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LUZON THE SECOND BATTALION AT PUNCAN We were getting to the high mountains now, and into the rain forests. The swift marches over the flat country were over now, we had to fall back on our jungle experience. It would be hard slugging over hills, through mud and thick, tangled vegetation. The Japs would be holed up in camouflaged caves, with machine guns and field pieces. Casualty rates would rise, in bitter fights to the death over every enemy position. At 0700, 28th February, the assault elements of the 2d Battalion, carrying two days supplies and leaving transportation and all other supplies at Carranglan, advanced overland via Maringalu and Cavisclan, toward the Puncan Mountains. By 1700 on the 28th, before making its way through dense undergrowth and wading waist deep rivers and streams, the Battalion occupied high ground at the junction of the Maringalu and Talavora Rivers. By darkness C Company, 65th Engineers, constructing a bulldozer road, were only a quarter mile behind the Battalion perimeter. During the night a small group of the enemy, unaware of the Battalion’s presence, walked into one of the trail blocks, suffering six KIA. On 1 March, E and F Companies, each with one of H Company’s machine gun platoons attached, jumped off and secured the high controlling ground northeast of Puncan. The ground was organized and positions dug during a sporadic enemy heavy artillery fire, which continued throughout the night in spite of counter-battery fire by the supporting 64th Field Artillery Battalion. The remainder of the battalion moved about 2000 yards south along the Maringalu River where they set up a perimeter to receive those elements of the Battalion left behind at Carranglan, and to afford security for the supporting 81mm and 4.2 mortars. During the night G Company, under the command of Captain Robert A. Edenfield, killed four enemy who wandered into their southern river block. The 1st Battalion, assigned the mission of protecting supply routes, sent A Company forward for that purpose. On 2 March patrols from F Company probed west to the vicinity of Highway #5 with the mission of locating the artillery that had been firing the previous night. They located one dug-in 105mm howitzer, and destroyed a large quantity of artillery ammunition. E Company entered Puncan at 1200, 2 March, to establish a forward supply dump. The remainder of the 2d Battalion joined E Company during the afternoon. C Company, reinforced by one platoon of A Company, took over defense of the hill mass northeast of Puncan. During the night E and G Companies in Puncan received sporadic enemy fire from the vicinity of the Talavera River bridge on Highway #5, and knee mortar fire from small attacking parties around the perimeter. During the night, eight infiltrators were killed in Puncan and twenty at the forward supply dump. On 4 March, F Company moved to Puncan. There remained the job of clearing up the enemy pockets which were located in the two gulches just off the west side of Highway #5, north of the Talavera River Bridge. Artillery fire failed to drive the enemy from his caves or silence his guns. The 4.2 chemical mortars and 81mm mortars showed no visible effect. M-7’s fired directly into the mouths of the caves. Attached tanks advanced daringly into the gulch, but even they could not knock out the caves. Flame throwers, bazookas, and twenty five pound TNT satchel charges were used to reduce and seal the caves. When the tops of some of the ridges were secured, the closing of other caves was accomplished by lowering charges by rope from above. Five gallon cans of gasoline and diesel oil thrown from the ridges and ignited by tracers and WP grenades, aided in burning out parts of the gulches and uncovering the entrances to additional caves, which were then sealed with satchel charges. Before the resistance was cleared the Battalion perimeter around Puncan received a great deal of harassing fire from that area. Puncan and the immediate vicinity was declared cleared and secured on 5 March, with a total of two LMG’s, three 47mm AT guns, three 105 howitzers captured or destroyed and eighty-six enemy counted dead, plus an unknown number sealed in caves. Our 2d Battalion, from 23 February to 5 March, lost ten killed, twenty wounded, and two died of wounds. Back to History Index The Third Battalion at Digdig
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