|  |
|
| |
|
| Missing In Action (MIA) | Prisoners Of War (POW) | Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) |
| Chronology | Locations | Aircraft | Ships | Submit Info | How You Can Help | Donate |
|
 USAAF c1944   USAAF c1945 |
Location Buri Airfield was located to the south of Buri on the eastern coast of Leyte in Leyte Province in the Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) of the Philippines. Also known as Buro Airfield or Burauen North Airfield. The Japanese referred to this location as Buri Airfield. To the north was a jungle covered area. To the southwest roughly a mile away was Burouen (Burouen, Burauen). To the south was a a swamp and plateau with palm trees and jungle and roughly 800 yards away was Bayug Airfield (Burouen, Burauen). To the southeast is San Pablo Airfield and San Pablo. Beyond is the Dulag-Burauen Road that runs roughly east-west from Burauen to Dulag on the eastern coast of Leyte. To the west was the north-south road Burouen-Dagami Road. Construction Built by the Japanese Army with a single 4,500' runway oriented roughly east to west with taxiways off both sides. During the construction, tanks from the 7th Independent Tank Company were used to roll the runway and compact ground. Wartime History Used by the Japanese as a military airfield. Buri Airfield suffered from poor drainage and flooding that limited use. By late October 1944, roughly 1,000 Japanese including elements of the 16th Division, 20th Infantry Regiment and personnel from the 98th Airfield Battalion, and the 54th Airfield Company and 7th Independent Tank Company with eleven tanks, eight were lost in combat near Julita the four remaining were out of commission at Buri Airfield. On the northern and western edge of Buri Airfield, the Japanese built pillboxes in the high grass and heavy brush with mutually supporting machine gun pillboxes supported by an extensive trench system. On the southern side of were twenty strong field fortifications. The area was extensively mined with 100 pound aerial bombs buried nose up in the runway and in the dispersal area. Some of the bombs had electric fuzes and could be detonated by Japanese in nearby foxholes. On October 20, 1944 the after the U.S. Army landing on eastern Leyte, Buri Airfield was part of the U.S. Army XXIV Corps zone of operation and the 7th Division under the command of General Arnold was tasked with capturing the area. On October 23, 1944 they began a flying wedge attack westward along the Dulag-Burauen road and captured San Pablo Airfield. The defending Japanese were to stop the Americans from occupying Buri Airfield or using the north-south road to the west. First Battle of Buri Airfield On October 24, 1944 in the morning, the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment advanced toward Buri Airfield with the 2d Battalion in reserve. Meanwhile, the 32d Infantry were advancing from San Pablo Airfield toward Buri Airfield. At 11:23am encountered camouflaged positions northwest of Buri Airfield. At 2:00pm, Company A attacked on the right and Company C attacked on the left with Company B in reserve. Despite a strong defense,the Company A attack overcame the line of defense. Meanwhile Company C was pinned down and became separated and Company B filled the gap between them. During the attack, Major Mathias C.O. 1st Battalion was wounded and evacuated and the executive officer, Maj. Robert C. Foulston, Jr. assumed command. In the face of intense rifle and machine gun fire, Company C made a confused withdrawal with the Japanese advancing but were stopped. At 3:30pm Col Finn ordered the 3d Battalion, 32d Infantry to move to the left but they were impeded by swamps and forest and made slow progress. An hour later, they were 600 yards away. Meanwhile, Col Finn ordered the 1st Battalion to withdraw back to San Pablo Airfield and sent one platoon from 3rd Battalion to assist while the rest provided additional protection while the 2nd Battalion was released from reserve and moved up to the line to form a defensive perimeter overnight. On October 25, 1944 at 8:00am the 49th Field Artillery fired a thirty minute concentration ahead of the 32nd Infantry line and covered an area 400 yards on each side of Buri Airfield runway. A platoon of tanks would support the 32nd Infantry assault. The 2nd Battalion encountered bunkers that defeated two attacks before an anti-tank gun was moved up to provide fire. Meanwhile, the 3rd Battalion advanced to the edge of the runway with a liaison plane dropping a flare over the southwest edge to mark where to advance. By 5:00pm they reached the edge of the runway and began digging in when the Japanese counterattacked but were repulsed by rifle and machine gun fire. To the north, the 2nd Battalion advanced at the northern edge of Buri Airfield and encountered heavy fire from three bunkers, trenches and spider holes and withdrew under friendly machine gun fire then formed a perimeter for the night. On October 26, 1944 in the morning the 49th Field Artillery fired a ten minute concentration on each side of the runway for 500 yards. The attack was supported by a platoon of medium tanks and a platoon from cannon company. At 8:00am the 2nd Battalion was to attack the western edge of Buri Airfield and overcame pillboxes. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd Battalion were to attack the north but were slowed down by defenses until tank support arrived. Overnight, the Americans repulsed several light counterattacks. On October 27, 1944 at 7:00am the attack resumed against light resistance and bunkers were captured with numerous enemy dead inside and the only resistance was rifle fire from scattered infantry. By 11:30am Buri Airfield was declared secured. The next day, the 2nd Battalion was to move to Abuyog and 3rd Battalion moved to Guinarona. After the battle, Buri Airfield was defended by security patrols from two companies from the 11th Airborne Division. Nearby at Burouen (Burouen, Burauen) we platoons from Companies A and B of the 767th Tank Battalion. Attempts to repair Buri Airfield proved difficult and it was deemed unusable due to poor drainage and flooding. By November 25, 1944 all repair work ceased and construction began on Tanauan Airfield as an alternative. On November 27, 1944 around 2:45am, three Japanese transports flew low over Leyte Gulf and crash landed in American territory. One transport crashed at Buri Airfield with the occupants killed on impact. It was clear to the Americans from captured documents, prisoners that the Japanese were planning a ground and airborne attack against the area. When no attack immediately materialized, the Americans were lulled into false sense of security. In fact, a major Japanese attack was being planned including Operation Te an airborne assault, and Operation WA a ground assault to capture the area and regain the initiative on Leyte. By December 2, 1944 roughly 500 Japanese Army 16th Division soldiers under the command of General Makino assembled in the hills southwest of Dagami and marched toward Buri Airfield. Moving forward, roughly 200 were killed by American artillery and tank fire. The remainder reached a gorge 6,500 yards southwest of Dagami as their jumping off point for the attack Buri Airfield in conjunction with Operation Te paratroopers on December 5, 1944. Unaware the paratroopers were delayed, overnight roughly 150 Japanese moved into position. That same day, the G-2 intelligence report on the Burauen-Dagami-Mount Alto area claimed "An examination of reports of action in this area since 1 Nov may well warrant the assumption that organized resistance has about ceased". Lulled into believing the area was quite, mostly service personnel and few soldiers were in the vicinity. Japanese Infantry and Paratrooper Attack On December 6, 1944 at dawn Operation WA began with Japanese soldiers moving into position to assault Buri Airfield. At 6:00am observers from the 287th Field Artillery Observation Battalion northwest of Burauen saw Japanese crossing the road to the south headed eastward toward Buri Airfield and crossed the swamp. Buri Airfield was only defended by 47 men from the 287th Field Artillery Observation Battalion plus 157 other service personnel including engineers and a signal company. At 6:30am the Japanese led by a Filipino attacked the American camp area at Buri Airfield and managed to catch some sleeping in their cots and were bayoneted. Others managed to delay them without time to put on their uniforms and retreated towards V Bomber Command Headquarters while firing at everything that moved. By the middle of the morning, small patrols of combat troops were holding back the Japanese. The 1st Battalion of the 187th Glider Infantry moved from San Pablo Airfield to positions near Buri Airfield. Meanwhile, General Hodge ordered the 1st Battalion, 382d Infantry, be released from the 96th Division and placed under the operational control of General Swing. C.O. of 11th Airborne Division. By 6:00pm, the Japanese were driven off Buri Airfield although pockets remained at the edge. Just before dark, Operation Te began when 39 Japanese planes including transports, bombers and fighters arrived over the over the area. Although 18 were shot down, some of the transports managed to release their paratroopers over the airfields. Roughly 60 paratroopers from the 3rd Regiment landed at Buri Airfield. Another 250-300 landed near San Pablo Airfield. In the darkness, confusion and random firing occurred at both locations. At Buri Airfield, some USAAF service personnel abandoned their weapons and ammunition as they fled. 2d Lt. Rudolph Mamula of the 767th Tank Battalion was ordered to secure them but the Japanese recovered much of this equipment. On December 7, 1944 by mid morning, the Japanese paratroopers occupied Buri Airfield. By late afternoon, reinforcements from the 1st Battalions of the 149th Infantry Regiment, 38th Division arrived and established a perimeter for the night at the southwest of Buri Airfield. The 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry, northwest of the Bayug Airfield reached western Buri Airfield and were reinforced by the 1st Battalion, 382d Infantry, 96th Division under the control of the 11th Airborne Division. During the night, the Japanese managed to move up and emplaced machine guns in front of their line. On December 8, 1944 at dawn the machine guns opened fire and pinned down Company A of the 1st Battalion, 382d Infantry. In the face of enemy fire, Pfc. Warren G. Perkins spotted the guns, called in mortar fire that fell within 50 yards of him silencing the gun and stunning the enemy. Meanwhile, Pvt. Ova A. Kelley charged with his M1 and a carbine and killed eight Japanese before he was killed as the rest of his company advanced. For the rest of the day, the Americans consolidated their positions. On December 9, 1944 at 10:45am the 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry attacked in with Company A, B, and C in a line across the runway then came under fire from high ground to the north and withdrew to the southern side of the runway. At dusk, 1st Battalion, 382d Infantry went on patrol to find the enemy leaving only a small perimeter force of mortars and Headquarters personnel. On December 10, 1944 at midnight roughly 150 Japanese attacked but were stopped by service personnel with small arms and mortar fire with seven casualties. In the morning after 30 minutes of artillery bombardment, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Company A and C advanced with Company B in the rear and again crossed the runway then advanced to the northwest and northeast clearing the area and pockets of resistance and by 5:00pm formed a perimeter. At 7:30pm the Japanese launched a final assault including firing captured .50 caliber machine guns at the administration buildings of the 5th Air Force (5th AF) including bullets hitting the house used by Maj. Gen. Ennis C. Whitehead. The USAAF personnel withdrew to a hospital then counterattacked and drove the enemy away. This was the last Japanese assault against the area and the remaining Japanese withdrew westward into the hills. Although the Japanese had inflicted damage, they failed to take the initiative or delay the Americans on Leyte. Pilot John Tilley 431st FS via Robert Rocker "The strip was built on a flood plain and the engineers could not keep the water off the strip and the P-38's were always getting stuck, and the engineers were moving the aircraft around with track machines." American units based at Buri 866th Anti-Aircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion 475th FG, 431st FS (P-38) George Mendenhall adds: "I was with a Marine observation unit stationed at Buri, was there when the troopers were dropped and shot them on their way down with my .50 caliber. Our unit (18 of us) held the [Buri] airfield until an army unit relieved us. Been trying to find other members of our outfit without luck." Some American aircraft were abandoned at Buri Airfield including an L-5 Sentinel, ten P-38 Lightnings from 431st Fighter Squadron (431st FS) were abandoned after an explosive charge was detonated in the cockpit to render them useless. By early early 1945, abandoned by the Americans. Today Disused since the Pacific War. The former runway area is replanted with rice fields. References Index to Air Bases - Research Report No. 85, I.G. No 9185 - July 30, 1944 U.S. Army in World War II: Leyte: The Return to the Philippines Chapter VIII Southern Leyte Valley: Part Two pages 124, 125 (map), 130-135 131, 133-137 (The Buri Airstrip), 137-139 (On to Dagami) U.S. Army in World War II: Leyte: The Return to the Philippines Chapter XI Logistics and Civil Affairs pages 188 U.S. Army in World War II: Leyte: The Return to the Philippines Chapter XVII Battle of the Airstrips pages 295 (map), 296-297 Engineers of the Southwest Pacific 1941-1945 Volume VI. Airfield and Base Development - Buri Airfield Operation WA Japanese Paratroopers Attack Leyte Airfields Contribute
Information Last Updated
|
 Map Oct 21-26. 1944 Map Dec 6, 1944 Map 1945 Map Fallingrain  View in Google Earth  Photo Archive |
| Discussion Forum | Daily Updates | Reviews | Museums | Interviews & Oral Histories |
|
