Even the ones who managed to swim weren’t safe, because the soldiers on shore targeted them with their M1 rifles. Although the water was growing darker in the fading daylight, the sand-colored Japanese helmets and uniforms stood out against the dark backdrop, making them easy targets.
Deke fired just once or twice, but then lost steam. The rifle seemed to grow heavier with each shot, the bolt harder to work.
Around him, soldiers had left the cover of their foxholes and were standing up to get a better angle of fire into the waters of the harbor. Deke was reminded of a firing squad. Captain Merrick had even drawn his .45 and was squeezing off shots.
Although the Japanese machine gun had claimed a few casualties, it had fallen silent, leaving the enemy transport defenseless.
This wasn’t a battle; it was a massacre.
The horizon was alive with explosions and gunfire, each pop and crackle signaling that a man might be dying.
Deke felt no pity toward the Japanese. If the tables had been turned, they would have shown no mercy to the Americans. For the soldiers, this was payback for buddies lost in the fighting. Considering that they had been resupplied just a short time ago on the beach, there was no shortage of ammunition.
He sat down and let the others do the shooting. This was no longer what he would have called precision work. This was shooting fish in a barrel.
The smell of gunpowder burned his nostrils, and smoke stung his eyes, but Deke couldn’t tear his gaze away from the scene before him.
The Japanese vessel was now settling deeper into the water, its forward motion halted. The merciless fire from shore continued. Soon enough there was no sign of life aboard the transport or in the surrounding water, just a few bodies floating on the surface.
“Cease fire!”
Gradually the fusillade came to an end with a few final gunshots. The men on shore stood staring out at their handiwork.
“I’ll be damned,” Philly said, surprise evident in his voice. “We just sank us a ship.”
“That’s got to be a first,” Lieutenant Steele replied. “It also means that the Japanese will be getting that many fewer reinforcements.”
“Amen to that,” Philly said.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sinking the Japanese vessel had brought a sense of elation, but it was fleeting. The sighting of the enemy vessel seemed to raise even more questions. If the Japanese had sent one boat, would they send others? Had there been landings that they hadn’t seen, meaning that enemy troops might be circling around behind them?
“Over here!” shouted a soldier who was exploring farther down the waterfront. He had reached a cove that had been concealed around a bend in the shoreline.
Their fears regarding the Japanese presence were confirmed when someone found tracks in the mud and sand where another enemy craft had apparently landed. The number of footprints and the impressions left by the equipment that had been dragged ashore indicated that a contingent of Japanese had escaped their detection.
The tracks were so fresh that water was still oozing into them from the surrounding mud. The Japanese must have landed undetected, possibly just before the arrival of the US troops at the waterfront or when their attention had been focused on sinking the Japanese landing craft.
“The Japanese landed here, all right,” Lieutenant Steele said. “The question is, Where did they go?”
Considering that they hadn’t immediately attacked, it was most likely that the Japanese had slipped away toward Ormoc to bolster the defenders with more men and supplies. But the ship that had brought them to shore couldn’t simply have vanished in such a short amount of time.
Deke swung his gaze out to sea.
“Look!” he cried, pointing toward a dark speck riding the swells beyond the harbor. They could just make out the outline of the distant vessel. The vessel was definitely going away rather than approaching. It wouldn’t be long before the vessel disappeared over the horizon.
After an uneasy night getting what sleep they could, new orders arrived. Although they had not come under further attack during the night after the incident with the barge, they could still hear random firing in the distance. It seemed to be a promise of things to come, letting them know that the Japanese weren’t finished yet.
In any case, their assignment to guard the harbor proved to be short lived. General Bruce, the division commander, apparently did not see fit to let his battle-hardened troops rest easy. Captain Merrick’s company received orders to move out, and a company of fresh troops was moved into position.
“Maybe we did too good of a job, considering that we even sank that Japanese barge,” Philly grumbled. “We killed the hell out of those Japanese, that’s for sure. Not a one of them made it to shore.”
“Not a one of them,” Yoshio repeated hollowly. He didn’t have to elaborate on the fact that none of the Japanese had even been allowed to shore.
“It ain’t like they were gonna surrender,” Deke pointed out in an effort to make Yoshio feel better, but it didn’t seem to do much good.
While the sinking of the enemy barge had buoyed most of their spirits because it had been such a lopsided victory, it may have come as no surprise that Yoshio did not seem to share in that jubilation. Enemy or not, the men they had slaughtered in the harbor — there was no other term for it — were Japanese, and Yoshio must have surely been affected by that. He knew better than to admit it out loud and kept his thoughts to himself.
Merrick’s company found itself moving inland. Aside from the unlucky troop transport, they had yet to see any Japanese troops even with the proximity to Ormoc. They approached a small village called Ipil, about halfway between the harbor and the city of Ormoc itself.
Once again Patrol Easy had taken point, this time with Danilo in the lead. Right behind Danilo were Egan and Thor, in hopes that the dog would smell the enemy if Danilo didn’t spot them first. The rest of the soldiers in the company seemed reassured by the sight of the dog, but Deke preferred to put his faith in Danilo.
Deke didn’t mind seeing Danilo leading the company, considering that he still didn’t feel completely himself. His fever had mostly abated, but he still felt too weak to be effective. He longed to close his eyes and sleep for a day or two, but he knew that he wasn’t going to be that lucky. Like he’d been told back on the beach, every man was needed in this fight for Ormoc.
“Everyone says that the Japanese are dug in tight,” Rodeo said. “Do you think it’s true?”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Philly pointed out.
The company had some help as it moved out in the form of the “Long Toms” from the 226th Field Artillery. The 155-millimeter field guns helped to pave the way ahead of the company’s advance. The shells screeched overhead, then landed in the distance with a dull thud that still managed to shake the ground even at this distance. Plumes of black smoke and dust rose into the air.
“I just hope they have good aim,” Philly said. “I sure don’t want one of those dropping on my head.”
“It would give you quite a headache, all right,” Deke agreed. The shelling also made him anxious, but not for the same reason as Philly. He preferred to be able to hear what lay ahead of them, and listening for any sign of the enemy, from the silence of the jungle birds to a shouted order in Japanese, was helpful. As things stood, only the roar of the shells coming in and exploding filled his ears. In his experience, the Japanese were usually so dug in that shelling never did much good anyhow.