720th
Battalion History ~ 1945
~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association WW-II History Project ~
GHQ
This Page Last Updated 8 September 2007  Click on thumbnail photographs to enlarge
If you were a veteran of the 720th MP Battalion or any of its subordinate units, and recognize any of the events listed on this page, or you are a surviving family member of a Battalion veteran from this era and would like to contribute Information, personal stories, documents, media articles or photographs, please take a moment to contact the History Project Manager at the Email Link provided above for instructions or assistance. Your contributions are extremely important to the Battalion history and always welcomed.
Southwest Pacific Theatre Of War ~ Papua New Guinea, Philippine Islands, Japan
Paupa Campaign
Philippine Campaign
Japan Operations
As 1945 started the Battalion units were stationed as follows, HQ Company and B Company at Finchhaven, New Guinea. The Medical Detachment and A Company at Hollandia, New Guinea. C and D Companies in route to the Philippines.
~ January ~
9 January The U.S. 6th Army invaded Lingayen Gulf and landed on the Island of Luzon, Philippines and engaged the Japanese forces who were fighting a vigorous rearguard action.
6th Army

13 January C and D Company arrived at Higayen Bay, San Fabian, Philippine Islands aboard the SS Joe Fellows.

"We heard soldiers and sailors crying out for help from the waters below." T5 Stanley V. “Dyke” Knoll, D Company, 720th MP Battalion, January 1942 to October 1945.

16 January The C and D Company disembarked from the SS Fellows and immediately began working on the construction of a base camp.
~ February ~
3 February The 6th U.S. Army attacks the Japanese forces in Manila, Philippines.

25 February Walter Winchell radio news broadcast covering the war in Europe and the Pacific along with other national stories. Click on speaker icon
~ March ~
3 March U.S. and Philippine troops take the city of Manila, Philippines.
10 March The U.S. Eighth Army invades the Zamboanga Peninsula on Mindanao Island in the Philippines.
8th Army

27 March A Company departed from Hollandia, New Guinea aboard the SS John W. Searles for Higayne Bay, Philippine Islands.

30 March HQ Detachment and the Medical Detachment departed Finchhaven, New Guinea aboard the USAT Capeapa destined for Manila in the Philippines.
~ April ~
April During the latter part of the month MAJ Edward C. Hango was assigned to the Battalion as the Executive Officer (XO).
1 April The final amphibious landing of WW II occurs as the U.S. Tenth Army invades the island of Okinawa, Japan.
10th Army
7 April A Company arrived at Higayne, San Fabian, Philippine Islands.
9 April A Company departed Higayen for the capitol city of Manila, Philippines.
10 April A Company arrived at Manila. Thirty enlisted men and one officer were sent to the Iwahig , Palawan, Island where they performed guard duties at the Penal Colony. The balance of A Company performed normal MP duties in Manila. The Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm was originally set up in 1902 by the United States to house Philippine prisoners who had fought against the American colonization of the Philippines.
12 April President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies and is succeeded by his Vice President, Harry S. Truman.
18 April War Correspondent Erny Pyle was shot and killed by a sniper on the Island of Okinawa, Japan. Pyle was loved by the American soldier, and often referred to as "the most-read war correspondent in U.S. newspapers and one of the most popular men in America."
20 April HQ Detachment and the Medical Detachment arrived at Manila.
21 April HQ Detachment and the Medical Detachment moved ashore and started construction of of a new camp in the area of Ateneo College.
~ May ~
8 May VE (Victory in Europe) Day, Germany formally surrendered to allied forces in Europe.
25 May The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff approve Operation Olympic, the invasion of Japan, scheduled for November 1.
28 May LTC Reilly was transferred to Headquarters Base K, APO 72, and MAJ Longo assumed command of the Battalion.
~ June ~
9 June Japanese Premier Suzuki announces Japan will fight to the very end rather than accept unconditional surrender.
18 June The Japanese resistance against the 8th Army invasion (10 March 1945) ends on Mindanao Island in the Philippines.
22 June The Japanese resistance against the 10th Army ends on the island of Okinawa, Japan.
~ July ~
5 July General Douglas Mac Arthur declares the Liberation of Philippine Islands.
~ August ~

3 August President Truman warns the Japanese Emperor and government of the dire consequences to befall them ("A rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth") for their resistance when they rejected the 26 July Postdam ultimatium of surrender offered by the allies. Click on speaker icon

6 August The first Atomic Bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan at 0815 hours [8:15AM]. President Truman announces the use of the Atomic Bomb to the American public. Click on speaker icon
8 August Russia finally declared war on Japan.
9 August The second Atomic Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan at 1102 hours [11:02AM].

14 August 6:30 pm, ABC radio News Broadcast on the announcement of the acceptance of surrender terms by Japan and related news details. Click on speaker icon
*15 August VJ-Day, Japan agrees to surrender to allied forces.
18 August B Company, less the 1st Platoon, departed from Manila and arrived at Cita, Batangas, Luzon Island, Philippines.
The Battalion, minus D Company attached to the 6th Army, departed from the Philippine Islands for Japan.
24 August The 1st Platoon of B Company was attached to the 112th Regimental Combat Team (1st Cavalry Division) and departed from Manila.
1st
~ September ~
~ The 720th MP Battalion Arrives In Japan ~

2 September General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, signs the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, on board USS Missouri. Click on photograph thumb nail for audio of President Truman's radio announcement to the American people.

8 September General Douglas MacArthur enters Tokyo, Japan.
The 720th MP Battalion arrived at Yokohama, Japan and immediately proceeded to Tokyo to take up MP duties in the city.
* The Allies celebrated victory over Japan on 15 August 1945, although the Japanese administration under General Koiso Kuniaki did not officially surrender with a signed document until 2 September. Both dates are known as VJ Day.
At the end of 1945 all elements of the 720th Military Police Battalion were serving in Tokyo, Occupied Japan.