Gen. MacArthur Arrives In Melbourne

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition Series 2):

MARCH 21, 1942

General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Melbourne, Australia after being ordered by U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt to leave the Philippines and be the Supreme Commander of the Pacific Area. 

He earlier left Corregidor Island with his family in PT boats. 

In Australia, he gave his famous line "I came through and I shall return."

General Jonathan M. Wainwright IV took over the command of all U.S. and Filipino forces in the Philippines. 

President Roosevelt authorized him to continue the fight against the Japanese invaders or make terms as he saw fit. 

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights deserved

Photo credit: Historylink.org

Gen. MacArthur Escapes Corregidor

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

MARCH 11, 1942

Gen. Douglas MacArthur escaped from Corregidor in a PT boat and headed for Australia. 

This action was the result of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s order after fearing that MacArthur would be taken prisoner after the fall of Corregidor. 

MacArthur traveled from Corregidor to Cagayan in Mindanao amidst stormy seas patrolled by Japanese warships then flew to Australia.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Gen. MacArthur's Troops Invade Zamboanga Peninsula

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

MARCH 10, 1945

U.S. Eight Army invades Zamboanga Peninsula. 

Gen. Douglas MacArthur reported: We have landed near Zamboanga on the southwestern-most tip of Mindanao. 

The bulk of the enemy garrison, caught off guard, has fled to the hills in disorder. 

We now control the entire length of the western shores of the Philippine Islands from the northwestern tip of Luzon to the southwestern tip of Mindanao.."

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Troops Recapture Manila

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

MARCH 3, 1945

American and Filipino troops recapture Manila from the Japanese invaders. 

The Liberation of Manila began on February 3 until March 3. 

The one month battle for liberation ended in a massive bloodbath and totally devastated the city. 

This marked the end of the three years of the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

The Los Baños Raid

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

FEBRUARY 23, 1945

The Los Baños Raid was carried out by the United States 167 Amphibian Tank Battallion, the 187 Airborne Regiment, the 11th Airborne Division, and Filipino guerrilla units. 

Lt. Col. Gustavo Ingles of the Hunters ROTC Guerrillas was the coordinator of the different guerrilla units involved in the operation. 

These were the Hunters ROTC Guerrillas, Hukbalahap Guerrillas, Markings Guerrillas, Fil-Am Guerrillas, President Quezon’s Own Guerrillas, Chinese 48 Squadron, and non-regular troops. 

Members of Company B jumped into Los Baños while the elite U.S. Recon Platoon, with Lt. Col. Honorio Guerrero, led the ground assault together with the Hunters. 

2,147 foreign civilian internees at the camp were liberated and 250 Japanese troops were killed. 

The internees were maltreated by the Japanese warrant officer Sadaaki Konishi and were ready to be massacred by the Japanese Imperial Army. 

The Philippine Guerrilla Units were organized by appointed commanders and were tasked to carry on the resistance movement against the Japanese, and paved the way for the return of the allied forces. 

These guerrilla organizations were recognized by the United States armed forces and played a major part in the liberation of the the Philippines from 1944 to 1945. 

The Hunters ROTC Guerrillas was organized in January 1942 by Philippine Military Academy cadets. 

Col. Miguel “Mike” Z. Ver was one of the founders and the first commander of the guerrilla unit. 

After being killed in action, Col. Eleuterio “Terry” Adevoso succeeded him. 

The Unit operated in Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, Tayabas, Pangasinan and Manila and was responsible for various sabotage, raids, and killings of Japanese troops. 

The United States recognized the Hunters Rotc Guerrilla unit on May 7, 1942 with a strength of 100,000 regulars and 200,000 home guards.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: Carl Mydans - LIFE Collections

Battle For The Liberation Of Baguio

Today in a Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

FEBRUARY 21, 1945

The Battle for the Liberation of Baguio began. It was part of General Douglas MacArthur’s campaign to liberate the Philippines during World War II. 

Troops from the United States Army's 33rd Infantry Division, together with regiments of the Philippine guerrilla force United States Army Forces in the Philippines – Northern Luzon, began their drive towards Baguio. 

By March, Baguio was within range for the Allied artilleries. 

President Jose P. Laurel, who was installed by the Japanese to head the Second Philippine Republic, left Baguio on March 22, 1945 and arrived in Taiwan on March 30. 

Other members of the puppet government and Japanese civilians were ordered to evacuate Baguio on March 30. 

General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the commander of the Japanese 14th Area Army and his staff relocated to Bambang. General Yamashita made Baguio his headquarters in December of 1944. 

It was only in April when a major offensive was carried by the Americans against the Japanese troops. 

The 37th Infantry Division launched a two-division assault from the west and south. 

A six-day battle was fought in the west with tank-versus-tank battle between the American M4 Sherman’s of the US Army’s Company B, 775th Tank Battalion against the Type 97s of the Imperial Japanese Army’s 5th Tank Company, 10th Tank Regiment. 

The Battle for the Liberation of Baguio ended on April 26, 1945.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: Handmade by Heroes

Pres. Quezon Boards A Submarine For Antique

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

FEBRUARY 20, 1942

President Manuel L. Quezon together with his family, Vice President Sergio Osmeña, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, General Basilio Valdez, Manuel Nieto, and Fr. Ortiz boarded the submarine Swordfish in Corregidor, on their way to San Jose de Buenavista, Antique. 

The previous day, the evacuation of the civil government began after it became evident that Corregidor will soon be captured by the Japanese. 

Incidentally, it was also the birthday of First Lady Aurora Quezon and Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos. US General Douglas MacArthur advised President Quezon to leave for Australia. 

The Swordfish left Corregidor while Japanese forces bombarded the island fortress from Cavite. 

The group arrived at their destination on February 22, 1942 at 2:40 A.M. 

From Antique, Quezon’s party went to Iloilo City by land then left for Bacolod City on board the MV Princess of Negros. 

Before he left, President Quezon gave General MacArthur his ring and said: “When they find your body, I want them to know you fought for my country.” Two days later, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to leave for Australia.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: pinterest

Jose Abad Santos

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

February 19, 1886

Jose Abad Santos (February 19, 1886 - May 2, 1942), Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was born in San Fernando, Pampanga to Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco. 

He was sent to the United States as a government pensioner and finished his pre-law at Santa Clara College in California. 

He graduated Bachelor of Laws at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and Master of Laws at George Washington University in 1909. 

He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1911 and served as Assistant Attorney at the Bureau of Justice from 1913 to 1917. 

He was appointed as the first Filipino corporate lawyer of the Philippine National Bank, Manila Railroad Company and other government corporations. 

Abad Santos served as Attorney General, Undersecretary of Justice, and Secretary of Justice from 1921 - 1923. 

During World War II, on December 24, 1941, he became the country’s fifth Chief Justice. 

He went to Corregidor along with the Commonwealth government and administered President Manuel L. Quezon’s and Vice President Sergio Osmeña’s oath of office for their second term on December 30, 1941. 

President Quezon with his government, left for the United States after the rapid advancement of the Japanese forces. 

He appointed Abad Santos to be the Acting President with full authority to act in the name of, and on behalf of the President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and become the Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in some areas unoccupied by the Japanese. 

On April 11, 1942, he was captured together with his son Jose “Pepito” Jr., Col. Benito Valeriano and two enlisted men. 

Japanese High Commander Kiyotake Kawaguchi informed him of his impending execution. 

On May 2, 1942, after refusing to be blindfolded and refusing to accept a cigarette offered to him, he was executed under a tall coconut tree near a river bank in Malabang, Lanao. 

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia.org 

The Battle For The Liberation Of Manila

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

FEBRUARY 3, 1945

The Battle for the liberation of Manila began. 

This battle fought between the American forces under General Douglas MacArthur and the Japanese troops of General Tomoyuki Yamashita is considered as the bloodiest fighting in the Philippine campaign. 

Around 100,000 civilians in a city of 1 million were killed by American shells or slaughtered by the Japanese. 

William Manchester, author and historian wrote in American Caesar, “The devastation of Manila was one of the great tragedies of World War II. Of Allied cities in those war years, only Warsaw suffered more. Seventy percent of the utilities, 75 percent of the factories, 80 percent of southern residential district and 100 percent of the business district were razed." 

American forces captured Manila in a bloody street to street fighting. At Fort Santiago, the bodies of 600 Filipinos and Americans were recovered in the dungeons. 

General MacArthur gave his troops three objectives: first, was to liberate the University of Santo Tomas where Allied civilians were interned by the Japanese; second, was to capture Malacañan Palace, the seat of the presidency; and third, reclaim the Legislative Building, where Congress was housed. 

The battle ended on March 3, 1945. General Yamashita and his men withdrew to Baguio City with the intention to hold back the American and Filipino forces in Northern Luzon.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines

Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

JANUARY 26, 1880

Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 – April 5, 1964), an American five-star general, Field Marshal of the Philippine Army, and liberator of the Philippines was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

He was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and led Allied forces in the Pacific theater in World War II. 

For his service in the Philippine Campaign, he was given the Medal of Honor, the same recognition given to his father, Arthur MacArthur, Jr.,  the first father and son to be awarded the medal. 

MacArthur was one of five men to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the US Army. 

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: althistory.wikia.com

Col. Murosawa Issues Declaration To Christians

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition Series 2):

JANUARY 14, 1942

Col. Murosawa, head of the Religious Section of the Japanese Army, issued the Declaration to Christians in the Philippines in which he gave his views assuring the freedom of religion. 

Church pulpits were later used to convince the Filipinos that it was useless to resist the Japanese occupation. 

Leniency was granted to the Muslims while conciliatory moves were extended to the Philippine Independent Church. 

On the other hand, American protestant ministers were imprisoned at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com

Carlos P. Romulo

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

JANUARY 14, 1898

Carlos Peña Romulo (January 14, 1898 – December 15, 1985), a statesman, diplomat, soldier, journalist and author was born in Camiling, Tarlac. 

At 16, he became a reporter, an editor at 20, and publisher at 32. 

He co-founded the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and was a general in the United States Army and the Philippine Army.

He was also a university president, President of the United Nations General Assembly, and National Artist in Literature. 

Carlos P. Romulo was a recipient of several other honors and honorary degrees. 

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved  

Photo credit: en wikipedia.org

Japanese Troops Execute Gen. Vicente Lim

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

DECEMBER 31, 1944

General Vicente Lim along with other Filipino guerrillas were brought to a Chinese cemetery and were made to kneel and then beheaded by the Japanese. His body has never been found. 

Vicente Podico Lim (February 24, 1888 - December 31, 1944), a World War II general, Bataan hero, the first Filipino to graduate at the United States Military Academy (Class of 1914) at West Point, and charter member of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, was born in Calamba, Laguna to Jose Ayala Lim-Yaoco, a Chinese migrant, and Antonia Podico, a Chinese mestiza. 

After graduating at West Point, he joined the Philippine Scouts as a Second Lieutenant and quickly rose from the ranks. 

He retired from the United States Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on June 30, 1936. 

Lim was admitted to the Philippine Army and became Chief of Staff in 1940. 

On July 16, 1941, the Philippine Army was incorporated with United States Armed Forces. 

Lim was given the rank of Brigadier General under US General Douglas MacArthur. He commanded the 41st Philippine Division which was tasked to defend Bataan.

On April 9, 1942, American and Filipino forces along with the 41st surrendered to Japanese General Homma. 

He survived the Bataan Death March and was admitted at the Philippine General Hospital for his injuries. He convinced the Japanese of his incapacity but secretly conducted guerrilla activities and led the guerrilla movement in Luzon. 

In 1944, he was captured and tortured by the Japanese and was sentenced to die. 

Gen. Vicente Lim was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart by the United States. 

The Philippine government awarded him the Distinguished Conduct Star and the Distinguished Service Star, and was given a posthumous honorary rank of Lieutenant General.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Brig. Gen. Mateo Capinpin Dies Of Heart Failure

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

DECEMBER 28, 1958

Brigadier General Mateo Capinpin died of heart attack in his home in Biñan, Laguna at the age of 71. 

Mateo Capinpin (April 22, 1887 – December 28, 1958), a patriot, soldier, hero, guerrilla leader and military strategist, was born in Morong, Rizal. 

He took his elementary and secondary education at Laguna High School. 

In 1906, at the age of 19, he joined the Philippine Scouts as a private and was honorably discharged as a major in 1918. 

He joined the Philippine National Guards as a First Lieutenant, a rank of Major in the US Army. 

He came back to the Philippine Scouts in 1920 and was given the permanent rank of Captain. 

Capinpin was sent to the United States to attend the Officers Courses at Fort Benning Infantry School in Georgia. After commanding the 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts for twenty years, he became the commander of the 21st Division, Philippine Army with the rank of Colonel. 

During World War II, he was captured by the Japanese in Bataan. He was among those in the Death March from Mariveles, Bataan to Camp O’Donnell, a concentration camp in Capas, Tarlac. 

He was released in late 1942 and was invited by President Jose P. Laurel to serve the puppet government. 

He used his position in government for the advantage of the guerrilla movement. As a resistance leader, his records and accomplishments are printed in the annals of guerilla history worldwide. His strategies and organizational methodologies have become part of the country’s counter-insurgency strategies and techniques. 

He retired from military service in 1948 and became the Adjutant General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. 

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

The Japanese Army Marches Into Baguio

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

DECEMBER 27, 1941

The Japanese army marched into Baguio on the night of December 27, 1941 with out any resistance. 500 civilians mostly Americans were interned at Camp John Hay for several months. 

Earlier, on December 8, 1941, seventeen Japanese planes bombed Camp John Hay in Baguio, the first place in the Philippines attacked by the Japanese forces. American and Filipino soldiers including civilians were killed. 

John Hay Air Station was established on October 25, 1903 after US President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order setting aside land for a military reservation for the United States Army in Benguet. It was named after John Milton Hay, Roosevelt's Secretary of State. 

After the December 8 bombing, John Hay’s commander, Col. John P. Horan, ordered hundreds of Japanese residents in Baguio rounded up and placed in two damaged barracks in the camp. 

Around a thousand American and Filipino soldiers abandoned the area on December 24, destroying most of their weapons and equipment and leaving the Japanese internees locked up without food and water. 

The American Residence, built by US High Commission Paul V. McNutt, which used to be the summer residence of the Governor-General of the Philippines is located inside the camp. 

Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander of the 14th Army, used it as his official residence and headquarters. 

On April 26, 1945, American forces together with Filipino guerrillas of the USAFIP-Northern Luzon captured Baguio and Camp John Hay. 

Filipino and American forces pursued the retreating Japanese into the forests of the Benguet Mountains. 

On September 3, 1945 General Yamashita surrendered to General Jonathan Wainwright at the American Residence with British General Arthur Percival standing as witness.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Col. Jesus A. Villamor

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

NOVEMBER 7, 1914

Jesus Antonio Villamor (November 7, 1914 - October 28, 1971), a World War II Filipino ace pilot and intelligence officer wasji * in Abra. 

He joined the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) Flying School in 1936 and was sent for training to the United States. 

After his return to the Philippines, he was assigned to lead the 6th  Squadron. His P-26 fighters engaged and downed Japanese planes. 

For his bravery, Col. Villamor was awarded two Distinguished Service Cross Awards by the United States Army. Pres. Ramon Magsaysay awarded him the Medal of Valor.       

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: en.wikipedia