Winfrey Sisco

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                            PHILIPPINE MEDAL AWARDED

With the 32nd Division, Pangainan Province, Luzon,
P. I. - Major General William H. Gill, commander of the 32nd
(Red Arrow) Division announces that the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines has awarded the Philippine Liberation medal to Private First Class Winfrey Sisco, of Odds, Ky.

Pfc. Sisco entered the army in August, 1942, and left
for overseas duty in February, 1943. Assigned to the
veteran 32nd Division, he saw his first combat action
when the 126th Infantry made its highly successful landing
at Saider, New Guinea, cutting off the japs at Lae and
Fincheven. He participated in the succeeding amphibious
operation farther up the coast, where the Division
trapped the enemy garrisons at MaDang and Wewak by
destroying his forces at Aitape.

The next jap base to receive the "Red Arrow" treatment
was the Island of Morotai in the Netherlands East
Indies. The 32nd silenced that important listening
post and isolated the Japs on nearby Nalmahera, thus
opening the road to the Philapines.

On bloody Leyte Island, Pfc. Sisco was in the final
drive the Ormoc Corridor when the "Red Arrow" cracked
the "Invincible Yamashita Line". He is now fighting
among the mile high peaks of the Caraballo Mountains
in Northern Luzon, where the battle-scarred 32nd
Veterans are engaged in destroying General Yamashita's
final last ditch defenses along the tortuous Villa
Verde Trail, the 32nd's own Baby Burma Road.

Pfc. Sisco is the son of Mr. & Mrs. John Sisco of Odds, Ky.

 

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General Gill writing in 1953, of the period February-October 1943, said: “This was a period of reorganization, re-supply, rehabilitation, and retraining. The troops had taken part in the Papuan Campaign and were in bad shape. I think somewhere in the records it will be shown that almost 8,000 had malaria; certainly the morale of officers and men was low. The men had to be cured in body and mind before any effective training for renewed combat could be accomplished. However, by October 1943 the Division was ready for combat and moved back to New Guinea. The remaking of the Division could not have been accomplished without the help of higher headquarters (Sixth Army and I Corps) who provided a place for rest and recuperation for the sick, assisted materially in securing replacements and equipment, and assisted in the retraining. It was a long hard pull and I can never thank adequately the fine officers and noncommissioned officers who proved themselves real leaders. Many times during this trying period, I must confess that I had grave doubts as to whether the Division would ever “come back.” But they did, and magnificently, as their victories in succeeding campaigns prove.”

 

World War II Campaigns of the 32nd “Red Arrow” Division

Campaigns	Dates	Days
Papuan
Buna	20 Sep. 42 – 22 Jan. 43	117
New Guinea
Saidor Aitape  Morotai	2 Jan. 44 – 29 Apr. 44 22 Apr. 44 – 25 Aug. 44 15 Sep. 44 – 10 Nov. 44	118 125 57
Southern Philippines
Leyte	16 Nov. 44 – 2 Jan. 45	47
Luzon
Villa Verde Trail Mopping Up	30 Jan. 45 – 28 May 45 29 May 45 – 15 Aug. 45	119 78

                                                                                                                                                         Total-661 days
        Less 7 days overlapping when the Division was in combat at both Saidor and Aitape.
                                                                                                                                              Grand Total-654 days

Donated by Donna Sesco