FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Arthur W Wermuth, Part 1 ~ 03 February 2020

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Arthur W Wermuth, Part 1
"The One Man Army of Bataan"

Info from here.

(Thank you to DeaconBenjamin for bringing this hero to our attention!)

           

Arthur Wermuth didn't look like a U.S. Army officer. Sporting a mustache and Vandyke beard, the former football star from South Dakota endured his baptism of combat in the last week of 1941 and into first week of 1942. Departing Manila on the day after Christmas with the 150 men of Company D, 57th Infantry (Philippine Scouts), he had been ordered by Colonel George Clark to put his small force in the lines on Northern Luzon and "Dig in and hold!.

Facing Wermuth's small and generally untrained but equally determined force of Philippine Scouts was an entire division of Japanese, rapidly pressing south after landing on the northern coast of Luzon. After ten days of resistance, Captain Wermuth no longer had a force to command--only 37 of his soldiers had survived. They, along with other units of General Jonathan Wainwright's Northern Luzon force had been finally forced to fall back.

Meanwhile, General Wainwright aligned his forces south of the the Calaguiman River which flowed from nearly-mile-high Mount Natib which splits the Bataan Peninsula, eastward into Manila Bay. The river was a defining geographical feature in what became known as the Abucay Line, a final defensive position in efforts to hold out against Japanese General Homma's advance down the east side of Bataan, until promised reinforcements arrived. Straddling the river was the important junction barrio of Kalaguiman.

On January 9, when the Japanese launched the first in a long series of ferocious attacks against the Abucay Line, Company A of the 57th Infantry (Philippine Scouts) held positions near Kalaguiman, which was north of the Abucay Line and the main force of defenders. The Filipino soldiers and their American officers were battle-weary and demoralized in the face of continuing, and seemingly futile resistance. To bolster moral, Captain Wermuth, whose Company D had been nearly annihilated, was sent to to join them. Three days earlier Wermuth had demonstrated his uncanny combat abilities by proceeding alone past thousands of Japanese troops to reach an outpost isolated behind enemy lines. It had been the beginning of an incredible series of actions that would make the imposing figure of a man, who went into combat with a Thompson sub-machine gun slung over his shoulder and two .45 caliber pistols holstered like a western gunfighter, one of the first American heroes of World War II.

By the following night the continuing onslaught had forced the Philippine Scouts further south and the Japanese had entered and controlled Kalaguiman. At Allied headquarters it was determined that the only effective way to delay further advance was to destroy the barrio and then blow the wooden bridge across which enemy troops continued their advance south. Captain Wermuth volunteered to do the job.

Setting out before dawn, and toting two five-gallon drums of gasoline, Wermuth slipped past infiltrated enemy snipers, deep behind what was now the enemy line, and into Kalaguiman. With the wind blowing from the north, he crept all the way through the town, now inhabited by hundreds of Japanese soldiers, most of them still quietly sleeping in the huts of local villagers that their invasion had displaced to the surrounding jungles. Behind him, back behind the friendly lines, Filipino artillerymen were preparing their big guns for a major fire mission. The plan, worked out earlier that morning, was to begin shelling the city five minutes after the first wisps of smoke from Wermuth's fire were seen. The delay was all the time that would be allotted Wermuth to blow the bridge with a satchel charge of TNT he also carried, and effect his escape.

Creeping quietly all the way through the city, Wermuth reached the northern limits and then retraced his steps, spreading his gasoline against the walls of thatched-roof hamlets, inside which many enemy still slept despite the fact that it was nearly 10 a.m. The dangerous task at last done, he struck a match and began to head for the all-important bridge. The ensuing fire alerted the entire enemy force, many of whom streamed into the hard-packed dirt main street aflame and dying. Others began quickly to search for the intruder. Creeping through a dark alley, Wermuth found his way blocked by three enemy soldiers. So far the shadows had masked his presence but he knew time was running out. He also realized also that any attempt to shoot them down would expose his location and subject him to immediate and merciless gunfire. He glanced nervously at his watch as precious seconds ticked away. With four minutes left he started to raise his Thompson when the three Japanese finally moved away. Creeping quickly through the alley, he finally broke into the bright sunshine and began a desperate zigzag race towards the bridge.

Bullets began to spray all around him, one of them drilling into Wermuth's leg and forcing him to stumble briefly. Ignoring the pain he raced on, even as the first rounds of what might now be not-so-friendly artillery began to rain down on Kalaguiman. Fortunately, the firepower did distract the enemy enough to give Wermuth the time he needed to plant his charges, blow the bridge, and then carefully crawl his way back through the hidden Japanese snipers to reach friendly lines. There, doctors removed a small-caliber bullet that had lodged in his calf, barely missing bone, and Captain Wermuth earned his first Purple Heart.

For Captain Arthur Wermuth, it had been a risky but necessary venture. Behind him, beyond the burning ruins of the bridge and inside the smoldering ashes of Kalaguiman, lay the blackened bodies of more than 300 Japanese soldiers.

...come back next week for part 2...

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

February 3

A Fire Called Holy

Bible in a Year:

• Exodus 31–33
• Matthew 22:1–22

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Luke 3:16

After several years of drought, the wildfires of Southern California left some residents thinking of them as acts of God. This disturbing impression was reinforced when news sources began referring to one as the Holy Fire. Many unfamiliar with the area didn’t realize it was a reference to the Holy Jim Canyon region. But who was Holy Jim? According to local history, he was a nineteenth-century beekeeper so irreligious and cantankerous that neighbors tagged him with that ironic nickname.

John the Baptist’s reference to a baptism of “the Holy Spirit and fire” also came with its own story and explanation (Luke 3:16). Looking back, he was likely thinking of the kind of Messiah and refining fire foreseen by the prophet Malachi (3:1–3; 4:1). But only after the Spirit of God came like wind and fire on the followers of Jesus did the words of Malachi and John come into focus (Acts 2:1–4).

The fire John predicted wasn’t what was expected. As a true act of God, it came with boldness to proclaim a different kind of Messiah and holy flame. In the Spirit of Jesus, it exposed and consumed our futile human efforts—while making room for the love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22–23). Those are the acts of God that He would like to work in us.

By: Mart DeHaan

Reflect & Pray

How has your life been affected by the work of the Holy Spirit? What does it mean for you to pursue a holy—set apart—life before God?

Father in heaven, please replace our fear of Your Holy Spirit with a love, joy, and peace that is as priceless as our stubborn ways are worthless.

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[MoochPooch]

Evening, Kathy! Another nice bio — thanks!

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: Arthur W Wermuth, Part 1 ~

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[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

Hope your weekend rest went well and you are ready to tackle the new week as your back allows.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...more hiking for you and Penny?

Nice here, but quite cold still. They say by next weekend it will be in the mid 30s....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[luvie]

What a hero Wermuth was! Like all of our great military heroes! I can’t wait to read the rest of his story!

[luvie]

Perspective.

We in the lower 48 say that when it gets DOWN to the mid-30s.
You say it when it goes UP to the mid-30s. LOL!

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

It's going to be hard waiting until next week to read part 2. Part 1 has left me almost breathless.

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Been watching the airport cam and the two moose that were hanging out at the AK Aviation Museum there all afternoon. They finally ran them off with bottle rockets. Had to close the N-S waterlane for a bit so the moose wouldn’t get spooked and run out in front of a plane landing or taking off. It would be bad news if a plane hit one of them. They are huge!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mooch...glad you enjoyed the story of today’s hero.

Have you had any snow yet?

[Kathy in Alaska]

LOL! Perspective is everything...d:o)

[luvie]

Howdy, radu! Hope you had a good day today. It was nice here and in the high 60s. Supposed to snow on Wednesday. Say whuuuuu????

[luvie]

LOL! It is!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Moose around airplanes are not a good idea. They are kept under close surveillance. They go where they want, when they want.

Glad you got a front row seat from the warmth of your house. LOL!

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Monday morning and ((HUGS)) to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

How's everyone doing this morning?

[radu]

Howdy, LUV.

Yes, it’s been a pretty good day. Made a store run (cat litter, as usual. LOL), then brought a few more things over from the other house and hung a few more things on the living room walls.

Gorgeous weather for a change and tomorrow will start out gorgeous as well. Then rain and storms start moving in for the next couple of days. But no snow forecast for us. Crazy that it’s in your forecast!!

[radu]

I’ve seen moose show up periodically at the airport but this is the first time I’ve seen them cross the ice to go to the museum. They were quite content there. I was surprised they weren’t run off sooner than they were since they disrupted activity on that waterlane.

So nice that they have 12-hour rewind so we can go back to see what happened during time we aren’t watching.

Did you have a nice, relaxing day?

[luvie]

Glad you got a chance to get out and to get some stuff accomplished. Guess the house is beginning to look like home now.

I’m not holding my breath on the snow part. They’ve said that before and it didn’t even get down cold enough to do it. i’d still love to see the looks on the kittehs’ faces if it did.

Watched the late virus show for a while, but I think I’ve just about reached my saturation point on that subject. LOL!! There are so many STUPID conspiracy theories floating around.

Gonna be going before long. I’m getting sleepy from having to get up early this morning. It’ll be good to sleep in tomorrow morning. See ya!