The U.S. and the Philippines

[Applause] [Music] SP [Music] [Music] for centuries the Orient has had a potent attraction for the rulers of Many Lands Generations ago this fascination with the East was occasioned principally by its wealth of gold and precious gems in this 20th century the wealth of the Orient still exerts a powerful attraction today in a new kind of material age that wealth is measured not in gems but in the Abundant supply of natural deposits even more vital to a Modern Nation Commodities like rubber and Tin coveted by all the great countries of the world in Washington in March 1935 an important new chapter was begun in the history of a group of 7,000 Islands lying some 10,000 mil away in the Pacific the Philippines were represented at the White House ceremony by the president of their territorial Senate Manuel queson with the signing by the president of the Philippine Constitution we have witnessed the birth of a new nation the people of the United States and the people of the Philippine Islands have been conducting together a great experiment and during the period of the Commonwealth government this experiment will continue until the ultimate withdrawal of the United States sovereignty and the establishment of complete Independence but on the other side of the world Japan had no such altruistic intentions toward its neighbor to the South during the 1930s the japanes were preparing for the day when they would take away Independence not [Music] granted the military click was in firm control of Japan steeped in the tradition of such military Heroes as Admiral heero Togo who had annihilated the Russian Fleet in 195 the military forces grew increasingly strong and assumed a more and more dominant position in the public Consciousness it was considered a high honor to serve in the armed forces and thereby become dedicated to the glory of the emperor and the Imperial power of Japan Japan chauvinism was nurtured by the spreading of the concept of the Divinity of the Japanese islands and of the Japanese people among the military Japan's dreams of power were considered to be inspired by the gods the acceptance of the militarists in the Japan of the 1930s was attributable partly to the fact that no Wars had ever been fought on the Japanese Homeland the propaganda of the militarists presented War as a succession of Glorious deeds and of heroic sacrifices made for the honor of their ancestors and in the name of their Emperor soon Japanese military leaders began to assume the stature of minor Gods themselves with this growing support of the militarists the Japanese empire moved closer and closer to a large scale War a war which might well involve all the peoples of Eastern Asia and Oceania from the heart of Japan the Philippine archipelago was only 1500 mil distant lying directly in the path of a Japanese Southward thrust the Philippines were an obvious Target if War should come Japanese interest in the Philippines was apparent long before War erupted in the Pacific World thousands of Japanese had settled in the Philippines and had managed to make a fair living in the islands the bond between the two Oriental peoples was stronger than most westerners realized in the years which preceded the war relations between the Japanese and Filipinos were for the most part friendly in many ways the Japanese contributed to Philippine development they conducted experiments on the planting and cultivation of abacar from which hemp is made the introduction by the Japanese of improved methods of stripping and bailing the product helped stabilize the hemp industry the Japanese produced more than one quarter of all Philippine hemp and it was largely top grade hemp many industrious Japanese immigrants were among the most successful fishermen in the Philippines even the Filipinos admitted that the average Japanese fisherman was the equal of about eight Filipinos but the commercial activities of the Japanese were looked on with a considerable degree of Suspicion by many Filipinos others considered the rumors about the Japanese fantastic of Greater concern to a large percentage of the native population was the progress being made toward Philippine Independence the islands had been moving slowly toward that National freedom for several decades these stirrings were stimulated by alert Statesmen like Manuel queson who had represented the Philippine territory in Washington from 199 to 1916 and S hio osmania an attorney who had become speaker of the territory's assembly in the 1930s keson developed into the most popular political figure in the islands in November 1935 in Manila the inauguration of the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth was celebrated before an audience of several representatives of the US government and a gathering of proud Filipinos whose dreams of Independence were gradually coming true president Quon worked toward the extension of the Philippine educational facilities the University of the Philippines was to be the molder of the Filipino mind was to produce men and women of character and wisdom trained in the Arts and Sciences men and women who could assume leadership in the embryonic Philippine Republic Philippine education had benefited enormously by us supervision the public school system organized soon after the Americans took Manila had been modified during the 1930s to meet the needs of new generations of Philippine citizens the judicial system which was established in the Philippines during the American regime was patterned after that which existed under Spanish rule in certain types of cases a decision of the Philippine Supreme Court could be appealed to the US Supreme Court in 1934 it was ordered further that all cases involving the constitution of the new Commonwealth be subject to review by the US court in 1940 A bamal legislature was provided for in a series of amendments to the Constitution the Commonwealth government now closely resembled in structure the government of the United States gradually the Philippines were approaching the capacity for self-government in in the 1940 amendments the term of office of the Commonwealth's president was shortened to 4 years like the US president the Philippine chief executive acted with the authority vested in him by a vote of the people the Philippine president was granted broad executive powers to enable him to rule effectively in critical [Applause] period but Philippine capabilities for defending the islands throughout the the 1930s were slight indeed Filipinos were thrilled by parades and martial music but even in 1940 the Commonwealth president was openly pessimistic about the country's ability to defend itself successfully against a strong aggressor the Philippine Army was being enlarged by some 40,000 conscripts a year but at that rate of expansion the desired strength of the Philippine Reserve 400,000 men would not be achieved until 1946 in 1940 there were some 6,000 Philippine Scouts on active duty in the pay of the US government in this service Filipino enlisted men served principally under American officers and a specially created unit of the US Army the most Adept Filipinos graduated from the ranks to the status of commissioned officers in this highly efficient branch of America's military complement in the islands at the head of the Philippine forces as Field Marshal since 1937 general Douglas MacArthur was placed in command of the combined Philippine and US forces in the Philippine Islands in July 1941 the creation of this command by the US bolstered the confidence of the Philippines in America's intentions toward the islands Philippine cadetes modeled on the West Point product cut an impressive figure in the waning months of 1941 the military academy men were well disciplined and well trained in the essentials of their profession [Music] but for the defense of the Philippines most of the Manpower would be drawn from the reserves in 1941 the reserve Force numbered some 130,000 men but they were still not completely familiar after 5 months of active training with the weapons and techniques of Modern Warfare to supplement us army forces in the Philippines the fourth Marine regiment had arrived from its China Station in early December 1941 the US Air Force on the Pacific which had consisted of a handful of obsolete planes in 1939 was strengthened by the addition of several shipments of new planes during 1941 for the defense of the islands in the fall of that fateful year the US Far East Air Force had 123 aircraft in operating condition the 3 of them bombers Naval bases in the Philippines were far from adequate for defense needs Kavita on Manila Bay could not have serviced a wartime Fleet although this Navy Yard served as home base for the US Asiatic Fleet in late 1941 it was generally considered to be insecure in the event of war with Japan as the situation grew more threatening the men of the Asiatic Fleet prepared for the moment when their presence in the orient would assume far greater importance for if a major war in the Pacific were touched off it was readily apparent that that war would be to a great extent a naval war whether the US Asiatic Fleet could hold its own in Far Eastern Waters against a large enemy force was debatable but the men stationed at Kavita were determined to give it everything they had for peace in the Pacific time was running out early on December 8th Japanese Pilots prepared to take off for the glory of the emperor on the strikes which would plunge the Pacific world into a catastrophic War when nipon embarked on its program of large scale Conquest its forces were ready to lash out immediately at a number of targets of prime importance from Japanese bases on Formosa soon after Daybreak the advanced guard of the attacking forces started only 270 Mi away lay the great sprawling Philippine archipelago the attack Plan called for strikes against a number of us airfields scattered throughout the island as the planes flew Southward on their mission ships of the Imperial Navy were already moving in the same direction the Japanese had assigned an overwhelmingly strong Fleet of Warships to the operation just in case US Naval units should elect to contest the nipones invasion of the Philippines but the Japanese attack force was not challenged in those early moments of World War II in the Pacific it seemed to the men of the assault groups that a Japanese Victory would surely come to pass or this was the moment they were convinced that Japan was destined to succeed in the divinely inspired plan to rule the Earth any nation which opposed the expansion of nipon must be dealt with by the forces of the Rising Sun how unfortunate for the enemy that he should be foolish enough to oppose the emperor's Warriors in little more than 12 hours the invasion of the Philippines would be launched Japan's program of Conquest had been set in motion the fate of the Pacific world was in the balance the Japanese invasion of the Philippines was conducted on schedule the first landing was made on December 8th and during the 2 weeks following Beach heads were successfully secured at six points in the archipelago the nipones assault troops had been well prepared for this kind of campaign on lcon the principal Island the strategy called for the forces which had landed at several points to drive toward Manila and seize that objective the main strength in that push was provided by The Assault Group which invaded the island at lingayan Gulf 110 mi from Manila across central usan by Christmas Japanese invasion had been made at nine points in the Philippines and the campaign to seize control of this importance to Ric area was well underway after a thorough softening up process the Invaders pressed onward toward Manila and what they hoped would be a quick Victory on Lucan during the first weeks of fighting on Lucan the Japanese steadily reinforced their original assault units as 1941 neared its end the Japanese were succeeding in closing in on Manila from two directions the Japanese plan for choking off the Philippine Capital was working perfectly nepon planes began bombing Manila in early December the air attacks continued as the invading Ground Forces Drew closer to the Philippine Capital the [ __ ] Japanese raids on us airfields took a heavy toll of us planes many destroyed on the ground at years end Advanced Japanese units approached within sight of Manila which was still bombed though it had been declared an open City in little more than 3 weeks the spearhead of the Japanese ground offensive on the capital had driven within Striking Distance of the objective evacuated by its Defenders Manila was the invaders for the taking the Philippine Capital passed into the hands of the enemy on January 2nd 1942 the nipones claimed they were liberating the island but most Filipinos scarcely considered it Liberation Japanese propaganda units went into action at once spreading the doctrine of Asia for the asiatics are we not all of the Far East they asked the advantages of life in the greater East Asia co- prosperity spere were DED into the consciousness of Filipinos of all ages some Filipinos helped the Japanese in their campaign in manila's streets Filipino collaborationists spoke to their countrymen and talog a Philippine native tongue the conquerors blamed the Philippines troubles on the US but their campaign was not an overwhelming success most Filipinos remained uncont convinced they remembered the story of Japanese rule in China and manua the greater East Asia propaganda continued throughout the occupation but it needed strong backing in mid-march with the enemy in control of almost all of Lan general Douglas MacArthur the American Commander left the island on orders from Washington and assumed new duties in Australia the general arrived on the Down Under continent to take over the preparations for mounting an offensive against the Enemy at the earliest opportunity the General's family part of the small group which had made the hurried Journey from the Philippines remained as close to him as his military Associates during those trying wartime years this was only the first stop in a series of moves which would eventually lead the MacArthur North again the early months of 1942 were decisive ones for the US the new commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater General MacArthur began at once to supervise the buildup of an offensive force and the people of Australia were heartened at this evidence that the US planned to build up its military strength in Australia the presence of General MacArthur had a reassuring effect on all Australians including the Prime Minister himself in Manila the start of the Japanese occupation was celebrated by the Invaders with a parade through the center of the city the seizure of the Philippine Capital gave the nipones more satisfaction than most of their other conquests most gratified of all was the Japanese Commander General Masaharu homar to whom this day was one of the most memorable of his military career General haar would have found it hard to believe that this city whose people regularly paid him deference on Japanese proclaimed holidays would four years later be the setting for his execution for war crimes but during early 1942 it was hard for the Filipinos to see beyond the Japanese Occupation to visualize their country again free from the Yoke of the Conqueror under Japanese rule some Filipinos openly collaborated with the Invaders a few of these opportunists striving for favor with the conquerors had held important posts in the government of the Philippine Commonwealth before the fall of Manila prompted them to become Far Eastern quizzing most active of the Filipino collaborationists was Jose lurel former associate Justice of the Philippine Commonwealth Supreme Court Laurel became a spokesman for the Japanese and for his labors was subsequently rewarded by being made puppet president of what the Japanese euphemistically termed the independent Republic of the Philippines soon after the Invaders gained control of most of the Philippines the produce of the country attracted their attention a program of systematic Looting of the Island's products began the new rulers appropriated everything they wanted including vitally needed stores of rice tined foods and cotton in the tradition of aggressors throughout recorded history the Japanese seized everything which might prove of any value to them and deprived the inhabitants of the produce of their country Japanese greed and the confiscation of Philippine Goods provided an effective contrast to the high sounding promises the Invaders had made to the conquered Nation the greater East Asia co- Prosperity sphere worked in Only One Direction in late April 1942 corgador and manela Bay was the last outpost to resist the Japanese Invaders of Lucan for almost a month the Japanese bombarded the island Fortress with every weapon at their command finally on May 5th 1942 Japanese assault units crossed the narrow channel separating Lucan from corgador and stormed the Rocks dirty defenses after nearly 24 hours fighting on the island ceased on May 6th that afternoon General Jonathan Wright the American Commander met with General homah on nearby batan Peninsula to effect to surrender at first the American Commander surrendered only those forces on cargador and neighboring isets in Manila Bay but not the American unit still fighting the Japanese elsewhere in the Philippines later however General way wri was forced to surrender all his Philippine units and in a tremulous voice he announced his action to them over the Japanese controlled radio the historic statement was recorded by the gloating conquerors isut General JM W to put a stop to further useless sacrifice of human right on the Fortified Islands yday I tendered to Lieutenant General H the Commander in Chief of the Imperial Japanese forces in the Philippines the formal surrender of All American and Philippine Army troops in the Philippine Island this decision on my part you will realize was forced upon me by means entire Beyond My Control General homar the Beast of batan soon set out to visit the scene of the epic battle for the island Fortress after a difficult Campaign which had lasted 5 months the Invaders had finally succeeded in overpowering the remnants of the American Lucan Force the final battle had been one of the most bitterly fought defenses in history the Victorious Japanese inspected the area with interest the Valiant stand made by the US fourth Marine regiment with a mixture of soldiers Sailors and Filipinos attached will never be forgotten by the Japanese who participated in the battle for corgador the victors were especially curious about the weapons which had caused them so much trouble before the assault troops overran the Island's defenses after the capture of corgador the Japanese quickly gained control of all the Philippines in the United States a month later the Philippine Commonwealth government was represented by its president in Exile Manuel keson the first steps toward Philippine Independence so hopefully planned 7 years earlier in Washington had received a staggering setback but with the support of the United States the Philippines would fight on against the Japanese aggressors to a final Victory on some glorious future day I shall not tell the government and and people of America what they should do by our by us in the days to come ruin and destruction have neither daunted our spirit nor lessen our faith in America during early 1942 the toughest job the US faced was containing the Japanese overwater advance that job was the [Music] Navies andice [Music] in [Music]