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PRIVATE FIRST CLASS HAROLD
S. WESCOTT was the son of Albertus S. Wescott and his wife, the former
Helen Wright Swain. He was born in New Jersey on October 1, 1923. His
father, a veteran of World War I, worked as a house carpenter and as a
contractor. The family was living on Park Avenue in the Grenloch Terrace neighborhood of
Gloucester Township, New Jersey when the Census was taken in 1930. The
1940 Census shows the family at the same address and that Harold Wescott
had gone to work in the building trades.
Harold
S. Wescott was inducted into the United States Army in March of 1943
and, after completing his basic training, was assigned to the Medical
Detachment of 118th Glider Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division.
In
December of 1943, Private Wescott, as part of the 11th Airborne
Division, took part in the Knollwood Maneuver, an exercise mounted
to evaluate the effectiveness of division-sized airborne units. Airborne
units had suffered high casualty rates during the landings in Sicily in
July of 1943, and there was debate as to whether they could be
effectively used.
The 11th Airborne, as the attacking force, was assigned the objective of capturing
Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North
Carolina. The force defending the airfield and its environs was a combat team composed
of elements of the 17th Airborne Division and a battalion from the 541st Parachute
Infantry
Regiment. The entire operation was observed by Army Ground Forces commander Lt. Gen.
Leslie McNair, who would ultimately have a significant say in deciding the fate of the
parachute infantry
divisions.
The Knollwood Maneuver took place on the night of December 7, 1943, with the 11th
Airborne Division being airlifted to thirteen separate objectives by 200 C-47 Skytrain
transport aircraft and 234 Waco CG-4A
gliders. The transport aircraft were divided into four groups, two of which carried
paratroopers while the other two towed gliders. Each group took off from a different
airfield in the Carolinas. The four groups deployed a total of 4,800 troops in the first
wave. Eighty-five percent were delivered to their targets without navigational
error, and the airborne troops seized the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield and secured
the landing area for the rest of the division before
daylight. With its initial objectives taken, the 11th Airborne Division then launched a
coordinated ground attack against a reinforced infantry regiment and conducted several
aerial resupply and casualty evacuation missions in coordination with United States Army
Air Forces transport
aircraft. The exercise was judged by observers to be a great success. McNair, pleased by
its results, attributed this success to the great improvements in airborne training that
had been implemented in the months following Operation Husky. As a result of the
Knollwood Maneuver, division-sized airborne forces were deemed to be feasible, and
Eisenhower permitted their
retention.
Following the Knollwood Maneuver the 11th Airborne remained in reserve until January
1944, when it was moved by train from Camp Mackall to Camp Polk in Louisiana. After four
weeks of final preparation for its combat
role, in April the division was moved to Camp Stoneman, California, and then transferred
to Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, between
May 25 and June 11. From June to September the division underwent acclimatization and
continued its airborne training, conducting parachute drops in the New Guinea jungle and
around the airfield in Dobodura. During this period, most of the glider troops became
parachute-qualified making the division almost fully Airborne. On
November 11 the division boarded a convoy of naval transports and was escorted to Leyte
in the Philippines, arriving on
November 18. Four days later it was attached to XXIV Corps and committed to combat, but
operating as an infantry division rather than in an airborne capacity. The 11th Airborne
was ordered to relieve the 7th Infantry Division stationed in the Burauen-La Paz-Bugho
area, engage and destroy all Japanese forces in its operational area, and protect XXIV
Corps rear-area supply dumps and
airfields.
Major General Swing ordered the 187th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) to guard the rear
installations of XXIV Corps, while the 188th GIR was to secure the division's rear and
conduct aggressive patrols to eliminate any enemy troops in the area. The 511th
Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) was assigned the task of destroying all Japanese
formations in the division's operational area, which it began on 28 November when it
relieved the 7th Infantry. The 511th PIR advanced overland with two battalions abreast
and the third in
reserve, but progress proved slow in the face of fierce Japanese resistance, a lack of
mapped trails, and heavy rainfall (with more than twenty-three inches
falling in November alone). As the advance continued resupply became progressively more
difficult; the division resorted to using large numbers of Piper Cub aircraft to drop
food and
ammunition. Several attempts were made to improve the rate of advance, such as dropping
platoons of the 187th GIR from Piper Cubs in front of the 511th PIR to reconnoiter, and
using C-47 transport aircraft to drop artillery pieces to the regiment's location when
other forms of transport, such as mule-trains,
failed.
On December 6, 1944 the Japanese tried to disrupt operations on Leyte by conducting two
small-scale airborne raids. The first attempted to deploy a small number of Japanese
airborne troops to occupy several key American-held airfields at Tacloban and Dulag, but
failed when the three aircraft used were either shot-down, crash-landed or destroyed on
the ground along with their
passengers. The second, larger, raid was carried out by between twenty-nine and
thirty-nine transport aircraft supported by fighters; despite heavy losses, the Japanese
managed to drop a number of airborne troops around Burauen airfield, where the
headquarters of 11th Airborne Division were
located. Five L-5 Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft and one C-47 transport were
destroyed, but the raiders were eliminated by an ad hoc combat group of artillerymen,
engineers and support troops led by
Major General Swing.
The 511th PIR was reinforced by the 2nd Battalion, 187th GIR, and continued its slow but
steady progress. On
December 17 it broke through the Japanese lines and arrived at the western shoreline of
Leyte, linking up with elements of the 32nd Infantry
Division. It was during this period that Private Elmer E. Fryar earned a posthumous
Medal of Honor when he helped to repel a counterattack, personally killing twenty-seven
Japanese soldiers before being mortally wounded by a
sniper. The regiment was ordered to set up temporary defensive positions before being
relieved on December
25 by the 1st Battalion, 187th GIR, and the 2nd Battalion, 188th GIR, who would
themselves incur considerable casualties against a heavily dug-in enemy. The 511th PIR
was reassembled at its original base-camp in Leyte on 15 January
1945.
On January 22 the division was placed on alert for an operation on the island of Luzon,
to the north of
Leyte. Five days later the 187th and 188th Glider Infantry Regiments were embarked for
Luzon by sea, while the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment flew by C-46 Commando
transport aircraft to Mindoro. At dawn on
January 31 the 188th GIR led an amphibious assault near Nasugbu, in southern Luzon.
Supported by a short naval barrage, A-20 Havoc light bombers and P-38 Lightning fighter
aircraft, a beach-head was established in the face of light Japanese
resistance. The landing was very dangerous. The seas were too calm, and the
artillery supporting the 188th could not get ashore to suppress Japanese firepower.
The regiment moved rapidly to secure
Nasugbu, after which its 1st Battalion advanced up the island's arterial Highway 17 to
deny the Japanese time to establish defenses further inland. The 2nd Battalion moved
south, crossing the River Lian and securing the division's right
flank. By 10:30 elements of the 188th had pushed deep into southern Luzon, creating the
space for the 187th GIR to come ashore. The 188th's 2nd Battalion was relieved and the
regiment continued its advance, reaching the River Palico by 14:30 and securing a vital
bridge before it could be destroyed by Japanese combat engineers.
Following Highway 17 to Tumalin, the regiment began to encounter heavier Japanese
resistance. At midnight the 187th took over the lead and the two glider infantry
regiments rested briefly before tackling the main Japanese defensive lines. These
consisted of trenches linked to bunkers and fortified caves, and were manned by several
hundred infantry with numerous artillery pieces in
support. At 09:00 on February 1 the glider infantry launched their assault, and by
midday had managed to break through the first Japanese position; they spent the rest of
the day conducting mopping up operations.
Private
First Class Harold S. Wescott, serving with the Medical Detachement of
the 188th Glider Infanrty Regiment, died on February 1, 1945 of wounds received in
combat
during the Nasugbu beach operation. He was awarded the Bronze Star
posthumously.
Harold Wescott was brought
home in September of 1948 aboard the
USAT Sergeant Morris E. Crain
. He
was buried at the Bethel
Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery, 481 Delsea Drive in the Sewell
section of Washington Township, New Jersey. Private Wescott was survived
by his parents, brother Albertus C. Wescott and sister Helen Wescott.
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