The subic Expat #5-WW 2 on Luzon
I was in grade school during WW 2 and followed events through newsreels and newspapers. I felt sad during the defeat of Bataan, the loss of Corregidor, and the Death March. The Phil-Am troops were my heroes when I was a kid.
So it was with a deep sense of reverence and remembrance that I followed the route of the Death March though Dinalupihan and Balanga City to visit the Mt. Samat Shrine of Valor and museum.
It was pleasantly cool on the mountains compared to the lowland. The Cross towers above the installation. The arms are 200 feet above the ground. An elevator ride takes one up to the arms which are actually elongate rooms containing seats and rows of windows. The windows may be opened and, at that height, the wind is very cool. One can view the mountain battlegrounds and see across Manila Bay. This shrine is also visited by Japanese tourists.
My honeyko and I took the ferry from Manila to Corregidor. I remembered it from newsreels as “the Rock” and had believed it was small so I was surprised to learn just how large the island was. They have a statue of General Douglas MacArthur at Lunga Point, the spot where he departed Corregidor on a U.S. submarine for Australia. At this place he uttered the immortal words, “I shall return”.
The bus tour was excellent as was the Museum. The sound and light show in the Malinta tunnels was worth the price of the trip alone. The topside, with its mile-long barracks (actually 5000 feet long), and gun emplacements let me realize just what a large troop compliment we had here before the hostilities began. The deep scarring on buildings and the concrete bunkers, and the twisted steel of the doors gave mute evidence of the ferocity of the Japanese bombardment from the Bataan Peninsula and by aircraft. The Guide informed us that the very last movie shown at the Post movie theater was ‘Gone with the Wind’.
Did you know that there were active guerrilla groups based in Pampanga and Zamblales? Some of the Bataan troops escaped the Japanese as did a few Death March participants. I would like to recommend a very fine book, ‘The Death March-The Survivors of Bataan’, by Donald Knox (Harcourt Brace, 1981). He interviewed dozens of survivors of the Death March, the Internment Camps, the Hell Ships, and slavery in Japan.
Two escapees in particular told of their adventures in Pampanga and Zambales Provinces. They were Pvt. Leon Beck, Antitank Company, 31st Infantry; and Pfc. Blair Robinett, Company C, 803 Engineers. The rumor had come down that at San Fernando they would be put in trains and there would be no chance for escape. Both men independently made the break between Guagua and Lubao. Robinette was resting by the roadside when a group of trucks went by, billowing dust. The guards moved to the upwind side of the road and he and Father Duffy ran to hide in a marsh. A Filipino boy spotted them and told them to wait until dark. After dark he led them to a creek and a dugout canoe. Beck just took off into the swamp while his friends were watching the guards for him.
Numerous small groups of Phil-Am guerillas operated in western Pampanga and southern Zambales Provinces. Beck joined a large group (USAFFE) under the command of Lt. Col. Giles Merrill, 26th Cavalry. Robinette joined the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon or “Huks”. This communist organization was the largest and most effective guerilla band.
Beck and the USSAFFE troops got their weapons by scavenging the battlefields. They engaged in a number of firefights with the Japanese in Pampanga Province. In September, 1942 the Japanese were making it too hot for them on the lowlands so they moved to the safer mountains of Zambales Province. They demanded their food from nearby barrios
Beck met Robinette in 1943 during a Japanese sweep through the barrios. They moved from house to house to avoid the patrols and finally hid in a riverbank cave for several days.
Robinette joined one of the Huk squadrons because he liked to be where the fighting was best. They were very well organized, with medical, ordinance, supply, and intelligence units. They moved through the barrios asking 10 percent of each mans earnings or holdings. They ruled through patriotism or through fear. Robinette said that if someone refused they would tie him to a tree and skin him a bit. This insured compliance from the others. They swept through an area kidnapping all the young boys and turning them into cargo carriers ( cargadores). The Huks fought not only the Japanese but also the Philippine Constabulary, many of whom worked with the Japanese. They also fought other guerrilla groups.
Leon Beck got tired of the USSAFE because they had far too many officers trying to enforce military courtesy and the group was not doing much fighting. He then free lanced, moving from group to group. He was short so he blended in with the Filipinos and moved around from barrio to barrio at will. One afternoon he was visiting with Filipino compadres in Santa Rita, having a party in an apartment above a botica. They were playing a piano when one Filipino, who had gone for cigarettes, ran up the stairs yelling “Japanese”. The guys hid in the attic and Beck dived for the closet. He was forced to hide there for over an hour while two Japanese officers played the piano.
Another American guerrilla was Bill Gardner who had been a sergeant in the 31st Infantry but earned a battlefield commission on Bataan. He and a couple buddies escaped from Baatan on a homemade raft. A Jap destroyer picked them up and took them to a small prison compound on Subic Bay. They stabbed a guard and swam a river to get away. Gardner made his way north and joined a guerrillas led by Lt. Col. Russell Volckmann.
Beck said there was great friction in Zambales between the northern and southern guerrilla groups. They all wanted to be the dominant factor and fought each other as well as the Japanese. The problems Bill Gardner encountered were typical. He was sent south with two Filipino bodyguards to make contact with the southern guerrillas. They reported to a Filipino guerrilla captain. One of the bodyguards was wearing a very fancy hand-tooled buscadero gun belt with two Smith and Wesson .38 revolvers. The captain admired the rig and, when the messenger turned to leave, shot him in the back.
In the resulting gun fight both escorts and the captain were killed. Unfortunately the captain shot by Gardner was the son of the local guerrilla commander, Rodriguez. He quickly marched 100 of his men to the American camp and demanded they hand over Gardner for execution. Beck helped Gardner escape through the back of a nipa hut and make his way into the mountains. Rodriguez sent some Baluga trackers after him. They finally caught Bill and exchanged fire. Gardner killed the trackers but caught an arrow in the back.
Robinette meanwhile, was eating dinner in his camp one evening when one of his men reported they had just picked up a wounded collaborator and were going to execute him. The captive was kneeling by a freshly dug grave waiting for the swing of a captured Jap saber. The prisoner addressed Robinette saying he was an American officer. Robinette said he thought the captive was too dark to be an American. The man replied, “you would be dark too if your mother was a full-blooded Apache”. After questioning him, Robinette ordered the man released. That is how Blair Robinette met Bill Gardner.
Gardner stayed with Robinette until he recovered. He then took part in an ambush and was shot in the leg. After recovery this time, Bill wandered over to the Santa Rita area where he hooked up with Leon Beck.
All three met in a barrio near Mt. Arayat. Robinette had been in an ambush that went wrong. In escaping he fell in a drainage ditch and sprained his ankle badly. It became so swollen he had to ride on a carabao. The jolting ride inflamed his ankle and his temper. As he rode into the barrio Beck and Gardner noticed him. Leon thought the sight of Robinette on the carabao was hilarious. He started swinging his hat in front of the beast and the animal started bucking. Robinette was yelling for Beck to stop while Beck was laughing and shouting “Ride ‘em cowboy”. Blair was thrown off and furiously pointed his cocked pistol at Leon. Beck just said the equivalent of “lets do it” and Blair returned his pistol to his holster. They were really steamed up and each was waiting for the other to draw and shoot. Their friends pulled them apart and after a time the two became buddies again. They were only about 20 years old, combat veterans, and had hair-trigger tempers.
In 1944 they began to get air drops of arms, ammo, medicine, clothing, and even pocket books to read. September 21, 1944 they saw the first air strike against Luzon and realized there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. That night they dug up some jugs of basi and had a great party. And there you have a slice of the life of the American guerrillas on Luzon.
So it was with a deep sense of reverence and remembrance that I followed the route of the Death March though Dinalupihan and Balanga City to visit the Mt. Samat Shrine of Valor and museum.
It was pleasantly cool on the mountains compared to the lowland. The Cross towers above the installation. The arms are 200 feet above the ground. An elevator ride takes one up to the arms which are actually elongate rooms containing seats and rows of windows. The windows may be opened and, at that height, the wind is very cool. One can view the mountain battlegrounds and see across Manila Bay. This shrine is also visited by Japanese tourists.My honeyko and I took the ferry from Manila to Corregidor. I remembered it from newsreels as “the Rock” and had believed it was small so I was surprised to learn just how large the island was. They have a statue of General Douglas MacArthur at Lunga Point, the spot where he departed Corregidor on a U.S. submarine for Australia. At this place he uttered the immortal words, “I shall return”.
The bus tour was excellent as was the Museum. The sound and light show in the Malinta tunnels was worth the price of the trip alone. The topside, with its mile-long barracks (actually 5000 feet long), and gun emplacements let me realize just what a large troop compliment we had here before the hostilities began. The deep scarring on buildings and the concrete bunkers, and the twisted steel of the doors gave mute evidence of the ferocity of the Japanese bombardment from the Bataan Peninsula and by aircraft. The Guide informed us that the very last movie shown at the Post movie theater was ‘Gone with the Wind’.
Did you know that there were active guerrilla groups based in Pampanga and Zamblales? Some of the Bataan troops escaped the Japanese as did a few Death March participants. I would like to recommend a very fine book, ‘The Death March-The Survivors of Bataan’, by Donald Knox (Harcourt Brace, 1981). He interviewed dozens of survivors of the Death March, the Internment Camps, the Hell Ships, and slavery in Japan.
Two escapees in particular told of their adventures in Pampanga and Zambales Provinces. They were Pvt. Leon Beck, Antitank Company, 31st Infantry; and Pfc. Blair Robinett, Company C, 803 Engineers. The rumor had come down that at San Fernando they would be put in trains and there would be no chance for escape. Both men independently made the break between Guagua and Lubao. Robinette was resting by the roadside when a group of trucks went by, billowing dust. The guards moved to the upwind side of the road and he and Father Duffy ran to hide in a marsh. A Filipino boy spotted them and told them to wait until dark. After dark he led them to a creek and a dugout canoe. Beck just took off into the swamp while his friends were watching the guards for him.
Numerous small groups of Phil-Am guerillas operated in western Pampanga and southern Zambales Provinces. Beck joined a large group (USAFFE) under the command of Lt. Col. Giles Merrill, 26th Cavalry. Robinette joined the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon or “Huks”. This communist organization was the largest and most effective guerilla band.
Beck and the USSAFFE troops got their weapons by scavenging the battlefields. They engaged in a number of firefights with the Japanese in Pampanga Province. In September, 1942 the Japanese were making it too hot for them on the lowlands so they moved to the safer mountains of Zambales Province. They demanded their food from nearby barrios
Beck met Robinette in 1943 during a Japanese sweep through the barrios. They moved from house to house to avoid the patrols and finally hid in a riverbank cave for several days.
Robinette joined one of the Huk squadrons because he liked to be where the fighting was best. They were very well organized, with medical, ordinance, supply, and intelligence units. They moved through the barrios asking 10 percent of each mans earnings or holdings. They ruled through patriotism or through fear. Robinette said that if someone refused they would tie him to a tree and skin him a bit. This insured compliance from the others. They swept through an area kidnapping all the young boys and turning them into cargo carriers ( cargadores). The Huks fought not only the Japanese but also the Philippine Constabulary, many of whom worked with the Japanese. They also fought other guerrilla groups.
Leon Beck got tired of the USSAFE because they had far too many officers trying to enforce military courtesy and the group was not doing much fighting. He then free lanced, moving from group to group. He was short so he blended in with the Filipinos and moved around from barrio to barrio at will. One afternoon he was visiting with Filipino compadres in Santa Rita, having a party in an apartment above a botica. They were playing a piano when one Filipino, who had gone for cigarettes, ran up the stairs yelling “Japanese”. The guys hid in the attic and Beck dived for the closet. He was forced to hide there for over an hour while two Japanese officers played the piano.
Another American guerrilla was Bill Gardner who had been a sergeant in the 31st Infantry but earned a battlefield commission on Bataan. He and a couple buddies escaped from Baatan on a homemade raft. A Jap destroyer picked them up and took them to a small prison compound on Subic Bay. They stabbed a guard and swam a river to get away. Gardner made his way north and joined a guerrillas led by Lt. Col. Russell Volckmann.
Beck said there was great friction in Zambales between the northern and southern guerrilla groups. They all wanted to be the dominant factor and fought each other as well as the Japanese. The problems Bill Gardner encountered were typical. He was sent south with two Filipino bodyguards to make contact with the southern guerrillas. They reported to a Filipino guerrilla captain. One of the bodyguards was wearing a very fancy hand-tooled buscadero gun belt with two Smith and Wesson .38 revolvers. The captain admired the rig and, when the messenger turned to leave, shot him in the back.
In the resulting gun fight both escorts and the captain were killed. Unfortunately the captain shot by Gardner was the son of the local guerrilla commander, Rodriguez. He quickly marched 100 of his men to the American camp and demanded they hand over Gardner for execution. Beck helped Gardner escape through the back of a nipa hut and make his way into the mountains. Rodriguez sent some Baluga trackers after him. They finally caught Bill and exchanged fire. Gardner killed the trackers but caught an arrow in the back.
Robinette meanwhile, was eating dinner in his camp one evening when one of his men reported they had just picked up a wounded collaborator and were going to execute him. The captive was kneeling by a freshly dug grave waiting for the swing of a captured Jap saber. The prisoner addressed Robinette saying he was an American officer. Robinette said he thought the captive was too dark to be an American. The man replied, “you would be dark too if your mother was a full-blooded Apache”. After questioning him, Robinette ordered the man released. That is how Blair Robinette met Bill Gardner.
Gardner stayed with Robinette until he recovered. He then took part in an ambush and was shot in the leg. After recovery this time, Bill wandered over to the Santa Rita area where he hooked up with Leon Beck.
All three met in a barrio near Mt. Arayat. Robinette had been in an ambush that went wrong. In escaping he fell in a drainage ditch and sprained his ankle badly. It became so swollen he had to ride on a carabao. The jolting ride inflamed his ankle and his temper. As he rode into the barrio Beck and Gardner noticed him. Leon thought the sight of Robinette on the carabao was hilarious. He started swinging his hat in front of the beast and the animal started bucking. Robinette was yelling for Beck to stop while Beck was laughing and shouting “Ride ‘em cowboy”. Blair was thrown off and furiously pointed his cocked pistol at Leon. Beck just said the equivalent of “lets do it” and Blair returned his pistol to his holster. They were really steamed up and each was waiting for the other to draw and shoot. Their friends pulled them apart and after a time the two became buddies again. They were only about 20 years old, combat veterans, and had hair-trigger tempers.
In 1944 they began to get air drops of arms, ammo, medicine, clothing, and even pocket books to read. September 21, 1944 they saw the first air strike against Luzon and realized there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. That night they dug up some jugs of basi and had a great party. And there you have a slice of the life of the American guerrillas on Luzon.
The picture of Leon Beck was taken in 1945 after his return from the Philippines. Beck had been stationed in the Philippines for two years before Pearl Harbor. His family had been notified that he was missing in action and heard nothing for three years. On Fefurary 6, 1945 his mother in Tulsa, Oklahoma recieved a letter.
"Dear Mother and all the family: I am O. K. and shall be with you very soon. Tell all the people hello for me. I shall bring my wife with me when I return if I can make the Necessary arrangements. Love to all,
Leon"
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