Military Aviation Art
At 0825 on 16 February 1945, the 503d Parachute
Regimental Combat Team, affectionately known as The Rock Force
courageously parachuted into 22-knot winds onto the fortified Island of
Corregidor (The Rock) initiating Operation Topside. Defying a defending
Japanese force of up to 6,550 in strength, the 2,050 paratroopers from the
503d Parachute Regimental Combat Team valiantly leapt from fifty-one C-47
aircraft of the 317th Troop Carrier Group at a 1,150 foot altitude onto a
Drop Zone barely suitable for airborne operations. Topside Drop Zone was a
rubble-strewn patch of land no bigger than 325 yards long and 125 yards
wide and previous used as a parade field located on the upper portion of
the island. Reinforced by the 3d Battalion Combat Team of the 34th
Infantry Regiment, 24th Division, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions of the
503d Parachute Regimental Combat Team, portions the 462d Parachute
Artillery Battalion, and C Company of the 161st Airborne Engineer
Battalion surprised their Japanese foe in one of the most daring,
well-planned, and superbly executed airborne operations in the annals of
US Military history. Fighting valiantly and engaging thousands of Japanese
soldiers hidden around the island that refused to surrender The Rock Force
repatriated the island on 2 March 1945. Of the thousands of Japanese
soldiers defending the island, only 50 survived. The 503rd, however, lost
169 men killed and many more wounded or injured. For its gallantry The
Rock Force was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions on
Corregidor. This print is dedicated to all American Paratroopers then and
now. Their courage and sacrifice demonstrate their commitment to freedom
and American resolve. |
