United States Marine Corps 4th Regiment in World War II United States Marines Fourth Regiment defend the Philippine Islands at Corregidor Island, "the Rock", and Bataan Peninsula against air raids, shelling and landings in the Empire of Japan attack on the United States of America at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and Manila Bay, the Philippines on December 7, 1941, and United States entry in to World War II. Imperial Japanese Ki-21 heavy bombers over Corregidor Island photo above. YouTube Video Click Top for Full Screen Color Film of a Japanese Army Officer and the Forbidden City US Marines in Beijing, China 1939 Pre-World War II "Last China Band" Music: In The Mood, Glenn Miller Shanghai, China November 28, 1941 The United States Marine Corps Fourth Regiment Band marching in Shanghai, China on November 28, 1941 only ten days before the December 7, 1941 attack by the Japanese Empire against the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and Manila Bay, Philippine Islands. December 7, 1941 Attack by Imperial Japan Against the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Includes Six Aircraft Carriers Which Launch 350 Fighters, Bombers and Torpedo Bombers Attack by the Japanese Empire on Pearl Harbor Sinks or Badly Damages Eighteen US Navy Ships, Damages or Destroys 300 US Aircraft and Kills 2,403 US Military and Civilians December 7, 1941 Military Offensive by Japan Against Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Continues Ten Hours Later Against Bombing Targets on Manila Bay in the Philippine Islands March 26, 1942 Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carrier Akagi at Staring Bay, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Fleet Refueling Point for Warships of the IJN, Sorties Out of Which Include Air Raids on Darwin, Australia February 19, 1942 and March-April 1942 Attacks Against Allied Forces and Shipping as Far West as Ceylon (Sri Lanka), South of India in Japanese Offensive Against the Allies China, Burma (Myanmar) and India, CBI Theater of Operations, Before Refitting in Japan and June 1942 Fateful Rematch with US Navy Fleet at Midway June 4-7, 1942 US Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive Bombers Destroy Imperial Japanese Navy Aircraft Carrier Akagi, Above, and Three Other IJN Aircraft Carriers, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu, All Pearl Harbor Attack Participants, at the Battle of Midway Island Shanghai, China September 1941 Shanghai, China November 28, 1941 Troops of the First Battalion, Fourth Marines march down Nanking Road, on their way to the quays of the Whangpoo River preparatory to embarking on U.S. President Line ships for the Philippine Islands. The Marines share the crowded streets with examples of every mode of transportation available.   The troops are carrying “Heavy Marching Order” packs topped with neatly blocked campaign hats, armed with Springfield 1903 rifles at the left shoulder. Beneath each hat is the standard issue foul weather gear called a “pancho” and entrenching tool. At the head of this column pictured, the Fourth Marines Band can be seen breaking out into brighter sunlight. This proved to be a false foreboding as this historic field band would cease to be one in only ten more days. Shanghai, China November 28, 1941 Birds eye view of quays on the banks of the Whangpoo River, the port of Shanghai during the farewell of the Fourth Marines as it prepares to leave the International Settlement.   Throngs of people are seen gathered among the limousines of the world’s diplomatic, consular force and business firms watching troops of the First Battalion arrive led by the Fourth Marines Band (note: Sousaphone base horns just to left of picture center). Plainly seen in the line of march carrying a large banner are elements of Shanghai’s Volunteer Defense Force wearing kilts and playing bag pipes. Shortly after this resounding, amazing and confusing send off, the 800 Marines of the Fourth Regiment depart for the Philippines ending their duty in Shanghai after many years. Western Pacific Ocean and East Asia World War II in the Pacific April 1941 Until July 1942 Flying Tigers, American Volunteer Group (AVG), US Pilots, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Fighters, Initially Resupplied Through Burma (Myanmar) and French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia), Defend Yunnan Province, Republic of China from Bombing and Invasion by Imperial Japanese Army Moving West Through Major Cities Since 1937 Against Strong Chinese Resistance and Causing High Civilian Casualties as in Nanking (Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) South China Sea Region French Colonial Map French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) and Southwest Republic of China Major Railroad Link from Haiphong Harbor (Hai Phong) Through Hanoi (Ha Noi) to Kunming (Yunnan Fou), Largest City in Yunnan Province June 23, 1940 Hitler in Nazi Germany Occupied Paris, France September 27, 1940 Germany, Japan and Italy Sign Tripartite Pact Military Alliance and Hitler Controlled Vichy France Government is Forced to Allow Japanese Empire to Occupy French Colony of Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia), Starting with the Northern Tonkin Gulf Coast Region and Major Port of Haiphong, If Any Doubt Remained Before, the Second World War in the First Half of the Twentieth Century Truly Now Has Commenced September 26, 1940 Japan Blocks Haiphong Harbor and Rail Route Through Hanoi in French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) to Kunming, Yunnan Province, Republic of China to Further Military Supplies for Chinese Resistance Against Brutal 1937 Imperial Japanese Army Invasion and Continued Incursion West, While US Government Concerned About Access to South China Sea Resources Such as Rubber, Oil and Minerals, Demands Japanese Military Withdraw from French Indochina, Seizes Japanese Assets in US and Imposes Sanctions Against US Exports to Japan such as Refined Petroleum Products and Scrap Metal, Pictured Above, Flying Tigers, American Volunteer Group (AVG) US Pilots, Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk Fighters with Republic of China Wing Markings Strafing Attack on Imperial Japanese Army Heavy Bombers at Forward Airbase November 28, 1941 United States Marine Corps Fourth Regiment Ship Out from Shanghai, China for Corregidor Island and Bataan Peninsula, Top of Photo Above, in Manila Bay on Main Island of Luzon, the Philippines, Still Seemingly at Peace Only Ten Days Before the Empire of Japan Initiates Near Simultaneous Major Military Attacks there and at Pearl Harbor, Oahu Island, Hawaii   December 7, 1941 Imperial Japanese Government Preempts Expected US Oil Embargo Enforcement by Attempting to Eliminate US Navy Pacific Fleet in Hawaii and the Philippines as well as Attacking British Military at Hong Kong and Singapore October 1941 US Boeing B-17 Bomber and Fighter Aircraft at Iba Airfield, Luzon Island Which is Attacked Among Other Philippine Islands Targets Just Ten Hours After the December 7, 1941 Imperial Japanese Attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii US Boeing B-17 Bomber and Japanese A6M Zero Fighter December 7, 1941, Across International Date Line December 8, Still on Same Day as Attack Against Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Imperial Japanese Marines (Rikusentai) Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF) Initiate First Infantry Assault on Philippine Islands at Batan Island North of Luzon Island, Photo Above a Year Later, December 1942, Stage Landing for Cameras in Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Identified by Anchor Insignia and Rising Sun Naval Ensign Used as Flag and on Armored Vehicles and Other Shore Equipment While Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) Use White Flag with Red Circle for Similar Purposes US Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Fighter Strikes Back at Imperial Japanese Navy D3A Val Dive Bomber December 23, 1941 Flying Tigers, American Volunteer Group (AVG) US Pilots, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Fighters with Republic of China Wing Markings Over Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar) Repel Sixty Japanese Ki-21 Sally Heavy Bombers Radar, the Word Still Classified, First Combat Uses by US Army and Marines Mobile Air Warning Services During Initial Imperial Japanese Attacks at Pearl Harbor and Manila Bay March 11, 1942 US Army General Douglas MacArthur, Vowing to Return, Leaves Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor Island in Manila Bay, the Philippine Islands for Australia by PT Boat and B-17 Bomber While Imperial Japanese Army Continues Siege of Shelling, Air Raids and Landings Against Surrounded US Marines, Army, Navy and Philippine Personnel on Corregidor Island During Five Months of Allied Armed Resistance April 9, 1942 Surrender of Allied Forces on Bataan Peninsula of Luzon, Main Island of the Philippines, Directly North of Corregidor Island, Imperial Japanese Army Adds Shore Artillery Attacks Across Narrow Channel in Manila Bay, and One Month Later is Finally Able to Land Tanks on Corregidor May 6, 1942 May 6, 1942 Two Type 97-Kai ShinHoTo Chi-Ha Medium Tanks and One M-3 Stuart Tank Captured on Luzon Island Are Landed by Imperial Japanese Army Assault Forces on Corregidor Island May 6, 1942 the 4,000 US and Allied Forces, Including 1,500 US Marines, Are Ordered to Surrender After Defending Corregidor Island for Five Months Since December 7, 1941, with Sustained Imperial Japanese Army Shelling and Bombing, IJA Ki-21 Heavy Bombers Over Corregidor Photo Above, and Increasing Casualties on Both Sides in Close Combat, IJA High Command is Embarrassed by Unexpected Delay in the Announced Immediate Collapse of US Armed Resistance on Corregidor Against Overwhelming Odds While Running Out of Ammo and Repulsing Waves of Enemy Landings, Japanese Military Divert Such Significant Resources to the Philippines that Other Postponed Offensives as Against Australia Never Materialize Honor Versus Dishonor: The Pacific’s 4th Marine Regiment   By MATTHEW M. BURKE | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 5, 2018 CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Army Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright ordered the surrender of U.S. forces in the Philippines on May 6, 1942, following an overwhelming six-month Japanese onslaught. Marine Col. Sam Howard — commander of the 4th Marine Regiment — ordered the national and regimental colors burned rather than see them fall into enemy hands. The Marines reluctantly went into a brutal captivity at the hands of the Japanese. The 4th Marine Regiment hasn’t been stationed in the continental United States since then. It is the only regiment whose lineage is rooted on the American mainland to deploy to the Pacific and never be rotated back, Marine officials said. Rumors have swirled among Marines that the regiment is doomed to wander the Pacific — much like the mythical ghost ship The Flying Dutchman — due to the dishonor over surrendering. It is the largest organized Marine unit to ever do so in battle. Before elements of the regiment traveled to South Korea recently for exercises Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, current 4th Marine Regiment commander Col. Kevin Norton pushed back against that myth, saying it is because of honor, not dishonor, that his Marines are stewards of the Pacific. “Like most things, there’s rumor and misconception,” said Norton, who has spent more than 10 years with the regiment in various leadership positions. “We were still reeling from Pearl Harbor and we had to pick and choose where we were going to send forces to, so in many ways, the Marines and the U.S. Army and the Filipinos kind of got left hung out to dry a little bit out of necessity, because the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army had to kind of get their act together and mobilize in order to get over here.” The 4th Marine Regiment was activated at Puget Sound, Wash., on April 16, 1914, with Col. Joseph Pendleton — namesake for Camp Pendleton, Calif. — as its inaugural commanding officer. The unit’s first duty station was San Diego. In June 1916, 4th Marines was dispatched to the Dominican Republic to intervene on behalf of the government in their civil war, the Marine Corps said. This would be the first time the unit would see combat, and it was awarded two Medals of Honor for heroism. The unit was then dispatched to Shanghai, China, in March 1927 to protect American interests in the face of yet another civil war. Known as the “China Marines,” they stayed in country for nearly 15 years. The China Marines departed for the Philippines on Nov. 27 and 28, 1941, after being surrounded by the invading Japanese. They had been in the Philippines for nine days when the Japanese attacked to coincide with the attack on Pearl Harbor. May 5, 2017 US Marine with Okinawa Based 4th Marine Regiment Takes Photo of Unit Colors at the Pacific War Memorial Museum at Corregidor Island, Philippines Surrender The 4th Marine Regiment engaged the Japanese for the first time on Dec. 12, 1941, the Marine Corps said. After arriving at Subic Bay, it had been tasked with guarding Olongapo Naval Station and a naval base at Mariveles. As the Japanese bore down on Manila from the north and defeat seemed all but assured, 4th Marines in Olongapo evacuated to Mariveles and then to Corregidor, the fortified island off the southern coast of the Bataan Peninsula. They prepared and strengthened defensive positions as the Japanese closed in. The Japanese made landfall on Corregidor Island on May 5, 1942, the Marine Corps said. The regiment inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese invaders, decimating the first two attempted landings; however, they were no match for Japanese planes, tanks and Bataan-based artillery. The Japanese gained a foothold on the beach and expanded it, pushing toward Wainwright’s headquarters. The Marines lost all of their heavy guns and were almost out of ammunition. All seemed lost. “Feeling that further resistance was useless and fearing a possible massacre of 1,000 sick and wounded personnel in Malinta Tunnel, Gen. Wainwright decided to surrender,” a unit history said. Isolated pockets of Marines continued to fight four hours after the surrender went into effect, until news of the order trickled down. “The Marines were beside themselves,” Norton said. “They fought valiantly for several days and then ultimately Gen. Wainwright ordered the surrender because the higher headquarters folks were inside of a tunnel and they didn’t have all the information and the communications had been severed.” Norton said Wainwright did what he thought was right, and the Marines had to follow orders. The 4th Marine Regiment ceased to exist. “I don’t think the United States nor Gen. Wainwright understood how the Japanese were going to view prisoners,” Norton said. “There were some big-time atrocities. There were executions regularly. It was a brutal captivity. Most of those Marines who we refer to as the ‘old 4th Marine Regiment’ spent all of World War II in prisoner of war camps or they simply died in POW camps; it was that horrific.” Proud Lineage   While Howard’s Marines tried to stay alive in brutal prison conditions, the 4th Marines was resurrected Feb. 1, 1944, with members of the 1st Marine Raider Regiment, a commando-style unit that had fought with distinction in the Makin Island, Guadalcanal, Central Solomons and Bougainville campaigns. “If you talk to World War II vets, there was such a proud lineage of the 4th Marines that it was a big deal for them to rename that Raider regiment the 4th Marines,” Norton said. The “new” 4th Marines participated in the recapturing of Guam and the seizure of Okinawa at the cost of 4,000 of their lives, the Marine Corps said. World War II ended with Japan’s surrender Aug. 15, 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The 4th Marines — who were awarded five Medals of Honor for service during the war — were chosen as the first American combat unit to land in Japan for the occupation. They were there to welcome the “old” 4th Marines, emaciated and in poor health, as they were liberated from POW camps. “They held a parade for many of the prisoners,” Norton said. “It was a good homecoming for those guys because they realized the regiment was still alive.” The 4th Marines was deactivated in 1949 only to be reactivated three years later for the Korean War. However, they arrived in Japan after the armistice that ended the conflict was signed. They were sent to Hawaii, the closest they would ever get to the continental United States. Through the years, the regiment has served with distinction in combat in Vietnam and through advisers sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, leading to nearly another dozen Medals of Honor. They were the last Marine regiment to depart Vietnam in 1969 and have been on Okinawa ever since. Today, 4th Marines is the anchor for the unit deployment program, accepting stateside battalions into their ranks on six-month rotations to the Pacific. “Unlike units stationed in the United States permanently, we’re kind of on the tippy, tippy part of the spear and our readiness is at the highest levels permanently,” Norton said. “When the Marines really learn the history, all that rumor and conjecture of, ‘Hey, the surrender was dishonorable,’ you just have a totally different perception … the Marines had nothing to do with the surrender. There was no dishonor in it.” September 15, 1944 US Marine Corps LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) Assault on Fortified Imperial Japanese Army Garrison at Peleliu Island in Allied Pacific Ocean Island Hopping Campaign from Guadalcanal August 1942 to Okinawa April 1945 October 25, 1944 Escort Aircraft Carrier USS Kitkun Bay CVE-71 Damaged by Japanese Kamikaze A6M Zero Fighter in Largest Naval Battle in World History at Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands November 25, 1944 Aircraft Carrier USS Essex CV-9 Hit by Imperial Japanese Kamikaze Aircraft off Coast of Philippines November 25, 1944 Aircraft Carrier USS Intrepid CV-11 Hit by Kamikaze, One of Three Japanese Aircraft Strikes on Intrepid During the Philippine Islands Liberation Operation April 1, 1945 USMC 2nd Battalion, 22nd Regiment, LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) at Green Beach on Okinawa Island, Last Major Battle of WWII, an Amphibious Invasion by Many Metrics Larger than D-Day at Normandy, France and 98 Day Long Final Reckoning for Conventional Imperial Japanese Military Forces April 1, 1945 Riflemen of the 29th Marine Regiment Ride a M4A3 Sherman 105mm of Company A, 6th Tank Battalion During the 6th Marine Division Drive on Chuda, Okinawa May 9, 1945 US Marines use 37mm Gun to Pound Imperial Japanese Pill Boxes During the Battle of Okinawa Island May 1945 US Marines Control Ridge at Naha, Okinawa April 9, 1945 Pilots from US Marine Corps Fighter Squadron, VMF-312 Checkerboarders, First to Land Their Vought F4U-1D Corsairs on Kadena Airfield, Okinawa Soon Followed by VMF-323 Death Rattlers, VMF-322 Fighting Gamecocks and a Single Night Fighter Squadron, VMF(N)-543 Night Hawks, Operating Grumman F6F(N) Hellcats to Provide Interception and Close Air Support for the Liberation of the Island of Okinawa April 3, 1945 United States Marine Corps VMF-323 "Death Rattlers" Fighter Squadron Vought Corsair Fires Rockets in Close Air Support of Allied Ground Troops on Okinawa Island The most successful WW2 Marine Fighter Squadron of 1945 was VMF-323, the "Death Rattlers" in their Vought F4U-1D Corsairs. 36 Allied ships were destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa many by Imperial Japanese Kamikaze aircraft raids. VMF-323 shot down 124 enemy planes and counted a dozen aces while operating from Kadena Airfield, Okinawa between April 9 and July 15, 1945. August 1943 United States Marine Corps Vought F4U-1 Corsairs of VMF-323 Death Rattlers get Their Name from a Rattle Snake Encounter While Training in North Carolina, Now VMFA-323  Based with Other Squadrons of Third Marine Aircraft Wing, 3D MAW, at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, San Diego, CA January 21, 2020 Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II Stealth Fighter, Aircraft Carrier Variant (CV), Third Marine Aircraft Wing, 3D MAW, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, San Diego, CA China Bell Master Sergeant Donald LeRoy Versaw United States Marine Corps Retired / WWII POW Last China Band Fourth Marines Musicians Memorial Band Hall 3D MAW Band Third Marine Aircraft Wing Miramar Marine Corps Air Station San Diego, CA Master Sergeant Don Versaw, United States Marine Corps, Retired, 4th Regimental Band, author of the book: "Last China Band", WWII Prisoner of War and recipient of a well earned Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for Acts of Valor in Combat at Corregidor Island, the Philippines, December 7, 1941 - May 6, 1942. April 11, 1945 Battleship USS Missouri BB-63 off Okinawa Japanese A6M Zero Fighter Kamikaze Causes Minor Damage May 4, 1945 Escort Aircraft Carrier USS Sangamon CVE-26 Operating off Okinawa Coast Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Hien Ki-61 Tony Fighter Kamikaze Attack Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Hien Ki-61 Tony Fighters Attempt to Intercept US Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bomber July 26, 1945 British Heavy Cruiser HMS Sussex Sustains Minor Damage in Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) Japanese Ki-51 Sonia Light Bomber/Dive Bomber Kamikaze Strike to Armored Hull August 17, 1945 Task Force 38 of US Navy Third Fleet off Coast of Japan Two Days After Empire Agrees to Surrender August 28, 1945 Planes Dropping Pamphlets Announcing End of War Over Changi Gaol Prisoner of War Camp Singapore to Allies from Britain, Australia and Canada in this Contemporaneous Drawing by Fellow POW Ronald Searle, British Army August 20, 1945 Battleship USS Missouri BB-63 at left transferring personnel to Battleship USS Iowa BB-61 while operating off Japan. September 2, 1945 Empire of Japan Officials Sign World War II Surrender to US Army General Douglas MacArthur Aboard Battleship USS Missouri BB-63 in Tokyo Bay as Japanese War Crime Suspects are Investigated and Prisoner of War Camps in Japan are Liberated After Three Years of Combat, Captivity, Deprivation and Forced Labor for Many Allied Personnel Battleship USS Missouri BB-63 Photo Above and Battleship USS Iowa BB-61 Photo Below Both Same Design Class and Served at Tokyo Bay Imperial Japan Surrender United States of America and Allied military personnel stationed in the Pacific Theater of World War Two before the December 7, 1941 Empire of Japan attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and Manila Bay, the Philippine Islands, turn the tide of momentum from aggressive Japanese expansion to concern for the survival of the Emperor, himself before the cavalry from the United States mainland actually show up. Admiral Yamamoto's warning about awakening a sleeping giant did not take in to account the determined resistance in combat of Allied soldiers, sailors and marines already at Wake Island, Corregidor, Bataan, Coral Sea and Midway stalling out Japanese military consolidation of East Asia. No planned yet postponed major assault on Australia ever materialized and Japan was no longer able to conduct simultaneous offensives in both the north and south Pacific Ocean. Before USS Essex CV-9 class flattops and USS Iowa BB-61 class battlewagons weigh in, keels are laid on new LST and submarine fleets and F4U Corsair and F6F Hellcat Fighter pilots and B-29 Bomber crews see action, P-40 Warhawk and F4F Wildcat Fighters, B-17 and B-25 Bombers, SBD Dauntless Dive Bombers, USS Lexington CV-2, USS Yorktown CV-5, USS Enterprise CV-6 and USS Hornet CV-8 aircraft carriers fight the first ever aircraft carrier battle May 4-8, 1942 in the Coral Sea, denying an objective to the Imperial Japanese Navy also for the first time in WWII, the occupation of Port Moresby, an Australian territory at that time, and destroy four aircraft carriers of the IJN Fleet at the Battle of Midway Island, June 4-7, 1942. Allied forces largely in place prior to the initiation of hostilities held fascism in check from the Battle of Britain to the Solomon Islands, turning offense to defense for Hitler's Thousand Year Third Reich, Il Duce Mussolini's Blackshirts and Tojo claiming to represent the Chrysanthemum Throne of the Mikado Hirohito before the final grim task of rolling up the Axis on an industrial scale could begin. Master Sergeant Don Versaw, United States Marine Corps, Retired, 4th Regimental Band, author of the book: "Last China Band", WWII Prisoner of War and recipient of a well earned Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for Acts of Valor in Combat at Corregidor Island, the Philippines, December 7, 1941 - May 6, 1942, during repatriation from Japan by his US GI liberators via the devastation of the port of Nagasaki and huge Allied build up on the Island of Okinawa, quipped that he had never seen ships and planes so large and rifles so small. September 27, 1945 United States of America Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur and Japanese Emperor Michinomiya Hirohito First Ever Meeting 1945 Chiang Kai-shek, Kuomintang (KMT) Chinese Nationalist Party and Mao Zedong, Communist Party of China United_States_Marines_In North_China_1945-1949.pdf 1945 Hồ Chí Minh, Standing Third from Left, with United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Advisors in French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)   80 Years Since Attack on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines December 7, 2021 Last China Band Digital Card Copy and paste to a text or email. Below is a printable version with eighth inch trim edges: Last_China_Band Business_Card.pdf Last China Band Members and Former World War II Prisoners of War Martin Eichman, Jack P. Rauhof, Kenneth Marshall and Other Late 1940's and 1950's USMC Bands Original Photo Prints from Third Marine Aircraft Wing Band, 3rd MAW, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, San Diego, CA and Marine Corps Musicians Association Historian Band Photos After WWII Miramar 3D MAW Band Angels of Bataan US Army and Navy WWII POW Nurses Rescue February 1945 February 3, 1945 US Marine Corps Douglas SBD Dauntless Close Air Support for Santo Tomas, Philippines US POW Rescue Landing Vehicle Tracked LVT Tour US Marine Corps 1952 TV Program Written by Member of the Last China Band, WWII POW, and Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device Recipient, First Lieutenant George Francis, USMC, Retired February 23,1945 LVT-4 Landing Vehicle Tracked (Amtrac) WWII POW US Navy Nurses Rescue at Los Banos, Philippine Islands Angels of Bataan Liberated US Nurses Rescued February 1945 All Receive Bronze Star EMAIL: info@4thMarinesBand.com  714-227-5741  Please Click Below For:   ©2000-2023 LastChinaBand.com. 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