Distinctly Montana Magazine

57 w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 2000-round mortar barrage preceded a four-company attack by 1st Battalion on S. Company B passed a corpse heap of 300 Ko- rean Marines and three dual purpose cannon with ammunition, 24 inches long in clips of six, stacked like cord wood. Company B killed 165 Japanese, while suffering no losses. Having start- ed fighting at Sanananda with 187 men, Company B was ending with 21 able-bodied, 112 sick, 27 wounded and 27 killed. Back on the morning of January 12, Company L, after losing one man to a sniper, attacked northward to destroy Japanese coconut log pillboxes, losing three more men killed and two wounded, while killing 10 enemy. The next day three companies in HUG- GINS conducted a major assault on the same area for five hours. Company L found most of the enemy had pulled back, then buried the remaining bodies. By January 17, many Company L men were being moved to the rear with dysentery, fever, diarrhea and skin disorders, and the company was placed in 3rd Battalion Reserve. On January 20, Company L received an attack order that was canceled in favor of Company I having better strength. Since January 17, Company I had been actively patrolling from FISK and attacking U on the 18th, 19th and 20th, resulting in signifi- cant casualties. Then well into its main attack on January 21, an 81 MM mortar fired short near Company Headquarters, killing Captain Dupree of Poplar and 1st Sergeant Boland of Great Falls and wounding three others. With Lieutenant O'Dell of Billings leading, Company I with elements of Company L attacked the next day and the next, killing a large number of enemy rifle and mortar men while losing a total of 10 dead and 18 wounded. The same day Company K engaged in severe hand-to-hand combat with Japanese who stumbled into their perimeter. VICTORY AT TERRIBLE COST On January 22, the entire 163rd Regiment conducted a 41-min- ute sweeping attack following concentrated mortar, machine 55 YEARS OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE www.seaeng.com PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS & LAND SURVEYORS BILLINGS 2223 Montana Ave Ste 201 59101 (406) 601-4055 BOZEMAN 851 Bridger Dr # 1 59715 (406) 522-8594 HELENA 3530 Centennial Dr 59601 (406) 422-8594 GREAT FALLS 219 2nd Ave S Ste 302 59405 (406) 604-4644 CODY 1001 12th St, 82414 (307) 509-5541

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