East Wind Rain - Book II

On the eve of the Japanese landing in Lingayen Gulf,
2/Lt. Douglas MacQueen, 4th Regiment USMC was at
Darmortis, a small coastal town on the north shore
of the Gulf. His was there to observe the action and
report to his Commanding Offi cer, Col. Howard. The
Marines, as branch of the Navy, were getting little
information from the Army. Gen. Douglas MacArthur,
Supreme Commander of American and Filipino Forces, went so far asto declare the 4th Marines untrained for combat
2/Lt. McQueen witnessed the subsequent collapse of MacArthurs
Grand Beach Defense Strategy; MGen. Jonathan Skinny Wainwrights magnificent leadership in the orderly retreat and delay action from the Gulf to Bataan that enabled Southern Force to reach the peninsula before the bridges were demolished; the abandonment of most of the supplies originally intended for Bataan that had been moved to advanced locations in the Gulf at MacArthurs direction but without any contingency arrangements for their removal as such anticipation, according to the General, was defeatism.
MacQueen was determined to survive and hoped to rejoin his wife
in Australia.