Technician Fifth Grade Leonard Worthington
Light Truck Driver
Service Troop, 8th Cavalry Regiment
Technician Fifth Grade Leonard Horace Worthington was born in 1916 in the bustling industrial hub of Hagerstown, Maryland. With the fight against the Axis powers still raging in Europe and the Pacific, Worthington was drafted into the US Army on November 14th, 1944. Following bootcamp and a month-long voyage aboard a troop ship, he arrived in the Philippine Islands sometime in March, 1945.
Luzon
Worthington ultimately ended up assigned to Service Troop, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division as a light truck driver, operating an M35 2 1/2-ton truck (more commonly known as a deuce-and-a-half) in March 1945. While the division was still embroiled with the liberation of Manila, the 2nd Cavalry Brigade was east of the city in the Novaliches Watershed in a blocking position to prevent Japanese reinforcements reaching the city. They turned this effort over to the 6th Infantry Division on February 20th in order to focus on the daunting Shimbu Line. This strong defensive line was a well fortified position in mountainous terrain. Japanese high command had held fresh, veteran troops and artillery in reserve to man the line.
The brigade crossed the Maraquina River that same day, utilizing the 99th Field Artillery Battalion's 75mm Howitzers and corps-level 155mm Howitzers to begin neutralizing the Shimbu Line. Opposition was fierce as the brigade traversed 2,000 yards towards the town of Antipolo, only being supported by their sister brigade on March 6th. When ground was captured, oftentimes Japanese stragglers would hide in pre-prepared positions in caves and hidden bunkers to harass American troops in the rear. The division's unit history recalls one instance of this experienced by 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, where:
On March 10th, the 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry, flushed a cave with flamethrowers. After several bursts of fire, the operators withdrew just in time to stand clear of more than 100 of the enemy who emerged with their hair and clothes burning, each man carrying a rifle or tommy-gun. The Japanese opened fire and continued to shoot until they fell victims of the flames or of the cavalry machine guns which were trained on then, When the shooting had quieted down, 147 enemy dead were counted in front of the cave and there were others inside who never got out.
Though the campaign only lasted twenty days - ending on March 11th - it was by far the fiercest battle the division faced during World War II. One Distinguished Service Cross, 92 Silver Stars, and countless Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts were earned during this battle - 42% of the division's Silver Stars for the entire war. After the battle, the division earned a week of rest, bivouacing south of Manila.
The First Team next began combat operations towards the town of Lipa in conjunction with the 11th Airborne Division. The 8th Cavalry specifically fought battles at Santo Tomas on March 23t and Tanauan on the 25th. Despite being with the service troop, Worthington saw combat just like the rest of the regiment. The troop's First Sergeant, Warren Cape of Long Beach, California, earned the Silver Star for destroying two Japanese bunkers and the soldiers within them during mopping up operations. The 2nd Brigade ended the Luzon Campaign with the mad dash to the town of Infanta, ending in victory against the Japanese defenders.
Click on a photo in this slideshow for a closer look or click on the arrows at the edges of the slideshow to look through the photos.
Occupation of Japan
Worthington arrived in the defeated nation sometime in late winter of 1946, just in time for the first Army Day Parade the 1st Cavalry Division was a part of since World War II broke out. Soldiers marched in fitted uniforms and shined boots, rifles perfectly maintained on their shoulders. Tanks, self-propelled artillery pieces, and M8 Greyhounds rolled down the Tokyo boulevards, and the division band played music for all to enjoy. The festivity was a boom to morale and showed off the very best of the American military, flaunting its vast muscle and supply.
In May of 1946, Japan was allowed the Freedom of Expression for the first time in over 25 years. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese Communists were allowed to participate in the May Day Parade, a holiday to commemorate the Haymarket tragedy in Chicago, Illinois as well as celebrate the working class. Throughout the morning of May 1st, over 300,000 communists gathered in downtown Tokyo, the 1st Cavalry prepared to deal with any civil disobedience, however, the attendees were peaceful and orderly
The general purpose of the entire 1st Cavalry Division during this period of its history was maintaining order amongst the Japanese civilians, locating and destroying Imperial Japanese munitions, dismantling Japanese war material and machinery, policing the behavior of the soldiers in and recovering Imperial treasure like gold and silver. Worthington drove Truck #35 within the Service Troop, hauling men to and from training, material from Yokosuka Harbor to Camp Drake, and doing maintenance on the vehicles. Worthington, along with the rest of the 8th Cavalry Regiment (and a contingent of 11th Airborne Division troopers) were housed in the 3rd Imperial Guard Barracks in Tokyo. In 1947, Worthington rotated back to the States and returned home to Maryland.