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WCU - World War II in Southern Appalachia

The Canopus

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  • wcu_ww2-924.jp2
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Item 1 - The Canopus
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The Canopus

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Item 2 - The Canopus
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Item’s are ‘child’ level descriptions to ‘parent’ objects, (e.g. one page of a whole book).

  • Mariveles harbor seemed to be we'll defended against surprise attack by the Naval forces clustered around, it and the Army had stabilized a front about twenty miles further north, on the other side of Mariveles mountain— but what about the seacoast between? Most of it was very rugged, and backed up by thick jungle, but the one road which provided the only line of communication to the front lines passed quite close to the sea at many points. Commander Francis Bridget, who had been left in charge of the remnants of Naval aviation in the Philippines, did not think that this tenuous life line was adequately defended by the Army against a sudden landing on the coast. Frank was never one to sit back and. criticize when action was needed. He had under his own command about a hundred arid fifty aviation men, mostly ground crews, who had been left without work when their planes were destroyed. He sold the proposition to other Naval organizations in Bataan, and collected a hundred and thirty men from the Canopus, about eighty from the Ammunition Depot detail, a hundred or so Marines, and a few refugees from the ill-fated Cavite Navy Yard. These heterogeneous groups Bridget formed into the "Naval Battalion", with "Hap" Goodall, of the Canopus, as second in command. Tom Bowers of the Ammunition detail and a few Marine, and aviation officers were the company commanders. Equipment was a serious problem. The Marines were, of course, ready for field duty, but the others were sailors, and the Navy doesn't provide much equipment for land operations at the best, to say nothing of the fact that several of these groups had been separated from their normal supplies by unforeseen circumstances. However, rifles and ammunition of some sort were finally begged, borrowed or stolen for most of the men. Their white uniforms were dyed to what was supposed to be khaki color, but which turned out to be a sickly mustard yellow. Only about one canteen could be found for every three men, but the great American tin can was pressed into service to make ' up the deficiency. This had the advantage that the contents could be heated over a fire in case of need, provided care was exercised not to melt out the solder. Training was next essential. Perhaps two-thirds of the sailors knew which-end of the rifle should be presented to the enemy, and had even practiced on a target range, but field training was practically a closed book to them. The experienced Marines were spread thinly throughout each company, in the hope that through precept and example, their, qualities would be assimilated by the rest. Thus equipped, mostly with boundless enthusiasm, and determination, the motley array sallied forth one day late' in January for a preliminary hike to the coast to harden them up. At the base of Mt. Pucot near the sea they met an agitated group of soldiers who had just been chased by Japs from their signal station on the mountain top. Apparently a landing had been made on nearby Longoskawan Point the night before, just as Bridget feared and the invaders were working their way inland toward the vital communication road. Here was "field training" with a vengeance for our budding infantrymen.
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World War II in Southern Appalachia

World War II affected the residents of WNC both home and abroad. This collection highlights some of these experiences, including Carr and Ruth Hooper who were interred at the Sant...

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