Audiobook

From Shanghai to Corregidor: Marines in the Defense of the Philippines

J. Michael Miller

In September 1941, Colonel Samuel L. Howard, USMC, Commanding Officer, 4th Marines, recommended to Admiral Thomas Hart, USN, Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet, that Howard's regiment be evacuated from its longtime duty station in Shanghai. The regiment comprised two small battalions, made up of approximately 800 Marines and attached naval personnel, and was dangerously exposed to Japanese attack should war come. On 10 November 1941, Colonel Howard received the long-awaited orders to prepare the withdrawal of his regiment [to the Philippines]. On 3 December, Colonel Howard reported to Admiral Hart in Manila to discuss the mission of the regiment. The 4th Marines was put under the command of Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell, commanding the 16th Naval District, and given the mission of protecting the naval stations on the island of Luzon, primarily Olongapo and the Navy Section Base at Mariveles. The Comman-der-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet, stressed a more important mission to Howard. That mission was to prepare his men for mobile field operations. Hart also underscored the proximity to war with the Japanese. - Summary by J. Michael Miller