older officer and, in
1942, when the famous Statue of Liberty Division, the 77th, was reactivated under his command,
General Eichelberger called on the former Lieutenant Byers, now a lieutenant colonel, to become his
Chief of Staff. His administrative ability and tactful handling of both subordinate and higher head­
quarters convinced General Eichelberger of the soundness of his choice and, when he took command
of the I Corps in June of 1 942, Colonel Byers again accompanied him as Chief of Staff, an official
relationship they were to maintain to the present time.

General Byers was born in Columbus, Ohio, on November 5th, 1 899. He attended the same
university as did General Eichelberger, Ohio State, and became a member of the same fraternity,
Phi Gamma Delta. Receiving his appointment to the United States Military Academy in 1918, he left
the university and attended West Point for two years, receiving his commission as second lieutenant
in the Cavalry on July 2d, 1920. He married Miss Marie Richards, a hometown girl, the following
year.
96 After completing the Basic Course at the Cavalry School at Fort Riley he was given his first as­
 MAJ GEN CLOVIS E. BYERS CHIEF OF STAFF

sigment with troops, that of commanding Troop F of me 4m Cavalry at Fort Mclntosh, Texas. Al­
though me squadron was inactivated in 1 9 2 1 , he continued to serve on duty with troops at that post
until September, 1 9 2 3 , when he was assigned to the Signal School. Upon completion of the course
he became Regimental Communications Officer of the 3d Cavalry at Fort Myer, Virginia.

While a student at the "Point," General Byers had won his letter in football and, in 1 9 2 6 , his
ability, both as an athlete and as an executive, was recognized by his appointment as Assistant to
the Master of the Sword and in addition to the coaching staff of the Military Academy Upon com­
pletion of this tour of duty in 1 9 3 0 , he was assigned as a student in the Special Advanced Equitation
Class at the Cavalry School, Fort Riley, Kansas.

After a brief period with the 1st Cavalry Division, he again reported to West Point in 1 9 3 2 as
an instructor and first made the acquaintance of General Eichelberger. He left the Academy to at­
tend the Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworfh, Kansas, in 1934 and, upon comple­
tion of the course in 1 9 3 6 , joined the staff of the 2d Division and shortly thereafter the staff of the
Eighth Corps Area at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Following an assignment with the 5th Cavalry,
during which he commanded successively Troop A and the 1 st Squadron, he went on a tour of the
important military schools in England, France, and Germany.

In 1 9 3 9 he reported to the Army War College as a student and was graduated in 1940. His
many years devoted to the study of military science, coupled with his pronounced native ability,
were now to pay dividends. His years as a student were over, the time was rapidly approaching
when he would apply the lessons he had learned. 97
 From 1940 unMI 1942 he served wirh the War Department General Slaff in Hie G-l Division. In
February 1942, at General Eichelberger's request, he came to fhe 77th Division as its Chief of Staff.
Before that year was up, he was to find himself in rhe steaming jungles of New Guinea serving borh
as Chief of Staff of I Corps and, unMI he was wounded and evacuated, as Commanding General of
rhe 32nd Division.
The many consequent operations of the I Corps and the Eighth Army in New Guinea, rhe
Netherlands East Indies, and rhe Philippines are being written in today's history books and will
undoubtedly be used by furure instructors at West Point as models of well executed amphibious
operations. General Byers has earned the thanks of the nation and the respect of rhe men who
fought with him.
Today, the General has a happier rask buf one which is, if anyrhing, even more difficult than
the combat operations of 1942-—1945. In his new mission he is concerned with the final phase of
any decisive war—thar of occupying and administering the defeated nation. His new duty requires
the utmost tact and insight to effect complete and successful coordination and teamwork, not merely
between the units of the Eighrh Army, but also between the many foreign headquarters vitally
interested in the conduct of the occupation. The supervision of this most important of staff functions
is General Byers' main responsibility.
Over the period of years in which General Byers has been serving his country and the Army so
ably and well fhe United States and the Allied Nations have deemed it only proper thar his services
be acknowledged officially. In so doing they have awarded him rhe decorations indicated :
against the enem
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS: For extraordinary heroism V at Biak lsland-
2 N D
in action, 15 December 1942, when while serving as Command- OAK-LEAF CLUSTER TO BRONZE STAR MEDAL:
ing General of the 32nd Division, he continued to observe and f ° r t n e performance of outstanding and meritorious service in
direct the attack although wounded by a sniper. supervising and coordinating the plans for the Eighth Army phase
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL: For distinguished service °f t h e L u z o n Operation.
in the Southwest Pacific Area and Japan from January to October AIR MEDAL: For meritorious achievement while participating
1945. in aerial flights in the Philippine islands from 20 October 1944
fo 27 A
SILVER STAR: For gallantry in action during the Buna engage- Pril 1945­
ment when General Byers by his example of fearless gallantry PURPLE HEART: For wounds received during the Buna Cam-
under enemy fire served as an inspiration to his command. paign.
OAK-LEAF CLUSTER TO THE SILVER STAR: For gallantry DISTINGUISHED UNIT CITATION: Presented to Head-
in action at Biak, Netherlands East Indies, on 17 June 1944. quarters, I Corps, for Buna Campaign, 1943.
LEGION OF MERIT: For exceptionally meritorious conduct OAK-LEAF CLUSTER FOR THE DISTINGUISHED UNIT
during the planning phase of the Papuan and New Guinea CITATION: For the 11th Airborne Division Operation south
Campaigns. of Manila, February 1945.
BRONZE STAR MEDAL: For meritorious service at Good- COMMANDER BRITISH EMPIRE: In recognition of meritorious
enough Island and Hollandia. and invaluable work with the Australian Forces in the Pracific.
OAK-LEAF CLUSTER TO BRONZE STAR MEDAL: For MILITARY MERIT MEDAL (PHILIPPINES): For meritorious
98 meritorious achievement in connection with military operations service in the Liberation of the Philippines.
 COLONEL ARTHUR P. THAYER COLONEL GERALD J. GREEVE COLONEL AUGUST E. SCHANZE
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF GENERAL STAFF SECRETARY G-l

THE EIGHTH'S WAR-TIME SECTION CHIEFS

ARTHUR P. THAYER DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF

Colonel, GSC, (RA). Born West Point, N e w York, 30 April 1893. Home in Brownsville,
Texas. Previous service as instructor and Assistant Secretary at rhe Command and General
Staff School also as Deputy Chief of Staff, Second Army. Awarded DisMnguished Service
Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal and Air Medal.

GERALD J. GREEVE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL STAFF

Colonel, GSC, (AUS). Born Philadelphia, 21 M a y 1906. Home in Philadelphia. Previous

service as Adjutant of Camp Croft, South Carolina, Executive Officer, G-l Section, Second
Army. Awarded Bronze Star Medal.

AUGUST E. SCHANZE G-I

Colonel, GSC, (RA). Born 20 July 1900. Home in Battle Creek, Michigan. Previous service
with W a r Department General Staff; G-4 of XI C o r p s ; G-l 4th Division,- G-l 5th Division;
G-l Second Army. Awarded Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star
Medal and Air Medal. 99
 BRIG GEN FRANK S. BOWEN COLONEL HENRY C. BURGESS COLONEL WARD W . CONQUEST
COLONEL GEORGE A.A- JONES
G-3 G-4 ADJUTANT GENERAL
G-2

THE EIGHTH'S WAR-TIME SECTION CHIEFS

G-2 GEORGE A. A. JONES

Colonel, GSC, (RA). Born Albion, Iowa, 26 December 1898. Home in Marfa, Texas.
Previous service as G-2, Iceland Base Command and AC of S, G-2 Second Army. Awarded
Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star
Medal, Air Medal and Purple Heart.
G-3 FRANK S. BOWEN, JR.
Brigadier General, GSC, (RA). Born Ft. McKinley, Rizal, Philippine Islands, 4 March 1905.
Home in San Francisco. Previous service as G-l, 77th Division; G-3; I Corps. Awarded
DSC for "extraordinary heroism in action" near Buna; Distinguished Service Medal, Silver
Star with two oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, and
Distinguished Unit Citation, Hq I Corps.
G-4 HENRY C. BURGESS
Colonel, GSC, (RA). Born San Francisco, California, 11 June 1902. Home in Dallas, Texas.
Previous service as Battalion Commander, 23rd Infantry ; Office of AC of S, A-4, AAF, Chief
of Planning Division, Directorate of Base Service AAF; AC of S, G-4, Second Army. Awarded
00 Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal and Air Medal.
COLONEL MELTON A . HATCH BRIG GEN EUGENE McGINLEY
ANTIAIRCRAFT OFFICER ARTILLERY OFFICER

W A R D E. CONQUEST ADJUTANT GENERAL

Colonel, AGD, (NG). Born Atwood, Kansas, 7 October 1904. Home in Topeka, Kansas.
Previous service Assistant Adjutant General Second Army; Staff of Kansas National Guard.
Awarded Bronze Srar Medal.

MELTON A. HATCH ANTI-AIRCRAFT

Colonel, CAC, (RA). Born Arkansas City, Kansas, 28 February 1897. Home in Henders­
ville, North Carolina. Previous service as Executive Officer Harbor Defense and AA Regi­
ments, Executive Officer Western Gulf Sub-sector, AA Officer XII Corps; AA Officer Second
Army. Awarded Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal, and Air Medal.

EUGENE McGINLEY ARTILLERY

Brigadier General, FA, (RA) Born Hamilton, Ohio, 28 January 1900. Home in Hamilton,
Ohio. Previous service on War Department General Staff; Operations Division, Army Service
Forces; Artillery Officer Second Army. Awarded Distinguished Service Medal and Air Medal.
 COLONEL YANDELL S. BEANS COLONEL RALPH C. BENNER
CHAPLAIN CHEMICAL

THE EIGHTH'S WAR-TIME SECTION CHIEFS

CHAPLAIN YANDELL S. BEANS

Colonel, Ch., (AUS). Born Lexington, Nebraska, 10 August 1898. Home in Little Rock,
Arkansas. Previous service as Division Chaplain, 35th Division and Chaplain XXI Corps.
Awarded Bronze Star Medal.

CHEMICAL RALPH C. BENNER

Colonel, CWS, (RA). Born McArrhur, Ohio, 11 May 1894. Home in McArthur, Ohio.
Previous service Chemical Officer I Corps; Chemical Officer 4th Motorized Division; Chemical
Officer Second Army. Awarded Bronze Star Medal.

ENGINEER DAVID M. DUNNE

Colonel, CE, (RA). Born Portland, Oregon, 3 January 1900. Home in Carlsbad, California.
Previous service as Division Engineer, 1st Cavalry Division; Assistant Engineer GHQ; Assistant
G-3 AGF; Engineer, Second Army. Awarded Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit,
102 Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster, and Air Medal.
COLONEL DAVID M. DUNNE COLONEL JOSEPH CHARLES KOVARIK COLONEL LAWRENCE H. CARUTHERS LT COL WILLIAM H. BRUNKE
ENGINEER FINANCE HEADQUARTERS C O M M A N D A N T HISTORIAN

JOSEPH CHARLES KOVARIK FINANCE

Colonel, FD, (RA). Born Forf Riley, Kansas, 8 September 1893. Home in Chattanooga,
Tennessee. Previous service as Executive Officer, Theater Fiscal Office, SWPA; Finance
Officer X Corps. Awarded Bronze Srar Medal.

LAWRENCE H. CARUTHERS HEADQUARTERS COMMANDANT

Colonel, FA (RA). Born Alpine, Texas, 9 October 1891. Home in Santa Ana, California.
Previous service as Executive Officer of Second Army Artillery Section. Awarded Bronze
Star Medal.

WILLIAM H. BRUNKE HISTORIAN

Lieutenant Colonel, INF, (RA). Born Hartford, Connecticut, 24 April 1900. Home in New
York City, N e w York. Previous service on W a r Department Staff, G-l Section European
Theater of Operations. 103
 CCXONEL EDWARD J. D W A N COLONEL ROBERT V. LAUGHLIN COLONEL WARD E. BECKER COLONEL C.V. CADWELL
INSPECTOR GENERAL JUDGE ADVOCATE ORDNANCE PROVOST MARSHAL

THE EIGHTH'S WAR-TIME SECTION CHIEFS

INSPECTOR GENERAL E D W A R D J. DWAN

Colonel, IGD, (RA). Born Lynn, Massachusetts, 25 April 1892. Home in Laredo, Texas.
Previous service as ExecuHve Officer United States Disciplinary Barracks, Leavenworfh, Kansas;
Inspector General of Second Army. Awarded Legion of Merit and Bronze Star Medal.

JUDGE ADVOCATE ROBERT V . LAUGHLIN

Colonel, JAGD (RA). Born Blunt Hughes Country, South Dakota, 10 February 1891. Home
in Seattle, Washington. Previous service as Judge Advocate Second Army, IX Corps and 3rd
Division. Awarded Bronze Star Medal and Air Medal.

ORDNANCE WARD E. BECKER

Colonel, O r d (RA). Born Manistee, Michigan, 8 January 1894. Home in Washington, D.
C. Previous service as Division Ordnance Officer, 3rd Division; Chief, Purchase Policy Branch,
Headquarters ASF; Chief, Program and Assignments Branch, G-4 Section, W a r Department
General Staff; Ordnance Officer, Eastern Base Section, North African Theater. Awarded
104 Legion of Merit, with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star Medal and Air Medal.
 COLONEL HARRY L. HART COLONEL REX V.D. CORPUT, JR
QUARTERMASTER SIGNAL

C. V. CADWELL PROVOST MARSHAL

Colonel, CMP, (Res). Born Spokane, Washington, 10 August 1898. Home in Arcadia, Cali­
fornia. Provost Marshal Second Army Tennessee Maneuver Area. Awarded Bronze Star
Medal.

HARRY L. HART QUARTERMASTER

Colonel, Q M , (RA). Born Utica, N e w York, 23 December 1893. Home in North Holly­
w o o d , California. Previous service as Quartermaster IX Corps and Quartermaster Second
Army. Awarded Bronze Star Medal.

REX V. D. CORPUT JR. SIGNAL

Colonel, Sig C (RA). Born Atlanta, Georgia, 28 September 1900. Home in Red Bank, N e w
Jersey. Previous Service, Director, Signal Corps Laboratories,- Director, Signal Corps Radar
Laboratory; Commanding Officer, Signal Corps Ground Signal Agency. Awarded Distinguished
Service Medal and Legion of Merit. 105
 COLONEL PHILIP WILSON BRIG GEN GEORGE W . RICE COLONEL REEFORD P. SHEA
SPECIAL SERVICE SURGEON TRANSPORTATION

THE EIGHTH'S WAR-TIME SECTION CHIEFS

SPECIAL SERVICE PHILIP W I L S O N

Colonel, INF, ( N G ) . Born Dallas, Oregon, 21 October 1901. Home in Fresno, California.
Previous service as Staff Officer Headquarters 40th Division; Special Service Officer 3rd
Corps; Special Service Officer Second Army. Awarded Bronze Star Medal.

SURGEON GEORGE W. RICE

Brigadier General, M C . (RA). Born Cumberland, Maryland, 1 October 1892. Home in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania. Previous service Assistant Commandant, Medical Field School, Carlisle, Pennsyl­
vania,- Surgeon, G H Q , SWPA. Awarded Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, and Air Medal.

TRANSPORTATION REEFORD P. SHEA

Colonel, GSC, (AUS) Born Riverside, California, 8 February 1909. Home in San Francisco,
California. Previous service as Port Commander, Base 3, 7, A, D, and G ; Transportation
Officer, U. S. Advanced Base, N e w Guinea; Transportation Officer I Corps and Hollandia
Task Force. Awarded Legion of Merit; Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal and
06 Distinguished Unit Citation.
 \
BRIG GEN GEORGE D. SHEA COLONEL JOSEPH M. GLASGOW COLONEL HARRY C. FRASER
G-3 ADJUTANT GENERAL CHAPLAIN

THE EIGHTH'S SECTION CHIEFS TODAY

The second anniversary of V-J Day found only seven of Eighth Army's war-time staff still at
their posts. The others, their tours of overseas duty completed, had returned to the United
States and had been replaced by new officers who have carried on the complex activities of
the Headquarters with the same smoothness and efficiency that characterized the old staff.

Under the guidance of Ma|or General Byers, Chief of Staff, the General Staff continued
to benefit from the seasoned leadership of three of the four war-time Assistant Chiefs of
Staff: Colonel Schanze, G - l , Colonel Jones, G-2, and Colonel Burgess, G-4. Colonel
Thayer, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Colonel Greeve, Secretary of the General Staff, remained
on the job coordinating the activities and effectively handling the problems that arise in the
office of the Chief of Staff. The greatly expanded activities of the Headquarters Commandant
were still under the capable supervision of Colonel Caruthers, and the work of the Historical
Section continued under the experienced guidance of Army Historian, Lieutenant Colonel
Brunke.

The only major change in the General Staff took place in May 1947 when Colonel Bowen,
G-3, was relumed to the United States for reassignment. His duties were taken over by
Brigadier General George D. Shea who came to Eighth Army with an impressive record of 07
 COLONEL EARL E. GESLER COLONEL ROBERT E. ODELL
COLONEL BURTON F. HOOD
COLONEL JOHN H. GIBSON
CIVILIAN PERSONNEL ENGINEER
FINANCE INSPECTOR GENERAL

THE EIGHTH'S SECTION CHIEFS TODAY

achievement with the 8th and 90th Infantry Divisions and as Artillery Officer of XIX Corps
during the war.

Colonel Joseph M. Glasgow, who had served through most of the war as Adjutant
General of the South Pacific Theater, became Adjutant General in June 1946.

Colonel Harry C. Fraser, the Army Chaplain, had for five years served in the office of
the Chief of Chaplains in Washington before joining Eighth Army in October 1946.

Colonel Earl E. Gesler served as Division Engineer of the Middle Atlantic Division prior
to becoming Chief of the Engineer Section in January 1947.

Colonel Robert E. O'Dell was Fiscal Director of the Africa-Middle East Theater of
Operations throughout the war. He assumed ihe duties of Eighth Army Fiscal Officer in
August 1947.

Colonel Burton F. Hood, who had been in the Office of the Inspector General in the
War Department since 1942, took over the post of Inspector General with Eighth Army in
08 February 1947.
LT. COL ALLAN R. BROWNE COLONEL REX W . BEASLEY COLONEL WILLIAM F. SADTLER
JUDGE ADVOCATE MILITARY GOVERNMENT ORDNANCE

Lieutenant Colonel Allan R. Browne, Judge Advocate since May 1946, had been on the
Board of Review in fhe Branch Office of fhe Judge Advocate General in Manila prior to
joining this Headquarters.

Colonel Philip L. Cook came from his position as Commanding Officer of the Staten
Island Area Station Hospital \o become the Army Surgeon in April 1946.

Colonel William F. SadHer had been Commanding Officer of the Kobe Base Ordnance
Depot before his assignment as Chief of the Ordnance Section in March 1946.

Colonel John F. Roehm, formerly the Director of the Department of Communications at

the Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, became the Eighth Army Provost Marshal in
July 1947.

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce E. Kendall became Chief of the Quartermaster Section in

September 1946, bringing with him wide experience gained as Commander of the QM
Section of "the Utah and fhe San Antonio General Depots and as Chief of Depot Operations
in the Quartermaster General's office in Washington. 09
 COLONEL JOHN F. ROEHM COLONEL WILLIAM B. FORSE
PROVOST MARSHAL PUBLIC INFORMATION

THE EIGHTH'S SECTION CHIEFS TODAY

Colonel James D. O'Connel, who joined Eighth Army as Signal Officer in May 1947,
had been Commanding Officer of the Signal Corps Engineering laboratories at Fort Monmouth,
New Jersey.

Colonel Albert S. J. Srovall, Jr. Chief of the Special Service Section, was Provost
Marshal of VI Corps prior to taking up his present duties in January 1946.

Colonel Bernhard A. Johnson assumed his duties as the Army Transportation Officer in
April 1947. During the war he had been Commanding Officer of the 9th Major Port in the
Persian Gulf.

Colonel William B. Forse, former Commanding Officer of the 303d Infantry Regiment,
became Chief of the Public Relations (now Public Information) Office in March 1946.

Eighth Army has undergone a number of administrative and organizational changes in the
process of adapting itself of carry out an occupational rather than a combat mission. Several
new sections have been added to the Special Staff and others reduced to the status of sub­
10 sections under the General Staff.
LT COL BRUCE E. KENDALL COLONEL BENJAMIN F. HOGE COLONEL JAMES D. O'CONNELL COLONEL ALBERT S. J. STOVALL
QUARTERMASTER SAFETY SIGNAL SPECIAL SERVICE

In June 1947 [he Artillery, Anti-Aircraft, and Chemical Special Staff Sections lost their
identity as such, and their functions integrated with the activities of the G-3 Section.

Military Government assumed an immediate importance at the beginning of the occupa­

ton. In October 1945 the Military Government Special Staff Section came into being headed
by Colonel Rex W . Beasley, former Commanding General of the 81st Division Artillery.

Information and Education activities expanded greatly as Eighth Army settled down to its
occupational duties. The I and E sub-section of G-3 was given the status of a Special Staff
Section in July 1946 and Lieutenant Colonel Floyd W . Goates was its chief during the trying
days of early organization. Lieutenant Colonel Morris K. Henderson, who joined Eighth
Army in 1945 following a tour of duty as Batflion Commander of the Department of Tactics
in the United States Military Academy, became Chief of this section in May 1947.

The special problems imposed on the army by its occupational mission have made it
necessary to bring to Japan many civilians who, as skilled clerks, technicians, or professionally
trained personnel, have expedited army administration. Civilian personnel problems were first
handled by a division in the Adjutant General's Section. In June 1946 the Office of Civilian 1 1
 COLONEL PHILIP L. COOK COLONEL BERNHARD A. JOHNSON LT COL MORRIS K. HENDERSON COLONEL CHARLES F. IVINS
SURGEON TRANSPORTATION TROOP I and E ARMY EXCHANGE

THE EIGHTH'S SECTION CHIEFS TODAY

Personnel was made a Special Staff Section headed by Colonel John H. Gibson who had
come to this new post from ihe Office of the Chief of Staff in Washington where he had
been on the Manpower Board.

A Special Staff Section known as the Safety Section was created in September 1946 in
order to coordinate more effectively the efforts to reduce loss of life and equipment through
accidents, fires, improper maintenance, poor safety planning, and carelessness. Colonel
Benjamin F. Hoge, former Executive Officer of Fort Monroe, Virginia, was appointed Safety
Director.

Supplying the troops with post exchange items has become " b i g business" in the oc­
cupation army with the Army Exchange providing numerous services including PX Trains which
visit outlying units, department stores in Tokyo and Yokohama, and a vastly increased inventory
to supply the needs of dependents and civilians. The Army Exchange became en Eighth Army
Special Section in February 1946. Colonel Charles F. Ivins, who as acting G-3 of the Re­
placement and School Command once had general supervision over Ground Force Service
1 12 Schools in Replacement Training Centers, was appointed Army Exchange Officer in July 1947.
 THE USS POPE, HEADQUARTERS O N THE PACIFIC ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS AT

HEADQUARTERS EIGHTH ARMY

14
 EIGHTH HEADQUARTERS AT LEYTE HEADQUARTERS IN YOKOHAMA

Although many of me familiar forces ere gone and " o l d timers" are leaving every day, there
is that indefinable something about Eighth Army Headquarters which will always remain. It's not just
esprit de corps, nor the old college try, but simply the fact that in future years it might be recognized
as something akin to "one big happy family" . . . a status which made life for all of us as pleasur­
able as the conditions would allow. And except for those days when everyone at every turn was
just "sweating it out," time did pass comparatively quickly because of these close associations and
relationships.
The story of Eighth Army Headquarters is a story of individuals who made the most of their ups
and downs in lands on the other side of the world from the American homes from which each had
come. Yes, reminiscences in the future surely will recall all those little things which, when combined
over a span of many months, made up that bigger and better something which lead to hundreds of
lasting friendships.
A brand new and anxious Eighth Army Headquarters gang clambered down off the huge USS
Pope at Pirn Jetty, Hollandia, N e w Guinea, on 7 September 1944. They found their first overseas
home nestled in the mountains on the shores of sprawling Lake Sentani. Remember the long queues
of waiting hot coffee patrons at the Red Cross canteen, and your hostess, Miss Maxine Williams . . .
the handicraft shop where everyone was busy making wrist watch bands from scrapped Zeros .
cat's eye necklaces . . . policing the movie area . . . the mud . . . the fuzzy-wuzzys' saluting .
Then Jim Duffy's " O c t a g r a m " came out with its first extra : "Philippines Invaded". Routine living was
forgotten, victory gardens washed away in the jungle floods, the Eighth was on the march to "set 1 15
 COLD DRINK MACHINE WAS CENTER OF ATTRACTION NEW GUINEA

—* ' /* V

1 1 6

 > • * « * • *
RED CROSS HUT-HOLLANDIA THE DANCE FLOOR ZAMBOANGA BEACH CLUB

the rising sun."

The Sentani lake area was a beautiful place to leave behind. That was the same body of water
memorialized by the formation of "Sentani Swingtet". Not to be outdone the boys from G-2 formed
their own quartet and the battle of voices was on in earnest. They were still at it a year later at the
opening of the " N e w Octagon" Theatre in downtown Yokohama but that time the G-2 boys had a
ringer, Lanny Ross, in the lineup.

The quartet and swingtet were offspring of the 50 voice Eighth Army Choristers, organized and
directed by Don Bortfeld. In his spare time, Don wrote and introduced the marching song, "Eighth
Army Marches On." On Memorial Day. 1945, on Leyte the men of headquarters heard their march
for the first time. A few minutes later they were listening to the chief himself, Lt. Gen. Robert L.
Eichelberger, who keynoted one of his infrequent addresses with the words, "The firm structure of
world peace is the only memorial acceptable to our conscience."

Oh yes, Eighth Army Headquarters had its more sober moments. That was one of them. Another
easily recalled was Easter morning 1945 on Leyte, when thousands of Yanks overflowed Eighth Army
Chapel and the need for an enlarged house of worship became apparent. This wish turned into reality
on 13 May, when Roosevelt Memorial Chapel was dedicated. It was Mother's Day then, and Day
of Prayer for the victory in Europe. Of the new chapel, Chaplain William F. Nern wrote: "The
finest Army chapel in the Philippines, which, incidentally, is the talk and envy of every chaplain in the
theater." And Chaplains Yandell S. Beans and Robert T. Becket echoed his sentiments and those of 1 17
 HQ KITCHEN SERVES FIRST MEAL-LEYTE

118
 t

THE KAY KYSER SHOW-LEYTE THE CHAPEL-TELEGRAFO

the congregations of all faiths.

It was a beautiful chapel, simply done in the native materiel of nipa, palm fronds and rustic
lumber—of which the first Octagon Theater, the post exchange and enlisted men's club and officer's
beach mess had been constructed.

Remember, too, the night that EM Club President (and 1st Sergeant) Paul J. Mummert opened the
doors to the Z A M B O A N G A CLUB on the beach of Leyte and bade everyone make merry 2 Civili­
zation (and W A C ' s ) came to our area that night. And so did news of a coincidental Eighth Army
landing at Zamboanga, conveyed by Chief-of-Staff Major General Clovis E. Byers as he announced
the new operation in his dedicatory message.

There had been good stage shows and bad at Eighth Army's jungle version of the "theatah,"
but when Special Service learned that Irving Berlin and his "This is the Army" were heading our way,
something had to be done. Carpenters got busy and put up a big Octagon Theater just in time.
Thai was on 11 March 1945. Well it was, too, that the enlarged stage was built when it was, for in
the ensuing months its footlights played on any number, of big hits . . . the nostalgic "Oklahoma,"
gay "Mexican Hayride," Olsen and Johnson's " H e l l z a p o p p i n ' , " Kay Kyser and his "College of
Musical Knowledge" . . . among others.

As the veteran M . C , Speert, would say, "That was living, Jack!"

And then every Sunday afternoon in N e w Guinea and on Leyte, the boys would gather up their 19
 THE ORIGINAL UNDEFEATED EIGHTH ARMY CHICKS

20
THE G-2 QUARTET-LEYTE LEYTE BEACH

chairs and head out to the ball field, for they were always assured of a good game. The Eighth Army
Chicks began to be a legend in the Southwest Pacific. On N e w Guinea, Leyre, Luzon and Samar, the
Chicks racked up 46 consecutive victories. All in all, from the days of their formation back in
Memphis, Tenn., the team won 126 times out of 133 starts. That was baseball at its best.

Aided and abetted by baseball's clown, Al Schacht, the Chicks " m a d e " YANK, the army weekly,
while at Hollandia. In the Philippines, big-mouthed, big hearted, Joe E. Brown himself started off their
season by fanning General Eichelberger on six strikes. General Byers was the catcher that day. A
great amount of credit for the team's success goes to former playing pitcher-manager Hugh Mulcahy,
first major leaguer to enter the armed forces and now back with his Philadelphia Phillies: Catcher
Ken Silvestri, late of the N e w York Yankees, who succeeded Mulcahy, and Big "Broadway A l " Flair,
of the Boston Red Sox.

And while on the subject of pleasures derived from direct participation in the color and activities
that made up Eighth Army Headquarters, no one will ever forget the night of 10 August 1945 on Leyte.
That was the night that Japan said she was ready to toss in the towel. Receipt of the news in head­
quarters touched off an impromptu Times Square celebration the likes of which none had ever seen
before. Most gathered along the shores of Leyte Gulf to watch the Navy toss up arsenals of fire­
works, rockets, searchlights, flares and tracers in their victory celebration. Recent beer rations were
quaffed in the wee hours. Shouting, singing, back-slapping officers and enlisted men paraded among 121
 REDEPLOYMENT

122
OCTAGON THEATER-YOKOHAMA SPORTS

the palms and the tent ropes and cared nary a bit what happened next.

W h a t d i d happen next w a s a sea v o y a g e to Japan.

There, in battered and tattered N i p p o n , with n e w faces but its o l d traditions, Eighth A r m y H e a d ­
quarters carried on in its o w n inimitable w a y striving to help w i n the peace as it had helped to w i n the war.

M e m o r i e s of many things will linger when the more cruel aspects of warfare have long been
dimmed b y time. These w e r e the vignettes.

The visit of A G F Chief General Joe Sfilwell . . . boat rides at the June 12th first birthday party
mattress covers and " n o t o u c h " . . . stiff competition and stiff muscles in the headquarters
v o l l e y b a l l and softball leagues . . . lithe and i o v e l y Candy Jones, just " s t a n d i n g " there . . . the wind
and the rain in our hair . . . Christmas midnight mass at the little nipa chapel at Senfani . . . those
souvenir trips to the rest of the 7 , 0 8 3 islands of the Philippines . . . the night shrapnel fell " s o m e ­
w h e r e " in the area . . . the w i d e grins of the high-pointers as they piled on trucks and left for home
. . . the Lind Brothers . . . Jerry Day and his "Snake River O u t l a w s " . . . Buzzo . . . Betty . . . the
fingered " V " signs d i s p l a y e d by the kids on Leyte . . . the dinner and dance music o f f e r e d b y
the 236th A G F Band . . . the b r o a d b r i m m e d hats w h i c h marked the presence of our " A u s s i e " buddies. . .
those t o o - t o o long " c o k e " lines . . . BUCKSLIPS. 123
 POSTING ELECTION RESULTS • TOKYO

A N D THEN ... THE OCCUPATION

124
IKURA DES'KA? "RIDE 'IM C O W B O Y / " - TOKYO RODEO

''Hey, Joe, think they'll give us any trouble?" That was the thought that expressed our
feelings ds w e lined the rails of the LST's carrying us into Yokohama Harbor. Shouldn't there have
been an aerial or naval b o m b a r d m e n t to soften up the enemy ? Suppose these birds should turn on
us. We weren't afraid...much...but we did wonder. Then, at dawn, we saw the outlines of a
modern c i t y . . . h e a r d the far a w a y toot of a train whistle, the first in many, many months...a sign of
civilization..."Sounds jusr like the Podunk S p e c i a l ! " "Look! A street c a r ! " . . . t h e n the hundreds of
Japanese unloading ships and l o a d i n g t r u c k s . . . w e quit w o r r y i n g and took our first opportunity to g o
out to e x p l o r e the t o w n .

Deserted streets, littered with d e b r i s . . . n o w o m e n . . . d i r t y , r a g g e d p e o p l e staring at us d e a d - e y e d

from the murk of a makeshift h o v e l . . . l i k e walking down the streets of some ancient, long deserted
city |usf recently unearthed.

Rough! Those first f e w w e e k s . . . m o s q u i t o e s . . . n o hot water...no b e d s . . . " T h e Japanese sleep on

the f l o o r , d o n ' t t h e y " The strangeness...that uneasy feeling... it's too quiet. ..there's bound to be
s o m e trouble.

Then the Japanese realization that we were not to institute a reign of terror...the friendly
o v e r t u r e s . . . the sidewalk v e n d o r s . . . t h e souvenirs... " I take this. H o w much y o u w a n t ? Too much!"
Learn the language...sufeki ne ? Ikura deska ? Benjo w a d o k o deska ? "Throw that phrase b o o k in
the canal. I'm learnin' the lingo off the p e o p l e . " 25
 KABUKI DANCERS ENTERTAIN G.l.s

126
YOKOHAMA CHAPEL WIVES A N D FAMILIES ARRIVE IN JAPAN

So much to see...so many places to go! The shrines...the temples.,.torii...altars...lanterns...

screens...the honey bucket carts...the smells...crowded trains and street cars...kids all over...on the
streets...on the backs of mothers, sisters and fathers.

W e worked and we played and did both hard...we explored...we visited...we took pictures.
H o w we took pictures!. Geisha houses...the top of Fuji..."It ain't worth it, pal. The top looks
better from the bottom than the bottom does from the t o p . " Kamakura..."You oughta see that
statue!" N i k k o . . . " W h a t a place!" The Japanese hotels...hot baths...take off your shoes...sleep
on the floor...take your own water...don't eat their food...and then —

OFF LIMITS ! The Geisha houses...the Japanese hotels. Legalized yen, ...cigarettes are for
smoking, not trading...no fraternization...D.R.s. Instead...Rest hotels...Service Clubs...movies...USO
shows...Japanese plays...organized athletics and Red Cross sightseeing trips.

"Let's go H O M E ! " Inactivation...points..."48—49—50...Some Stuff!" "Look! I been over here

twenty-two months and just because some guy has a couple kids..." Rumors and more rumors...
" I know a Sergeant up in G H Q , right near MacArthur's office, and he says..." Fond farewells and
tearful Sayonara's.

Japan is occupied by the N E W Army, bright young lads starting a Regular Army career or
serving their time to get a college education...Noh plays, Kabuki dramas...they attend and talk
intelligently about them. It's all calm and orderly now, boys. 27
book design, layout, art by williem arthur patrick
printing and binding by boonludo printing works
 DATE DUE(DA Pamp 12-23)

|98B

DA FORM 1881, 1 JAN 57

OPO : 1957 O - 415619

 MAIN 940.541273 U56ab

The Amphibious Eighth.

United States. Army. Eighth Army.

194­ 73352
1 |1| 111 s

3 1695 00079 202 8

.5^1273
U56ab
c.l
U. S. Array. Eighth Array.
The amphibious Eighth.

USRA
10 COMMA
AND
GF i