#44. Last Line of Defense: US Marines and the Battle for Corregidor

Episode 44 – Last Line of Defense: US Marines and the Battle for Corregidor – Episode Script

Episode Hook/Story Intro
(Please note: This episode contains descriptions of battle that may not be suitable for some audiences.)

[Salm] “It was a bloody holocaust for the short time it lasted.
“The small, wooded slopes were strewn with American and enemy dead, and of those in the agony of dying.
“Three days before the fall of Corregidor, the Japanese increased the tempo of their artillery barrage. An intense and murderous fire of all calibers of artillery ranging up to two hundred forty millimeters was directed against the northern side of the wooded and rocky island.
“Japanese batteries located and concealed in the ravines and hills of southern Bataan hurled approximately thirty thousand shells crossed the straits during the previous 48 hrs into us. Much of our concealed artillery as well as machine guns were destroyed. Enemy aircraft overhead continued their rain of heavy bombs…
“Hordes of Japanese soldiers and tanks in an amphibious operation swarmed ashore and established a beachhead on …the north-eastern part of Corregidor Island, in the pre-dawn hours.
“Columns of our men who maintained beach defense positions in [Corregidor’s western] areas poured through the tunnels which pierced Malinta Peak and augmented our forces intrenched near [Cavalry Point on Corregidor’s eastern side], engaging the enemy in a last, bitter struggle.”

This is Left Behind.

Podcast Welcome
Welcome to “Left Behind,” a podcast about the people left behind when the US surrendered The Philippines in the early days of WW2. I’m your host and researcher, Anastasia Harman. My great-grandfather Alma Salm was one of the POWs, and his memoir inspired me to tell the stories of his fellow captives.
If you appreciate this podcast and believe it’s important for people to know this relatively unknown part of WW2 history, please consider sharing it with a friend. Word of mouth is the main way people find new podcasts, and by sharing, you’re helping to keep these important stories alive.

Well…we’ve finally come to it – the last battle before the entire Philippine nation fell into enemy hands – the Japanese invasion of Corregidor Island. This battle led to my great-grandfather’s imprisonment as a prisoner of war. In fact, this episode opened with his description of that battle. Corregidor’s fall happened 5 months into WW2, and it’s taken us – a full year to get here. But that’s OK, because we’ve met some amazing individuals and heard their unbelievable stories along the way. And that’s what this whole journey is about!
The main Allied player in the Corregidor battle was the 4th Marine Regiment, who were the first line of defense against the Japanese landing. They had prepared the Corregidor beaches for months in anticipation of such an invasion.
In many ways, this episode picks up where episode 36 about Lt Col Curtis Beecher and his Marine 1st Battalion’s preparations for an anticipated Japanese landing. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to that episode, you may want to do so before listening to this – to get a better understanding of what the Marines had already done in preparation.
Also this episode is a little different than most – instead of focusing on a couple of US Marines and their life stories and war-time experiences, I’ll be focusing on the 4th Marines as a whole. I researched a few Marines for this episode, and I’ll include very short bios about them. But because the invasion is so multi-faceted, just focusing on the actions of those few men didn’t seem right – I mean, so many men proved and sacrificed themselves in this battle.
Also, by this point in the war, the 4th Marines had been augmented by military personnel from all branches, who had escaped from Bataan in early April, including a unit of Philippine Scouts. Also joining the Marines were the men of the Naval Battalion (which were the focus of Episode 13). I want to call this out now, because when I refer to Marines and beach defenses, I am including these men as well. Afterall, some of them were told, when ordered down to the beaches, “Well, you’re a Marine now!”
Let’s jump in.

Story
Before the War
[Narrator] The 4th Marine Regiment had spent nearly 15 years in Shanghai, China, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the regiment to leave the city on November 14, 1941. The US realized hostilities with Japan were moving ever closer and needed these Marines elsewhere.
There were around 800 Marines in Shanghai, and Lt. Col. Beecher (whose story I covered in Episode 36) recalled.
[Beecher] "There was a general feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty in the air."

[Narrator] US Marines were stationed in Shanghai (as well as in Tientsin and Peking) to protect American citizens during the Chinese Civil War, which broke out in August 1927. That Civil War would, in 1947, lead to Communist takeover of China.
But…the Marines in Shanghai were stationed so far from any action, that they lived…a kind of cushie life.
One Marine named Frank Pyzick (who I spotlighted in episode 1), after 6 months in Teintsin, China, in 1927, wrote home:
[Pyzick] “When we came here I thought we would have lots of trouble and be real soldiers but so far it has been just the opposite. . . . We have a large ex-German castle as barracks . . . the interior of which is entirely finished with marble. . . . We have better accommodations here than we have in the U.S.”
[Narrator] Adding to their comfort, they lived 2 blocks from an English country club, which the Marine officers were allowed to use. Pyzick continued:
[Pyzick] “This is an ideal place. Swimming pools, tennis. … It is one of those large clubs for which one pays about a hundred dollars per month membership dues in the states…. I like China, and Tientsin in particular.”
[Narrator] When the 4th Marines would finally arrive in The Philippines, their leaders worried the easy life in China had gotten them, well, soft.

Following President Roosevelt’s order to leave Shanghai, the 4th Maines were paraded, band and all, down the Shanghai streets, where they boarded 2 ships. Enroute, they discovered their destination — Olongapo Navy Yard, about 2 hours west of Manila on The Philippines’ largest Island of Luzon.
Their task: Assist in preparations for anticipated hostilities with Japan. The ships reached Olongapo on November 30 and December 1, 1941. The Marines bunked in warehouses converted into barracks. And they started training, day and night, in the nearby Bataan wilds.
Among these Marines were Lt. Col. George Hamilton, Cor. Edwin Franklin, and Capt. Noell Castle.

Lt Col. George Hamilton was a Florida native born in 1893, to a family with deep southern roots and ancestors who fought in the American Revolution. Lt Col Hamilton was a career Marine, having joined at age 24 in 1917. He spent the 1920s serving with Marines in Hati and other locations around the US. He married and had 2 children, settling in San Diego, California, until the late 1930s, when he was called into the 4th Marines and sent to Shanghai.
When his wife died in 1938, he came back to the US to raise his children. A couple years later, in June 1940, he was sent back to Shanghai – and his children joined him until November of that year when the children (ages 10 and 12) sailed home – seemingly without a chaperone – to live with their uncle.
(Adolescence travelling alone on a 1-month sea journey – that’s incredible to me, considering the hoops I had to jump through for my unaccompanied minor on a 3-hour flight to visit his grandparents. Different times…)

Cor. Edwin Franklin was born in Iowa but bounced from there to California to a Kansas farm before enlisting in the Marines (at age 17) in 1937. Before the 21-year-old joined the 4th Marines in China in 1941, he spent time stationed in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Panama Canal Zone.

Captain Noell Castle, born in 1911, was raised in Washington, DC. He attended the University of Maryland, where he majored in Engineering and was a ROTC Major. In 1936 he joined the Marines as a 2nd Lieutenant. He excelled at marksmanship and became part of the Marine Corps Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship Team, which traveled for competitions. After 3 seasons on the team, he won the top honor for marksmanship in the nation.
In May 1940, the Marines transferred him to Shanghai, and he soon became his assigned company’s executive officer. He was also famed for having a pair of pearl-handled .45 pistols, which he wore under his arms.

During the War
[Narrator] Japan attacked The Philippines a week after the Marines’ arrived in The Philippines. Thus, the training time the Marine leadership had hoped for was woefully short.
I go into details of the Marine’s movements in the early days of the war in episode 36 about Col. Curtis Beecher. So to be brief here, when most everyone else in the US and Filipino forces were moving to Bataan in late December ’41 and early January ’42, the Marines went to Corregidor to prepare beach defenses for that island.
I’ve gone into details of those defenses in episode 36, so I won’t detail them here. The main thing to know is that their extensive preparations were all but demolished by the incessant shelling and bombing inflicted by Japanese forces throughout April 1942 (starting directly after Bataan fell).
And that brings us to the evening of May 4, 1942.

A Filipino civilian guided a small fishing boat on to a beach of Corregidor Island. He would have seen destruction and chaos everywhere, the results of that month of heavy artillery and air bombardment. The previous day, those forces had unleashed a particularly devastating barrage of fire power aimed at – and greatly reducing – the 4th Marine’s beach defenses on the northern side of the Corregidor.
But this civilian wasn’t interested in the state of Corregidor’s beach defenses. He was carrying an important message from the Philippine intelligence remaining on Bataan. The civilian handed off the message, and a runner soon placed in the hands of Lt. Col. George Hamilton. After peering at the writing for a moment and finding himself unable to read the note, Hamilton asked one of his sergeants to read it aloud:
[Note] “Expect enemy landing on the night of 5 [to] 6 May."
[Hamilton] "Hush, hush, hush, don't say another word! Do you want to start a panic?”
[Narrator] Lt Col Hamilton anxiously jumped in.
He grabbed the note and beckoned the sergeant to follow him to visit Colonel Howard, who oversaw the 4th Marines forces. The sergeant again read the note aloud.
The next morning, May 5, Col. Howard called a meeting of the 4th Marine’s senior officers, including Hamilton and his sergeant. The small think tank discussed whether the Japanese would attack at night on the 5th or near dawn on the 6th. If they thought the attack would happen at night, then the beaches would be 100% manned with Marines at nightfall of the 5th. If, on the other hand, the attack likely wouldn’t happen until dawn, well they’d leave those beach defenses at only 50% manned until 1 hour before dawn so that the men could eat and be rested for the expected attack.
The senior officers discussed the options, at times spiritedly, but eventually all voted to let the men rest until 1 hour before dawn, then fully man the beach defenses.
Then, perhaps surprisingly, one officer asked Hamilton’s Sergeant’s opinion. According to Marine historian J. Michael Miller, this sergeant, the only enlisted man in the room:
[Miller] “had studied Japanese tactics in China and said that enemy landings were invariably made at night, one hour before the full light of the moon. Colonel Howard thanked him for his opinion but did not change the regiment's orders. The men would be allowed to sleep for a predawn landing.”
[Narrator] As it turned out, though, the colonel should have listened to that sergeant because a night attack, an hour before the moon’s full light, is exactly what the Japanese were planning.

Across Manila Bay on the south part of Bataan Peninsula’s eastern shore, Japanese military leaders were preparing a landing force to attack Corregidor Island’s northeastern beaches on the night of May 5-6, 1942.
Corregidor Island, as you’ve probably heard me say before, is shaped like a tadpole – with a roughly 1-mile diameter head and a 3-mile-long narrow tail that tapers to a point at the island’s easternmost edge. This tail portion is squiggled, so to speak – it bends slightly up, then slightly down, then up again, and then down.
From here on out, I’m going to describe the island in terms of left and right, as if you were looking at a map, with the northern part of the island in the top of the map. In describing this verbally, I think that “left and right” will be easier terms to follow and visualize rather than “east and west.” Also, as you visualize, Bataan Peninsula is about 2 miles north of Corregidor’s northern beaches.
Just to the right of the point where the tail meets the head, is Malinta Hill – and dug into Malinta Hill was the labyrinth-like system of tunnels known as the Malinta Tunnel. Over the several months of the war, the Tunnels had become the US headquarters offices, barracks, hospital, storage area, and more. In other words, it was the central stronghold and headquarters of the Allied forces still fighting in the Philippines after Bataan’s fall in early April 1942.
Malinta Hill was the Japanese landing forces’ goal. Take Malinta Hill and conquer the Allies. Conquer the Allies, and the entire Philippine nation falls into Japanese hands. Thus capturing Malinta Hill was the whole point of the attack.
The island’s head portion (on the island’s far left) is elevated above the ocean, its sides descending into the mouth of Manila Bay through ravines and cliffs. However, the tail portion – on the right side of Malinta Hill – was not as far above sea level (although it is somewhat hilly and smaller cliffs line the coast). But, it had beaches that would make a more ideal spot for initial landings of troops and tanks (than on the head).
On the northern side of Corregidor’s tail (which is facing Bataan Peninsula) are three points – Infantry Point, Cavalry Point, and North Point. These 3 points are located on the squiggled parts of the tail. And since they’re important to understanding the landings, I’ll describe the geography as best I can. (I’ve put maps on my website and Facebook, so you can get a better understanding when you have time to take a look.)
Infantry Point juts out into Manila Bay about a third of a mile to the right of Malinta Hill, as the crow flies, although the trails and roads to get there from Malinta weren’t so direct.
From Infantry Point, the coastline heads in a shallow southeasterly direction (so to the right) for about a half a mile, then shoots quickly north again to create the second point – called Cavalry Point. From Cavalry Point, the shore heads to the right for about a third of a mile, before turning to the southeast and creating the third point -- North Point.
The Japanese planned to land their first wave of forces near Cavalry Point at high tide on the night of May 5-6. The 2nd wave would land slightly to the left of the first, between Cavalry Point and Infantry Point. (Infantry Point, you’ll recall, is the point closest to Malinta Hill.)
Once landed, the first wave would head south toward a small airstrip and the second wave west toward Malinta Hill. In the meantime, Japanese artillery on Bataan would bombard the area between Malinta Hill and Infantry Point (that’s left of the planned landing locations).
The beaches where the Japanese intended to land were defended by 1st Battalion of the 4th Marines, who had spent the last several months setting up various beach landing defenses. The Japanese knew this, and according to Army historian Louis Morton:
[Morton] “The [Japanese] artillery had begun its preparatory fire on 1 May and by the evening of the 5th had laid waste the entire north shore of Corregidor. “
[Narrator] In total, Japanese air forces had flown 614 missions over Corregidor in the 7 days before May 5, dropping more than 1,700 bombs and totaling 365 tons of explosives. And that was just the air raids. The artillery from Bataan was hammering the island as well. It was during this heavy bombardment that 20 nurses escaped Corregidor on sea planes (see episode 40) and the last submarine evacuated 25 people from the island (see episode 42).
Historian Morton continued:
[Morton] “On 5 May, [the Japanese] had had reconnaissance and bombardment aircraft over Corregidor constantly to report on the movement of troops on the island and to soften up the enemy defenses.”
Thus, the Japanese leaders believed they had fairly good knowledge of the defenses awaiting their landing on Corregidor.

After sunset on May 5, some 2,000 Japanese troops quietly sang “The Prayer to the Dawn” as they loaded into 19 landing crafts (each carrying between 30 and 170 men). 5 tanks were loaded onto barges.
“Prayer to the Dawn” was a Japanese Imperial-era song. I’ve found very little information about this song, its lyrics, and its history. But what I did find leads me to believe the song you’ve been hearing in the background for the last few moments is the one that the Japanese troops would have been singing as they boarded the landing barges. One suggested English translation of the lyrics goes like this:
Those voices and those faces
My wife and children honor my service
As they wave tattered flags
Far away, floating among the clouds

A grand transport ship
Farewell to my prosperous country
I pray to the distant imperial palace
To swear my determination to the heavens

Both my uniform and my bearded face
Are painted with the mud of hundreds of miles
With my horse by my side throughout out hardship
We have fought several battles

For the sake of the Emperor
Dying is the duty of a soldier
In my smiling brother-in-arms’ field cap
Remains the traces of a few resentful bullets

Along with this wounded horse
I have gone three days without food or water
I scribble this down under the moonlight
In dedication to my life so far

Down that mountain and through this river
The red blood of the loyal flows
To deliver the homeland by daybreak
This triumphant song of a rising Asia

[Narrator] This song obviously has many references to the military mindset instilled (perhaps even indoctrinated) into the lay Japanese soldier, such as “For the sake of the Emperor, dying is the duty of a soldier.”
Sadly, many of the 2,000 Japanese soldiers boarding the barges on Bataan would die that night – because from almost the moment of takeoff from Bataan, the well-laid plan … fell apart.
First off, the tides around Bataan and Corregidor were unexpected and the landing crafts had trouble navigating the waters. The tide off Bataan flowed west and out of Manila Bay. Historian Louis Morton wrote:
[Morton] “The Japanese took it for granted that the current off Corregidor would be flowing west also. Contrary to expectation, the current at the target flowed in the opposite direction and the landing force "was naturally swept away." Instead of arriving off Corregidor between Infantry and Cavalry Points, the selected landing site, [the first wave of landing craft] approached the island at a point about 1,000 yards to the east, near North Point.”
[Narrator] Just to be 100% clear, the first wave of Japanese landing craft landed about 1,000 yards the right of their intended landing point. OK, back to Morton:
[Morton] “Most of the officers who had planned the landing had not "dreamed that there would be any slip-ups." They thought the peculiar shape of the island would forestall any errors. But, as one Japanese officer later wrote, "the island lost its odd shape as it was approached and it did not serve as a particular landmark."”
[Narrator] The tide around Corregidor also made the two Japanese landing forces change position. You’ll recall that the first wave (or battalion) was supposed to land at Cavalry Point, with the second battalion landing slightly to the left, between Cavalry and Infantry Points. Instead, they landed to the right of both of those points – and in reverse positions, with the second battalion landing to the right of the first battalion, rather than to the left. Also, the two battalions landed much farther away from each other than expected. Thus, a Japanese colonel later said:
[Colonel] "the Division was forced to start fighting under disadvantageous conditions. ... A long, desperate struggle and heavy sacrifices were required to break the situation."

[Narrator] The American and Filipino Marines, for their part, met the landing Japanese head on.
First off, Marine historian Michael Miller tells us that starting at 10:40 pm on May 5, Japanese artillery from Bataan opened fire on the beach defenses to the left of the intended Japanese landings between Malinta Hill and Infantry Point. Miller continues:
[Miller] “Supplies of food and water [for the Marines] were just reaching the beach positions when landing boats were reported offshore. A second [Japanese] artillery concentration pounded the beach defenses for 6-7 minutes. The shelling was particularly intense, ending with phosphorous shells. Three to four minutes of silence followed the last shell when word reached [Lt. Col] Beecher at battalion headquarters that seven Japanese landing craft were nearing the beach.”
[Narrator] The Marines flipped on their powerful search lights, aiming them at the landing crafts. American and Filipino guns were soon firing on the Japanese barges. One gun battery near North Point had never revealed its location to Japanese forces, so the Japanese did not know it was there. It opened fire on the landing Japanese troops, soon helped by 37-mm guns located only 300 yards from the boat-bound invaders.
The Japanese artillery on Bataan soon shot out the searchlights, but American and Filipino bullets “like a 4th of July display danced and sparkled pinkly” from the beach defenders.
Army historian Louis Morton continued:
[Morton] “At point-blank range they struck the surprised and confused Japanese, sank a number of the boats, and caused many casualties. "Beach defense officers at the scene," wrote an observer, "reported that the slaughter of the Japanese in their barges was sickening."
“By this time the moon had risen and the clouds had drifted away. Thus, when the 2nd [Japanese] Battalion … approached the shore shortly before midnight, it was clearly visible to the men on the beach. There was now enough light for artillery fire, and the Americans opened up with everything they had.”
[Narrator] American and Filipino artillery on Corregidor -- and the other 3-Allied held islands in Manilla Bay -- pointed their guns at the approaching Japanese, unloading their remaining ammunition.
[Morton] “To the Japanese in the small boats it seemed as though "a hundred guns rained red-hot steel on them." Eyewitnesses at [Bataan] described the scene as "a spectacle that confounded the imagination, surpassing in grim horror anything we had ever seen before."”

But despite the artillery barrage confronting them, Japanese forces did make landfall, suffering massive casualties as a result. Historian Morton continued:
[Morton] “The Japanese, who had believed they could come ashore "without shedding blood," lost heavily during the landing. … Estimates of [1st Battalion’s] casualties varied from 50 to 75 percent. Casualties in the [2nd] battalion … exceeded those of the first landing, one Japanese officer placing the number of drowned alone in his own unit at 50 percent. Total casualties for both landings were estimated at several hundred, and one Japanese officer claimed that only 800 men of the 2,000 who made the attempt reached the shore.”
[Narrator] But tides and artillery weren’t the only obstacles awaiting these landing forces. Marine historian Miller tells us that the Japanese soldiers
[Miller] “struggled in the layers of oil that covered the beaches from ships sunk earlier in the siege and experienced great difficulty in landing personnel and equipment.”
[Narrator] Many of those who did make it to shore, especially in the second wave/battalion, were crowded onto narrow beaches, with 30-ft high cliffs. They were hit at nearly point-blank range with .30 caliber machine guns mounted on the cliffs above. Their officers were killed early on, and the survivors were then hit with grenades, machine guns, and rifles from the Marines on the cliffs above. A Marine private described that it was like
[Private] "shooting ducks in a rain barrel. The Japanese would run up and down the beach, and each time there would be less men in the charges. Finally they swam into the surf, and hid behind boulders."
[Narrator] I just… Look, I get that war is hell, and the more I research, the more that’s reinforced. And I know that this is battle and that’s how battle goes – kill or be killed. Still, this description does sicken me.

[Narrator] The first wave of Japanese infantry had fared much better than the second. They came ashore around North Point (the eastern most -- or right most -- point of the three we’ve been discussing). And the US Marine company defending that area was stretched very thin. As you’ve already heard – the Marines and other beach defenders were staffed at 50% on the night of May 5-6. Plus, the previous 7 days of massive shelling had destroyed a majority of the Marines beach defenses.
A lieutenant told his men:
[Lieutenant] "I've got word that landing boats will attempt a landing. They'll be coming in here someplace. Fix Bayonets."
[Narrator] Then he asked one of his privates to
[Miller] “go to the cliff overlooking the beach, and report on the location of the Japanese. [The Private] looked at the beach and saw Japanese troops coming ashore only 30 feet away. The Marines placed a heavy fire on the Japanese as they climbed the steep cliffs and tossed "Molotov Cocktails" down on the landing craft. In the darkness, however, the Japanese succeeded in bypassing many of the Marine positions.”
[Narrator] The fighting became bloody as the roughly 800 Japanese who did make land quickly overran the beleaguered beach defenses, forcing some of the platoons to pull back from the beach. A corporal recalled:
[Corporal] “the gun next to me chattered, and glancing to my right, I saw its targets, small, fleeting, darting in the shadows."
[Narrator] Soon, grenades were landing close to Marine positions, quickly followed by enemy rifle fire. Another Corporal, realizing the Japanese were getting close to his machine gun position, ran to a second position only to find the two occupants already killed. He kept moving, crawling through the sand, making his way toward safety at the small Corregidor airstrip. Others in the same Platoon, including Cor. Edwin Franklin, who we met earlier in this episode, were also trying to reach safety. Marine Historian Miller recorded:
[Miller] “Corporal Franklin saw a grenade land in the trail in front of him, which exploded and knocked him to the ground with a head wound. Franklin next hazily saw a Japanese soldier charging with fixed bayonet. The Marine said to himself,
[Franklin] "I ain't going this f***** way"
[Miller] “and jumped up to engage the enemy with his own bayonet. Franklin was stabbed in the chest, but succeeded in killing the Japanese soldier. He ran ahead down the trail past another enemy soldier, who shot Franklin in the leg, but the Marine continued moving until he reached Malinta Tunnel.”
[Narrator] Another private, moving toward higher ground, suddenly ran into a Japanese soldier. They charged at each other with fixed bayonets, and the private wounded the enemy soldier. The private then moved off toward the sound of fighting.
Now the men on Corregidor, for the most part, hadn’t been involved with ground combat so far in the war. They’d been pummeled relentlessly by air and artillery. A sergeant later recalled:
[Sergeant] "We had been so accustomed to . . . heavy artillery fire and bombs for so many months, that the bullets kicking up dust around our feet seemed at times almost like rain drops hitting the dust."

[Narrator] By 11:50 pm, 50 minutes after first landing, Japanese forces had reached Denver Hill, located about halfway between Infantry and Cavalry Points. The Americans had planned to withdraw to the gun battery there and create a reinforced line in case of Japanese successful landings, but by the time the Americans got there, the Japanese had already slipped through the lines and had begun digging into that position. Army historian Louis Morton wrote:
[Morton] “It was only when he heard voices "not American" that a marine on Denver Hill realized the enemy had reached that point. "The place," he wrote, "seemed to have Japs all over it.””
[Narrator] When Marine Captain Noell Castle – he’s the marksman who carried 2 pearl-handled pistols – found out the Japanese had taken Denver Hill’s Battery, he assembled a company of Marines to drive the Japanese out of the battery.
Gathering his men, and disregarding cautions not to lead the attack himself, Castle told his men:
[Castle] "Let's go up there and run the bastards off."
[Narrator] The men advanced, colliding with Japanese forces in a bloody face-to-face combat that halted the Japanese advance but also repulsed the Marines. Meanwhile, wrote Marine historian Miller,
[Miller] “Castle left the battle line and ran to an abandoned .30-caliber machine gun, which he put into working order, while "completely covered by enemy fire." Castle opened a devastating fire with the machine gun, forcing the Japanese to cover, which allowed the American advance to continue. The Japanese fell back … to the Denver Battery positions, but Castle was hit by Japanese machine gun fire and killed. With their commander down, the attack ground to a halt.”
[Narrator] Here’s one of Castle’s corporal’s accounts of Castle’s death:
[Corporal] “About a yard from the embankment on the north side of the road he was hit by what I believe to be rifle or machine gun bullets. I saw him fall forward and disappear from sight over the edge of the road. [A private checked on him], then told me that Captain Castle was hit in the chest and abdomen and was in a bad way. [The private] told me that the Captain could not move and that he had loosened his pistol belt and other equipment.”
[Narrator] They never saw their captain alive again. Castle was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions that morning.
Those actions remind me of Sandy Nininger (the first WW2 Medal of Honor recipient) when charged, alone, into a Japanese machine gun nest on Bataan a few months earlier with his rifle and a bag of grenades. He took out the enemies there, at cost of his own life. I told his story in episode 16.
By 2 am, and we’re now into May 6, Japanese forces controlled Denver Hill and had established a north-south line that spanned the width of the tail.

[Narrator] The landings and associated battle had been confusing and uncoordinated. Also around 2 am, American leaders realized that only 2 battalions of Marines stood between the enemy line and Malinta Hill – where the majority of Allies on Corregidor were located. For their part, the Japanese made no attempts to push closer to Malinta Hill between 2 and 4 am, although they did repulse three Allied counter attempts to break the Denver Hill line. The Allies used that time to bring out reinforcements.

Artillerymen from the Batteries on the island’s “head,” were released from their duties and sent to join the Marines. It was a difficult movement, because they first had to run the gauntlet of artillery fire from Bataan, then through the Malinta Tunnel -- from its west entrance to its east, where Japanese artillery were focusing fire as well.
They pulled desk job men from Malinta Tunnel as well. When one enlisted Army man stated
[Enlisted man] "I've never fired a rifle before, I'm in the finance department."
[Narrator] He was told:
[Officer] "You just go out and draw their fire and the Marines will pick them off."
[Narrator] Come on, Son, go out there and be the bait.
Not even the not-so-busy Malinta Tunnel inhabitants were immune from being called into reinforcement regiments. When one Marine Sergeant named Turner reached Malinta Tunnel with his reserve unit, they found
[Miller] “the passage blocked by hundreds of "tunnel rats," soldiers who had no organization on the island and lived in the safety of the tunnel. These men wouldn't clear the corridor for the regimental reserve to pass into. Turner ordered his men, "Fix bayonets, boys, let's give them a nudge." The main passage of the tunnel was soon cleared.”
[Narrator] A Marine officer called another set of untrained reinforcements
[Officer] "a group of 500 sailors with 500 rifles—nothing more."
[Narrator] These reserve men had been waiting in the Malinta Tunnel since earlier that morning, dealing with the dust and concussions of the constant artillery bombardment at the east entrance. They’d spent the time watching a nearly constant stream of wounded Marine paraded by them on the way to the hospital ward and lowering their already low morale.
When they finally moved out of the tunnel, they immediately suffered their own casualties from the incessant artillery fire.

[Narrator] By 6:00 am, the Allied reinforcements were in place. 15 minutes later, the Allies moved forward in, what one Japanese official called a “obstinate and bold counterattack.” The Allies initially made gains, with the Japanese falling back, but a Japanese gun in Denver Hill’s battery stalled the attack, and a Navy Lieutenant and 5 of his men set out to silence it. Armed with grenades, the men crawled to within 100 feet of the gun, pulled the pins, and tossed ‘em in, achieving their goal. But other Japanese forces quickly moved in and attacked the group, killing the lieutenant and 4 of his men.
The Japanese felt desperate. They had planned to be at Malinta Hill by day break, that wasn’t happening. Their ammunition was running low – they estimated being out by 11 am. And there were fewer than 1,000 Japanese troops facing at least 14,000 Allies (at least that’s what the Japanese estimated).
Over on Bataan Peninsula, General Homma, the officer in charge of all Japanese forces in The Philippines, was worried. Actually, he was panicking, saying:
[Homma] "My God, I have failed miserably on the assault."

[Narrator] But Homma’s men weren’t about to give up. Here’s historian Louis Morton:
[Morton] “Small detachments of Japanese had infiltrated the left of the American line and were firing at the rear of the advancing troops. The Japanese had also set up their light artillery and were now using it with devastating effect against the American troops on the line. Finally, at 0800 Colonel Howard had decided to commit the last of his reserves, …. sixty men of the 59th Coast Artillery. By this time the counterattack, though netting the Americans about 300 yards in some sectors, had bogged down for lack of supporting weapons and reinforcements.”
[Narrator] By this point, after 5 months of bombardment, most to all of the US supporting weaponry and artillery was destroyed. The Allies had men and rifles…and little else to support their troops.
And then…the Japanese tanks arrived. Their appearance caused some men on the front lines to bolt. Here’s Morton again:
[Morton] “By 10:00 [am] the situation of the Americans was critical. The troops on the front line were pinned down securely. Attempts to move forward were discouraged by the enemy's heavy machine guns and light artillery; movement to the rear only brought the men under fire from the heavier guns on Bataan and strafing aircraft. The tanks were in action and there were no weapons with which to stop them.
“Casualties had been heavy and the wounded men were still in the line. There were no litter bearers, and if there had been, the injured could not have been evacuated. The walking wounded were allowed to go to the rear, but most of those who availed themselves of this opportunity became "litter or Graves Registration cases." Already between 600 and 800 [Allied] men had been killed and about 1,000 more wounded. To continue the fight when there was no hope of being able to hold out longer than a few more hours would be a needless sacrifice of lives.”
[Narrator] And it was quite apparent to US leaders that they had no more men or artillery to hold off an expected Japanese landing on the coming night, this time on the islands “head.” With their light artillery and tanks, it was expected that the Japanese on the each of the island’s sides would reach Malinta Tunnel. The result, American leaders thought, would be complete slaughter.
Thus, at 10 am on May 6, General Jonathan Wainwright – who was in charge of all US Army forces in The Philippines -- decided to surrender in order to
[Morton] “sacrifice one day of freedom in exchange for several thousand lives. Like General King, who had surrendered Bataan four weeks earlier, Wainwright had made his estimate and concluded there was nothing to be gained by further resistance.”
[Narrator] Wainwright had a surrender message broadcast to General Homma, and the Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor began destroying all weapons larger than .45-calibur. The surrender time was appointed for noon – at which time, the Americans would lower and burn the US flag, replacing it with a white one.
Wainwright then messaged President Roosevelt and Gen MacArthur:
[Wainwright] “With broken heart and head bowed in sadness but not in shame, I report . . . that today I must arrange terms for the surrender of the fortified islands of Manila Bay. . . . Please say to the nation that my troops and I have accomplished all that is humanly possible and that we have upheld the best traditions of the United States and its Army. . . . With profound regret and with continued pride in my gallant troops, I go to meet the Japanese commander.”

After the War & Legacy
[Narrator] After capture, the 4th Marines and the other Americans on Corregidor were sent to the Cabanatuan POW camps. Over the next 3 years, many of them would be transported to work camps in Japan. Included among those transported men were Cor. Edwin Franklin and Lt. Col. George Hamilton.
Corporal Edwin Franklin left Cabanatuan in fall 1942 and was sent to the Tanagawa POW camp near Osaka, Japan. By May 1945, he’d been transferred twice and was now at a third Osaka-area work camp where he worked loading and unloading cargo ships for a Japanese transport company. He was liberated, after 40 months in POW camps, in September 1945.
He remained in the Marines after the war, retiring in 1956, with nearly 20 years of service. He eventually moved to California, where he died in Los Angeles in December 1997, two days shy of his 78th birthday.

Lt Col Hamilton left the Cabanatuan Camp in October 1944 and travelled to Japan as part of the ill-fated Oryoku Maru tragedy, which I’ve spoken about in several other episodes. He survived the voyage, however, the 51-year-old died in a Japanese hospital just 2 weeks later. His remains were cremated and placed in 1 of 2 wooden boxes with 100 other POWs – 71 Americans, 16 British, 10 Dutch, and 3 Australian. The boxes were placed in a Fukuoka City cemetery’s grave that was enclosed with a small picket fence and marked “Prisoners of War Communal Grave, May 1945.”
After the war, those remains were reburied at Jefferson Barracks Military Post in Missouri, where they rest today.

[Narrator] Back on May 6, 1942, as the Japanese forces moved ever closer to Malinta Hill, a 22-year-old telegraph operator furiously typed out a morse code message that was basically a play-by-play of what was happening on Corregidor – told by a young, inexperienced man and revealing the horror and helplessness he felt witnessing the destruction and then the surrender.
It was the last message off the island before it’s fall.
So be sure to hit the follow button because there will be more on that next time.
This is Left Behind.

Outro
Thanks for listening! You can find pictures, maps, and sources about the 4th Marines on Corregidor on the Left Behind Facebook page and website and on Instagram @leftbehindpodcast. The links are in the show description.
In this episode, I’ve been able to give only a general overview of the battle for Corregidor. If you’d like to know more of the details I suggest “From Shanghai to Corregidor: Marines in the Defense of The Philippines,” by J. Michael Miller and “The War in the Pacific: The Fall of the Philippines,” by Louis Morton. Both are accessible for free online, and I’ve added links in the show notes and the website.
If you enjoy this podcast, leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts.
Left Behind is researched, written, and produced by me, Anastasia Harman.
- Voice overs by: Paul Sutherland, Tyler Harman, Jake Harenberg, and Mike Davis
And remember to subscribe to left behind because you won't want to miss next time’s radio broadcast that brought the entire nation to tears.

Sources
Morton, Louis, “Japanese Plans and American Defenses,” in The War in the Pacific: The Fall of the Philippines (Washington, DC: Center for Military History, 1953), found online at https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_29.htm, accessed 2 June 1942.
J Michael Miller, “From Shanghai to Corregidor: Marines in Defense of The Philippines,” online at From Shanghai to Corregidor: Marines in the Defense of the Philippines (Introduction) (nps.gov), accessed 1 February 2024.

EDWIN FRANKLIN
Edwin E Franklin entry, “U.S., World War II Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941-1945,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2010, original data: National Archives and Records Administration, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese File, 2007 Update, 1941-1945. ARC ID: 212383, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese Data Files, 4/2005 - 10/2007, ARC ID: 731002, Records of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Collection ADBC, ARC: 718969, National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland, accessed 28 November 2023.
Edwin Eugene Kreimer Franklin (1919-1997) - Find a Grave Memorial, accessed 28 November 2023.
Edwin Eugene Kreimer Franklin entry, “U.S., World War II Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Casualties, 1941-1945,” database online at Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2007, original data: State Summary of War Casualties from World War II for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel, Archival Research Catalog, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Record Group 24, National Archives at College Park, College Park, Md., accessed 28 November 2023;
Edwin Eugene Franklin entry, “U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2014, original data: Social Security Administration, Social Security Death Index, Master File, Social Security Administration, accessed 28 November 2023;
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Edvin Eugene Kramer, 9 Jan 1920, Talmage, Nebraska, “U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969,” database online: Ancestry.com, 2015, Lehi, Utah, original data: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ELCA, Birth, Marriage, Deaths. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Chicago, Illinois, accessed 30 November 2023.
John J Franklin family, Le Mars War 3, Plymouth, Iowa, “1920 Census | 1920 US Federal Census Records,” Database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, UT, 2010, original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920 (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls), Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C, accessed 30 November 2023.
Carrol E Franklin family, San Diego, San Diego, California, “1930 US Federal Census Records,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2002, original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930, T626, 2,667 rolls, accessed 30 November 2023.
Eugene E Franklin entry, “U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2011, original data: Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed 30 November 2023.
PACIFIC POW ROSTER (mansell.com), accessed 2 December 2023; Tanagawa Time Line (mansell.com), accessed 2 December 2023.
Recreated roster of the POWs at Umeda Bunsho POW Camp (mansell.com), accessed 2 December 2023; Umeda Bunsho POW Camp-Main Page (mansell.com), accessed 2 December 2023.
Umeda Bunsho POW Camp-Main Page (mansell.com), accessed 2 December 2023.
Edwin Franklin - - Soldier - 259269092 (sonsoflibertymuseum.org), accessed 28 November 2023.
Edwin E Franklin entry, “U.S., World War II American and Allied Prisoners of War, 1941-1946,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2005, original data: World War II Prisoners of War Data File [Archival Database], Records of World War II Prisoners of War, 1942-1947, Records of the Office of the Provost Marshal General, Record Group 389, National Archives at College Park, College Park, Md., accessed 28 November 2023; American roster, “The Osaka P.O.W. Camp, Camp No. 5,” September 1945, PDF, OSA-05_Roster_WO361-1963.pdf (mansell.com), accessed 2 December 2023.
Morita Report - Osaka #5 Tsuruga (mansell.com), accessed 2 December 2023.
“Jap Must Pay,” 18 Apr 1947, page 1, The Iola Register, Iola, Kansas, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 2 December 2023.
Tsuruga Japanese Staff (mansell.com), accessed 2 December 2023.
“Goodrich Get Marine Citation,” 16 Dec 1947, Page 15, The Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 2 December 2023; “Akron Marine Reserve Discussed,” 22 Nov 1947, Page 9, The Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio, online at Newspapers.com, Accessed 2 December 2023; “Maines Show Combat Films,” 30 May 1948, Page 18, The Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 2 December 2023.
“New Marine Recruiter,” 08 Aug 1948, Page 35, The Akron Beacon Journal, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 2 December 2023.
Edwin E K Franklin entry, April 1950, “U.S., Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2007, original data: Muster Rolls of the U.S. Marine Corps, 1798-1892, Microfilm Publication T1118, 123 rolls, ARC ID: 922159, Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127, National Archives in Washington, D.C., and U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1893-1958, Microfilm Publication T977, 460 rolls, ARC ID: 922159, Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127, National Archives, Washington, D.C., accessed 28 November 2023.
Edwin E Franklin family, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, ”1950 United States Federal Census,” database online, Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2022, original data: Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 – 1950, Washington, DC: National Archives, Washington, DC., Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, Record Group 29, accessed 30 November 2023.
Edwin Eugene Franklin entry, “U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2010, Original data: Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings, accessed 28 November 2023.
Edwin Eugene Franklin, 27 December 1997, California, U.S., Death Index, 1905-1939, database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2013, Original data: California Department of Health and Welfare, California Vital Records-Vitalsearch (www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com), The Vitalsearch Company Worldwide, Inc., Pleasanton, California, accessed 30 November 2023.

NOELL CASTLE
Capt Noel Oker Castle (1911-1942) - Find a Grave Memorial, accessed 25 January 2024.
Noel O. Castle - Unaccounted For - Missing Marines, accessed 25 January 2024.

GEORGE HAMILTON
George D Hamilton entry, “US, National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, original data: Interment Control Forms, 1928–1962, Interment Control Forms, A1 2110-B, NAID: 5833879, Record Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, The National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, accessed 20 September 28, 2023.
George D Hamilton entry, “U.S., World War II Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941-1945,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2010, original data: National Archives and Records Administration, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese File, 2007 Update, 1941-1945. ARC ID: 212383, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese Data Files, 4/2005 - 10/2007, ARC ID: 731002, Records of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Collection ADBC, ARC: 718969, National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland, accessed 28 September 2023
George D Hamilton entry, “U.S., World War II American and Allied Prisoners of War, 1941-1946,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2005, original data: World War II Prisoners of War Data File [Archival Database], Records of World War II Prisoners of War, 1942-1947, Records of the Office of the Provost Marshal General, Record Group 389, National Archives at College Park, College Park, Md., accessed 28 September 2023.
George Durell Hamilton entry, “U.S., Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940,” database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, original data: Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917 - 9/16/1940, NAI 76193916, Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773–2007, National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, accessed 28 September 2023;
George DuRell Hamilton entry, 1944, “U.S., Select Military Registers, 1862-1985,”database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2013, original data: United States Military Registers, 1902–1985, Salem, Oregon: Oregon State Library, accessed 28 September 2023
George DuRell Hamilton, 12 August 1921, U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925, database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2007, Original data: Selected Passports, National Archives, Washington, D.C., accessed 28 September 2023.
Michael Hamilton, email conversation with Anastasia Harman, 19 September 2023, in possession of Anastasia Harman.
MA Hamilton family, Bartow, Polk, Florida, “1900 Census | 1900 US Federal Census Records,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2004, original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900, T623, 1854 rolls, accessed 28 September 2023.
George Hamilton, Naval Air Station, Escambia, Florida, “1920 Census | 1920 US Federal Census Records,” Database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, UT, 2010, original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920 (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls), Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C, accessed 28 September 2023.
George D Hamilton and Gertrude D Heineman, 16 August 1927, California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980, Database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2017, original data: California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1830-1980, California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com, Digital Images, accessed 28 September 2023.
George Hamilton family, San Diego, San Diego, California, “1930 US Federal Census Records,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2002, original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930, T626, 2,667 rolls, accessed 28 September 2023.
George D Hamilton family, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, “1940 United States Federal Census,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940, T627, 4,643 roll, accessed 28 September 2023.
Geo D Hamilton entry, 1937, “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2011, Original data, accessed 28 September 2023.
Gertrude T Hamilton, 1 May 1938, California, U.S., Death Index, 1905-1939, database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2013, Original data: California Department of Health and Welfare, California Vital Records-Vitalsearch (www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com), The Vitalsearch Company Worldwide, Inc., Pleasanton, California, accessed 28 September 2023.
“Mrs. Gertrude Hamilton,” 05 May 1938, page 37, The Los Angeles Times, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 28 September 2023.
“Marin Corps Seeks 500 New Recruits in This District,” 07 Jun 1940, page 9, The Los Angeles Times, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 28 September 2023; “Navy’s Latest Casualties Report Lists 91 Men from This Area,” 24 Jun 1942, page 1, The Los Angeles Times, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 28 September 2023.
“Major Hamilton Given New Duty,” 29 Jun 1940, page 2, The Long Beach Sun, Long Beach, California, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 28 September 2023.
Walter Hamilton, arrival 9 December 1940, California, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1959, database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2008, Original data: Selected Passenger and Crew Lists and Manifests, National Archives, Washington, D.C., accessed 28 September 2023.
“Roster of the 4th Marine Regiment,” west-point.org/family/japanese-pow/Marines/4thMarineRegt.htm, accessed 28 September 2023.
Alma Ernest Salm, “Suspicious Devils, These Nips,” Luzon Holiday, memoir, typewritten manuscript, in possession of Anastasia Harman, 28 September 2023.
Hamilton, Geroge Du Rell, USMC Casualty Report, 11 September 1945, part of Hamilton, George Individual Deceased Personnel File, PDF in possession of Anastasia Harman, courtesy John Eakin of BataanMissing.com.
Letter to Commanding General, Eighth Army, Attn: Graves Registration Officer, part of Hamilton, George Individual Deceased Personnel File, PDF in possession of Anastasia Harman, courtesy John Eakin of BataanMissing.com.
George DuRell Hamilton, U.S., Navy Casualties Books, 1776-1941, database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, Original data: Various volumes, Washington, D.C.: Navy Department Library, accessed 28 September 2023.
Walter S. Heineman family, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, “1930 US Federal Census Records,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2002, original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930, T626, 2,667 rolls, accessed 28 September 2023.