4,215 Jap dead on Corregidor
Manila Bay opened to Allied shipping
MANILA, Philippines (UP) – Virtually complete conquest of Corregidor opened Manila’s great bay today for Allied shipping and a steady stream of supplies to U.S. troops on Luzon.
A Tokyo broadcast, recorded by FCC, said that approximately 3,000 U.S. troops landed on Palawan Island, westernmost of the Philippines, Wednesday morning, Japanese Time.
The enemy report did not indicate where the invasion was made on Palawan, which stretches from Mindoro in the Philippines to Borneo in the Dutch East Indies. The 275-mile-long island is 750 miles due east of the French Indochina.
U.S. paratroopers and infantrymen practically annihilated the entire enemy garrison on Corregidor, killing Japs at a rate of more than 30-to-1.
Find 4,215 bodies
A communiqué said 4,215 Jap bodies have already been counted and many hundreds of others were killed or buried alive in Corregidor’s tunnels or died attempting to escape from the island. The American casualties were 136 killed, 531 wounded and eight missing in the 12-day battle.
While wrecked docks and shore facilities will prevent full-scale use of Manila’s port, the communiqué said one Allied cargo ship, loaded with supplies, already had entered the harbor.
U.S. troops, in the meantime, continues to fan out east of Manila and far to the north of the capital.
Fierce fighting broke out along the Kobayashi line, east of Manila, where the 1st Cavalry Division encountered severe Jap resistance at Antipolo.
Blast Palawan port
On the northern front, 32nd Division troops pushed north along the Villa Verde trail toward Balete Pass road, leading into the Cagayan Valley.
Other U.S. forces also continued their advance beyond Carranglan, 14 miles south of Balete Pass road and 80 miles north of Manila.
The communiqué disclosed that Boston and Thunderbolt dive bombers made a strong attack Monday on Puerto Princesa, principal port on Palawan Island in the Western Philippines.
Liberator bombers again raided rail installations on Formosa and enemy shipping off shore.
Seven Jap merchant ships were sunk or damaged by U.S. bombers in sweeps from Formosa to French Indochina.