We had plenty of time to just sit and reflect: We knew the Japanese
had designs on U.S., British, French, and Dutch possessions in
Southeast Asia. We knew the War Plan Rainbow 5-assumed the Philippines
were defensible. We knew the Philippines were not scheduled for any
reinforcements, and that its early loss was expected both in the U.S.
and in Japan.
It had become quite obvious that the Japs had made landings wherever
they chose, and were proceeding to Bataan with very little resistance.
We knew that Gen. MacArthur had from 12,000 to 15,000 American troops
and about the same number of well-trained Philippine Scouts (P.S.),
but the remaining 100,000 Philippine Army (P.A.) troops had less than
three months training, and their weapons were for the most part
obsolete (World War I vintage).
We had lost much of our aggressive power before the U.S. (Congress)
declared war on Japan. We hoped that most of our
troops could get through to Bataan. We could hear the big guns
rumbling on Bataan; we hoped they were ours, not the Japanese.
The Japanese cavalry continued to move up and down the highway every
day-keeping it open for their purposes.
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