Leyte Valley Entrance
Defense at Pawing
At the end of 20 October the 24th Division had established a firm beachhead near Palo, averaging a mile in depth, and had secured Hill 522 which overlooked Palo.[33] ([Map 10]) The 24th Division was to seize Palo and drive astride the road that ran northwest through the Leyte Valley to Carigara. The 34th Infantry, in the vicinity of Pawing, had its 2d Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. James F. Pearsall, Jr., 100 yards west of Highway 1, with the northern elements of the battalion in contact with the 5th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division on the right. The 3d Battalion, 34th Infantry, was just short of the highway. The leading elements of the 19th Infantry were on Hill 522.[34]
MAP 10 C. A. Frost
FIGHT FOR ENTRANCE TO NORTHERN LEYTE VALLEY
21–25 October 1944
At 0100 on 21 October three companies of Japanese,[35] part of the 33d Infantry Regiment,[36] under cover of darkness and aided by heavy machine gun and mortar fire, struck from the south along Highway 1. The leading elements made a double envelopment of the American flanks while the main force came down the road and attacked the perimeter of the 2d Platoon of Company G. By 0200 the enemy, still employing machine gun and mortar fire, had pushed to within a few yards of the American positions and had killed or wounded everyone but Pvt. Harold H. Moon, Jr., in the first two positions.
The Japanese then centered their fire upon Private Moon, who, although wounded by this fire, replied with his submachine gun. An enemy officer attempted to throw grenades at Moon’s position and was killed. The Japanese then brought up a light machine gun to within twenty yards of his position. Moon called back the range correction to friendly mortars which knocked out the machine gun. For over four hours he held back the enemy. At dawn an entire platoon with fixed bayonets charged toward him. From a sitting position he fired into the Japanese, killed eighteen, and repulsed the attack. He then stood up and threw a grenade at a machine gun that had opened up on his right. He was hit and instantly killed.[37] The Japanese then resumed their attack, but the remnants of Moon’s platoon fixed bayonets, charged, and succeeded in breaking through the enemy line.