On May 5, Japanese forces led by Maj. Gen. Kureo Taniguchi boarded landing craft and barges and headed for the final assault on Corregidor. Shortly before midnight, intense shelling struck the beaches between North Point and Cavalry Point. The initial landing of 790 Japanese soldiers quickly bogged down due to surprisingly fierce resistance from the American and Filipino defenders whose 37 mm artillery exacted a heavy toll on the landing fleet.
Japanese artillery in action against Corregidor

The Japanese struggled because of the strong sea currents between Bataan and Corregidor and from the layers of oil that covered the beaches from ships sunk earlier in the siege; they experienced great difficulty in landing personnel and equipment. However the overwhelming number of Japanese infantry equipped with 50 mm grenade launchers ("knee mortars") forced the defenders to pull back from the beach. The second battalion of 785 Japanese soldiers were not as successful. They encountered the same currents but landed east of North Point, where the defensive positions of the 4th Marines were stronger. Most of the Japanese officers were killed early in the landing, the huddled survivors were hit with hand grenades, machine guns, and rifle fire. Nevertheless, some of the landing craft did reach the location of the first invasion force and together they found themselves moving inland where they had captured the Denver Battery by 01:30 on May 6. A counterattack was initiated to eject the Japanese from the Denver Battery. This was the location of the heaviest fighting between the opposing forces, practically face to face. A few reinforcements did make their way to the frontline 4th Marines, but the battle became a duel of obsolete World War I grenades versus the accurate Japanese knee mortars. Without additional reinforcements, the battle would quickly go against the defenders.

Japanese troops landing on Corregidor

By 04:30, Colonel Howard had committed his last reserves - some 500 Marines, sailors and soldiers of the 4th Battalion. These men tried to get to the battle as quickly as possible, but several Japanese snipers had slipped behind the front lines to make any movement very costly. An additional 880 Japanese reinforcements arrived at 05:30. The 4th Marines were holding their positions, at the same time losing ground in other areas. The Japanese were facing problems of their own: several ammunition crates never made the landing; as a result, several attacks and counterattacks were fought with bayonets. The final blow to the defenders at came about 09:30, when three Japanese tanks landed and went into action. The men around Denver Battery withdrew to the ruins of a concrete trench a few yards away from the entrance to Malinta tunnel, just as Japanese artillery delivered a heavy barrage. Particularly fearful of the dire consequences should the Japanese capture the tunnel, where 1,000 helpless wounded men lay, and realizing that the defenses outside Malinta tunnel could not hold out much longer, Lt. Gen. Wainright expected further Japanese landings that night. He also decided to sacrifice one more day of freedom in exchange for several thousand lives. In a radio message to President Franklin Roosevelt, Wainwright said, "There is a limit of human endurance, and that point has long been passed." Howard burned the 4th Regiment's and national colors to prevent their capture by the enemy. Wainwright finally surrendered the Corregidor garrison at about 1:30 p.m. on May 6, 1942, with two officers sent forward with a white flag to carry his surrender message to the Japanese. The Japanese losses sustained from January 1 - April 30 and from the initial assault landings on May 5/6, resulted in losses of about 900 dead and 1,200 wounded, while the defenders suffered 800 dead and 1,000 wounded.

PFC Ben Price Epperson Jr. was listed on the POW Camp Shinagawa, part of Tokyo #1 and Shinagawa Hospital. The eventual composition of the camp was: British 216, Americans 76, Canadians 2, Civilians (from Wake Island) 5. Food was prepared by prisoner-cooks. Almost always inadequate. The officers of this camp were able to buy medicines secretly through venal or friendly-camp officials. We lived in relatively good quarters under a baseball stadium. The officers had a separate room. Latrines, cookhouse, washstand and bathhouse were situated in a yard outside. Primitive, but comparatively good. All "fit" men, (the arbitration was Japanese) required to work. A proportion of the officers also compelled to work. Generally 10 hours a day, with 2 rest days per month. Manual labour in brickyard, shipyard, sawmill, railway siding, etc.. Extra food was stolen from ships on which the prisoners were working. It was under these conditions that PFC Ben Price Epperson Jr died.

Epperson, Ben Price, Jr., PFC