May 9, 1942

by David H. Lippman

May 9th, 1942...The US assumes the responsibility for defending Tonga. New Zealand troops in Tonga come under US command.

In the Mediterranean, USS Wasp tries again to deliver 64 Spitfires to Malta, and this time the attempt succeeds. As soon as each Spitfire touches down, an old pilot is there to direct the Spit to its pen. In the pen, RAF ground crew open gun panels with screwdrivers, throwing out the new pilot's personal gear, socks, shirts, and cigarettes to the ground. Others replace the aircraft's fuel tanks, rearm the guns, and the old pilot straps himself in, replacing the new pilot. In a few minutes, the Spitfires are back in the air, veteran pilots at the controls, while the new pilots knock back a whiskey at the officers' mess. An entire squadron of 12 Spitfires is thus able to get airborne in seven minutes. When the Luftwaffe arrives to hammer the island, they are greeted by the Spits.

The Luftwaffe also greets the "Grand Barrage" of AA guns, whose ration of 12 shells per raid for heavy guns, 15 for the light guns, 20 for the Bofors, is lifted. The Luftwaffe is defeated, but Malta is still incapable as a base for offensive action.

US troops arrive at the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, in the Pacific, to defend the giant tortoises from Japanese invasion.

In Mindanao, in the Philippines, Japanese troops crash through the remaining American defenses. Gen. William F. Sharp gets the point and surrenders. The Philippines have fallen.

Historians spend decades debating the impact of the Philippine defense, and why the islands fell. Chance aided the Japanese. Warning messages were never delivered. Teletype operators were out to lunch when radar warnings came in. Fighter planes took off and landed at the wrong moment, and were caught on the ground. AA shells were out of date.

But chance alone did not bring about the horrific defeat. There are plenty of causes for the catastrophe...poorly-trained and equipped Filipino troops. Decisive vacillation on Dec. 8th that kept American planes grounded. The failure of General Douglas MacArthur and his supply officers to properly prepare Bataan for the siege, leaving behind supplies in Manila. Superior Japanese tactics, equipment, morale, and training.

The gain from the stand for the Americans is to their morale, as the defense of Bataan resonates with the legend of the Alamo. Added to this is MacArthur's great escape, and his phrase, "I shall return," which becomes the drumbeat and slogan of the Pacific War

The Office of Price Administration announces that the temporary maximum weekly gasoline ration for non-essential automobiles for the east coast area will be three gallons per week.

In Burma, a Japanese battalion lands on the east bank of the Chindwin eight miles below Shwegyin. A company of Gurkhas sees them landing, and instead of hitting back with machineguns, mortars, and kukri knives, retreats, in defiance of orders. The company's morale is shot, and their wireless batteries run down, so they don't alert the rest of the British forces. Soon the Japanese are pouring across the Chindwin.