Page 64 - History of War - Issue 18-15

Heroes of the Medal of Honor
DIRKJVLUG

Under heavy machine gun fire, Private First Class Vlug took on fi ve
Japanese tanks in one of the most daring one-man assaults of WWII
WORDS TOM FORDY

or most, the heroics and courage of Regaining control of Ormoc Valley was
World War II are remembered as we’ve FORVALOUR crucial. It linked with Leyte Valley to the east
Fseen them celebrated on the big screen via the Ormoc Road, a long and winding
time and again: men of valour carrying out highway that ran through mountainous terrain
The USA’s highest military honour is
feats of immense bravery amid a barrage awarded to members of the armed and ravines. Once the valley was secured, it
of explosions and gunfi re, while the enemy forces for exceptional acts of valour in ensured access from east to west and offered
advances in seemingly insurmountable combat. This is when service personnel have gone strong military defences.
beyond the call of duty, often placing themselves in
numbers. Many real-life heroes would be made Despite resistance from the Japanese
diffi cult situations beyond reasonable expectation.
during World War II; few would be born from an defensive units, the US troops continued
act of such true cinematic-style spectacle as WHYDIDHEWINIT? forward; further landings reinforced their
Private First Class Dirk J Vlug, who in December For leaving a position of cover to single- numbers, while Filipinos supported these
1944 destroyed fi ve enemy tanks. handedly take out fi ve enemy tanks with efforts. On 10 December, they penetrated and
Dirk was born in Maple Lake, Minnesota, on a rocket launcher, thereby securing the took Ormoc City.
20 August 1916 to Dutch immigrants Isaac and roadblock and allowing his regiment to It was from this point that Vlug, along with
Mina Vlug. He was almost 25 when he joined advance along a crucial highway. the 126th and 127th Infantry Regiments of the
the army, enlisting at Grand Rapids, Michigan, WHERE WAS THE BATTLE? 32nd Division, pushed south down the highway,
in April 1944. By December that year he was The Ormoc Road, which connects the Ormoc with the aim of making a juncture with the XXIV
among the men of the 126th Infantry Regiment, and Leyte Valleys on the Philippines island of Corps, squeezing the main defensive line of the
32nd Infantry Division, holding a roadblock as Leyte. After US forces had taken Ormoc City, Japanese 1st Division and ultimately securing
they moved south on the Ormoc Road in the they had to move south and take control of the route between the two valleys.
Philippine province of Leyte. the entire highway. Though the US forces had been dominant
The US campaign in the Philippines – also so far, Vlug and the 32nd Division faced
know by the codenames Operation Musketeer WHEN DID IT TAKE PLACE? fi erce and tricky opposition. Ridges and
I, II, and III, and not to be confused with the 15 December 1944. ravines overlooked the highway from either
French operation of the same name, which side, covered in dense rainforest. The
led to the Suez Crisis – had begun only two WHEN WAS HE AWARDED THE MEDAL OF HONOR? Japanese troops burrowed away at carefully
months earlier under the supreme commander 26 June 1946. 18 months after his act of selected defensive points, armed with heavily
of the Southwest Pacifi c theatre of operations, bravery, President Harry S Truman awarded camoufl aged machine guns and rifl emen
Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur. The Vlug the Congressional Medal of Honor fl anking the main artillery points.
directive was clear: expel the Japanese Army. during a ceremony at the White House. Each bend in the road was more treacherous
The Philippines had been under a brutal than the last: foxholes were carved into the
occupation since 1942, with Filipinos subjected embankments and spider holes dug under the
to atrocities and forced into slave labour. On 20 October 1944, the US Sixth Army roots of trees. With the steepness of the terrain
Though the US had a strong relationship with landed on the eastern shore of Leyte, and dense rainforest, the Japanese gunmen
the Philippines, in truth, it needed to be taken beginning a sequence of confl icts known as were near impossible to spot beyond a distance
for its strategic positioning in the Southwest the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Japanese forces of 75 feet. It is said American troops needed
Pacifi c confl ict – for both nations. underestimated the strength of the US air to be within “spitting distance” to identify and
For Japan, keeping the islands meant holding and naval forces and it would prove a decisive take out the machine guns.
key sea routes and ultimately survival in the victory for the US. From there, American troops Regardless, Vlug and the 32nd Division made
war; for the US, taking the islands would be a advanced westwards across Leyte, heading for a slow advance south, sometimes gaining only
crucial step in defeating the Japanese army. the Ormoc Bay area. 30 or 40 yards each day. On 15 December,

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