The photo attached to this Journal entry was taken by my father in early February 1945 during the approach march to Manila.
The Central Plains of Northern Luzon are crossed by many unfordable rivers. The main bridges over these rivers were destroyed by the Japanese to slow the American advance.
One of the major problems the XIV Corps faced during the drive to Manila was logistical in nature, deriving from the speed of the advances, the distances covered, the chronic shortages of motor transportation, and the destruction of bridges. To span the many rivers on the way to Manila, Sixth Army engineers leap-frogged bridging equipment southward, sending pontoon and heavy treadway bridging forward as Baileys and other semi-permanent crossings were erected over the Agno and other streams back to Lingayen Gulf. By a complex continuation of such processes, the engineers assured a constant flow of supplies and heavy equipment down Route 3 behind the 37th Division. (Smith.1993. Pages 232-233)
The bridge in this picture is a Heavy Pontoon Bridge constructed by XIV Corps engineers over the Pampanga River at Calumpit(@ twenty-five miles Northwest of Manila). Note the troop trucks crossing the bridge.
See my earlier Journal entries for historical details and pictures of Ft. Stotsenburg/Clark Field and Destroyed Highway and Railroad Bridges
http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=10743) http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/JournalDetail.aspx?JournalEntryID=10929
If you are interested in U.S./Philippine coins please visit my USA/Philippines Type Set at: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=51257
REFERENCES
Original letters written by my father during the Luzon Campaign
Smith, Robert Ross, "Manila: The Approach March" in U.S. Army in World War ll. The War In the Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines, (Center of Military History United States Army, Washington D.C., 1993) pages 211-236.
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