4*1* f> fantry
See® Attu
(Editor’s Note: This is the
second of v '“r es of articles on
the Fourth antry, which he
just returned to the Unite I
States after t oee years in Alas
ka, and t Ms -he story of tl
regiment’s f'r-t battalion in the
Battle of Attn
By Cpl Allen Merritt
(Army Correspondent)
Headquart. rs, Alaskan De
partment - - Soldiers of the
Fourth Infantry regiment’s first
battalion acquitted themselves
well at Attu, where they saw
action in one of the strangest
and bloodiest battles of the war.
They were called in exactly a
week after the first American
troops had landed on that fog
shrouded island. They d d not
even know what part they were
scheduled to plav in the battle
when they climbed over the
sides of their transport ship last
May 18 to land at Massacre
Bay, for they had not originally
been slated for action at Attu.
Maj. John D. O’Reilly of
Seattle, Wash., commander of
the battalion reported to Maj.
Gen Eugene Landrum. Carry
ing extra rations and ammuni
tion, the troops were marched
directly to u battle sector, and
they had engaged the enemy
less than 24 hours after they
landed.
They fought the Jap at alti
tudes of 2,000 feet or more, in
snowblanketed mountain areas
high above the clouds.
Moving north along the high
ridge west of Chichagof Valley
on May 21, the battalions came
up against strong enemy op
position from machine gun and
sniper positions. Many of the
Japanese were killed, the re
mainder driven off, and the
Fourth moved along the ridge to
a point late that day where vis
ual contact was establ shed with
for the
holidays
ond for the yeors
to come
THE
Victory
Cafe
'other American forces whiff) had
. press' d inland from the Holtz
Bay area, on the opposite side
of the island.
The battalion fought for five
days without rest and then was
given 24 hours for its members
to rest and get ready for one of
the toughest assignments of the
campaign • - wresting the high
peaks of Fish Hook Ridge from
the Japanese.
The battalion provided its
own barrage of concentrated
machine gun and mortar fire,
while its soldiers scaled the 60
degree cliffs in the face of en
emy fire from prepared positions
high above them. This was part
of the movement that drove the
Japanese into Chichagof Valley,
from where they made then
final, suicidal counter-attack.
Observers watching the action
from a distance were fascinated
by the spectacle, with small
groups of troops clearly visible
as they clambered up the steep
slopes. Other troops were evacu
ating the wounded, crawling
painfully down the almost im
possible mountain sides with
their human burdens.
After suffering many casual
ties, the battalion on May 27
finally took a portion of a high
peak on the northeast end of
the ridge, giving the Yanks a
commanding position overlook
ing the main ridge running east
toward the Chichagof Valley.
The fighting continued through
that night, and by 5:30 pm, the
next day, the Fourth Infantry’s
battle-weary troops had accomp
lished their mission. They had
seized the high peek and wiped !
out all enemy resistance on the
slopes.
The next day, after the final
big counter-attack by more than
1,000 Japanese, two companies
of the Fourth were sent to help
clear the enemy out of Sarana
Valley and the high ground sur
rounding the area. Most of the
Japanese had been exterminat
ed, or had committed suicide,
by that evening and the sit
uation was well under control.
Later the battalion was as
signed the task of combing the
area east of Chichagof Valley
Patrol action, hunting out and
destroying the scattered and
doomed Japanese stragglers.
The Fourth Infantry had
added another battle streamer
to its colors - * no other unit of
the Army boasts as many - -
but it had paid a high price.
Approximately five officers and
60 enlisted men of the battalion
were dead.
Their experience in Alaska
proved invaluable to soldiers of
the Fourth during the Battle of
Attu, as evidenced by the fact
that casualties from exposure in
this battalion were few. The
much-discussed “immersion
feet” which took such a terrific
toll among other troops wa6
virtually non-existent in the
ranks of the Fourth.
(Next week: The Threat at
Nome
(^ijristmasf
comes closer in wartime. The brightly
shining tree, the cold outdoors
and the cozy warmth within,
the kitchen fragrance of good food,
the fond thoughts of those far away.. •
all these take on a new, more precious,
clearer significance. For they symbolize
not only Christmas Day, but the
freedom, the homes, the way of life
for which this nation is fighting
and working.
May your Christmas Day be a
pleasant one... and may the New Year
bring Victory and Peace.
ALASKA STEAMSHIP COMPANY