Japan had long planned
to establish an empire in Asia – the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. To
launch this grand plan, Japan aggressively expanded its hegemony over most of East
and Southeast Asia. It conquered Korea, China, Malaya, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Decades earlier, following the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Japan acquired Taiwan,
an island sitting at the Philippines’ northern doorstep.
United States of
America knew so well that Japan’s next target will be the Philippines. As a
precautionary measure, US froze all of Japan’s assets in its territory. Strangely,
however, the Commander of the US Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), Gen.
Douglas MacArthur, held on to his belief that Japan, an underdog, will never antagonize
USA.
To facilitate its
campaign in the Philippines, Japan had to cripple the United States Pacific
Fleet at the Pearl Harbor, State of Hawaii. This is to prevent the military
base from sending support to the Philippines. Thus, at around 3:00 a.m., December
8, 1941, a commercial radio station awakened the Philippines with a bad news –
Japanese bombers annihilated the United States Pacific Fleet at the Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. It was a sneak attack that in two hours, United States lost 2,086
naval officers and 237 army men. With no expected reinforcement, the
Philippines was left practically on its own.
The Municipality
of Mabalacat is the home of Clark Air Base, a major US air base in Asia. As the
war loomed, Mabalacat and its citizens became vulnerable to imminent Japanese
aggressions. Despite the Pearl Harbor attacks, the leaders at Clark did not make
any decisive move. In time, Washington, D.C. ordered Gen. MacArthur to attack the
Japanese forces based in Taiwan. But reality dawned upon him – the Philippines,
under his command, was ill-prepared. Shocked, he preferred not to make the first
overt act. His failure to act decisively was fatal. At 11:27 a.m., few hours
after Pearl Harbor bombing, Japanese planes hovered over Luzon almost
undetected. At 12:35 p.m. Japanese bombs started falling on Clark turning
planes and installations into flames. What the bombs missed was finished off by
the strafing that followed. Though the Americans managed to gun down at least three
(3) Japanese Zeros, their casualties totaled 100 men and officers wounded and
55 killed. [1]
Fifty minutes later, the Japanese
flew back to Taiwan leaving the Americans confronting death and wounds,
destruction and damage, fire and smoke, and demoralization.[2]
“These early bombings,” reported Maj. Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright, “dealt a
disastrous blow to our air force and seriously crippled our defensive strength
in the Philippines.”[3]
Wainwright was then the North Luzon Force commanding general.
The Christmas of
1941 was stressful for the citizens of Mabalacat. Japanese forces bombed Clark
Air Base almost everyday until the Americans abandoned the base in December 24.
An unaccounted number of civilians from Clark and Mabalacat were wounded or killed.
Townsfolk were afraid to go out of their homes because Japanese bombs seemed to
hang above their heads like the sword of Damocles. Many citizens evacuated to
remote barrios and even to other towns for safety. The town was turned into a
ghost town. Our Lady of Grace Parish Church was almost empty during the Christmas
Eve mass. Christmas carols were not heard. Fear, not joy, filled every child’s
eyes.
In Manila, Fr.
Juan Labrador, O.P., Rector of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, accommodated some
of the American soldiers who escaped from Clark. In his diary, he noted how
demoralized the soldiers were:
“After
hearing their confession and giving them communion, I asked them to take a cup
of coffee. They said they came from Clark Air Base. The night before and early
in the morning, the Japanese raid caused enormous destruction. They could not
tell how many American planes were burned or how many pilots, mechanics and
officers were killed. Casualties were heavy on their side. They were scared,
but they left Letran physically and spiritually relieved.”[4]
As first hand
witnesses to the bombings of Clark, Mabalaqueños knew that the course of Philippine
history was about to change forever. As the news of the Fall of Bataan became
the talk of the town, they knew peacetime was over. The citizens halfheartedly
awaited the take-over of the new colonizers. And they came right after the New
Year’s Day of 1942. The Municipality of Mabalacat, like many towns in the
Philippines, was under Japanese rule from 1942 to 1945.
Japanese Recruits Trained at Mabalacat
Japan promptly
took over the ruined Clark and its surroundings and converted it into training
grounds and airstrips. The Japanese renamed Clark as Kuraku Furido and built infrastructures necessary to support flight
operations in the islands. Using the labors of Filipinos and Prisoners of War
as well as their own construction battalions, the Japanese cleaned up the ruins
at Clark and built a “vast complex of …paved and unpaved runways, taxiways,
dispersal areas, aircraft revetments, and associated installations” that
stretched through the reservation area for nearly 15 miles.[5]
They built nine airstrips stretching from Mabalacat to Del Carmen.
Japanese residents
from all over the Philippines were drafted as soldiers and were brought to Kuraku Furido for training. The daily
training of the draftees included a walk of about 20 kilometers in full battle
gear through the national highway passing through the town of Mabalacat. From
time to time, North American B-25 Light Bombers flew over the town of Mabalacat
and dropped hundreds of paratroopers. To the surprise and panic of the Japanese
trainees, these were just miniature dolls, dangling beneath the parachutes and
fast descending upon them.[6]
These caused considerable fear among the residents.
It was Back to Business in Mabalacat
The disturbance of
the war was intended to be temporary. After driving away the Americans from the
Philippines, Japan intended to bring back the normal life of the Filipinos
under the campaign: Asia for Asians, Philippines for the Filipinos. With the
appointment of Mayor Jose Mendoza as the Mayor of the Municipality of
Mabalacat, the political and socio-economic life of the town was expected to go
back to normal, although not without intermittent uneasiness. Courts of
Justices resumed its functions and were hearing and deciding civil and criminal
cases. Schools welcomed pupils who were expected to learn Japanese language
too. Milk peddlers resumed their early morning routines. Barbershops, cockpits,
markets and sari-sari stores resumed operations. The Manila-Dagupan train
propelled back to life. It was first used to transport prisoners of war (who
surrendered at Bataan) from San Fernando to Capas passing through Angeles and
Mabalacat. Then it was used to transport passengers and products to Manila and
other places.
Mabalacat was then
an agricultural municipality. Much of its lands were devoted to the cultivation
of sugarcane and palay. Mabalacat landowners and tenants resumed cultivating
their farms and gathered harvests. And the transport of agricultural produce
also resumed, either via the highway or the rail. There were, however,
intermittent disturbances of this apparent peace. There were Japanese zonings
and confiscations; highway robbers abound; debtors refused to pay their
obligations on the alleged reason that war caused them big losses; and
Mabalacat economy almost collapsed because of the introduction of the Japanese
“Mickey mouse” money.
One of the
prominent families of the era was the Cuyugan Family. They owned several
parcels of land totaling to thirty-three (33) hectares. On October 8, 1940, on
the eve of the war, Ines Consolacion Cuyugan, the Family matriarch, leased all these
tracts of land to Atty. Jose P. Dizon. However, during the agricultural years
1942 to 1944, Atty. Dizon refused to pay the full amount of rents on account of
force majeure – the chaos brought about by the Japanese Occupation. The Court
of Justice resolved that despite the war, Pampanga landowners and farmers were
able to farm and gather their harvests. Atty. Dizon was ordered to pay the
rents. [7]
Hungry Japanese Confiscated Farm Harvests
Japan attempted to
consolidate its authority over the Philippines by crushing all the guerilla
warfare staged by the American and Filipino soldiers. Manhunt activities,
called “zoning,” were conducted in all places suspected to be hideouts of the
guerillas. Market places, train stations, cockpits, churches, barbershops,
private homes and even remote barrios were all subjected to Japanese zoning.
All persons
suspected as guerillas were ordered out of the establishments and lined-up
facing the sun. From the line-up, Filipino spies in the Japanese employ,
arbitrarily identified suspected guerilla soldiers. Those identified were
incarcerated, tortured by water cure and forced to divulge what they rarely
knew – the whereabouts of other American and Filipino guerilla soldiers. In
April 1943, zonings were conducted at Bulog, Sapang Balen, Pesucul and others.
Suspected as a guerilla hideout, Venancio Rivera’s house was burned by
constabulary soldiers on August 18, 1943. [8]
Hungry and in dire
need for resources to continue the war, the Japanese soldiers had to confiscate
private properties. Filipinos at the Japanese employ also did the same. They
confiscated sugar central of Bamban and had them controlled by Japanese. The
stately Morales house was confiscated by the Japanese and converted it into a
garrison and prison cell. In February, 1944, while at Mabalacat, businessman
Estanislao Melo almost lost a horse to Japanese had it not for the intervention
of Filipino spies who shifted loyalties for economic gains. Filipino spies,
taking advantage of the situation, confiscated rice, sugar and other goods from
the civilians who were bound for Manila on board the Manila-Dagupan train. [9]
Marcelina N. Gomez (Sinang) of Dolores,
Mabalacat, recounted that the Japanese confiscated not only the rice harvests
but also the food of her family. Born in 1934, she was already studying grade
one in the primary school during the Japanese occupation. Her family was then a
tenant farmer of a five-hectare lot devoted to rice and sugar cane farming. The
lot was a part of a large hacienda owned by Doña Africa V. Santos. [10]
Sinang’s family also experienced Japanese
violence. Her father, Rosendo Gomez, was harassed because of his refusal to bow
to Japanese officers. Her only brother was forced to work in the Japanese camp.
They evacuated several times and eventually settled at the hills of Capas where
they continued farming. [11]
Guerilla
Warfare Fought at the Outskirts of Mabalacat
With the fall of Clark, the rest of the country
followed suit. By April, 1942, the country was effectively under the Japanese
control. Instead of surrendering to the Japanese, many American soldiers
escaped and went on guerilla warfare. They established several camps in the
mountains around Central Luzon. They were aided by Filipino guerillas,
civilians and Pinatubo Aetas. Some of the American soldiers who established
guerilla camps and “spy stations” were Lt. Col. John “Daniel” Boone (Bataan),
Col. Claude Thorp (Zambales), 2nd Lt. Clay Conner, Jr. (Pampanga)
and Lt. James Hart (Tarlac).
The nearness of Mabalacat to Kuraku Furido, where
thousands of Japanese soldiers were encamped, made the guerilla warfare in the
town difficult to carry out. However, 2nd Lt. Clay Conner, Jr. and
Lt. James Hart organized guerilla camps at the outskirts of Mabalacat. Conner
even managed to fly a torn American Flag in his Pinatubo hideout just fifteen
miles away from Kuraku
Furido.
Just north of Mabalacat, Americans Lt. James
Hart, Capt. Alfred Bruce and (FNU) Zinghine organized the Luzon Guerilla
Forces, South Tarlac Military District. They were joined by Filipino guerillas
Adelaida Villareyes and Jose Raagas. They established their hideout at the
remote Tapuak, Bamban where they continued the fight against Japan. This
guerilla unit was recognized on February 21, 1945.
With the help of spies from Mabalacat, Imperial
Japanese Forces raided the hideout of Lt. Hart’s Luzon Guerilla Forces. During
the foggy early hours of September 3, 1943, the Japanese Constabulary bombarded
the guerilla hideout at Tapuak, Bamban, sending Capt. Alfred Bruce to scamper
for his life deeper among the mountains. A companion, Filipino guerilla Jose
Raagas, followed him. From the mountain, they saw how their other comrades
below were captured and tied. Another companion, Lt. James Hart fought head on
with the Japanese soldiers. Allegedly, Fortunato Muñoz, a Filipino spy from
Mawaque, Mabalacat, shot Hart on the forehead.[12]
Lt. Clay Conner, Jr., a World War II survivor,
related a different story. He narrated that on September 3, 1943, his group
(with Pvt. Bob Mailheau and Frank Gyovai) arrived at the hideout of Lt. James
Hart near Bamban. The hideout was a good “spy station.” It had a collection of
books, newspapers, maps and charts. Hart had practically charted the twists and
turns of the war. By nightfall, Capt. Alfred Bruce and Pvt. Tommy Musgrove also
arrived at the hideout. While Conner and his group wanted to stay for the
night, Conner sensed danger. He asked the Filipinos to accompany him deeper
into the jungle and into the night, away from Hart’s camp. Bruce reluctantly
joined them while Musgrove stayed behind. The next day, they found Lt. James
Hart and Pvt. Tommy Musgrove dead, the Filipinos burned to death and the books
smoldering. An American and two Filipinos were captured. Hart defended his
camp, but when he realized that he was outnumbered he shot himself through the
head.[13]
On December 17,
1947, the Supreme of the Philippines convicted Fortunato
Muñoz of treason for allegedly
killing Lt.
James Hart and for his duplicity. He was
locked behind bars for life.
[14]
Tibuk -tibuk Made Life More Difficult
Spies, known in
hushed conversations as tibuk-tibuk, at
the employ of the Japanese were dreaded by Mabalaqueños. The Filipino spies,
slavish dolts as they are, unceremoniously pointed even the innocent to impress
their Japanese employers. The Municipalities of Mabalacat and Bamban were in
hot seats because of its proximity to the hills where American soldiers were
reportedly hiding and organizing guerilla movements. Jose Orquiola, Alfonso
Garcia, Mateo Lacsina, Fortunato Muñoz were positively identified as Japanese
spies. Appointment to this dreaded position was done by the Japanese-appointed
Municipal Mayor.
One of the
notorious tibuk-tibuk of Mabalacat
was Fortunato Muñoz (alias Fortunato
Vizcarra) of Barrio Mawaque. Muñoz actively participated in the zoning not only
in Mabalacat, but also in Bamban, Magalang and Angeles. Through Muñoz, many
Filipinos were jailed and tortured in Mabalacat and Bamban. At one instance,
the Japanese soldiers brought thirty guerilla suspects to be jailed at Bamban.
Muñoz picked seventeen of them and denounced them as guerillas. He pointed them
one by one. They were brought at the concentration camp at Capas, Tarlac.
Pinatubo
Aetas Joined the Guerilla Warfare
The forested and hidden valleys on both sides
of Mt. Pinatubo are home to thousands of Pinatubo Aeta, a negrito tribe. They
lived in dozens of independent clan settlements and were headed by their
chiefs. One of the clan settlements was a notorious Aeta headhunting group
headed by Chief Tomas. A more civil clan settlement was headed by Chief Kudiaro
Laxamana. The Aetas used to stroll around Clark Field silently observing the
strange ways of the Americans. They sold handicrafts, forest products, wild
animals and orchids to bored army wives or posed topless flanked by the amused
American soldiers for some souvenir photos. Since the time the Japanese took
over Pampanga, the Aeta shied away from the lowlands because of the atrocities
of Japanese, whom they mistook to be Filipinos.
Living more than eighteen (18) months in the
jungles of Mt. Pinatubo, in October 1943, 2nd Lt. Clay Conner, Jr.
forged friendship with some Aeta tribes. With this new linkage, Conner
organized a Pampanga-based guerilla unit, the 155th Provisional
Guerilla Battalion, headed by himself and his comrades Frank Gyovai, Bob
Mailheau, Doyle Decker and Bob Campbell. The guerilla battalion was comprised
of two companies of Aetas and one company of Philippine Scouts, ranging from 50
to 100 men. It was named after the 155 mm “long tom” howitzers, which is among
the finest pieces of artillery around.[15]
On the later part of 1943, news echoed through
the mountains about some lawless Filipinos sacking the village of Banaba, near
the town of Porac. The perpetrators raped
young women and seized
the peoples’ farm animals. Rushing to the scene, the guerillas
found that these weren’t Filipinos, but Japanese – a
number of them. Fighting ensued, shots fired and arrows zinged. When the smoke
settled, thirty-six (36) Japanese soldiers lay dead. Two months
later, on December 2, 1943, the head of Luzon Guerilla, Col. Gyles Merrill,
officially recognized the 155th Provisional Guerilla Battalion.[16]
The guerilla’s Filipino Scouts were led by Lt.
Felipe Maningo. The Pinatubo Aetas, armed with 1903 Springfield rifles, were
trained and led by Sgt. Gaetano Bato, a native of Sapang Bato, Angeles.
However, because of the nearness to the Kuraku Furido,
the guerilla battalion refrained from staging any major military engagements.
Gen. Douglas Mac Arthur, himself, ordered ceasefire. Military engagements might
trigger harsh retaliation against the Filipinos living in the lowlands. By November 23, 1944, the
155th Provisional Guerilla Battalion grew in number. Its membership
consisted of few thousand Filipinos; some 3,000 of them were Aetas. [17]
 | |
|
The Divine Winds Blew from Mabalacat
By mid-1942, the
tide of the Pacific War turned against Japan. When Japan sneakily attacked the
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, America was caught by surprise. However, when the
latter recovered from the shock and started showing off its strength, it became
obvious that war will be one-sided. In October 1944, American naval aircrafts
began attacking Clark from Leyte. Two months later, on December 22, 1944,
fighters and bombers of the 5th Air Force also commenced sustained
air assaults on Clark. Everyday, whenever the weather permitted, the 22nd
and 494th Bombardment Groups bombed the air fields. The air force
made its attacks from 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. leaving the other hours for the
attacks of the carrier-based aircrafts. These daily aerial assaults caused
utter confusion among the Japanese at Clark.
In the morning of
January 4, 1945, two American P-47s swept in low over one of the Japanese
airfields and shot eight “Shiden” fighters which just arrived from Japan,
killing nine pilots and crewmen.[18]
It became obvious that Japan was fighting a futile war. [19]
Describing the apprehension of the times, Private Hiroyuki Mizuguchi, a
surviving Japanese soldier of Nippon Kouku Yusobu (Southern Air Transport),
Philippine Branch, later wrote:
“I
knew we no longer possessed good planes. Trained and dependable pilots and
aeronautical engineers were no longer available. While cleaning the grease off
the airplane’s body, I noticed that some portions were made of plywood. How
could Japan continue with this crazy one-sided war?...” [20]
Indeed, Japan at
this stage of the war, had nothing but young pilots who were trained to fly but
not to dogfight. During their schooling in Japan, these pilots were taught to
sacrifice their lives for their Emperor. Japanese culture also viewed suicide and
the death of young people as “beautiful.” Although for the pilots, death is
never beautiful, to die in such a way, for the Emperor and for their country
was honorable. Throughout the Pacific War, many young Japanese pilots chose
sudden suicide attacks instead of being defeated during dogfights. By late
1944, a slogan of Jusshi Reisho
meaning “Sacrifice Life,” was spread.[21]
As the war
situation worsened for Japan, the General Staff considered staging organized
suicide attacks in the hope of reversing the tide of war. But since this task
was “too much” to be commanded, the attacks were to be staged only if the
pilots themselves volunteered. On October 20, 1944, Vice Admiral Takijiro
Ohnishi, Commander of the Japanese Naval Air Forces in the Philippines, called
for an urgent meeting at Mabalacat in a house owned Mr. and Mrs. Marcos Santos.
Twenty-three (23) young pilots of the 201 Flight Squadron stationed at the town
under Commander Asaichi Tamai were present. They were asked if they would
volunteer to crash their planes directly on targets – the American Naval Armada
of aircraft carriers, battleship destroyers and submarines. Believing that by
sacrificing their lives they can help reverse the tide of war in
favor of Japan, all pilots present, in a frenzy of emotions, volunteered. Lt.
Yukio Seki was asked to command the mission.[22]
After hearing of the order, Seki remained silent, and then replied, “You must
let me do it.”[23]
Thus, the first Kamikaze group, the Shimpu Special Attack Corps, was born.
The first
assignment of the Shimpu Special Attack Corps was to destroy the American
forces on Philippine waters. To carry out the plan, hundreds of junk war planes
were flown in from Japan crowding the Clark airfields wing to wing. Some of these planes were loaded with bombs
and others with torpedoes. The planes carry only enough fuel to reach their
targets. Thus, with their samurai swords held tightly by their hands, the young
human bombs, confidently boarded their planes. Eyewitness Hiroyuki Mizuguchi,
later reported:
“When the pilots were about
to take off with their powerful explosives, we lined up to wish them luck.
Those young men of 17-18 years old were relaxed and confident as they waited
for their turn to board their planes. They joked, giggled and even wrestled
with their comrades. We did not detect any fear or worry in their actions. I
wondered how they could be so carefree and composed when death was only a few
hours away.” [24]
 |
| A painting at Etajima Museum of Naval History depicting the men of the Shikishima Unit, Kamikaze Special Attack Corps in October 1944 as they prepare to depart from the air base at Mabalacat.(Photo:http://www.kamikazeimages.net/museums/etajima/index.htm,accessed April 14, 2014 ) |
The Shimpu Special
Attack Corps was divided into four units: the Shikishima, Yamatao, Asahi and
Yamazakura. At dawn, October 25, 1944, the Shikishima Unit took off from
Mabalacat East Airfield led by Lt. Yukio Seki. Later, the unit hit enemy
targets near Leyte. Lt. Seki’s plane hit the U.S. Carrier St. Lo which eventually
sank. His men also hit and heavily damaged the U.S.
Carriers: Kalinin Bay, Kitkun Bay, Sangamon, Santee, Suwannee and White Plains. [25]
With
the Mabalacat-based Kamikaze trailblazing, other Kamikaze attacks from Japan
and other parts of Southeast Asia followed suit.[26]
By the end of the Pacific War, the Kamikaze warriors sunk and damaged a total
322 U.S. Naval Vessels and killed more than 10,000 U.S. sailors. There were
approximately 1,228 suicide raids launched.[27]
The Americans Liberated Mabalacat
On January 9,
1945, the American liberation forces, a convoy of 850 ships carrying the troops
of the Sixth Army, arrived at Lingayen Gulf in Pangasinan. They landed
unopposed. Then, they moved through the Central Luzon down towards Manila.
These were: the 129th, 145th, 108th, and 160th
Regiments. Based on advanced intelligence report, they expected no serious
opposition until they reach Bamban and Mabalacat area. The four regiments were tasked
to liberate Mabalacat and Clark area.
On the other hand,
the Japanese stationed at Kuraku Furido prepared
the strongest possible defense they could muster. Major General Rickichi
Tsukada formed the Kembu Group, an assembly of available Japanese army and navy
combat and service units. With a strength of some 30,000 men, Kembu Group aimed
to deny the Americans the use of the airfields. Major General Tsukada divided
the Kembu Group into three: the Outpost Line of Resistance (OPLR), Main Line of
Resistance (MLR) and the Defense Sector, Japanese Naval Forces. To strengthen these
lines of resistance particularly the MLR, land mines were strategically
scattered around Clark Field. The Kembu Group also built around 100 tunnels and
caves at the hilltops running from Bamban to Mabalacat and overlooking the
Clark Air Base.[28]
This extensive system of cave defenses was set up to harass the approaching
American liberation forces. Each cave was equipped with heavy machine guns and
light artillery pieces.
Meanwhile, the Mabalaqueños
silently rejoiced at the approaching end of the war. News about the coming of
the liberation forces spread like fire even to the remotest guerilla
encampments. Pagkatapos ng giyera (literally,
“after the war”),[29]
had been a catch-all phrase in all hushed conversations. It loosely means that
all these miseries, inconveniences and difficulties suffered will be relieved
after the war and those responsible must pay. For the Mabalaqueños, the war had
been a grand test of strength to their resilient spirits.
Nearing Pampanga,
the American soldiers from the 40th Division encountered the strong
points of the Japanese Outpost Line of Resistance (OPLR) commanded by Lt.
Koshin Takayama. The Takayama Detachment was emplaced at the noses of the hills
north and south of Bamban River. The 160th Infantry was ordered to
pursue them. On January 24, 1945, the infantry’s first battalion attacked the
OPLR at Hill 500, Bamban, Tarlac while the second battalion attacked the OPLR
at Lafe Hill, Tabun, Mabalacat, Pampanga. [30]
Despite the
terrain difficulties and heavy firing from the Japanese, they successfully
secured the Lafe Hill by dusk. [31] These achievements, together with the
eventual capture of Hill 500, Hill E and Hill G at Bamban, cost the 40th
Division some 15 men killed and 45 wounded. On the other hand, the Takayama
Detachment lost over 300 men killed from an original OPLR force of nearly 1,100
troops. [32]
 |
| Americans planted a Flag on Hill 1700, one of the so-called Bamban Hills, February 1945 (Photo: John Tewell). |
While intense
military encounters were going between U.S. 40th Division and
Takayama Detachment, the 145th Infantry began advancing south along
the highway. On January 26, 1945, the infantry secured Mabalacat East Airfield
and liberated the Poblacion of the Municipality of Mabalacat against light Japanese
opposition.[33] Despite
the dangers, Mabalaqueños, with great joy, started to flock back to the Poblacion.
The next day, January
27, 1945, the Americans marched another three miles south along the highway towards
Dau and Culayo. Here they encountered tanks belonging to the detachment under
Capt. Yanagimoto. They were also harassed by Japanese artillery emplaced on
high grounds west of Fort Stotsenburg. Scattered groups of Japanese held out in
Culayo and Dau until the morning of January 27, 1945.[34]
On January 28,
1945, the 129th infantry of the American liberation forces closed in
on the Japanese Main Line of Resistance (MLR) guarding Fort Stotsenburg and
Clark Field. They were met head-on by fierce Japanese resistance at Culayo near
Dau, Mabalacat. The other members of the 129th infantry reached
Barrio Tacondo near Angeles. They were stopped by Japanese firing small arms
and machine guns. They also found themselves passing through fields filled with
land mines. Between January 28 to 31, they combed the area and recovered some
1,350 mines.[35]
In the morning of January
29, 1945, the 129th Infantry started to advance towards the ruins of
Fort Stotsenburg against the heavy strikes from the Japanese defenders. Fierce
fighting followed leading to crushing defeat of the Japanese detachment
commanded by Lt. Col. Seizuke Eguchi by dusk. But few minutes later, the
Japanese staged vengeance. Six (6) tanks of the Yanagimoto Detachment attacked
the other members of the 129th Infantry stationed at Barrio Tacondo.
The surprise attacked killed many Americans and destroyed the Cannon Company
self-propelled mount and infantry machine guns. The U.S. 637th Tank
Destroyer Battalion quickly came up to the rescue and eventually destroyed four
(4) tanks of the Yanagimoto Detachment. [36]
With
their devastating defeats, all the remaining Japanese soldiers were ordered to retreat
and join their Main Line of Resistance (MLR). As a consequence, on January 30,
1945, the 129th
Infantry cleared the hills near Dolores almost
without resistance. The infantry
continued westward securing the ruins of Fort Stotsenburg by dusk.[37]
The next day, January 31, the American campaign
to liberate Clark resumed. The 129th Infantry regiment’s objective was
to drive away the Japanese from the bare-sloped hill known as “Top of the World.”
Once the hill and its surroundings were taken, the security of Fort Stotsenburg
and Clark Field could be assured against any Japanese harassment except
long-range artillery.[38]
By midday, February 2, 1945, the infantry stood
atop the 1,000-foot hill known as “Top of the World,” northwest of the Fort
Stotsenburg and Clark Field. The posts were now free from any organized enemy
attacks. It still took several weeks of fighting to completely destroy the fanatic
remnants of the Kembu Force, but the facilities at Clark were already being
used in the liberation of the rest of the Philippines.[39]
The
War Destroyed Mabalacat
The war caused too
much infrastructural damages in Mabalacat. At the Poblacion, the Municipal Hall
and nearby buildings were either burned or bombed. The concrete bridges of
Mabalacat which had been destroyed by Mac Arthur’s retreating forces in 1942,
rebuilt in wood under the administration of the Japanese-sponsored government,
and then destroyed again in January 1945 by either the Allied Air Forces or the
guerilla sabotage.[40]
Besides the
destruction at Poblacion and Dau, the intense military operations also resulted
to considerable destruction of New Barrio, Mabalacat. Formerly known as Margot,
New Barrio was the last barangay of Mabalacat at the border of Angeles. It was
a thriving, populous and progressive barangay before the war. The houses were
made of durable materials and were conveniently spaced. The streets were wide
and living conditions were well improved. There was also a private high school
and a private elementary school. The barangay was inhabited by both civilians
and American soldiers. During the war, most of its houses and establishments were
razed to the grounds.[41]
In 1944, the economy of Mabalacat almost crashed
due to the introduction of the worthless Japanese “Mickey Mouse” money. The
price of rice and other basic commodities had risen to fabulous heights while
the value of peso dropped to an unprecedented low. The effect was that even PhP.
3,000 could hardly buy five or ten cavans of rice. [42]
[1] Richard B. Meixsel, Clark Field and the U.S. Army Air Corps in the
Philippines 1919-1942 (Quezon City: New Day Publisher, 2001), 113.
[2]Michael Gough, “Failure and Destruction, Clark
Field, the Philippines, December 8, 1941,” http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/
[3]Jonathan M. Wainwright, “Report of Operations of USAFFE and USFIP in the
Philippine Islands 1941-1942,” in The Wainwright Papers , ed. Celedonio A.
Ancheta (Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1980), 18-19.
[4] Juan Labrador, O.P., A Diary of the Japanese Occupation, December 7,
1941 – May 7, 1945 (Manila: Santo Tomas University Press, 1989), 15.
[5] Richard B. Meixsel, Clark Field and the U.S. Army Air Corps in the
Philippines 1919-1942 (Quezon City: New Day Publisher, 2001), 122-123.
[6] Hiroyuki Mizuguchi, Jungle of No Mercy: Memoir of a Japanese Soldier
(Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2010), 82.
[7] Ines Consolacion Cuyugan vs. Jose P. Dizon, G.R. No. L-208, August 29,
1947.
[8] People of the Philippines vs. Fortunato Muñoz (alias Fortunato
Vizcarra), G.R. No. L-880, December 17, 1947.
[9] People of the Philippines vs. Fortunato Muñoz (alias Fortunato
Vizcarra), G.R. No. L-880, December 17, 1947.
[10] Eduardo Climaco Tadem, Reconstructing
Peasant Lives in Central Luzon: The View from Below, 8.
[11] Eduardo Climaco Tadem, Reconstructing
Peasant Lives in Central Luzon: The View from Below, 8.
[12] People of the Philippines vs. Fortunato Muñoz (alias Fortunato
Vizcarra), G.R. No. L-880, December 17, 1947.
[13] Bob Welch, Resolve: From the
Jungles of WWII Bataan, The Epic Story of a Soldier, A Flag and a Promise Kept
(New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2013), pp. 166-167.
[14] People of the Philippines vs. Fortunato Muñoz (alias Fortunato
Vizcarra), G.R. No. L-880, December 17, 1947.
[15] Bob Welch, Resolve: From the Jungles of WWII Bataan,
The Epic Story of a Soldier, A Flag and a Promise Kept (New York: The Berkley Publishing Group,
2013), p. 206.
[16] Bob Welch, Resolve: From the Jungles of WWII Bataan,
The Epic Story of a Soldier, A Flag and a Promise Kept (New York: The Berkley Publishing Group,
2013), p. 206.
[17] Bob Welch, Resolve: From the Jungles of WWII Bataan,
The Epic Story of a Soldier, A Flag and a Promise Kept (New York: The Berkley Publishing Group,
2013), pp. 217-220.
[18] Richard B. Meixsel, Clark Field and the U.S. Army Air Corps in the
Philippines 1919-1942 (Quezon City: New Day Publisher, 2001), 122-123.
[19] Hiroyuki Mizuguchi, Jungle of No Mercy: Memoir of a Japanese Soldier
(Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2010), 89.
[20] Hiroyuki Mizuguchi, Jungle of No Mercy: Memoir of a Japanese Soldier
(Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2010), 90.
[21] Mako Sasaki, “Who Became Kamikaze Pilots and how did they Feel Towards
their Suicide Mission,” The Concord
Review, 1999, 177-178.
[22] Alex R. Castro, “When the Divine Winds Blew,” Scenes from a Bordertown
and Other Views, (Alex R. Castro, 2006), 88-90.
[23] Mako Sasaki, “Who Became Kamikaze Pilots and how did they Feel Towards
their Suicide Mission,” The Concord Review, 1999, 180.
[24] Hiroyuki Mizuguchi, Jungle of No Mercy: Memoir of a Japanese Soldier
(Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2010), 89.
[25] Alex R. Castro, “When the Divine Winds Blew,” Scenes from a Bordertown
and Other Views, (Alex R. Castro, 2006), 88-90.
[26]Mako Sasaki, “Who Became Kamikaze Pilots and how did they Feel Towards
their Suicide Mission,” The Concord Review, 1999, 176.
[27] Alex R. Castro, “When the Divine Winds Blew,” Scenes from a Bordertown
and Other Views, (Alex R. Castro, 2006), 88-90.
[28] Eduardo Climaco Tadem, Reconstructing
Peasant Lives in Central Luzon: The View from Below, p. 69.
[29]Bob Welch, Resolve: From the
Jungles of WWII Bataan, The Epic Story of a Soldier, A Flag and a Promise Kept
(New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2013), p. 168.
[30]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 175.
[31]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 176.
[32]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 177.
[33] Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 179.
[34]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 180.
[35]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 183.
[36]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 184.
[37]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 185.
[38]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 185.
[39] Richard B. Meixsel, Clark Field and the U.S. Army Air Corps in the
Philippines 1919-1942 (Quezon City: New Day Publisher, 2001), 124.
[40]Robert Ross Smith, The War in the
Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines
(Washington DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991), p. 171.
[41] Republic of
the Philippines vs. Segunda L. Garcia et.al., G.R. No. L-3526, March 27, 1952.
[42] Ines Consolacion Cuyugan vs. Jose P. Dizon, G.R. No. L-208, August 29,
1947.
