​ ​511th AIRBORNE AT APARRI

By the spring of 1945 the allied forces pressing towards Japan were dominating the Pacific region.  On Luzon the relentless push northward was forcing General Yamashita to concentrate his 150,000 men of his 14th Japanese Army in three defensive positions in the north.  By now, he realised that the war was lost and all he could hope to do was delay the allied progress for as long as possible and hope for a miracle.  In response, the U.S. 6th Army under General Krueger had committed four infantry divisions, an armoured group, a large force of guerrillas and a separate regimental combat team. So by mid June 1945, Gen. Krueger estimated that if the 37th Division could continue is push north up the Cagayan Valley and reach Aparri, he may be able to end the Luzon campaign there and then. By 17th June, the 37thDivision had advanced up Route 5 in the Cagayan Valley, but two days later they ran into elements of the Yuguchi Force and for the next four days, was engaged in heavy fighting. However, by the 25th June, what was left of the Yuguchi Force was defeated and in full flight. As speed was of the essence, Gen. Krueger felt it advisable to support Major General Robert Beightler’s 37th Division push.

The Plan

 On 21st June 1945, Gen. Krueger ordered General Swing, the commander of the 11th Airborne Division, to deploy a battalion combat team near Aparri to the north of the 37th Division. The combat team would then drive south to meet the 37th, seal off the Cagayan Valley and the northern part of Luzon, the only area still infested with combat hardened Japanese troops. The scheduled date for the drop was to be 25th June 1945 just four days away.  However, as the U.S. forces pushed forward m ore quickly, the date for the jump was brought forward to the 23rd June and codenamed Operation Gypsy. General Swing assigned the mission to the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Burgess. The task force comprised the 1st Battalion, G and I Companies of the 511th PIR; C Battery of the 457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion; a composite platoon of C Company of the 127th Engineers; the 2nd Platoon of the 221st Medical Company; and teams from the 511th Signal Company, the Language Detachment and the 11th Parachute Maintenance Company, a total of 1030 men.  

 The Jump

On 21st June the 11th Pathfinders had make the journey to the area and were in contact with the Guerrilla elements and Colonel Volckmann’s Philippine 11th Infantry located on the west bank of the Cagayan River. On the night on the 22ndJune, they slipped across the river and moved towards the Camalaniugan drop zone.  Their task was to mark the drop zone with smoke as the C-47s approached. Meanwhile, preparations were under way at Lipa Airfield; a former concreted Japanese strip build in 1942. Once again Colonel John Lackey’s 317th Troop Carrier Group was providing the fifty-four C-47s and thirteen C-46 aircraft for the lift. And for this mission, the first time in the Pacific Theater, six CG-4A and one larger CG-13 gliders. The troopers had completed their preparations and finally began loading at 0430 on 23rd June, finally taking off at 0600. The air armada headed north from Lipa to a checkpoint at Santa Lucia on Luzon’s west coast and then directly northeast in the direction of Camalaniugan airfield, the proposed drop zone at Aparri. Bombers and fighters of the 5th Air Force flew cover while other planes put down a smoke screen to the east and south of the drop zone.

At precisely 0900 on 23rd June, the Pathfinders set off colored smoke that was clearly visible from the air and the troopers began to jump. While they hit the drop zone quite easily, there were many casualties on landing, due to the strong winds and rough terrain. Over 70 jump injuries were sustained, which accounted for some 7% of the total jumpers.  However, once on the group, the task force assembled and headed south along Route 5 and the Cagayan River in order to locate the 37th Division who were still pushing north. Militarily, the mission was relatively uneventful as the Japanese resistance was minimal, while outposts and pillboxes were easily subdues with flamethrowers. However, the heat and humidity and the long march still took their toll on the troopers. On 26th June, the 511th Task Force point men met the lead elements of the 37th Division near the Paret River, thirty-five miles south of the Camalaniugan airfield and so their mission was over as was the battle for Luzon. For the next few days the 511th Task Force spent the time being repatriated to Lipa, where they remained in training and absorbing new elements, until the 11th Airborne Division was tasked with the as an occupation force in Japan. The mission at Aparri goes down in history as the very last airborne combat mission of World War II.

 Date:               23 June 1945

Units:              11th Airborne Division and 511th PIR

Operation:       Gypsy

Troopers:         1030

Country           Philippines

Drop Zone:      Aparri, Camalaniugan Airfield

1945 AIRBORNE HISTORY