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January 24, 1942

One month ago tonight we came over to Corregidor. Am now starting the second month. In a relatively short time this war will be two months old. Things are not improving a great deal in Bataan. Some of the Japs are still loose at Agloloma, and a few are still in the vicinity of Mariveles. It appears to be difficult to round them up and clean out the area. However, there is no further report of any landings in Bataan today. The situation in the I Corps has not improved. The 1st P.A. Division is pulling out of its position on the front line and melting away into the mountains, leaving guns and ammunition behind. That makes the situation on the left flank very serious. On the other hand, there has been almost no activity on the front of the II Corps. Patrolling to the front discloses no enemy for some distance, with hundreds of dead Japs and personal equipment scattered around. The situation is daily becoming more uncertain in Bataan, and if they [the Japanese] succeed in gaining a foothold in one or two places in the rear area, there will be nothing left to do, ultimately, but withdraw from Bataan. To that end, in order to save supplies and as many troops as possible, it was decided today to start withdrawing supplies from Bataan at once—principally subsistence, ammunition, engineer supplies, and medical. We will stock here—in so far as possible—for an additional 10,000 men for five months, or until July 1st. Shipments start tonight. This is known only to a few staff officers at this time, as shipments will be made ostensibly to build up Fort Mills reserves.