 Lat
12° 49' 60N Long 121° 4' 60E Island located to the south-west
of Luzon. Divided into two provinces:
Oriental Mindoro (eastern half) and Occidental Mindoro (western half)
History
Liberated by American forces (Western Visayan Task Force)
under Brigadier-General Willam C. Dunckel set sail from Leyte
on December 12, 1944. Kamikaze attacks crippled the Light Cruiser USS
Nashville, the flagship where over 130 were killed, including high
ranking
officers. The Nashville and another Destroyer had to turn back to Leyte.
They landed unopposed on the 15th at the south-west of the island,
near
San Jose meeting no opposition on the beach. There were about a thousand
Japanese on the island, who fled inland with the pre-invasion bombardment.
By December 23rd, two strips were in operation on the island, and provided
air support for the liberation of Luzon.
Japanese Bombardment of Beachead
On December 24 two Japanese cruisers and eight destroyers left Camranh
Bay, Indochina (Vietnam). They were spotted
and attacked by aircraft and PT Boats, that managed to sink one of the
Destroyers. The Japanese forces bombarded the beach on the 26th, but
did little damage before they returned to Indochina. This was one of
the last Japanese surface unit attacks on American beacheads during
the war.
Occidental Mindoro
The western half of the island is Occidental
Mindoro province.
San
Jose
Main town on the island of Mindoro, located in the south-west
of the island in Mindoro Occidental.
McGuire Drome (San Jose Airport)
Named in honor of American 5th
AF ace, Thomas McGuire, it was an American airbase, still in use today
| Hill
Field |
 Code named 'Hammer'. Unpaved American airfield.
Besides the dust, the field turned to mud when rains came, and
aircraft moved to the paved Murtha Strip instead.
American Units based at Hill
71st TRG, 17th TRS (B-25s)
433d TCG, 66th TCS (C-47s) January 18, 1945 from Biak - ?
403d TCG (C-47s) ? - February 27, 1945
65th TCS, 433d TCG (C-46 & C-47s) January 25, 1945 from Biak -
?
|
| Murtha
Strip |
Paved airfield, located several miles to the
northeast of San
Jose / McGurie Drome.
American Units Based at Murtha
USAAF 8th FG's
36th FS (P-38s)
Micah Reysio-Cruz adds:
"In 2001, I went on an expedition with
my friend, former 417th BG pilot Frank Upchurch, to find Murtha
strip. He is a retired justice from St Augustine,FLA.
During WW2, he flew an A-20G. He participated in raids on Cebu,
Leyte, and Corregidor and
other Japanese bases. All we found was a runway-width section
of asphalt. Locals said that rich families wanted their land
back after the war and bulldozed the field for sugarcane planting.
Judging by the position of the remaining blacktop, the field
ran on an East-West orientation. It is several miles inland
from the present airport [San Jose]"
I took a piece of asphalt and mounted it for Frank to take home.
|
Oriental Mindoro
The eastern Oriental Mindoro.
Puerto Galera
Lat 13° 30' 0N Long 120° 57' 15E Peninsula on the north-east corn of Mindoro.
 Today, it is a popular
tourist destination. There are several shipwrecks in the area including
Dry Dock 21-28m, Alma Jane Wreck (20-30m), St. Christoper Wreck (20-24m),
Sabang Wreck (5-20m), Monkey Wreck (40-45m). Unsure which, if any of
these wrecks are wartime related.
Japanese Wreck
Reported as a "Japanese Wreck" in dive charts, resting in 42m of
water listed as a dive site midway off the eastern shore of the peninsula. This was a wooden patrol boat from WW2. Little remains now except the large engine, shaft and propellor. Thanks to Rick Kirkham, Frontier Scuba for additional information.
Calapan
 Lat 13° 25' 9N Long 121° 11' 33E Located on the north-eastern tip of Mindoro Island.
Wartime Barge
Off Calapan, and the Baco Islands is a wartime barge loaded with supplies. There may be the remains of a Japanese steel patrol boat there (badly broken up) too. Thanks to Rick Kirkham, Frontier Scuba for additional information.
| G4M Betty |
| Shot down transporting Zero pilots of 201st Kokutai |
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