FALL OF CORREGIDOR

The Japanese invasion of the Philippines began within hours of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Landing in the Lingayen Gulf, they swept southward across the island of Luzon toward Manila, Subic Bay, and the Bataan peninsula in between.  The Japanese onslaught was overpowering.  On 10 December 1941 the Navy Yard at Cavite was bombed, and by December 21^st, the headquarters of the Naval Defense Forces of the Philippines had to be moved to the island of Corregidor off the southern end of Bataan.

Steadily the staunch but outmanned American defenders were pushed down the Bataan peninsula toward Corregidor.  Fighting every inch of the way, hoping in vain to stall the enemy until reinforcements could arrive, combined US and Philippine forces held out for months.  US Army troops made their last stand on Mt. Samat, a 588-foot hill in central Bataan.  Wounded, starving and dehydrated, they surrendered on April 9^th.  Those who were captured were marched 100 miles up Luzon in the hot Philippine dry season.  Mortality on this merciless march approached 50%, earning its designation as the “Bataan Death March.”  The remaining Army and Navy personnel fled to Corregidor two and a half miles offshore, including COL Samuel L. Howard, USMC, and his 4^th Marines from Naval Station Subic Bay.

Corregidor is a three square mile fortified island that in 1942 was home to an airfield, parade ground, extensive barracks, and numerous gun emplacements.  Tunnels sunk deeply into Malinta hill provided underground storage, command bunkers, and a hospital.  As the situation deteriorated, GEN Douglas MacArthur was ordered to leave his command post deep in the Malinta Tunnels.  On a dark night of 11 March, as he and wife and son stepped onto four PT boats, he uttered his famous promise, “I shall return.”

The garrison was now under the command of LGEN Jonathan M. Wainwright and by May the situation was desperate.  Howard, his Marines, and 700 bluejackets defended Corregidor’s beaches.  The Japanese bombardment was unrelenting.  Though the gun batteries on the island fought bravely many were hindered by the fact that the guns were cemented in place facing the wrong direction (traditionally it had been thought that attack would come from the sea).  To make matters worse most of their ammunition consisted of armor piercing anti-ship rounds–of limited use against planes and personnel.  Subjected to heavy 24-hour bombardment, the 13,000 weary and hungry troops endured until the 6^th of May.  Then, to save further carnage, Wainwright surrendered the garrison.  Navy personnel (including nurses) taken prisoner totaled 1700.  Wainwright and COL Howard survived the war as POWs, Howard received the Navy Cross and was promoted to MGEN.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  12 MAY 26

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Aluit, Alfonso J.  Corregidor.  Manila, Philippines: Galleon Publications, 1989.

Hall of Valor, Navy Cross Citation of Samuel Lutz Howard.  Military Timee website, AT: https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-7713/, retrieved 24 April 2026.

Morison, Samuel Eliot.  History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol 3  The Rising Sun in the Pacific.  Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co., 1948, pp. 193-206.

Morris, Eric.  Corregidor: The End of the Line.  New York, NY: Stein and Day, 1981.

Site visit, Bataan Peninsula, Corregidor Island, Mt. Samat, Republic of the Philippines, February 1989.

Sweetman, Jack.  American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-Present, 2^nd ed.  Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1991, pp. 165-66.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  The fall of the Philippines on this day was the last in a series of stunning Allied defeats at the beginning of the Pacific war that stretched from Pearl Harbor to Wake Island to Singapore.  Radio broadcasts from the garrison on Corregidor during the final days had been relayed back to American living rooms, giving the general public a sense of involvement in the loss.  But the situation brightened in the days that followed, as news of the battle of Coral Sea reached America.

          The WWII escort carrier USS CORREGIDOR (CVE-58) remembers the battle for the island.  Our modern Arleigh Burke destroyer HOWARD (DDG-83) remembers a Marine Corps 1^st SGT from Vietnam with the same surname.

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                                                    THE PURGE

In the first decades of the 21^st century, a series of untoward events involving minority citizens led to the assertion that racism is systemic in American society.  With the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May 2020 at the hands of law enforcement, the Black Lives Matter movement, “Woke” philosophy, and other efforts against social inequity, sexism, white privilege, and in favor of slavery reparations, gained political momentum.  The Confederacy of our Civil War became a symbol of social injustice.  In consideration of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in Congress, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) proposed an amendment that required the retitling of US Army bases named in remembrance of Confederate soldiers.  An 8-member Congressional commission convened, chaired by retired ADM Michelle Howard, USN, the highest-ranking female in the DoD of that day, and our Navy’s third African American 4-star Admiral.  The commission expanded Warren’s view, spurring Congress to add to H.R. 6395, the final FY2021 NDAA, a mandate to: “remove the names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America from all assets of the Department of Defense.”  President Donald Trump vetoed the bill on 23 December 2020.  His veto was overridden on this date in the House, however, by a vote of 322-87.  Four days later the Senate voted 81-13 to override as well.  The purge became law, with our Navy given three years to comply.

Maury Hall at the Naval Academy and the superintendent’s quarters, Buchanan House, both named for Confederate naval officers, became Carter Hall (Jimmy Carter) and Farragut House (David G. Farragut), respectively.  Our oceanographic survey vessel USNS MAURY (T-AGS-66) was rechristened USNS MARIE THARP, after the civilian geologist and cartographer.  Two warships were scrutinized.  USS CHANCELLORSVILLE (CG-62), remembering a Confederate victory in the Civil War, was renamed for Robert Smalls, an escaped slave who joined the Union Navy and later served in Congress.  USS ANTIETAM (CG-54), named for a battle that was arguably a draw, was scheduled to decommission and was left intact.  Five cruisers named for Union victories, including MOBILE BAY (CG-53) and GETTYSBURG (CG-64), were not affected.  By March 2023, the Navy had complied fully with the FY2021 NDAA provision.

The purge of Confederate references remains controversial.  In his veto, President Trump expressed that it was a political whitewash of history that dishonored, “the immense progress our country has fought for in realizing our founding principles. 

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  4 JAN 24

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Baumgart, Jacob.  “Naval Academy Renames Superintendent’s House, Citing Confederate Ties.”  Patch website, 11 May 2023.  AT: https://patch.com/maryland/annapolis/naval-academy=renames-superintendents-house-citing-confederate-ties/, retrieved 3 August 2023.

House of Representatives Repository.  “Final Passage, FY2021 NDAA.” 1 July 2023.  retrieved 3 August 2023.

Naming Commission Final Report to Congress, August 2022.  AT: https://s3.amazonaws.com/usma-media/inline-images/public-affairs/congressional_naming_commission/naming_commission_final_report_part_II.pdf, retrieved 3 August 2023.

Navy Press Release.  “SECNAV Renames United States Naval Academy Campus Building after Former President Carter.” 17 February 2023.  AT: https://www.navy.mil/press-office/press-releases/display-pressreleases/article/3301924/secnav-renames-united-states-naval-academy-campus-after-former-preside/, retrieved 3 August 2023.

Schmall, Emily.  “Stripping Confederate Ties, the U.S. Navy Renames Two Vessels.”  New York Times, 11 March 2023.  AT: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/11/us/navy-ship-confederate-robert-smalls.html, retrieved 3 August 2023.

Trump, Donald.  “Presidential Veto Message to the House of Representatives for H.R. 6395–The White House.” 23 December 2020. AT: trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov, retrieved 3 August 2023.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  The full official title of the naming commission was: “Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or any Person Who Served Voluntarily in the Confederate States of America.”  The Naming Commission additionally suggested ninety alternative names to be considered as replacements, predominantly those of notable female, African American, or Hispanic figures.  None of these suggested names was adopted by the Navy. 

Dr. Marie Tharp (1920-2006) is credited with discovering the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.  This led to the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics.  She had no Navy service, though much of her research had been conducted aboard USNS KANE (T-AGS-27) and ATLANTIS (T-AGOR-25).

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