Top Photo: Troops of Co A, 1st Bn, 126th Inf, 32nd Div, are shown on the alert for enemy action on hill 511 (Villa Verde Trail, Northern Luzon). April 12, 1945. U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph, Gift of Donald E. Mittelstaedt, from the collection of the National WWII Museum Accession Number: 2008.354.403

The US Army’s 32nd Infantry Division, also known as the “Red Arrow Division,” was a key unit in the Pacific theater of World War II, particularly noted for its actions in New Guinea in 1944 and the Philippines in 1945. One of its most significant engagements was the intense fighting along the Villa Verde Trail in northern Luzon in 1945. The 32nd was forced to rely heavily on small-unit combat to overcome the enemy’s stubborn defenses in the mountain jungle. Over 119 days of skirmishes, which included hand-to-hand combat and engagements with the enemy at close range in caves and thick jungles, soldiers of the 32nd Infantry Division earned an incredible 28 Silver Stars, 20 Distinguished Service Crosses, and four Medals of Honor. 

Villa Verde Trail

The 32nd Infantry Division's mission, as part of the larger effort to liberate Luzon, was to conduct offensive operations in the Caraballo Mountains along the Villa Verde Trail where it intersected Highway 5, a major Japanese highway and supply route. The 27-mile-long Villa Verde Trail was a narrow, densely vegetated mountain path in the Caraballo Mountains defended by entrenched elements of the Japanese army. Eliminating the enemy forces along the trail would secure one of the few routes to the Cagayan Valley in Luzon. 

From the Japanese perspective, control of the islands was vital. Loss of the Philippines would threaten Japan’s overseas access to foodstuffs and critical raw materials, especially oil, from the East Indies and Southeast Asia. For the Japanese, their ability to retain the Caraballo Mountains in northern Luzon was one key to retaining the Philippines. 

For American soldiers who fought there, the Villa Verde Trail was an unforgettable experience. Emmanuel Damonte, a replacement assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, heard the whistling of Japanese mountain cannon rounds while heading to his position on the trail. This was his “baptism of fire.” Emmanuel’s sergeant in charge said, “Gentlemen, you are now in combat.” Soldiers of the 32nd Infantry Division had to attack along the narrow trail while under constant fire from the Japanese, often requiring fierce hand-to-hand combat to make any headway.

A map of the Battle of the Villa Verde Trail, Philippines, 1945. US Army

Progress was slow, sometimes the 32nd advanced only 35 yards a day, with the Japanese never more than a few feet away. General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the former conqueror of British Malaya and Singapore, commanded the Japanese 14th Area Army with some 430,000 troops stationed across the Philippine islands. Aware of the tactical significance of the Villa Verde Trail, Yamashita committed 8,000 soldiers to defend it, part of his Shobu fighting force. Shobu, or “martial spirit,” refers to the qualities associated with warriors or soldiers, such as bravery, discipline, and a readiness to engage in combat. Members of the Shobu force embodied a sense of honor, strength, and dedication to a cause or duty. 

The fighting along the trail became particularly brutal due to its challenging terrain and dense jungle, which required constant close-quarters combat. The Japanese had constructed camouflaged cave networks, forcing the men to fight at very close range using rifles, bayonets, knives, and often their bare hands.

When the 32nd Infantry Division first stepped foot on the Villa Verde Trail in late January 1945, there were three possible courses of action they could take. One approach was to seal off the western entrance to the trail and apply frontal pressure to fix the Japanese in place, while simultaneously attacking their flanks. Another option was to have the main assault force conduct frontal attacks up the trail from the west with supporting attacks from the north and south. The third was to conduct frontal attacks up the Villa Verde Trail from the west, but without any supporting attack. Due to the weather and unforgiving terrain, the division resorted to the third approach and a series of frontal attacks. While the action eventually succeeded, it came at a very high cost. 

Moving deeper into the mountains, the 32nd advanced with coordinated artillery, air support, and mortar fire. In the early days of March 1945, the division encountered numerous enemy foxholes and caves that had to be destroyed one by one. The enemy soldiers proved to be fanatical, and their will to fight to the death seemed to increase as the overall situation for the Japanese Empire became more hopeless. By April 1, 1945, the 32nd Infantry Division reached the Japanese main defensive positions.

"Command Post, 1st Bn, 126th Inf, 32nd Div on Hill 511." April 12, 1945. U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph, Gift of Donald E. Mittelstaedt, from the collection of the National WWII Museum Accession Number: 2008.354.424

In an after-action report dated April 1–9, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Vance reported on his action of the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry, in capturing a hill in the enemy’s main defensive positions. “By the third night, our positions were past their first line of defense and several positions were directly on top of the enemy’s dugouts,” he wrote. Grenades were thrown down into the caves by men of the 32nd Infantry Division, sealing up the entrances of the caves that were 15 feet deep. Vance went on to state that “it was estimated that 50 Japanese committed suicide the fourth night, and as much as a week later enemy soldiers were still dying trying to dig their way out of some holes.”

During clearing operations along the trail, the three infantry regiments of the 32nd suffered 2,985 battles casualties, including killed, wounded, and missing. An additional 6,000 men had to be evacuated from the front lines due to disease, malnutrition, and battle fatigue. Ultimately, the Army in this section of the Philippines lost 825 killed, while the Japanese losses were estimated at 5,750 soldiers killed in action out of a total of 8,750 committed to defending the trail. After a couple months of mopping up operations on Luzon near the Villa Verde Trail, Yamashita, accompanied by a small staff surrendered himself to the 32nd Infantry Division on September 2, 1945. According to an official interrogation supervised by the Sixth Army Assistant Chief of Staff G-2, Yamashita indicated that he considered the 32nd Infantry Division the best his troops encountered both on Leyte and Luzon. The division commander, Major General William H. Gill, called the capture of Yamashita “a great moment for the 32nd.” It was, according to Gill, “a glorious finish to this long bitter struggle.”

Four Medal of Honors Awarded along the Villa Verde Trail

Private First Class Thomas Eugene “Gene” Atkins of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Company A, 127th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Division, received his Medal of Honor on March 10, 1945.

 Citation:

The Japanese repeatedly made fierce attacks, but for four hours Pfc. Atkins determinedly remained in his foxhole, bearing the brunt of each assault and maintaining steady and accurate fire until each charge was repulsed. At 7:00 A.M., 13 enemy dead lay in front of his position; he had fired 400 rounds, all he and his two dead companions possessed, and had used three rifles until each had jammed too badly for further operation. He withdrew during a lull to secure a rifle and more ammunition and was persuaded to remain for medical treatment. While waiting, he saw a Japanese within the perimeter and, seizing a nearby rifle, killed him. A few minutes later, while lying on a litter, he discovered an enemy group moving up behind the platoon's lines. Despite his severe wounds he sat up, delivered heavy rifle fire against the group, and forced them to withdraw. 

Staff Sergeant Ysmael Reyes Villegas of Casa Blanca, Riverside County, California, Company F, 127th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Division, received his Medal of Honor on March 20, 1945.

Citation:

He was a squad leader when his unit, in a forward position, clashed with an enemy strongly entrenched in connected caves and foxholes on commanding ground. He moved boldly from man to man, in the face of bursting grenades and demolition charges, through heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, to bolster the spirit of his comrades. Inspired by his gallantry, his men pressed forward to the crest of the hill. Numerous enemy riflemen, refusing to flee, continued firing from their foxholes. S/Sgt. Villegas, with complete disregard for his own safety and the bullets which kicked up the dirt at his feet, charged an enemy position and, firing at point-blank range, killed the Japanese in a foxhole. He rushed a second foxhole while bullets missed him by inches and killed one more of the enemy. In rapid succession he charged a third, a fourth, a fifth foxhole, each time destroying the enemy within. The fire against him increased in intensity, but he pressed onward to attack a sixth position. As he neared his goal, he was hit and killed by enemy fire. Through his heroism and indomitable fighting spirit, S/Sgt. Villegas, at the cost of his life, inspired his men to a determined attack in which they swept the enemy from the field.

Private First Class William R. Shockley of Selma, Fresno County, California, Company L, 128th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Division, received his Medal of Honor on March 31, 1945.

Citation:

He was in position with his unit on a hill when the enemy, after a concentration of artillery fire, launched a counterattack. He maintained his position under intense enemy fire and urged his comrades to withdraw, saying that he would "remain to the end" to provide cover. Although he had to clear two stoppages which impeded the reloading of his weapon, he halted one enemy charge. Hostile troops then began moving in on his left flank, and he quickly shifted his gun to fire on them. Knowing that the only route of escape was being cut off by the enemy, he ordered the remainder of his squad to withdraw to safety and deliberately remained at his post. He continued to fire until he was killed during the ensuing enemy charge. Later, four Japanese were found dead in front of his position. Pfc. Shockley, facing certain death, sacrificed himself to save his fellow soldiers, but the heroism and gallantry displayed by him enabled his squad to reorganize and continue its attack.

Private First Class David M. Gonzales of Pacoima, Los Angeles County, California, Company A, 127th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Division, received his Medal of Honor on April 25, 1945. 

Citation:

He was pinned down with his company. As enemy fire swept the area, making any movement extremely hazardous, a 500-pound bomb smashed into the company's perimeter, burying five men with its explosion. Pfc. Gonzales, without hesitation, seized an entrenching tool and under a hail of fire crawled 15 yards to his entombed comrades, where his commanding officer, who had also rushed forward, was beginning to dig the men out. Nearing his goal, he saw the officer struck and instantly killed by machine-gun fire. Undismayed, he set to work swiftly and surely with his hands and entrenching tool while enemy sniper and machine-gun bullets struck all about him. He succeeded in digging one of the men out of the pile of rock and sand. To dig faster he stood up regardless of the greater danger from so exposing himself. He extricated a second man, and then another. As he completed the liberation of the third, he was hit and mortally wounded, but the comrades for whom he so gallantly gave his life were safely evacuated.