Palawan Landing Information Sign- 41st Infantry Division
Details:
In the center of the plaza next to the Palawan Massacre memorial.
A metal information sign with text, photos, and maps.
The information sign remembers the February 1945 landing in Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island in the Philippines.
The invasion force consisted of the 186th Regimental Combat Team of the 41st Infantry Division (“The Jungleers”). The invasion force was supported by the 7th US Navy Fleet and the 13th US Air Force.
A few days after the landing, the troops discovered the aftermath of the Palawan Massacre when about 150 US POWs were executed. See this website Palawan Massacre Memorial for more on this incident.
This landing was part of the US 8th Army’s Operation Victor (Victor III) of the Southern Philippines Campaign and ended in late April 1945.
Monument Text:
PALAWAN LANDING
41ST INFANTRY DIVISION
AMERICAN INVASION FORCES MAINLY
COMPOSED OF THE 186TH INFANTRY COMBAT TEAM
OF THE 41ST INFANTRY DIVISION(“THE JUNGLEERS”- MAINLY TROOPS
FROM THE STATE OF OREGON)
LANDED AT PEURTO PRINCESA BAY
THE MORNING OF FEBRUARY 28, 1945.
THE JAPANESE HAD WITHDRAWN TO THE MOUNTAINS,
BUT THE US NAVY AND AIR FORCE HAD
DESTROYED MOST OF THE HARBOR AND AIRFIELD.
ONLY UPON ENTERING THE MOUNTAINS WOULD
THE AMERICANS, TOGETHER WITH GUERILLAS,
ENCOUNTER JAPANESE OPPOSITION.
