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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — An Imperial Japanese flag was presented to the commander of the 38th Infantry Division in a ceremony at the division headquarters.
The flag was captured during the struggle for Zigzag Pass during the Battle of Bataan from Jan. 31 through Feb. 8, 1945, by Thomas H. Murrell, then a soldier serving with 152 Infantry Regiment, a unit in the 38th Infantry Division. The 38th Infantry Division was tasked to secure the Bataan Peninsula to gain use of Manila Bay to resupply operations to capture Manila.
Zigzag Pass was a labyrinthine array of enemy positions in the peninsula’s Zambales Mountains, at the northern base of the Bataan Peninsula. The rough, twisting terrain and dense vegetation in conjunction with well-designed defenses created a series of fortifications that ensured a well-supplied force could hold off a larger force indefinitely, in theory.
Fighting started in Zigzag Pass on Jan. 31, 1945 with the division’s 149th, 151st and 152nd Infantry Regiments and the 24th Regimental Combat Team engaging the Japanese. The fighting concluded on Feb. 8 as the American forces overran the Japanese.
Zigzag Pass was where the American encountered the stiffest resistance during the Battle of Bataan. Of the 2,800 Japanese soldiers defending Zigzag Pass, more than 2,400 were killed and 75 injured. The 38th ID lost 270 men and 420 were wounded.
The flag sat in the sock drawer of Murrell’s dresser for 65 years until his death earlier this year. It was the wish of his family that the flag should be returned to the 38th Infantry Division according to Samuel Wynn, son-in-law to Murrell.
“We all knew about the flag, but Tom never really talked about what he did in the war,” said Wynn. “When he died, there was not any question about what to do with the flag. We wanted it to go back to the division. We wanted the flag to go back to people who understood what it meant and could appreciate it. This really means a lot to us that [the flag] comes here. It’s a part of the history of the 38th Division.”
The 38th Infantry Division earned the nickname “Avengers of Bataan,” in reference to the Bataan Death March following the fall of Bataan and the island fortress Corregidor.
“The World War II generation gave us our modern world,” said Maj. Gen. Tod Carmony, commander of the 38th Infantry Division. “People like Mr. Murrell did that. So, to have something that he got on that battlefield and brought back to division as an important and historical event; we appreciate the family giving it to us.”
The flag was authenticated earlier this month at the Indiana War Memorial. The final disposition of this artifact has yet to be determined, however it remains a testament to the history of the 38th Infantry Division.
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.22.2011 09:13 |
| Story ID: | 72531 |
| Location: | INDIANAPLOIS, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 217 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A Time Remembered for the 38th ID, by SFC David Bruce, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
