[buwaya]

WWII and the guerilla wars turned the country into the Wild Wild East and it persisted for decades, a major long term cost of WWII.
I grew up there at that time. Your scary place was my hood. Manila in the 1960s was a fairly gracious place overall actually, especially for Americans, we knew many long term residents, families of expat executives like your dad.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My uncle was a cook in MacArthur's return to the Philippines. He had one hitch in the Army but made it to Master Sgt.
The American Caesar knew an army runs on its stomach.