Show Yanks Surge Across River to Hit Japs in Southern Manila MANILA Feb 8 Delayed INS INS Crossing Crossing the river in boats soldiers of the division took Manilas Manila's last water barrier in stride Thursday and bumped on head-on into stern enemy resistance in the city's wrecked industrial section The Yanks battling in strength hammered their wa way through a pasture across the river river nver from the luxurious palace and marched behind the protective wall wail of oC park toward a Jap stronghold formed by the Paco railroad station Actually the river was the first stream ever crossed under fire in the Pacific On the tiie north side of the river Engineer Hugh OHara O'Hara of Cincinnati 0 O. and three others stood knee-deep knee in the water loading the little boats which the soldier soldier passengers had to paddle for or themselves They had been there all night and all morning shouting themselves hoarse with calls for soldiers to fill each boat calling three more men or live five livemore ive more men Men who waited near nearby near by moved quickly to the boats From the pasture which was under sniper fire the soldiers had to run singly across little l footbridges completely complete complete- tc- tc ly Iy unprotected d. d to the safety of at the stone park wan wall Within the shadow of ot the wall it was so safe that two men batted a pong ping-pong ball with their helmets helmets hel hot mets but farther back in the palace palace palace pal pal- ace park men burrowed deep to escape mortar fragments Herbert Kessler of ot Quinwood W. W Va did not burrow soon S See Seo Pa Paz Pace e T Two Tuo o. o Column One Yank Troops Surge Across River to Hit Japs Trapped in South Part of fJ Manila ani a j Continued from tram Page Pace One enough and a 3 little hunk of oC mortar mortar mortar mor mor- tar raised a welt on his neck Beyond the park over a wooden woodenbridge woodenbridge woodenbridge bridge knocked off kilter by fix fife fiA soldiers picked their way through factory rubble darting by alleyways alleyways alleyways alley alley- ways which gave Jap snipers dangerous dangerous dangerous dan dan- fields of ot fire A call came back for litter litter- bearers who then moved ahead toa toa to ton a n driveway where the tho Japs left I 30 caissons along wun with many norse horse I drawn artillery carriers The bearers darted across tho the street I singly and into the Manila ManUa Gas corporation grounds Ten minutes later they returned with a young I lieutenant who was shot hot over the I heart Artillery Observer J W. W Drachman of Bronx N. N Y handed the wounded man man a lighted saying Sec you tomorrow boy Well maybe the wounded man smiled they they Just got a lucky shot in Oil on Covers Ground i Drachman and his two two man man crew crew James of Pa and Howard HowardA A A. Kinnan of Roseville Ohio ran Ohio ran across the road into the thc gas corporation corporation corporation cor cor- grounds which were covered covered covered cov cov- ered with an inch of black stinking stinking stinking stink stink- ing oil 1 Two hundred yards ards across the grassy field was a roofed red house once the Jap consulate and to the right was a school house and anda a factory both full of Japs Atop the consulate was vas a pillbox pillbox pill pm- box of ot red-painted red sandbags and while the men looked a Jap mortar mortar mortar mor mor- I tar fired from behind a wall of the Ule house The Japs w were ro busy firing shell after shell over the soldiers' soldiers heads toward the river landing places Knock Out Mortar On a catwalk In the out burned corporation building Lt Oliver W. W Draine of Walkerton Va called the shots for a light American mortar trying to knock out the Jap mortar Draine who won the silver star with cluster and the purple heart at New Georgia and Bougainville sent 40 shells at the Japs and then reported Wo We Ve either knocked em em out or scared em out Sniper bullets against a near near-by wall and men ducked for cover most of them smoking good cigars distributed by a Swiss family in the neighborhood First Reuben Mortz of Detroit Detroit Detroit De De- troit Mich looked up from the telephone shouting Seven men of one squad just got jot it from the mortar Three can an walk but they need four stretchers Hurry it up Mortz called out the Ule names of the wounded men and the G. G Is I.'s cursed as they heard of friends being hurt A soldier came downstairs downstairs downstairs down down- stairs after the Japs shot several rounds at him Those guys are mad at us he murmured Our guys are mad mad at them too |