Posted on 10/18/2002 11:40:00 AM PDT by tarawa
Copyright 2002 Financial Times Information All rights reserved Global News Wire Copyright 2002 Philippine Daily Inquirer Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 19, 2002
SECTION: 16
LENGTH: 1451 words
HEADLINE: LEYTE WARTIME TALES REFUSE TO DIE
BYLINE: Vicente S. Labro, Dulag, Leyte
BODY:
THEY don't make World War II movies anymore, nor are books about the Japanese occupation and the liberation of the Philippines ever written again. And because of old age, local war veterans now only have hazy recollection of the historic events.
But wartime tales still abound in Leyte, based on stories told and retold earlier by the war veterans themselves. Or from stories culled from the pages of dusty books and magazines on the shelves.
War memorials, which are almost everywhere in the island of Leyte, also keep memories about the war very much alive. Some places also evoke images of the war like the beaches facing the Leyte Gulf where hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers landed on Leyte in October 1944. Or that beach in Barangay San Roque, Abuyog town, where the submarine USS Nautilus clandestinely unloaded firearms intended for the local guerrilla forces on July 14, 1944.
Thus, it is not surprising that wartime tales are still very much alive in this island. Leyte was the site of one, if not the biggest aerial, sea and land battles during the Second World War.
On Oct. 20, 1944, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, together with Pres. Sergio Osmena and Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, set foot on Philippine soil, their first since after they left Corregidor in 1942.
The Allied Liberation Forces led by MacArthur had 650 ships, 1.5 million tons of general equipment, 200,000 tons of ammunition, 235,000 tons of combat vehicles, hundreds of airplanes and some 150,000 fighting men.
Heavy bombings and fighting raged on in Leyte as the Japanese Imperial Army initially resisted the assault of the Allied Forces. Dogfights were also common scenes. It was also during this time that one of the greatest naval battles in history took place.
Filipino heroes
But the wartime tales here are not only about the liberation. The stories go back as far as the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor or of the arrival of the Japanese at Pinamopoan in Capoocan on May 25, 1942. Most stories, however, are about the saga of members of the local resistance movement.
Mention World War II and Leytenos will readily tell you stories of the wartime exploits of Kangleon, Balderian, Miranda, Pamanian, Pabilona, Centino, Erfe, Nuque, Francisco, Peters, Nazareno, and Madrio, all (United States Armed Forces in the Far East or USAFFE) officers and non-commissioned officers who formed or joined guerrilla units in Leyte.
In fact, it is said that the guerrillas in Leyte paved the way for the return of General MacArthur to fulfill his "I Shall Return" promise.
Prior to his return to the Philippines, General MacArthur has named Col. Ruperto Kangleon, a former army commander and a graduate of the Philippine Constabulary Academy, as the area commander of Leyte. It was Kangleon's guerrilla units that repeatedly harassed the Japanese occupation forces in Leyte, and sent valuable intelligence information to MacArthur.
With the success of the Leyte guerrillas, the Japanese captured four of Kangleon's children, hoping the guerrilla leader would yield. But Kangleon only said: "Tell the Japanese I will not surrender for love of country." The Japanese eventually released the hostages.
For his war efforts, Kangleon later received the Distinguished Service Cross from the United States of America.
One of Kangleon's field commanders was Maj. Alejandro Balderian, a native of Dagami, Leyte and a law graduate of the University of Manila, who headed the guerrilla group in northern Leyte.
Balderian, who was widely known as "Bungot" because of his foot-long beard, was feared and hated by the Japanese. He personally led his men on a 14-day siege of the Japanese garrison in Burauen town starting on Nov. 4, 1942. They killed 80 Japanese soldiers and 15 puppet constabularies. Then on Nov. 19, 1942, they also attacked the garrison in nearby Dagami town and killed 60 of the enemies.
In retaliation, the Japanese arrested Balderian's parents in Dagami and dragged them around town with their hands tied, until they died. The Japanese eventually beheaded the couple, some witnesses said. Not satisfied, the Japanese also captured Balderian's pregnant wife and kept her hostage in their camp in Tacloban. His wife gave birth to a boy inside the enemy camp but Balderian never saw his son even after his men rescued his wife.
Balderian later received a citation from the US government and medals by the Philippine government for his role during the war.
More tales of heroism
Stories also abound with the heroism and bravery of the other Leyte guerrilla leaders. Wartime tales, however, are not only about the action-packed encounters between resistance fighters and the occupation forces.
There are also tales of women in some places who organized themselves into the women auxiliary service and provided medical care to the wounded male guerrillas and did some chores for them like preparing food and washing their dirty clothes.
Then there are the stories of the American guerrillas in Leyte like Lt. Illiff David "Rich" Richardson, Lt. Joseph St. John and Lt. Junior Grade Gordon Lang. Stranded in the country after the fall of Bataan, they later found themselves with the guerrilla units operating in the southern part of Leyte (now the province of Southern Leyte) and in nearby towns such as Abuyog in the east and Hilongos in the west, among others.
Richardson and Lang each had a guerrilla unit that had several skirmishes with the Japanese soldiers. St. John was a coast watcher, or one keeping watch on passing enemy ships and reporting any sighting so that a US submarine would sink the vessel.
The saga of Richardson, an Army and Navy officer who became the chief of staff of Kangleon, was immortalized in a 301-page book titled "An American Guerrilla in the Philippines" that was written by Ira Wolfert and published in 1945. St. John also had a 220-page book about his stay in Leyte during the war, titled "Leyte Calling . . ." and published also in 1945.
Wartime tales also tell of the irony, tragedy and grief that war brings. In 1943, a young Japanese officer only identified as "Captain Yamasoy" was assigned to head the garrison of Dulag town.
Yamasoy was a polite and respectful person even to the Filipinos, and he also gave strict orders to his men not to abuse civilians and even the prisoners. He also played judo with the natives and went serenading with them. For this, he was liked and respected by the locals.
His genuine concern of the welfare of the residents showed when he learned of a plan of the guerrillas to raid their garrison. He told the guerrillas to meet him and his men outside of the town proper so that the non-combatants would not be harmed. He was on his way to the designated place of gun battle when he was felled by a sniper's bullet. They were ambushed in Barangay Curva (now Del Pilar).
When the residents learned of the incident, the whole town became silent and the church bell tolled. Now a marker stands on the very same spot where Yamasoy died.
The razing of Dulag
In October 1944, bombardment by battleships for two consecutive days immediately prior to the actual landing of Liberation forces razed Dulag to the ground.
Hundreds of residents including the town mayor and his seven-year-old daughter perished in that incident. Some died when their houses were hit; many perished inside crude air raid shelters near the beach that sustained direct hits.
A cenotaph now stands at Barangay Sungi, in memory of the Dulaguenos who died those days.
(Tolosa and its nearby towns escaped the same fate because Valeriano Abello, a civilian who was an expert in semaphore, made use of his Boy Scout skill. Together with two friends, he sailed out to sea to signal to the battleships that they would hit civilians and at the same time telling the ships the actual positions of the enemy.)
At exactly 10:42 a.m. on Oct. 20, 1944, Lt. Clifford Mills of the 382nd Infantry, 96th Division of the American Liberation Forces, raised the American flag atop Hill 120, located about a kilometer north of the Dulag town proper. This was the first time that the American flag was raised since after the Fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942.
Today, almost six decades later, the town's war veterans will again join the civic-military parade, commemorative program and other related activities. The activity will start at 8 a.m.
Tomorrow, October 20, a bigger celebration will be held at Red Beach, Palo, Leyte, where General MacArthur landed 58 years ago, to commemorate the historic event.
Once again, storytellers would have a busy day recounting to the younger generation the events that occurred during the war.
Pearl Harbor?
Windtalkers?
We forget. Even those of us who know better and try hard not to, forget.
The interesting part is not the action. It's the details this guy gives of his life during training and in battle. If you've ever flown in the Southern Ca. area (I have) his training is very interesting because the places he was still exist. It's even interesting because of the details of life during the war. Trying to find a place his wife could stay near his base. Visting her in a wire "cage" in front of the base entrance once a month during cadet training. Very interesting.
It's just such a different way of thinking about everything than today, but taking place in the same locations that are still around.
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