#11. Johnny Wheeler and the Last Cavalry Charge in US History

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The last US Army Cavalry charge happened during WW2 – on January 16, 1942, to be exact.

The 26th Cavalry’s Troop E-F was on patrol in northern Bataan Peninsula, when they encountered the advance guard of a large Japanese landing force.

With moments to spare, a young Lieutenant raised his hand, ordering his troops into position, and yelled CHARGE!

Some two dozen horses leapt forward, galloping full on at the approaching Japanese, who fled across the river or into the jungle.

This episode takes you inside the ensuing battle, with eyewitness accounts and detailed imagery.

You’ll hear what the soldiers said, practically see what they saw, and perhaps feel what they felt, as, for a moment, you’re transported 1942 Bataan Peninsula.

You may want to check out this painting of the Moron cavalry charge, called “The Last Charge.” (I don’t have rights to post it on this page, but it’s definitely worth a view.)

Images

Sources

• Raymond G Woolfe, Jr., The Doomed Horse Soldiers of Bataan: The Incredible Stand of the 26^th Cavalry (Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, Md, 2016).
• Edwin Ramsey, Wikipedia, accessed 6 February 2023
• Pedro Euperio, Mesquite, Texas, “U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2 ,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2010, Original data: Voter Registration Lists, Public Record Filings, Historical Residential Records, and Other Household Database Listings.
• Nathan Broch, “These Filipino Soldiers, Maybe You Saw Them In Newsreels,” Birmingham News, 24 October 1949, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 6 February 2023.
• Pedro Euperio and Dominga Galvize, 1946, Manila, Philippines, Pedro Euperio, “Philippines Marriages, 1723-1957,”database online, FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2020, original data: Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
• Pedro Euperio, Mesquite, Texas, “U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2 .”
• John Z Wheler 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 6 February 2023
• John ZWheeler [sic] entry, “U.S., World War II Military Personnel Missing In Action or Lost At Sea, 1941-1946,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2007, original data: Department of Defense, Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/WWII_MIA/MIA_MAIN.HTM, July 2007, accessed 6 February 2023.
• John Zadoc Wheeler, 17 June 1915, “Web: Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2015, original data: Minnesota Birth Certificates Index. Minnesota Historical Society. http://people.mnhs.org/bci/, accessed 6 February 2023.
• Merritt W Wheler family, St. Paul, Minnesota, “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 6 February 2023.
• Merritt W Wheeler family, St. Paul, Minnesota, “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 6 February 2023.
• John Wheeler, Cehisean, Central High School, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1930, page 111, in “Yearbooks | High School Yearbooks, 1900-2016,” database online: Ancsetry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2010, accessed 6 February 2023.
• John Wheeler, Cehisean, Central High School, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1931, page 75, 82, in “Yearbooks | High School Yearbooks, 1900-2016,” database online: Ancsetry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2010, accessed 6 February 2023.
• Merritt W. Wheeler family, St. Paul Minnesota, “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 6 February 2023.
• “Manila Jai Alai Building,” Architectuul, accessed 12 February 2023.
• Pete Mecca, “VETERANS STORY: The Last Cavalry Soldiers,” The Citizens, Rockdale and Newton news, accessed 6 February 2023.
• “LTC Edwin Ramsey remembers how the last cavalry charge came about,” YouTube, accessed 6 February 2023.
• Col. Carlos P Romulo, “I Saw the Fall of The Philippines,” Sun-Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 10 April 1943, page 10, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 4 February 2023
• Bushido – Wikipedia, accessed 7 February 2023.
• John Z Wheeler 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 6 February 2023.
• John Z Wheeler entry, “U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable), 1941-1975,” database online: Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, original data: Unaccounted-for Remains, Group A, 1941-1975. Washington, D.C. USA: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, accessed 6 February 2023.
• John Z Wheeler entry, “U.S., Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945.” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2007, original data: United States, Army, Quartermaster General’s Office, Rosters of World War II Dead (all services), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army, accessed 6 February 2023.
• John Z. Wheeler entry, “U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2014, original data: Cemetery Records, Records of the American Battle Monuments Commission, Arlington, VA., Headstone Inscription and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949, Series A1 43, NAI ID: 7408555, Records of the American Battle Monuments Commission, 1918–ca. 1995, Record Group 117, The National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C, accessed 6 February 2023
• Capt John Zadoc Wheeler (1917-1945) Find a Grave Memorial, accessed 6 February 2023.
• Capt John Zadoc Wheeler memorial, Find A Grave, accessed 6 February 2023.

Historic Audio Sources

• Jan 6, 1942 – FDR’s State of the Union Address, Audio file online at: National Archives NextGen Catalog, Transcript available at: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s State of the Union Address, 1942 – Ballotpedia.

Image Sources

• Yearbook Rifle Club: Cehisean, Central High School, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1931, page 75, 82, in “Yearbooks | High School Yearbooks, 1900-2016,” database online: Ancsetry.com, Lehi, Utah, 2010, accessed 6 February 2023.
• Jai Alai building: US Navy photo, from the USS Midway (CVA-41) 1955 cruise book available at Navysite.de.
• Bataan and Moron maps: From Louis Morton, The War in the Pacific – The Fall of the Philippines http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm.
• Pedro Euperio newspaper photo: Nathan Broch, “These Filipino Soldiers, Maybe You Saw Them In Newsreels,” Birmingham News, 24 October 1949, online at Newspapers.com, accessed 6 February 2023.