After Cabanatuan Raid, there was Los Banos

Raid at Los Baños

Date 23 February 1945
Location Los Baños,Laguna, Philippines
Result Successful Allied military rescue operation

Commanders
Edward Lahti
John Ringler
Robert Soule
Joseph W. Gibbs
Gustavo Ingles
Sadaaki Konishi

Strength
130 U.S. paratroopers
511th Air. RCT
188th Glider Regiment
800 Filipino guerrillas 243 Japanese guards
8,000 Japanese marines near camp

Casualties and losses
2 U.S. paratroopers killed 2 wounded
2 Filipino guerrillas killed 4 wounded
80 Japanese guards killed 6 wounded
v • d • e
Philippines campaign


The raid at Los Baños in the Philippines on 23 February 1945, by a combined U.S. Army Airborne and Filipino guerrilla task force, which resulted in the liberation of 2,147 Allied civilian and military internees from an agricultural school campus turned Japanese internment camp, was celebrated as one of the most successful rescue operations in modern military history. It was the second precisely executed raid by combined U.S.-Filipino forces within a month, following on the heels of the Raid at Cabanatuan at Luzon on January 30, in which 513 Allied military POWs had been rescued.
Since the landings of the U.S. Sixth Army at Lingayen Gulf and the U.S. Eighth Army at Nasugbu, Batangas on 9 January 1945 and 31 January 1945 respectively, to retake Luzon, the Imperial Japanese Army was being repeatedly pushed back and was increasingly becoming desperate. Soon news was filtering down to Allied commanders that the Japanese were killing innocent civilians and prisoners of war while falling back.

General Douglas MacArthur was deeply alarmed about the plight of thousands of prisoners who had been interned in various camps on Luzon, since the early days of the Pacific War. There was concern that, with deliverance so near, they might be killed. Earlier, some daring raids were carried out to rescue POWs, including one at Cabanatuan and at the University of Santo Tomas and Bilibid Prison at the height for the battle of Manila.

Life in captivity

In Los Baños, Laguna, at the Philippine Agricultural College and Forestry Campus, now called the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, which was located on a 60-acre site, was the POW and civilian internment camp, wedged between the foothills of Mount Makiling and the northern shore of Los Baños facing Laguna Lake. The main internment building was inside Baker Hall, a gymnasium, where most internees had been incarcerated since 1942.

Surrounded by barbed wire fences in clusters of hatched huts were 2,146 POWs: 1,527 Americans, 329 British, 133 Australians, 89 Dutch, 30 Norwegians, 22 Poles, 16 Italians, and 1 Nicaraguan. Aside from twelve U.S. Navy nurses and a few servicemen, most of the internees were civilian businessmen, teachers, bankers, and missionaries caught by the Japanese during the course of the war and incarcerated in various POW camps in the country.

On 14 May 1943, as the prisoner population at the University of Santo Tomas internment camp rose to unmanageable levels, the internees were transferred to the new Los Baños facility, some seventy kilometers (45 mi) away from Manila.

While incarcerated, the POWs had formed a committee to deal with the guards for self-governing purposes and to obtain whatever marginal freedom or concessions they could obtain from the Japanese prison authorities. Nonetheless, the internees were made to get by on dwindling rations, limited clothing, poor housing and non-existent sanitation, and endure the sadistic tendencies of the camp guards. By early 1945, the conditions in the camp turned hellish, with enforced limited rations and mounting abuse, courtesy of the camp's second-in-command, Warrant Officer Sadaaki Konishi.

Mission

The U.S. 11th Airborne Division under Maj. Gen. Joseph Swing arrived in the southwest Pacific in mid-1944. Prior to taking part in the invasion of Leyte in October, the division had undergone theater combat training in New Guinea. Together with the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team, these were the only U.S. Army airborne forces in the Pacific theater of operations. After Leyte, the 188th Glider Infantry Regiment landed at Nasugbu with the U.S. Eighth Army on 31 January, while the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment parachuted into Tagaytay Ridge, south of Manila as a diversionary assault.

On 3 February 1945, Gen. Swing was tasked with a rescue mission to rescue the internees at the Los Baños camp, some twenty-five miles (40 km) behind the Japanese lines. However, with the 11th Airborne committed to a series of pitched battles south of Manila and the resolute Japanese defense at Nichols Field and Fort McKinley, immediate deployment was out of the question. As an interim measure, Gen. Swing ordered his subordinates to develop a plan that could be implemented at the earliest possible moment.

Then on 18 February, the 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, under Major Henry Burgess, the main unit assigned to carry out the mission, was pulled out from its battlefield position on the so-called Genko Line, a fortified system of interlocking pillboxes and anti-tank fortifications running along the southern Manila district of Las Piñas and proceeded to Parañaque district to rest and regroup.

By 20 February 1945, the conditions on Luzon turned favorable, such that the various elements could be withdrawn from combat and apprised of their mission. They were ordered to their staging posts and readied to go, with the raid scheduled for 07:00 on 23 February.

For the jump phase of the assault plan, the 511th regimental commander, Lt. Col. Edward Lahti appointed Company B, 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division under 1Lt. John Ringler together with the Headquarters Company Light Machine Gun Platoon of 1Lt. Walter Hettlinger.

The 188th Glider Infantry Regiment of Col. Robert Soule had perhaps the most daunting task; trying to stave off a counterattack from the main highway. Bivouacked across the San Juan River were some 8,000 battle-hardened Japanese marines of the 8th Tiger Division, commanded by General Fugishige.

Casualties were expected to be high, but the risks were deemed to be worth it. The success of the mission would depend on speed and surprise.

Guerrilla connection

The various Filipino guerrilla groups operating in the vicinity of Los Baños played a key role that led to the successful liberation of the camp. Earlier, in the partisan war against the Japanese, a combined guerrilla command was formed to bring some order to the effort by the defunct USAFFE command, which was in charge of unconventional forces in the Philippines, and renamed as the General Guerrilla Command (GGC) of Luzon under Maj. Jay D. Vanderpool of the U.S. Army.

Under the GGC, the Hunters-ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) guerrillas, made up originally of former cadets of the Philippine Military Academy along with some former ROTC and college students under the command of Col. Frank Quesada were one of the most active groups. Other formations include President Quezon's Own Guerrillas (PQOG) under Col. Fil Avanceña, Red Lion's Unit, the Filipino-Chinese 48th Squadron and the Villegas group of the Marxist Hukbalahaps were tasked by the GGC to coordinate operations related to Los Baños.

Plan

Long before the arrival of the U.S. liberation forces, the guerrillas conducted intelligence operations that gathered precise inside information about the POWs in Los Baños and their guards. Many prisoners were long-time friends of partisan families before the war. With Lt. Col. Gustavo Ingles designated as overall guerrilla coordinator with the 11th Airborne Division, information was shared with Gen. Swing's Command Staff, including Col. Henry Muller (G-2), and Col. Douglas Quandt (G-3), as well as other top planners, who fine-tuned the final strategy.

Los Baños Assault Plan

On 12 February, Freddy Zervoulakas, a 19-year old Greek-Filipino, slipped out of the camp and made contact with the guerrillas. He was sent back into the camp with the promise that the internees will be rescued. But the internee committee decided that it would be best for the prisoners to do nothing. A week later, another escapee from the camp, a civilian engineer named Pete Miles, gave further valuable information to the 11th A/B Division planners, including the daily routine in the camp, details of troop positions and the exact location of the internees. This proved a great asset to the planners and enabled them to finalize the four-phase plan that was timed to coincide with the guards’ exercise period, which was conducted by the Japanese troops without clothing, equipment, or weapons, thereby minimizing the risk of harm to the internees during the rescue. Other internees managed to escape from the camp, days before the raid.

Meanwhile, Lt. Roger Miller, with two enlisted men, left to make a reconnaissance of the drop zone. They were instructed to return to the unit for debriefing and to jump with B Company.

The Joint U.S. Army-Guerrilla Assault Plan was as follows:

* Phase 1 would begin when the 11th Airborne’s Provisional Reconnaissance Platoon, under the command of 1Lt. George Skau, together with some twenty Filipino guerrilla guides, would travel behind enemy lines by bancas (local fishing boats) across Laguna Lake two nights before the raid, where they would wait. Four assault teams under Sgts. Martin Squires, Terry Santos, Cliff Town and Robert Angus would assault the camp gate from different angles. At 07:00 on 23 February they were charged with marking the Drop Zones, Landing Zones and for the neutralizing of the camp gate guards, simultaneous with an attack from the remaining directions by the guerrillas' 45th Hunter Regiment under Lt. Col. Ingles, who will also surround the entire camp perimeter prior to the signaled hour.

* In Phase 2, B Company, 1st Battalion, 511PIR led by Lieutenant John Ringler, with the support of Lieutenant Walter Hettlinger’s Machine Gun Platoon, would parachute into a small drop zone next to the camp, rendezvous with a Hukbalahap guerrilla unit, neutralize the remaining camp guards and secure the internees.

* In Phase 3, the remainder of 1st Battalion would board tracked amphibious utility vehicles of the 672nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion commanded by Lt. Col. Joseph W. Gibbs at 04:00 and slip into Laguna de Bay and head for Mayondon Point, near San Antonio, some two miles (3 km) from the camp. A Recon Platoon squad under Sgt. Leonard Hahn would mark and guide them to their landing point. Here they would travel overland and make their way to the camp, scheduling to arrive shortly after 07:00. They would then carry the internees back to Mayondon Point and make good their escape to Mamatid village.

* Phase 4 involved the 188th Glider Infantry Regiment (minus its 2nd Battalion) and Company C of the 637th Tank Destroyer Battalion together with elements of the 472nd and 675th Field Artillery Battalions, under Colonel Robert H. Soule. The force would move down Highway 1 to act as a diversionary force and to engage the Japanese 8th Division, if necessary, so as to protect the flank.

Other guerrilla units such as Marking's Fil-American troops and the 48th Chinese Squadron were to set up roadblocks in the towns of Calauan, Bay and Pila to delay possible Japanese reinforcements. The Hunters-ROTC 47th Regiment under Col. E. de Ocampo would do the same in the Calamba-Pansol area.

The backup 11th A/B pack howitzers in Calamba, Laguna, area was to bombard the road towards Los Baños. All the surrounding approaches and to the main camp would be secured. The townspeople were briefed and asked to vacate Los Baños by the local PQOG home-guard units.

Raid

Under cover of darkness on 21 February 1945, Lt. Skau and his 31-man platoon left the north shore of Laguna de Bay and headed across the lake in three bancas. Lt. Skau and six men led the way while the separate assault teams followed soon after. Avoiding Japanese patrol craft on the lake, they landed near Nanhaya and met with Lt. Miller's party, other local guerrillas and some camp escapees at the local schoolhouse, where they finalized their plans and assigned individual tasks. On the night of 22 February, they journeyed through the jungle and rice paddies to their starting points, without alerting the Japanese and were ready and waiting at 07:00 the next day.

511PIR paratroopers in jump preparation, 22 February 1945

Hours before 07:00, guerrillas of the 45th Hunters-ROTC Regiment had stealthily assumed their designated positions around the camp, as they waited for Lt. Skau's Recon Platoon to signal the start of the assault.

At 04:00 on February 23, 1945 the 1st Battalion 511PIR (less B Company) boarded fifty-four amphibious tractors (Amtracs), slipped into Laguna de Bay and headed for Mayondon Point. They also managed to reach their destination without alerting any Japanese defenders and headed off for the remaining two miles (3 km) overland journey to the camp, aiming to arrive just after 07:00.

Meanwhile, Lt. Ringler's B Company, 511th PIR together with the Light Machine Gun Platoon, had spent the moonless night of 22 February waiting at Nichols Field where, in the early dawn, they donned their parachutes, put on their equipment and loaded onto nine C47s of the 75th Troop Carrier Squadron, under the command of Major Don Anderson, for the short flight. Flying unopposed by Japanese aircraft or antiaircraft fire, they soon arrived at their destination, which was clearly marked with white smoke by the Reconnaissance Platoon.
Start of Los Baños Raid
Start of Los Baños Raid

Some three minutes before 07:00, a lone Japanese sentry hunting possum among the bushes that shielded the waiting guerrillas shot at an animal, which was taken as a signal that the raiders were spotted. A Filipino guerrilla broke cover and hacked the sentry to death. Instantly, a wave of men charged the camp.

The Recon Platoon teams immediately swung into action. The assault team led by Sgt. Santos destroyed three pillboxes outside the main gate with automatic weapons fire. Sgt. Town's squad raked several guardhouses along the perimeter and decimated a patrol charging their position. Lt. Col. Ingles's guerrillas overran the camp perimeter and were battling Japanese guards at the rear of the camp. While Lt. Skau's platoon was heavily engaged with the guards at the main gate, some men popped colored smoke to mark the drop zone for the paratroopers.

Company B, 511th ARCT paratroopers land at Los Baños

At 07:00, coming in at the planned 500 feet jump altitude and in three Vs-in-trail formation because of the small drop zone, Lt. Ringler's paratroopers dropped from their aircraft. While the ground forces were overcoming the perimeter defenses, B Company regrouped, killed some stragglers fleeing from the camp and helped subdue the remaining guards before they had a chance to respond in force. The firefight was short and intense. The Japanese were defeated and the internees freed.

Evacuation

Mindful of the need for speed, Lt. Ringler's men rounded up the internees as rapidly as they could. Some prisoners refused to leave, so Lt. Hettlinger's men burned the camp’s remaining huts, to encourage the internees to the Amtracs. At first, the disabled, along with the women and children were loaded onto the waiting vehicles, while the more able internees formed a walking column and headed for the beach and freedom. As they made their way to the beachhead at San Antonio, in the distance they could hear heavy machinery. Thinking that Japanese tanks were approaching, a mass panic among the internees started, but they were relieved when the "tanks" turned out to be amphibious vehicles. On schedule, the fifty four Amtracs of the 672nd Amphibious Battalion arrived, guided by the signal flares and white smoke of Sgt. Hahn's squad.

In the distance, across the lake, intense fire was heard. That sound was from the Soule Task Force. Early that morning, the diversionary force of the 188th Glider Infantry Regiment and Company C of the 637th Tank Destroyer Battalion, together with elements of the 472nd and 675th Field Artillery Battalions under Col. Soule rolled out into Highway 1 and attacked across the San Juan River. They ran into Japanese opposition near the Lechería Hills where casualties were taken, but by mid-morning, they had cleared the area and were marching towards Los Baños and cutting off the road between the Japanese 8th Tiger Division and Los Baños.

As the Amtracs started on the return trip, a hidden machinegun opened up and hit an Amtrac. Corporal Dwight Clark of the 672nd ATB returned fire with one of the Amtrac's .50-caliber machineguns and silenced the gunner before any of the civilians and rescuers were harmed.

From an elevated position, Col. Soule could see, in the distance, the Amtracs on the beach heading back to Mamatid, so he ordered his force to conduct a defensive withdrawal and to re-establish its bridgehead across the San Juan River.

Finally, 2,147 former Allied POWs and internees, including three-day old baby girl Lois Kathleen McCoy, reached Mamatid.

Aftermath

Two of Sgt. Santos's Recon Platoon members and four Filipino guerrillas were wounded. Two 188th Glider Infantry Regiment soldiers, J. C. Doiron and Virgil McMurtry, were killed at the Lecheria Hills engagement. The hand-to-hand skirmish was not without casualties. A handful of guards were able to muster a makeshift defense, killing two young Hunter guerrillas, Pfc. Atanacio Castillo and Pfc. Anselmo Soler. Their bodies were recovered and buried beside the College chapel.

Firsthand accounts include that of former internee, Lewis Thomas Watty, vice president of the POW committee, who said:

“The ensuing fight went on for very long minutes without letup, enemy defenders caught by total surprise were pinned and cut down mercilessly by liberator's fire. The Hunter experience through the years in irregular warfare paid off handsomely. It was also true of the paratroopers who were veterans of the South Pacific before they landed in Luzon.”

Start of evacuation of internees.

A few days after the rescue, the Japanese in full force, led by the escaped Sadaaki Konishi, returned to Los Baños. Upon seeing that there were no POWs in sight, the Japanese turned their wrath on the remaining civilians in town who had failed to heed the warning from the guerrillas to leave. With the help of pro-Japanese Filipinos MAKAPILIs or traitors, the Japanese soldiers massacred some 1,500 men, women and children, and burned their houses as well as those in the adjacent towns suspected of collaborating with the liberators. Konishi was tried for his war crimes after the war and hanged.

Historical significance

The outstanding success of the Los Baños raid incorporated many facets that revolutionized generations of future special military operations. Thorough planning, reliable intelligence, stealth, speed and surprise, superior firepower, cooperation by friendly forces, and support of the populace gave the planners and forces implementing the raid an advantage that resulted in few casualties.
“I doubt that any airborne unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Baños prison raid. It is the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies,” said General Colin Powell, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The daring, skill and bravery in battle, as witnessed by campaigns in New Guinea, Leyte, Manila, then Los Baños, and onward, attested to the combat courage of American paratroopers.

The vengeful massacre in the aftermath of the raid underlined the desperation of the Japanese army in their hopeless attempt to turn the fortunes of war. This campaign of ruthlessness was also reflected later in the concluded liberation of Manila and beyond, in the Pacific War.

Historical commemoration

11th Airborne Division Association Commemoration

The 11th Airborne Division rightfully takes tremendous pride in the liberation of the Los Baños Internment Camp. The regional chapters of the Division Association celebrate that brilliant raid and rescue with a Los Baños Commemoration Dinner on or about 23 February every year. That superb exploit is not forgotten in the town of Los Baños itself. The Hunters-ROTC Filipino guerrillas and other partisan units, who supported the 11th Airborne Division also commemorate the freeing of the prison camp.

Los Baños Liberation Memorial Scholarship Foundation

To help keep the memory and meaning of the Los Baños rescue alive, a small group of civilian ex-prisoners of war established The Los Baños Liberation Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Inc., a non-profit, tax-exempt California corporation, organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes within the meaning of U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). Through tax-deductible contributions, the Foundation is creating a permanent endowment fund. The purpose of the Foundation is to grant scholarship awards to students of Filipino citizenship enrolled at The Rural High School of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, to encourage and enable them to complete the Rural High School program. At the present time (2007) eight students from low-income families are receiving scholarships in the amount of $250 each per year, enabling them to pay required fees and stay in school until graduation if they perform well. As part of their curriculum, these scholars do historical research or creative arts in the subject of Los Banos during World War II, including the heroic actions of the 11th Airborne Division and the Hunters ROTC Guerrillas and the suffering of the citizens of Los Banos at the hands of the vengeful Japanese troops and the makapili collaborators.

U.S. Congress Joint Resolution 18

On 16 February 2005, House Joint Resolution 18, sponsored by U.S. Representative Trent Franks was passed by the House. This resolution commemorated the heroic raid that liberated prisoners held in the Los Baños prison camp in World War II. The resolution also reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to a full accounting of prisoners of war and those missing in action.

The truly heroic acts at Los Baños serve not only as examples of the humanitarian compassion of American servicemen and women, but also as an example of our nation’s long-standing commitment to leave no soldier, living or dead, in enemy hands. As we have military personnel spread throughout the world today, many of whom are daily risking capture and torture at the hands of brutal terrorists, it is more important than ever to recognize and honor the heroism and willing sacrifice of those soldiers who risk their own safety not to take a strategic objective, but simply to bring a comrade home.

Throughout history, American servicemen have made a habit of putting themselves squarely in evil’s way. They have done so secure in the knowledge that if they fall into the hands of the enemy, they will not be forgotten. Indeed, every effort possible will be undertaken to bring them home. In this, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of over 2,000 prisoners from the camp at Los Baños - and at a time when our military is deployed in harm’s way far around the globe, let us recognize those individuals who sacrificed to bring their brothers and sisters home. And let’s honor the heroic actions of the past by officially reaffirming our nation’s commitment to leave no fighting man or woman in enemy hands, at any time, now or in the future.

(Remarks made on the floor of the House by Representative Franks.)

60th Anniversary Commemoration at Los Baños

On 23 February 2005, the 60th anniversary of the success of the raid at Los Baños was commemorated with the unveiling of a historical marker at the former internment camp (Baker Hall, UP Los Baños). The ceremony was attended by several government officials from national, provincial and municipal levels, university officials as well as the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines.

Source: Wikipedia

 

Thanks Falcon I really enjoy your contributions about events I knew little about, it was a long read but nevertheless interesting. Would it be possible to find a link or post a picture of the 2005 memorial from las Banos?

 

I'll check. That would be interesting to see.

 

BALITANG BETERANO: PMA-HUNTERS RESCUE 2,146 AMERICAN POWs IN LOS BANOS

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, July 1, 2004 By Col.(Ret) Frank B. Quesada, Associate PMA ‘44, Former Senate Committee Secretary, Veterans and Military Pension - In February 23, l945, during the Liberation Campaign of the Philippines from the iron heels of the Japanese occupation forces, 2,146 emaciated and tortured Americans and allied prisoners-of-war were rescued by in a joint operation by the daring members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) also known as the West Point in the Philippines, as wartime-members of the Hunters ROTC Guerrilla. Principal Role in the Assault
The Hunters participated as the lead ground assault force in the liberation of Americans and allied prisoners-or-war detained by the Japanese in Los Banos (Laguna) Internee Camp, at the foot if mystic Mt. Makiling, some 60 miles from Manila, behind enemy lines.
The assault rescue operations was a joint Filipino-American force composed of the U.S. composite force of the U.S. 11th Airborne Division, and the combined units of Filipino guerrillas led by the Hunters-ROTC (PMA) Guerrilla.
The rest of the guerrilla forces were: the Marking’s Fil-American Troops, the Andersom’s USAFFE Bonn Military Area unit, the Pres. M. Quezon’s Own Guerrilla, the Fil-Chinese 48th Squadron unit, and the Filipino Communist “Hukbalahap” unit.
They all set-aside their internecine conflicts and jealousies to fight just one common enemy – the abusive Japanese invaders.
This liberation operation was described by military experts as one of the almost perfect assault-rescue ever attempted during wartime (in world War II) in the Philippines. It has become a model in the War College nd Staff Schools.
Ovation Paid by Gen. C. Powell
To quote Gen. Colin Powell, as former U.S. Joint Chief of Staff Commander, after learning about the notable rescue operation said:
“I doubt that any airborne and guerrilla unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Banos raid. It is a textbook operation for all ages and all armies.”
PMAyer’s Graduation in Battle
Philippine Military Academy cadet Class ’44 literally graduated in the battlefield, so to speak. They fought in World War II in an unconventional and irregular warfare against an obdurate enemy who were veterans of the infamous China Campaign noted for their barbarity.
The PMAyers, along with ROTC cadets stuck together and did not want to take defeat from an invading enemy, they – organized one of the most formidable guerrilla resistance movement in Luzon that defied the enemy manhunt from 1942 to 1945. It was originally led by cadet Miguel Ver (PMA’43), by Eleuterio Adevoso (PMA ’44), and Gustavo Ingle (PMA ’45). The rest were crack rifle platoons of the Reserve Officer Training School (ROTC) coming from different universities in Manila.
These PMAyers were all sent to the United States Staff Schools, after the war before formally serving the Armed Forces of the Philippines post-World War II. Class ’44 was a noted Academy class that produced many Generals and Flag Officers. It was the most cohesive since their cadetship before the war (World War II) up to peacetime 1945 and thereafter.
PMA Hunters ROTC Guerrilla
In summer of 1942, they readily organized the Hunter-ROTC Guerrilla and took off for the hills of the vastness of Sierra Madre Mountain [ in Rizal Province], where they trained and learned the art of “beg-borrow and steal” irregular and un-coventional warfare - and “hit-and-run” raids against the enemy. They inflicted heavy damage and casualties upon the enemy occupation troops, but with minimum losses on their part. The Hunters were the most wanted by the Japanese Imperial occupation troops.
Armed with outmoded 1903 bolt-action rifles, foraged ammunition and a handful of rice, and a prayer - they expertly routed the enemy in various ambuscades and at death-defying raids. They earned their place in the heroes’ hall of fame through honorable and active military service – as freedom founders.
Established Second Front
The most cohesive, PMA Class ’44, after the enemy vanquished the USAFFE in Bataan in April 9 and Corregidor in May 9, 1942 - situated themselves in strategic towns and provinces in the Philippines. And established small pockets of intelligence nets that supported the mobile combat units. They were the object of hot pursuit by the Japanese Military Police (Kempeu Tai), but resisted the enemy hamletting (dragnet zonings) by the enemy forces. Some of then were caught inside the enemy dragnets and suffered brutal torture and beatings. A few were executed.
The first casualty was Cavalier Mike Ver, killed-in-action - in a skirmish against an overwhelming enemy force in July 4,1942 in the training camp at the Sierra Madre mountain. They were raided by the enemy, however, but were able to put up a respectable defense which nevertheless was overran n\by overwhelming number. Mike died in action, but after inflicting several casualties upon the surging enemy. He died a traditional PMA hero’s death with mortal wounds on his chest facing the enemy squarely.
Cavalier Eleuterio “Terry” Adevoso, took ove command, and moved the guerrilleros to the inner jungles of the Sierras. He fielded several “mobile strike units” to hound the enemy to avenge Nike’s death. From 12 original Hunters in 1942, grew to 30,000 strong in 1945, and won recognition by the U.S. Army. Its record has been deposited in the U.S.Army Personnel Center In St. Louis Missouri, U.S.A. And they enjoyed same compensation and benefits like any member of the United States armed Force, with the exception of those whose names were deleted from the original roster, as a consequence of travesty of justice and unfairness by the AFWESPAC, that was in a great haste to leave the Philippines.
Post War Careers
Many Hunters eventually secured U.S citizenship by virtue of their honorable and active military service to Uncle Sam. While many of them remained as Filipinos to continue to serve the Armed Forces of the Philippines after completing various Command Staff Schooling in the United States Armed Forces.
Class ’44 have produced several Generals and Flag Officers in Command. Some of them became successful professionals, while others became successful politicians. As of this juncture, out of the total class of 72, there are about half of them still around (2002) engaged in business and civilian careers. Some of their sons followed their profession and have also entered the PMA and are serving the armed services.
The Academy Standard
From 1942 to 1945, the Hunters scored heavily against the Japanese, which drove the enemy to counteract the guerrillas. Enemy established (hamletting zoning dragnets) of towns and villages by rounding up all male residents, imprisoned and tortured them to elicit names and rosters of suspected guerrillas caught in the area.. There were a handful of them caught and executed by the enemy to continue fighting.
Guerrilla Casualties
There were many Hunters caught in this “zona” [this author was one of them.] tortured days and nights. At least, dozen other guerrillas were punished by decapitation [beheaded] in Laguna, where the hamletting took place]. One of the casualties was a white priest [Fr. Francis V. Douglas, of New Zealand, suspected of having contacts with guerrillas. [See the book, Martyrdom of Fr. Douglas by Patricia Brooks. New Zealand]
PMAyers in Paete, Laguna; Cavalier Benitez Roque, Daniel Adea and myself (associate) were all Class ‘44, and Cav. Luis Adea, Class 41. The first three above, were savagely beaten during incarceration, after 8 days in hell, were spared and released, but with broken ribs, broken spine. and wounded - were released, after enduring the worst “beast barracks” (excruciation) of savage agony by a brutal enemy guards. Previous hazing experience at the academy paid off - because they all were able to endure the torture. Many died, however, gloriously like a man with their lips sealed they saved their comrades. .
No Where to Go But Fight
After recuperating from the injuries, we all voluntarily went back to guerrilla duty with a vengeance - to fight for God and Country, freedom, justice and to go for broke, so to speak.
The Hunters had a record of the most formidable resistance movement - owing to stern discipline and tactical training learned from the Academy, whose officers were mostly PMAyers who set the standard to all its members. It was the most feared guerrilla unit by the Japanese troops in the provinces of Southern Luzon. They ambushed the enemy many times and took no Japanese for prisoners. [See Terry’ Hunters book, by E. Adevoso ]
There was a classic record by the Hunters who was able to capture a Japanese EM, that was successfuly brainwashed, who turned around and fought alongside the hunters. ( See; story, Japanese Guerrilla in the Philippines).
Contact with MacArthur in Australia
Sorties were organized to make contact with Gen. D. MacArthur in Australia to secure arms and logistics. Col. Frisco San Juan, also of Class ’44 successfully made contact with sea planetary missions of US submarine landings in Negros Island, of the famed Filipino ace, then Air Force Maj. Jesus Villamor, who landed in the Visayas, and Navy Cmdr. Chick Parsons, a former Manilan sent by NacArthr to infiltrate the Philippines the Hunters therefore received arms , amo and supplies from Australia via U.S submarines.
The planetary parties took back with them valuable intelligence reports from the PMA-Hunters to Australia, and in return they- trips carried radio sets and supplies for the Hunters via US submarines.
War Materiel in exchange for Intelligence
Since then, by late 1943, the Hunters received fresh shipments of radio sets, arms and ammo at Infanta, Quezon and Polilio Islands. In return for these logistics - valuable intelligence were sent to Southwest Pacific Area Command of MacArthur. Maj Gen. Charles A. Willoughby was MacArthur’s G-2 relied heavily on the Hunter’s intel reports, which he said “shortened the liberation of the Philippines.”[See Willoughby’s book,” Guerrilla Resistance Movement in the Philippines, and Return to the Philippine
The Los Banos Daring Raid
The 8th U.S. Army [ XI Corps] commanded by Lt Gen. Robert Eichelberger landed in Nasugbu, Batangas together with the famed US 11th Airborne Division under Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Swing, in January 31, 1945. They were met by the Hunters Guerrilla Regiment of Cavaliers: Col. Juanito Ferrer, Class ’44 and assisted by Col. Eufracio Villanueva, also Class ‘ 44 at the shore of Nasugbu, Batangas with very little resistance from the enemy. Cavalier Adevoso headed the Hunter’s welcoming party – and immediately former a central guerrilla command together with Mja. Gen.Joseph M. Swing, CO of the famed U.S. 11th Airborne Division. They set up headquarters in Nasugbu, Batangas plotted the liberation of Manila from Batangas towards the southern jaw of Manila [ in Pasay, Rizal ]. They named the drive “Pony Express,” way - in a mad rush towards Manila to get there ahead of the U.S 6th Army that landed in Lingayen, Pangasinan. There was a quiet contest between the 11th Airborne and the 1st Cavalry - to capture the capital city.
Guerrilla forces were integrated a into the U.S.liberation troops – which formed a massive assault force against the Japanese holed up in the mountains of Laguna, Batangas and Cavite.
Pony Express to Manila
The Hunters was the spearhead guerrilla unit that pushed from Tagaytay City which oushed towards Paranaque, Rizal under heavy artillery fire from the 15,000 naval forces of Admiral Furuse, who defied the order of Gen. Yamashita to abandon Manila. The rest of the enemy retreated towards the mountains of the Sierras in Rizal and Bulacan provinces, to form the Shimbu defense line. To fight to the last Bushido warrior.
Fierce Fighting
Fierce fighting ensured from Paranaque towards Nichol’s Field pinning down the 11th Airbonre and the Hunters. As a matter of fact, the 11th Airborne lost one of its top officers, Col. Himmelfening, in the drive towards Paranaque. Japanese banzai [suicide sorties] charges took tolls on U.S troops.
So the Hunter’s provided the 11th AB Division headquarters staff of Maj. Gen. Swing - a crack company of well-trained Hunters - called “Gen. Swing’s Own Guard” [GSOG] to protect the General’s staff., led by PMAyer Class ’44, Col. Godofredo Carreon. Maj. Gen. J. W. Swing. CG of the US 11th AB had high respects for these Hunters whom he described in his letter to me, to wit: ‘Those were the finest men of yours that safeguarded me and the general staff. Thank them for me.”
Lt. Gen. Joseph M. Swing retired as 6th Army Commander at the Presidio of San Francisco, and, in civilian life was appointed by his West Point classmate, President Eisenhower, as Commissioner of Immigrations and Naturalization Service, who was responsible for pushing my U.S. citizenship under the 1950 Act, upon my residence in the U.S. In no time, I was re-activated as a full Colonel, General Staff officer (Deputy Chief of Staff of the State Defense Force, U.S. Army National Guard Headquarters in Sacramento, /California
American POWs Impending Massacre As the liberation forces neared Manila, Cav. Gustavo Ingles, PMA Class ’45 was ordered to penetrate inside enemy line to provide intelligence to the General Staff about the prisoners-of-war in Los Banos. I was also tasked to coordinate the various civilian intel-units in Los Banos, Laguna.
We discovered that the enemy had standing orders to massacre all the 2,146 when the U.S forces reache Los Banos. The local quislings (Makapilis) spies were hotly after Ingles and myself in the foothills of the mystic Mount Makiling, in Los Banos where the 2,146 American and Allied prisoners-of-war were incarcerated. We n ever slept in a place twice to evade those spies who had a price for our heads, under orders from the Kempei Tai.
Ingles was tasked by Adevoso as the overall coordinator of the Los Banos liberation operation representing the unified guerrilla participants. It was a very sensitive assignment because the lives of the 2,146 POWs were at great risk if we were discovered by the enemy.
Precise intelligence was the utmost priority in order for the assault-rescue force to execute a masterful plan of rescue drawn by Gen. Swing’s general staff led by the then Col. H. “Butch” Mueller, G-2 and Col. Douglas Quandt. G-3. The whole plan was a product of the careful verification by POW escapees from Los Banos brought by Col. Ingles to the headquarters. The plan was validated by Hunter Col. Middy” Castillo, USNA, Annapolis Class ’35.
The POWs were being maltreated by the enemy guards, and were in the edge of hell, being starved and maltreated owing to the surging liberation forces towards Los Banos. Col. Ingles and I had to work double-time to clear up all the gaps in the assault plan with the guerrillas and U.S 11th AB Scouts assigned with Col. Ingles – as overall coordinator of the raid.
Time Reconnaissance
The liberation of the 2,146 Americans and allied prisoners-of-warm incarcerated in Los Banos, Laguna, took priority action from Gen. MacArthur owing to the reported enemy order to massacre the POWs who were hoping against hope of emancipation.
Both the 11th AB and the Hunters –PMA General staff urgently acted on our radio request for immediate action, by radio message from the guerrilla base of the PQOG [Pres. Quezon’s Own Guerrilla] led by a certain Col. R. Price, who later turned out to be [Col.. Romeo Espino] who would later be Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines 30 years later under the Marcos regime.
Strategic Assignment
Much earlier, Adevoso plucked me out from the 45th Hunters Regiment Combat Force, to personally penetrate the Los Banos POW camp, inside enemy lines. Ingles and I both confirmed the enemy massacre order of the POWs at will by the Garrison Commander. Ingles urgently dispatched the information by radio to Adevoso and Gen. Swing in the joint general US-Guerrilla headquarters near Manila.
Assault and Rescue Order Finally, the order of Joint General Staff came after elaborate preparations [ by Col. D. Quandt [G-3], USMA; and Col. Henry Muller [G-2], with Hunter Marcelo “Middy” Castillo Class’ 35 of USNA, Annapolis, who validated the operational plan. In turn, Col. Adevoso ordered execution thereof by the PMA-Hunters 45th Regiment to execute the assault rescue of Los Banos POWs initially February 23, l945. It was to be an air-se-an-land joint 11thAB-Hunters assault-rescue operation.
Joint Assault-Rescue Operation The 11th AB contingent was ordered to support the guerrilla operation, along with a couple of American war correspondents[ Frank Smith, etc.] who witnessed the whole daring raid. They saw the finest hour of the PMA-Hunters and the U.S. scouts in action during the surprise assault-rescue operation. On D-Day, [Feb. 23, 1945] the Hunters 45th Regiment under command of Hunter Col. Honorio K. Guerrero was deployed around the POW camp. They were to wait for an airborne para-troop company to jump over the camp, as the signal of the overall assault, then later followed by the intrusion of the amphibian tanks of the 672nd Tank BN, that would evacuate the POWs to Muntinlupa, Rizal in amphibian tanks -and ferried across the Laguna de Bay.
The Surprise Attack
The attack was to be carried out at 07:00 HRS by the 23rd. Hunters’ combat forces were deployed around the POW camp the night of the 22nd, while other guerrilla units were to arrive Los Banos early morning of the 23rd abroad sailboats to join the attack. All entries and exit to Los Banos were sealed from any possible enemy break through. Civilian populations were requested to evacuate Los Banos shortly before the assault of the POW camp.
The Final Hour
The Hunters lay. on the ground motionless but wide awake awaiting for the drone of the C-47 airplane Squadron of Col. Anderson at dawn to disgorge the airborne troopers at the para-drop zone outside the POW camp. The February wind was annoyingly chilly, they hugged the ground for warmth, all of them prayed. There indeed were no atheists in the foxholes. We prayed for the POWs’ safety and for myself – about to see the face of the enemy in combat. However, we believed that God was on our side.
The heavy morning mist lazily crawled through the barbed wire fence, blurred shadows of the enemy guards moved about inside the camp preparing for their daily assembly for the morning “radyo taisho” [callisthenics over the radio from Manila) ]. This was their daily routine which Ingles and I have discovered beforehand. We noted the guards stocked arms before callisthenics every morning when we observed them earlier. This was important cue to the planners (G-2 and G-3) to use such prime information. It was part of the surprise attack which totally caught the enemy guards totally off-guard during the lightning assault
Morning of February 23rd
By 06:40 HRS the sound of the planes drew nearer. The men aroused fully from their catnaps - and firmly positioned themselves near the fence facing the camp. The enemy, nevertheless, nonchalantly continued their routine without any idea what was going to happen to them. This daily routine was sharply noted by Col. Ingles earlier during his observation from the fringes of the POW camp, which he emphasized in the report to GHQ. It proved to be the key to the precise hour - as a surprise attack upon an insouciant enemy. It certainly paid off during the assault.
Unexpected Episode
At this juncture, early in the morning -an enemy guard chased a hedge-hog towards the fence. He fired at the hog narrowly and unwittingly missing the Hunters deployed behind the buses. Hunter Capt. Marcelino Tan mistook this incident as discovery by the enemy of his men, thus - ordered a return fire.
At this juncture, all the Hunters around the camp reacted and hell broke loose. They simultaneously opened fire at their chosen targets. This unexpected incident started a premature assault. Rifles and machineguns barked without let up at the unaware guards that were mowed down without mercy. The Hunters breached the camp and “bolo” squads carrying razor-sharp machetes hacked the enemy. Surprise was our best weapon. It paid off handsomely in routine the guards that were felled by the initial volley of fire.
Makeshift Enemy Defense Some of the guards, however, were able to recover from the first wave of attack, managed to put up a makeshift defense to no avail. There was a hand-to-hand skirmish which resulted to the death of two young Hunters [ Tana Castillo and Momong Soler]. These two young lads were my close friends in the combat force. I have trained them in the mobile combat force, prior to my new assignment as coordinating intelligence officer at Los Banos liberation. I knew them well for they have always been behind me in previous patrols upon taking the lead at all patrols. However, during the Los Banos raid, they were under a different component during the assault
Ingles’s Intrusion of the Camp
At the main entrance of the camp, during the breach, Col. Ingles and the U.S Scouts were met with burst of enemy fire. Ingles returned with heavier fire and lobbed half-dozen grenades which wiped out the enemy guards instantly. They proceeded towards the main camp to join the melee.
Para-drop of the Brown Boots
At the para-drop zone, secured by guerrillas, the airborne troopers finally landed safely, with Hunter Bob Fletcher, and joined the action inside he camp nearby. By the time they reached the camp, the Hunters 45th Regimental banner was proudly waving on the makeshift flagstaff over the internee’s barracks. This banner was later brought by this author to be displayed at the U.S 6th Army Presidio Museum in San Francisco, California. And was returned to the Hunters on its 50th Anniversary in Manila, Philippines.
Hunters Breached the Camp
As sporadic gun-fires faded, there was an ominous silence. Hunters searched the perimeter for remaining enemy, mostly were badly wounded that were beyond help, and were left to die on the spot to join their ancestors. The airborne troopers had their share fire-fight against the remaining scampering Japanese from their stations.
The whole camp was in pandemonium. Both the guerrillas and the airborne troopers had a hay day routine shooting enemy guards who wee caught with their pants down. The element of surprise certainly was on our side that contributed much to the assault.
The POWs - sensing that it was safe to come out of their barracks, rushed out to greet their emancipators, hugging and kissing us, while tears of joy fell unashamedly. The whole camp was an amphi-theatre of ovation and thanksgiving. We cannot also help but also cry unashamedly upon seeing these starved, emaciated tortured souls, for three years and a half suffered under the iron heels of a savage enemy. It was a day of jubilation. Their prayers were finally answered while they went on their knees for three years praying for emancipation. They could not believe it that they were finally free. They were stunned, bewildered and horrendously surprised with glee. Can could not believe that they were free – at last.
Sad Aftermath
But, after the POWs and the raiders were all safely evacuated to Muntinlupa, Rizal, on that day, Japanese Battalion returned to Los Banos after a week - and vengefully massacred 7,000 innocent civilians who remained in - and/or returned to Los Banos who disobeyed the warning of the liberators to leave the place after the raid. A high, price - indeed was paid for by Filipino live in exchange of 2,146 Americans and allied POWs.
But it was part of the wages of war. People of Los Banos could not understand why there were none of us that stayed behind in Los Banos to protect them after the raid. However, the truth was – we had another order to proceed north towards Manila for the liberation of the Capital City..The Los Banos local guerrilla home-guards albeit have warned the people of Los Banos to evacuate, but failed to do so.
Day of Expounding the Truth On the 50th anniversary of the Los Banos liberation of the POWs and the town - Col. Gustavo C. Ingles, together with Cav. [BGen. E. Gidaya], PMA Class ’51, as Undersecretary of Defense, and myself with some American POWs returned for the grand reunion. The townspeople of Los Banos finally understood why no less than 7,000 of them were massacred by the vengeful Japanese who came back after our raid - and killed the civilians who did not heed the advice to leave the place. They were informed beforehand that after the raid, and that we had another assignment to proceed to liberate Pasay and Manila. The Hunters had to move on to liberate Lucena City, Quezon province.
Liberation Campaign
The guerrillas had another assignment to push forward to liberated the provinces of Quezon and Rizal, where the Hunters once more showed the U.S. Army how to flush out the enemy from their caves at Tanay, Rizal and Ipo Dam, in Bulacan province.
At Ipo Dam Campaign, it was Col. Frisco F. San Juan [Cav ‘44] and his PMA-Hunter forces kept the enemy without sleep under continuous assaults. The Hunters, however, paid a heavy toll in that campaign against waves of suicidal enemy “Banzai” charges. San Juan was in the heat of the assault against the huge enemy forces of the Shimbu defense line. It had to take over two months to mop u the Sierra Madre.
The Batangas Debacle
The Hunters also spearheaded the campaign in Batangas [ at Mt.Makulot ] where there was fierce fighting led by Hunter Col. Emmanuel de Ocampo against the enemy holed up in the area - who fought to the last man. The Hunters and other guerrilla units had a grudge fight against a superior enemy defense force. They took months before routing the enemy holed inside caves, determined to die to the last Bushido. In sum, the liberation campaign – gloriously succeeded but not without a high price. One million Filipinos perished in this war of the United States against Japan that involved the Filipinos in a war not inherently their own. It was a war of the U.S. against Japan.
Looking Back
The PMA Hunters - led by Class ’44 cavaliers had written a veritable history in blood and sweat - in World War II in the Philippines witnessed by no less than their comrades [ Lt. Gen. Robert Eicheberger, CO of the US Eight Army, the U.S 11th Airborne Division of Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Swing, the First Cavalry of Gen. William Chase. The 43rd Infantry Division of Maj. Leonard Wing, 103rd Infantry Battalion under Brig. Gen. Stark, the 11th Corps, the 11th Corps led by Gen. Julian Cunningham, and later by the AFWESPAC, etc., during the liberation and pacification campaigns of Southern Luzon .
Before the Turnover of the Commonwealth from U.S. Armed Forces Professional Careers
The PMAyers were all sent to the U.S. after World War II to undergo advance schooling at Command and Staff Schools (Fort Benning, GA; Fort Sill, OK; San Antonio TX, etc., and other schools before assuming respective posts n the Armed Forces of the Philippines. They all reached the apex of their military careers. For my part, I served a few years with the U.S Armed Forces in the West Pacific (AFWESPAC) and later with the Philippine Ryukus Command (PHILRYCOM) - then continued higher studies in Europe [ in Switzerland, Italy and France], completing my thesis “ Structures of Governments and Comparative Economic Systems.” Earned a gold medal for merit and excellence.
‘ Had a brief stint with the Flying Tigers Transport Command (1949) in China that evacuated Gen. Chiang Kai Shiek and the Chinese Nationalist Army [ Koumintang ] flown to safety from Lunghua, Shanghai, China to Taiwan Island, Republic of China.
‘ Completed studies at the Political War College, then stint with the Trans-Ocean Transport Division collecting by air transport all the Jews [White Russians, Estonians, stateless refugees] Jews and Palestinians all over Asia for repatriation to Lydda, Israel. And then in the Korean War with the U.N. Airlift Operations.
Then, later as psy-war and counter-intelligence observer in Laos during the Vietnam Conflict.
After serving the Philippine Government as psy-war consultant to then Sec. Ramon Magsaysay, who later became President of the Republic of the Philippines was tasked as Senate Committee Secretary of the Veterans and Military Pensions, vice president of Veterans Federation of the Philippines, then as public relations director of the Philippine Veterans Bank.
.It was time move on to participate as a ranking delegate to the International Conference of Human Rights and Social Welfare at Helsinki, Finland. And also as a delegate to the International Inter-Pol Security Conference, and then as member of the Cultural Delegation to the United Soviet Republic of Russia ( Moscow and Leningrad).
No sooner, after returning to the U.S., was called to serve - the U.S Army National Guard Reserves (CSMR) at Sacramento National Guard Headquarters [ first, as G-3 of the State Defense Force], [DCS] and then, Dep. Chief of Staff, of the Defense Force of 4 Brigades - after serving as Logistic Advisor of the 2nd Infantry BDE, a Fort Funston in San Francisco, California.
Tapped by Lt. Gen. Daniel O.Graham as a member of the ad hoc United States Defense Committee( White House) during Pres. Ronald Reagan Administration.
Retired as a full Colonel USA. Served the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals, (Circuit Executive Office) in San Francisco, California. Resided in California with my wife, Lou – as an executive of the School of Nursing, in San Francisco State University. We then relocated to a retirement hone in Las Vegas, Nevada.
+ + +
Those interested in the Internet version of the Los Banos Liberation of the American and allied POWs “Freedom At Dawn”. And the other book – “Ordeal In War’s Hell” – browse the internet. And contact Cavalier retired Gen. Fred Filler, at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Museum
Tribute to Members of PMA Class‘44 in Alphabetical Order: (Surname first)
Abendano, Fernando A. Acosta, Galileo C. Adea, Daniel B. Adevoso, Eleuterio L Aguila, Florentino B. Alcasid, Domingo A. Aquino, Joae M. .Artiaga, Jose M .Baquirin, Bienvenido V. Baumann, Eduardo A .Bermejo, Leandro C. Bernal, Felix R. Cabal, Geronimo M .Caceres, Percival R .Caluya, Laureto E. Carreon, Godofredo M. Castillo, Lauro M. Cleofe, Jimeno A .Concepcion, Teodoro J .Corpuz, Marcelno R. Dacanay, Benito R Dacamay, Patrocinio T. David, Nicanor C .Dizon, Rufino C. Domingo, Emilio A.Dumlao, Rafael F. .Erfe-Mejia, Marcelino P. Estrera, Hilarion L .Fawcett, Alfredo Federis, Waldemero E. Fenix, , Jose B.Guzman, Pablo O. Flor, Leonilo A. Ferrer, Juanito N .Flor, Leonilo. Flores, Mauricio S. Francisco, Pablo M. Genguyon, Gil G. Gutierrez Guillermo G. Indiongco, Saturnino S .Irlanda, Cristobal V. Jazmin, Cesar C .Jose, Pacifico V .Lara, Melanio P La Madrid, Bernardo L .Lim. Vicente H Jr., .Macalinao, Bartolome S .Magaro Pablo A Maristela, Vicente E. Molano, Sergio C. Moreno, Guillermo S .Nonato, Godiardo G Paat, Pedro O. Paje, Anselmo Q .Panopio, Juan B. Paredes, Pablo G. Perez, Gregorio R .Perlas, Jose Z. Punzalan, Victor M. Radam, Julio C .Regalado, Ramiro F. .Reyes, Jose L .Rodriguez, Jose Romero, Armando G .Roque, Antenor B .Roque,Benitez C .Ruaro, Severino R. Sabalones, Samson T .Sandiko, Felipito C. San Juan, Frisco F. Santiago, Hermogenes V. Segundo, Fidel V. Jr. Sevilla, Elias G. Signacion, Mario G. Tan, Lorenzo A. Torralba, Damaso Ugalde, Aurelio S. Valdez, Vivencio A .Valencia, Erusto P.Ver, Jesus L.Vera, Vicente A De, Veto William R. Villanueva, Eufracio C.Villasanta, Mariano M.
Associate Members
Lim, Patricio H (Rev.)Manglapuz, Raul, S., Quesada, Frank B., and Tangco, Paciano S.
Members, Reported to Class’ 44
On April 1, 1944
Bernal, Felix R. (returned from 1941), Briosos (FNU) Escalona, Marcelino, Ignacio, Pablo Lim,.Vicente H.Jr. (left for USMA) Loren (FNU) Molano, Sergio C. (left for USNA) Porat, Vicente O, Rapista (FNU) Reyes, Edmundo Delos, Rordiguez, Jose, Sabalones, Samson, Santos, Dizon, Santos (FNU) Tadeo, Rafael, Veto William R.
Source: Memoires of PMA Class ‘44
“Wrought In Gold “ 50th Anniversary
For more details: Browse Internet PMAyer’s Internet addresses

 

Havent found a pic of the memorial yet. I haven't forgotten. I am Still looking for one.

 

Thanks Falcon, there is no hurry, it's just that you don't see these kind of pictures everyday.

 

Here's a painting I found depicting a Filipino guerilla armed with a bolo dispatching a Japanese sentry. Other guerillas are crouching in the foreground. US aircraft bearing paratroopers are passing overhead. The troops are jumping and eventually freed the internees in Los Baños.

 

Hello Falcon,

Thanks for the quoted post.

I'm currently researching a possible internee at Los Banos (arrived around July 1943). Are you aware of any lists of internees in that camp? Alternatively, have you any information that you might share with me regarding maps, plans air photos of the camp. I'm thinking this person may have been
d.o.a. and buried there. if so, I'd be looking for lists of interments (if they exist), location of the burial ground, location of the interment.

A massive ask, after all this time, I know. But any leads would greatly assist.

Thanks,

Pete

 

Every time I read the title of this thread I think "Sure, you'd want to go to Los Banos after a battle." Heck, I think I'd likely go to Los Banos during the battle, in my shorts.

 

You can try the Philippine Archives Collection website. If you can't find anything in their online collections, you could try contacting them since it seems to be a work in progress.