Word: hilsman
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Dates: during 1941-1941
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...defense Colonel Hilsman had more problems than a small force, a long supply line and the size of his opponent (who probably came from the Japanese base at Palau in the Mandated Islands 600 miles east of Davao). Colonel Hilsman's worst problem was likely to be the Japanese population of Davao, estimated as high as 25,000, composed predominantly of men and flecked heavily with youngsters whose carriage and demeanor bear the unmistakable marks of military training...
...recognized that in a pinch Mindanao might have to be abandoned to the Jap-who would still be far from his objective, with no solid land bridge to the north. Davao's defenders were a comparatively small force headed by a 51-year-old Texan, Lieut. Colonel Roger Hilsman...
...Colonel Hilsman's first act when the war began was to throw 1,500 Japanese into the clink. When the Japs struck at Davao, first by an aerial assault and then by landing party, the news from Mindanao thinned out. All Manila could say was that "fighting continues." The Japanese were not fighting a silly, diffused battle for the Philippines. They were playing heavily on the assumption that they could wear down Philippine supply-especially of planes and ammunition-and strike hard before more could come from the mainland. In snatching Davao they were also going after a base...