How a US Soldier's 'Reload Trick' Killed 40 Japanese in 36 Minutes and Saved 190 Brothers in Arms

Discover why a 130-pound soldier, initially caught sleeping and physically wounded by a Japanese saber strike in the pre-dawn darkness of Luzon, became the sole defensive line against a synchronized assault of 100 enemy infantrymen, executing one of the most statistically improbable one-man stands in the history of the US Army.

Explore the tactical minutiae of the engagement at Dingalan Bay on May 11, 1945, where Private First Class John R. McKinney utilized his M1 Garand's semi-automatic fire superiority to neutralize a numerically superior force. Analyze how McKinney, cut off from his unit after a Japanese infiltration team seized his outpost's M1919A4 machine gun, utilized "shoot and move" tactics derived from hunting in the pine forests of Screven County, Georgia, rather than standard military doctrine. Features detailed reconstruction of the 36-minute firefight, examining how McKinney engaged targets from point-blank range to 60 yards, performing magazine changes in under four seconds while maneuvering between the cover of a fallen dipterocarp tree and a termite mound. Learn about the specific ballistic interactions of the battle, including the density of jungle cover against 7.7mm Arisaka rounds, the blast radius of Type 97 fragmentation grenades, and the trajectory of Type 89 knee mortar shells that tracked McKinney’s position. The narrative dissects the official Medal of Honor citation and after-action reports which confirmed 40 enemy combatants killed—38 surrounding the lost machine gun emplacement and two at a mortar site—demonstrating how a single rifleman with 176 rounds of .30-06 ammunition prevented the flank collapse of Company A, 123rd Infantry Regiment.

This account reveals why instinctive marksmanship and individual aggression often supersede rigid doctrine in chaotic close-quarters combat, proving that a single determined operator can dictate the outcome of a battalion-level engagement when defensive lines are compromised.

Perfect for students of small unit tactics, M1 Garand enthusiasts, and historians of the Luzon Campaign during the Pacific War.

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