Sold – Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall Letters on the Death in Action of a Soldier in the Phil

Japanese planes attacked the Philippines within hours of Pearl Harbor and the U.S. Far East Air Force lost fully half its planes the first day of the war. With air superiority ensured, the first Japanese amphibious landing on the Philippines took place at dawn on the small northern island of Bataan on December 8.

The main attack began just a few weeks later, as General Homma’s 14th Army entered Luzon’s Lingayen Gulf. U.S. General Wainwright’s men could neither repel the landings nor pin the enemy on the beaches. The remaining Japanese units landed farther south along the gulf. By nightfall on December 23, the Japanese had moved ten miles into the interior of the island; the next day they hit the beaches at three locations along the shore of Lamon Bay in southern Luzon where they found American forces dispersed and unable to offer serious resistance. They immediately consolidated their positions and began the drive north toward Manila where they would link up with the forces advancing south toward the capital for the final victory. MacArthur realized that his defense plan for the entire island had fallen apart, and on December 26 he notified his commanders that he would defend only Bataan and Corregidor.

MacArthur’s task was then to move his men with their equipment and supplies in good order to those defensive positions. He charged Wainwright’s North Luzon Force with holding back the main Japanese assault and keeping the road to Bataan open. The American withdrawal to Bataan proceeded in remarkably good order, given the chaotic situation and ongoing Japanese military operations. Most of the American were on Bataan by January 2, and as their defensive positions guarding the route there finally fell on January 6, the rear of the U.S. forces followed onto Bataan.

There the Americans unexpectedly held on for months, tying down Japanese forces. Not everyone made it to the temporary safety of Bataan. Many Americans were killed in the retreat and defensive operations. One of these was Corp. Francis J. Moore of the Coast Artillery Corps, who lost his life on January 6 in the final defense of the route to Bataan. This is his family’s entire file concerning his death, burial and benefits, with condolence letters from leaders.

A pre-war letter sent to Moore’s father announces his promotion. Then there is a copy of the telegram containing the news every serviceman’s family dreaded, “The Secretary of War desires me to express his deepest sympathy that your son Francis J. Moore was killed in action in defense of his country in the Philippine Islands January Sixth. Letter follows.” The explanatory letter came on March 31, and there are also numerous letters concerning his brother’s attempts to obtain Moore’s effects and back pay, and to collect his life insurance.

George Marshall sent a Typed Letter Signed on his Office of the Chief of Staff letterhead, July 28, 1942, to Moore’s brother. In it, he relates that the Americans who were dying (and would die) in World War II were fighting to save freedom. “I wish to extend my heartfelt sympathy on the death of your brother who lost his life in line of duty in the Philippine Islands. He was a gallant soldier of the United States Army, whose name is now indelibly recorded on the rolls of our nation’s honored dead. As time passes, I hope that you will derive some consolation in the realization that your brother gave his life so that others might live as free men. Again, my deepest sympathy to you and to other members of the family.”

In 1943, Moore’s brother is informed that he had been awarded the Purple Heart.

Douglas MacArthur sent a Typed Letter Signed on his United States Army Forces, Office of the Commander-in-Chief letterhead, October 20, 1945. In it, he says that the men who died struggling with determination to hold the Philippines in early 1942 bought the U.S. valuable time that enabled the fight to be won in the end. “My deepest sympathy goes with you in the death of your brother, Corporal Francis J. Moore, who died in action against the enemy. You may have some consolation in the memory that he, along with his comrades-in-arms who died on Bataan and Corregidor and in prison camps, gave his life for his country. It was largely their magnificent courage and sacrifices which stopped the enemy in the Philippines and gave us the time to arm ourselves for our return to the Philippines and the final defeat of Japan. Their names will be enshrined in our country’s glory forever. In your brother’s death I have lost a gallant comrade and mourn with you.”

The last letter, in 1949, provides information on Moore’s burial place in the Philippines. A moving group containing significant statements by two of America’s top military leaders in World War II.