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My other grandfather, Charles “Chuck” Beckwith, fought in a theater of war as brutal, vast, and unforgiving as any in American history. While Europe often dominates cultural memory, the Pacific War was defined by amphibious assaults, fanatical enemy resistance, tropical disease, and a staggering attrition rate. Chuck served in the 658th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, a unit that played a critical but often overlooked role in the island-hopping campaign that carried General Douglas MacArthur back across the Philippines.

His war was made of water, sand, jungle, and fire.

Chuck entered the largest amphibious operation in the Pacific outside Okinawa. Lingayen Gulf was supposed to be “secure enough” for landings. It wasn’t. As Allied convoys approached the shoreline, kamikaze aircraft slammed into ships, sinking twenty-four and damaging sixty-seven more. That was the environment Chuck ferried soldiers into—white spray, burning ships, and the scream of suicide pilots overhead.

He operated an LVT (Landing Vehicle, Tracked), a boxy amphibious machine that crawled out of the surf and up onto the beach, carrying troops from the 160th and 185th Regimental Combat Teams. As his LVT surged toward the shore, Japanese snipers fired from concealed bunkers. Mortars bracketed the landing zones. Chaos ruled the first hours of the assault.

But the mission went on.

All day, through the smoke and surf, Chuck’s battalion moved troops, ammunition, and supplies until a 15-mile beachhead was secured. MacArthur’s plan depended on the amphibious tractors, and Beckwith’s battalion delivered.

After the beachhead fell, his unit was tasked with ferrying troops across the Calamay and Agno Rivers, moving men and material inland to support the expanding offensive.

Weeks later, Chuck’s unit landed forces on Palawan, clearing Japanese positions and securing airfields critical for air superiority. 

LVTs moved cargo, fuel, and ammunition—dangerous work in mined waters with concealed artillery still active on shore.

Weeks later, Chuck’s unit landed forces on Palawan, clearing Japanese positions and securing airfields critical for air superiority. 

LVTs moved cargo, fuel, and ammunition—dangerous work in mined waters with concealed artillery still active on shore.

Beckwith participated in the invasion of Zamboanga, supporting the 41st Infantry Division as they fought across steep, jungle-covered hills. His LVT moved troops and equipment through waters laced with mines, navigating currents and beaches where the Japanese had zero hesitation firing artillery at amphibious transports.

The landings at Talisay Beach were among the most heavily contested in the Philippines. Japanese defenders were entrenched, fortified, and prepared to fight to the death. Beckwith’s LVT struck a land mine, blasting him backward and driving shrapnel and blunt trauma into his spine. He survived, but the injury caused chronic back pain for the rest of his life.

He didn’t complain. He kept going.

That was the nature of soldiers from that era.

The battalion continued moving troops inland, enabling river crossings and hauling ammunition forward through jungle that swallowed vehicles whole.

The landings on Jolo were savage. The 163rd Regimental Combat Team faced deeply entrenched Japanese defenders who fought with suicidal ferocity.

 Chuck’s LVT helped deliver troops to the beach under direct fire.

His battalion pushed into Malabang, establishing supply lines under sniper threat and moving equipment across beaches where every mangrove root might hide a Japanese rifle barrel.

This was Chuck Beckwith’s final major landing. With the Philippines campaign reaching its climax, his LVT helped deliver troops and supplies for the inland drive that would crush the last major Japanese resistance on Mindanao.

When the war ended, he carried lifelong injuries and memories he rarely talked about—but like my father and his father he came home and built a life from the pieces war left behind.