Last night we were told that a battalion of Jap paratroops had landed in the Dulag area that afternoon, & that further landings were expected. We were ordered to keep on the alert & not to leave the area unarmed.
Eighteen infantry men were assigned to guard the 12 WACs.
This memo caused some stir in Tacloban, as there are only service troops in the town.
Jap aircraft came over after dark & dropped bombs but no paratroops. There was AA fire at intervals throughout the night. I slept in the church. “Slept” is the right word for once, as for the first time for more than a week I managed to get two hours’ consecutive sleep.
The paratroops were a blessing in one respect. They kept the Air Corps on the alert & prevented them from roaring their damned machinery in our ears all night.
Father Wood told me this morning was that the true story on the paratroops was that two Douglas-type aircraft, carrying paratroops, crashed on the beach near Dulag. Many of the Japs were killed but a few got away. They may cause a bit of trouble but the gesture as a whole was futile.