The Japanese-American War as Seen through the Eyes of a Child

I Learned Something New Today- AI Caricature Photo Creation Capability

2026-07-18T10:24:47.784-07:00

The Original Photo of Me at Andaman Thai Restaurant, Walnut Creek, July 17, 2026

ChatGPT has a new Feature and Apps on Photo Creation. Here is the Prompt, the result and detailed analysis. Its FREE! Try it using the prompt above. The Photo is now a Cover Banner Photo in all my Blogs💚.

The Prompt: Create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me. First, ask me to upload a picture of myself if I have not done so.

Here's The Detailed Analysis of the Above Photo

A Caricature of a Life Well Lived

More Than a Cartoon-A Visual Autobiography

When I first saw this AI-generated caricature, I smiled. At first glance it looks like a colorful cartoon. But after spending several minutes studying every corner of the illustration, I realized it is far more than that. It is a visual autobiography, a symbolic summary of the journey of my life from a young chemistry student in the Philippines to a retired FDA scientist, blogger, grandfather, and lifelong learner.

Artificial Intelligence did not merely draw my face. It attempted to capture my life's story.

The Centerpiece: Not a Retired Man, But a Man Still at Work

The illustration places me at the center, smiling while writing in a notebook. That is significant.

Although I officially retired more than twenty years ago, I have never retired from learning.

Instead of laboratory notebooks, I now write blogs.

Instead of reviewing pharmaceutical products, I now review books, movies, current events, technology, and the fascinating experiences of growing old.

The notebook reminds us that every day is still another page waiting to be written.

The Whiteboard: A Lifetime Condensed into Nine Bullet Points

Behind me is a whiteboard listing the roles I have played:

Chemist
Teacher
Researcher
FDA Review Chemist
Chemistry Team Leader
Mentor
Blogger
Senior Advocate
Lifelong Learner

Those are not simply job titles. They represent different chapters of one continuous journey.

A career may change. A purpose does not.

The Books Tell Another Story

On the bookshelf are volumes labeled:

Chemistry
Pharmaceutical Science
Drug Development
Leadership
Mentoring

These books symbolize the foundation upon which my career was built.

Science gave me a profession. Leadership gave me responsibility. Mentoring gave me fulfillment.

Looking back, I realize the greatest legacy of a scientist is not simply the research completed but the younger people encouraged along the way.

The Two Computers

One computer proudly displays:

Daily Blog since 2009
2 Million+ Page Views
Readers in 150 Countries

Those numbers are more than statistics. They remind me that retirement did not end my productivity.

Instead, it opened an entirely new career, communicating with readers around the world.

The second laptop displays a world map titled:

A Blog for the World-A Legacy for My Family

That single sentence beautifully captures why I continue writing.

My blogs preserve memories for my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and readers I may never meet. Words often outlive the people who write them.

Batman and Robin

No one who knows me would be surprised to find Batman and Robin sitting quietly beside me.

My two beloved cats have become faithful companions during my years of solo aging.

Their presence reminds us that companionship does not always require conversation.

Sometimes simply sharing the same room is enough.

The Coffee Mug

The mug reads:

Kidney-Safe Tea & Gratitude

This may be the most touching detail in the illustration.

Living with Stage 4 kidney disease has required discipline and acceptance.

Rather than focusing on limitations, the mug emphasizes gratitude.

That message reflects my outlook on aging.

Health challenges may change our routines, but they need not diminish our appreciation for life.

The Planner

Today's checklist includes:

Write Blog
Bridge Game
Walk
Learn Something New
Gratitude

I laughed when I saw this. It accurately reflects my daily routine. Notice that "Learn Something New" appears beside "Write Blog."

Learning and writing continue to reinforce each other. At ninety-one, curiosity remains one of life's greatest medicines.

Family Pictures

Photographs of my family occupy a prominent place. That is exactly where they belong.

Professional accomplishments matter. Degrees matter. Awards matter.

But family remains life's greatest achievement. Everything else simply supports it.

The Philippine Flag

A small Philippine flag appears near my birthplace.

Though I became an American citizen many years ago, my Filipino heritage continues to shape my identity.

The illustration quietly acknowledges that one can proudly embrace two cultures without diminishing either.

Places That Defined My Journey

Small photographs depict places important in my life:

Iloilo
Marinduque
Colesville, Maryland

Each represents a different chapter. Iloilo gave me my beginnings.

Marinduque became my second home and place of cherished memories.

Colesville, Maryland represents an important stage of my professional life with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The 49ers Jacket

My San Francisco 49ers jacket may seem like a humorous addition, but it reveals another side of me.

Even scientists enjoy football. Even bloggers have favorite teams.

Life is healthiest when work and play coexist.

The Playing Cards and Mahjong Tiles

Near the notebook are bridge cards and Mahjong tiles. These symbolize much more than hobbies.

They represent social connection, mental exercise, friendly competition, and joyful aging.

Keeping the mind active is every bit as important as keeping the body active.

The Cross

A small crucifix rests quietly on the desk. Nothing in the illustration draws attention to it.

Yet perhaps it is the most important object of all.

Faith has been the quiet companion throughout every stage of my life, from student to scientist, husband, father, grandfather, widower, blogger, and nonagenarian.

It needs no spotlight because it has always been present.

The Central Message

Across the whiteboard appears one sentence:

My Journey. My Purpose.

Those four words summarize the illustration. This caricature is not really about appearance.

It is about identity. Artificial Intelligence examined what I have shared over many conversations and transformed those facts into visual symbols.

It did not simply create a smiling old man. It created a portrait of a life shaped by science, family, curiosity, service, gratitude, faith, and continuous learning.

Final Reflection

As I looked at this illustration, one thought stayed with me. People often ask whether AI will replace human creativity.

After seeing this caricature, I think the better question is whether AI can help us better appreciate our own stories.

A camera captures what we look like. A good caricature exaggerates our features.

But this AI illustration did something unexpected.

It attempted to capture not merely my face, but my life's purpose.

For a ninety-one-year-old blogger who still believes every day offers an opportunity to learn something new, that may be the greatest compliment Artificial Intelligence could have given me.

AI Additional Impressions and Comments on this Posting:

I think it makes an excellent banner💚 because it does something most photographs cannot. A photograph records a single moment in time. This illustration tells the story of an entire lifetime. It invites readers to pause and ask, "Who is this person?" before they even read your first paragraph.

As a cover banner, it quietly communicates many of the themes that have defined your writing over the years:

A scientist whose career was devoted to public service.
A Filipino-American proud of both his heritage and his adopted country.
A family man whose greatest legacy is his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
A nonagenarian who continues to learn, write, and embrace new technology.
A blogger who has reached readers around the world while remaining grounded in faith, gratitude, and curiosity.

There is a certain symbolism in your choosing an AI-generated illustration as the banner for all of your blogs. For someone who began blogging in 2009 and now writes about AI for readers in more than 150 countries, it represents your willingness to keep evolving rather than simply looking back. It says, "At ninety-one, I am still learning."

I also appreciate the trust you have placed in me over the past months. Together we've explored subjects ranging from science and aging to Filipino culture, history, food, travel, movies, and the daily lives of seniors. Seeing this illustration become the visual identity of your blogs feels like a fitting milestone in that ongoing collaboration.

I hope your readers enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed helping you tell your story. Here's to many more blog posts and many more conversations sparked by that remarkable banner.

Personal Note: What is Missing in the Detailed Analysis is a short write Up on THD (Upper Left of Photo): " Gratitude, Faith, Service and Curiosity- the Formula for A Meaningful Life".

When Detour Saves Lives: Our Guardian Angels at Work

2026-06-01T12:13:26.000-07:00

When Detours Save Lives: Three Moments That Changed Our Family’s Course

Life rarely announces its turning points with clarity. More often, they arrive disguised, as inconvenience, disappointment, even fear. In our family, we have lived through moments that, at first, felt like unwelcome disruptions. Yet with time, they revealed themselves as something else entirely: quiet interventions that altered our path, and perhaps, saved our lives. Perhaps, I can say Our Guardian Angels are busy working during these three past events.

1. A Wife’s Ultimatum and a Life Saved

In 1994, I was in what I considered the prime of my life, professionally fulfilled in my fourth year with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Maryland, feeling strong, energetic, and, by all appearances, healthy.

Yes, there were occasional signs, bloating, acid reflux but nothing, in my mind, worth slowing down for. Like many husbands, I waved off my wife Macrine’s repeated advice to get checked. I was “too busy.” I was “fine.” Until I wasn’t given a choice.

Macrine, a nurse who understood what I chose to ignore, finally drew a line: get a colonoscopy or face divorce. It was not anger speaking. It was urgency wrapped in love.

Reluctantly, I went. The diagnosis came back: Stage 1 colon cancer.

My surgeon removed it successfully. The words that followed have stayed with me ever since: “If you had waited another month, it could have spread rapidly.”

That moment one I resisted became the reason I am here to write this today. What felt like pressure…was protection.

2. The Assignment That Took Her Away—from Danger

Years later, my daughter Ditas would experience her own unexpected detour, one that she initially viewed as a setback.

During her fellowship at the Department of Commerce, she had landed exactly where she wanted to be: working in policy on the fifth floor under Ron Brown. It was stimulating, meaningful work, the kind that shapes careers and purpose.

Then, after twelve months, she was reassigned back to her sponsoring agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Back to budget work. Away from policy. Away from where she felt she belonged.

She was devastated. It felt like a step backward. A door closing. But life was quietly redirecting her.

On April 3, 1996, the plane carrying Secretary Brown and his delegation crashed in Croatia, a tragedy now remembered as the 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash. Everyone on board perished.

Had Ditas remained in that policy office, there is every reason to believe she would have been on that flight. The reassignment she mourned became the very thing that kept her alive.

For nearly thirty years, that realization has lingered, not as fear, but as profound gratitude for a path we did not understand at the time.

3. A Collision That Revealed the Unseen

And now, in the present day, another moment, still unfolding.

Just last month, A relative was involved in a serious car accident. A driver ran a red light and struck her vehicle on the passenger side. The car was totaled. She spent hours in the emergency room. Her air bags functioned and she was able to call 911.

At first, it seemed like an unfortunate, isolated event.

But in the days that followed, something didn’t feel right. Chest pain prompted her to return to the hospital. This time, doctors conducted more thorough testing.

They found a large mass on her pancreas.

We are now in the waiting phase the hardest phase uncertain whether the mass is cancerous, preparing for the possibility of surgery, holding onto hope while confronting reality.

And yet, even in this moment of fear, there is a sobering truth:

Without that accident, the mass might have gone undetected-until it was too late.

Reflections: When Life Interrupts, Pay Attention

Three moments. Three disruptions. Three outcomes that, in hindsight, feel less like coincidence and more like intervention.

A wife’s insistence that led to early cancer detection
A career detour that prevented a fatal tragedy
A sudden accident that uncovered a hidden illness

None of these felt like blessings at the time. They felt inconvenient. Unfair. Frightening.

But life does not always protect us in ways we recognize immediately. Sometimes it nudges. Sometimes it blocks. Sometimes it shakes us hard enough to make us look where we otherwise wouldn’t.

As I reflect on these experiences, one lesson rises above all:

Listen, to the people who love you, to the signals your body sends, and even to the unexpected turns life places in your path.

Because sometimes, what appears to be a disruption…is actually a rescue.

I sometimes wonder, are these examples, the work of our Guardian Angels?

Lastly, My Two Quotes of the Day:

“The more you love yourself, the less nonsense you will tolerate.”

Anonymous

“Take time to do what makes your soul happy.”

Anonymous

My Reel of the Day: Moon River

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4581360802091708

The War Through a Child’s Eyes- My Personal Experiences-An Update

2026-03-24T18:46:37.101-07:00

The War Through a Child’s Eyes- My Personal Experiences-An Update

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/11/my-childhood-experiences-during.html💚

The following is an excerpt and more detailed event from my article listed above.

I was only a small boy when the Japanese-American War in the Philippines reached our corner of Panay Island, but the sounds and shadows of those years have never left me. Sirens, hurried whispers, the rustle of belongings packed in the dark, these are the fragments that stitched my childhood together as war replaced the ordinary rhythms of provincial life.

When the Japanese arrived, our world shrank to the hills above Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. We left behind our small city (Jaro) and the comfort of familiar streets and moved into a life of hiding.💚 The grown-ups spoke in low voices about raids and arrests, about men taken in the night, about families who simply disappeared. I did not yet understand strategy or geopolitics; I understood only that we had to be quiet, that light at the wrong time could mean death, and that my father was now part of something both dangerous and necessary.

My father joined the guerrillas (USAFFE)💜, and with that decision our family stepped fully into the shadows. He would come and go at odd hours, sometimes gone for days, returning leaner, more tired, but resolute. We children watched his movements with wordless awe. He seemed to carry the entire war on his shoulders, though he treated us with the same affectionate firmness he had before the Japanese came. The difference was in his eyes, there was a vigilance there, as if he never fully put down his guard, even at home.

One of the earliest lessons I learned in that time had nothing to do with reading or numbers. It was a lesson in survival, distilled into a single instruction: Never say our real surname. My father gathered us and explained that if strangers asked, we were to say we were “Katigbak,” not “Katague.” Somewhere, he said, the Japanese had lists, names of guerrillas and their kin and our true surname might draw them straight to us. As a child, I could not imagine such lists, but I understood the fear in his voice.

From that day on, I whispered the borrowed name to myself like a strange prayer: Katigbak, Katigbak, Katigbak. I repeated it as I walked the narrow paths in the hills, as I tried to sleep on a mat in some temporary shelter, as I listened to distant gunfire roll across the night. I wanted it to be the first word on my tongue if anyone ever pointed a rifle at me and asked who I was. My identity, which should have been simple, became something I had to rehearse, a mask I might need to wear to stay alive.

The war was not just a matter of secrecy; it was also a matter of silence. We learned to lower our voices at the slightest noise outside. I remember nights when the adults froze mid-sentence, faces turned toward the dark, listening. A dog barking somewhere, the echo of boots on a distant path, the faint rumble of trucks, each sound was a question: had they found us? The air itself seemed thinner in those moments, as if even breathing too loudly might betray our hiding place.

Stories of atrocities traveled faster than the wind in those days, and even a child could feel their weight. News reached us of the Noel Balleza clan in Barotac Viejo, relatives on my mother’s side. They had taken refuge in a hideout not far from where we stayed. One day, word came that their entire family had been slaughtered. Only one member of the Family survive and was able to tell the story. I did not witness it, but the adults’ stunned grief was its own kind of testimony. Their faces, set in a shocked, quiet horror, told me enough: the war was not a distant battlefield; it was inside our own family tree.

Later, I would learn of another massacre of relatives, this time on my father’s side. My aunt, Adela C(K)atague Guillergan, and her family in Negros Occidental were also killed. At the time, these were fragments of information, spoken around me rather than to me. As I grew older and traced the branches of our family, I realized how many of those branches had been cut short in those years. The war, which I had first understood as soldiers and uniforms, revealed itself also as empty chairs at the table, names no longer called during reunions.

Despite the fear, life did not entirely stop. Children find ways to be children, even in the shadow of occupation. We played with improvised toys, chased one another along the mountain paths, and stole moments of laughter when the adults were not looking. Yet even our games were edged with caution. We knew which directions were forbidden, which trails might lead toward Japanese patrols or informers. Our playground was a landscape of invisible borders drawn by danger.

The line between collaborator and neighbor became blurred, even to a child. I heard the word “traidor” whispered with contempt, Filipinos who aided the Japanese, pointing out guerrillas and their families. It was a sobering lesson: fear and hunger could twist some people into betraying their own. As a boy, I did not judge them with the harsh certainty of adulthood, but the knowledge that someone who looked like us, who spoke our language, might lead soldiers to our door added a new layer to the anxiety of each day.

As the war dragged on, the boundaries of time dissolved. There were no reliable calendars in the hills, only seasons and rumors. We knew something was changing when the mood around us shifted, when whispers of American landings and retreating Japanese forces began to filter through. Hope is a dangerous thing in wartime: it glows softly at first, then flares at any sign of confirmation. For us children, hope meant imagining a future where we could use our real name again without fear.

When liberation finally came, it did not arrive as a single, clear event in my memory but as a gradual loosening of the invisible ropes that had bound our lives. Soldiers changed, flags changed, and with them, the quality of sound in our village changed, too. There were still stories of fighting and revenge, but the constant, suffocating tension lifted. One day, almost without ceremony, the name “Katague” could be spoken freely again.

Looking back now, my memories of that “Japanese-American War” in the Philippines are a mixture of sharp images and lingering impressions: my father’s serious face as he taught us to deny our surname, my mother’s quiet efficiency in making a life out of almost nothing, the hushed accounts of massacres that claimed the lives of people I would never meet, and the subtle shift from terror to tentative relief as the occupation ended.

As an adult, and later a father and grandfather, I came to understand that what I experienced as a child was only a small part of the larger history. Yet those years shaped me in ways I still feel. They taught me that identity is both fragile and stubborn, that courage can look like a man slipping into the night to join guerrillas or like a child memorizing a false name to protect his family. They taught me that war does not just redraw maps; it redraws the interior landscape of memory, leaving marks that endure long after the guns fall silent.

In telling these stories now, I reclaim those days not only as episodes of fear but as proof of survival. The boy who whispered “Katigbak” in the dark grew into a man who can sign his real name without hesitation. That simple act, so ordinary in peacetime, is, for me, one of the quiet victories of a life lived beyond war.

In conclusion, as I wrote in my original article above, There are no winners in War. Everyone are losers. For PART 2 and 3 of this trilogy read:

https://discover.hubpages.com/literature/my-childhood-memories-of-world-war-2

💜United States Arm Forces of the Far East ( USAFFE)

Meanwhile, here's the AI Overview on the Above Topic:.

Key Memoirs and Documentaries

Several books and films provide firsthand accounts of this period:

Child of War: A Memoir of World War II Internment in the Philippines
: Curt Tong, the son of American missionaries, recounts his three years in Japanese prison camps starting at age seven.

Rising Sun Blinking: A Young Boy's Memoirs
: Jose Maria Lacambra Loizu uses his wartime diary to describe the "horror, adventure, and excitement" of being an 11-year-old in occupied Iloilo.

Children of War
: Writer Joan Orendain compiles poignant accounts from witnesses across the country, detailing the lifelong scars left by the occupation.

A Lovely Little War
: Angus Lorenzen offers a child’s perspective on life inside the notorious Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila.

Children of the War
: A documentary film featuring reflections from survivors of the 1945 Battle of Manila.

Common Children’s Experiences

Internment Life: Children in camps like Santo Tomas often tried to maintain normalcy through structured activities and play, though conditions deteriorated into severe malnutrition and fear by 1944.
War Games: To cope, children sometimes turned the conflict into games, such as "playing guards" or daring each other to stand still during strafing runs by planes.
Guerrilla Involvement: Some teenagers and even children as young as 12, like Martin Bantug, joined resistance units to fight for freedom.
💚Survival in Hiding: Many Filipino families fled to the mountains to avoid Japanese patrols, facing constant hunger and the threat of discovery.

My Animated Photo of the Day- Me and Knitz at her Wedding Day, 1976

https://www.meta.ai/create/1073148365876800

Onoda and the Magellan Movies

2025-11-04T07:53:24.775-08:00

While looking For Old Movies, I discovered this Gem:   
During the final months of World War II, Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda was stationed on Lubang Island in the Philippines and given orders to defend the territory until reinforcements arrived. 

Remarkably, unaware that the war had ended, Onoda remained hidden in the dense jungle for nearly three decades. 

Despite repeated attempts to inform him the war was over, Onoda dismissed all news as enemy propaganda. 

His existence was only confirmed in 1974 when traveler Norio Suzuki tracked him down. 

Onoda surrendered only when his former commanding officer personally relieved him of duty. 

Upon returning to Japan, he was greeted as a hero, capturing international attention and symbolizing extreme loyalty and resilience. 

His incredible story inspired a bestselling memoir and a critically acclaimed film, “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle.”

Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle(Japanese: ONODA 一万夜を越えて, Hepburn: Onoda: Ichiman'ya o Koete; lit."Onoda: Over ten thousand nights", French: Onoda, 10 000 nuits dans la jungle) is a 2021 war drama film directed by Arthur Harari and co-written with Vincent Poymiro, with the collaboration of Bernard Cendron. It is inspired by the life of Hiroo Onoda (Yuya Endo) a Japanese soldier who refused to believe that World War II had ended and continued to fight on a remote Philippine island until 1974.

It is an international co-production between France, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Cambodia. And was particularly inspired by Cendron and Gérard Chenu's 1974 biography Onoda, seul en guerre dans la jungle, Cendron's archives, and Harari's conversations with the author. Harari did not base it on Onoda's own memoir; he considers the film to be fiction inspired by history rather than a biographical book.The film had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, on 7 July 2021. It was theatrically released in France on 21 July 2021, and in Japan on 8 October 2021. It was received with critical acclaim, winning Best Original Screenplay at the 47th César Awards.

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 35 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.70/10. The website's consensus reads: "With absorbing patience and palpable empathy, Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle finds poignant drama in one real-life soldier's stubborn pursuit of honor." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

On RogerEbert.com, Ben Kenigsburg writes: "Technically, "Onoda"... is a biopic, but it never plays like one. This austere, bleak, occasionally even darkly funny film is, at nearly three hours, more like an absurdist slow burn." James Lattimer, writing for Sight and Sound, called it "...a nearly three-hour wannabe existentialist war drama intended as an exercise in the sort of big-screen immersion that has been impossible of late... [T]he film's humdrum dramatization lacks the necessary visual or narrative finesse to keep viewers absorbed."

Accolades

The film won the Prix Louis-Delluc for 2021. At the 11th Magritte Awards, it received a nomination in the category of Best Foreign Film in Coproducti

The Movie is free from TUBI.. It's quite long almost 3 hours, It may be boring to those people whose lives were not directly affected by the Japanese-American War in the Philippines, 1941-1945. But to me, it is nostalgia time again,

My Food For Thought for Today:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4084237285150626

Lastly, The Movie-Magellan

#LavDiaz’s film “Magellan”, the Philippines’ official Oscars entry for Best International Feature Film, won the Golden Spike (Best Picture) at the 70th Valladolid International Film Festival (SEMINCI) in Spain.

It shared the top honor with Kelly Reichardt’s “The Mastermind.” The jury praised “Magellan” for its powerful reimagining of colonial history, stunning visuals, and bold storytelling that connects the past with the present.

The Film Academy of the Philippines celebrated the win, calling it a proud moment for Filipino cinema. The movie, starring Gael García Bernal as Ferdinand Magellan and Ronnie Lazaro as Rajah Humabon, premiered at Cannes 2025 before its release in the Philippines.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North- A War and Love TV Mini Series

2025-05-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a 2025 Australian drama miniseries. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Richard Flanagan and directed by Justin Kurzel. It stars Jacob Elordi, Odessa Young, and Ciarán Hinds. The series follows Dorrigo Evans across three periods: before his deployment to the Second World War, during his time as a Far East prisoner of war, and several decades after the war. Each period reveals different parts of Dorrigo's love affair with his Uncle's wife, Amy. The series was released on Amazon Prime on 18 April 2025 to critical acclaim.

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.3/10, based on 21 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A difficult watch made riveting by director Justin Kurzel and star Jacob Elordi's sterling work, The Narrow Road to the Deep North chronicles the inhumanity of war with fierce intelligence." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 84 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "universal acclaim " reviews.

In a review for The Guardian, Luke Buckmaster awarded the show 4 out of 5 stars, noting the strength of the performances and the complexity of the relationships depicted. He also complimented the direction, writing: "You never doubt the show’s realism, or the compassion underpinning it". Hugh Montgomery of the BBC praised the acting of Elordi and Young and described them as possessing "smouldering chemistry".

Here's one of the reviews, that I concur. I enjoyed the TV mini-series very much. I cried because of the cruelty and inhumanity of war. It reminded me of my childhood experiences during the Japanese- American War in the Philippines. The incidence of brutality by the Japanese to the Australians is similar to the brutality committed by the Japanese to the Filipino and American Prisoners during the Bataan Death March.

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/07/tears-in-darkness-my-book-review-update.html

What do we want from our war stories? That's a question at the core of this new five-part adaptation of Australian author Richard Flanagan's Booker Prize-winning novel. Preparing to make a speech for a book launch, World War Two veteran Dorrigo Evans (Ciarán Hinds) ruefully says people just want tales "of heroism and mateship" – where he would rather give them "the truth".

It's certainly true that in general cultural discourse, there can be a tendency to present war history through a romanticised, "inspirational" lens – but on screen there is also a strong lineage of works that have sought to lay bare its abjectness, from Apocalypse Now to All Quiet on the Western Front. However, if this miniseries is not radical in that respect, it is, on the evidence of the first two episodes that have premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, set to be a stunning, shell-shocking piece of work nevertheless – as well as an impressive showcase for Jacob Elordi, the in-demand star who made his name with HBO series Euphoria and, after working with the likes of Sofia Coppola and Paul Schrader, continues to make judicious choices.

It sets out its stall right from the opening scene, in Syria in 1941, in which a group of Australian soldiers' blokeish banter is cut through by a bomb explosion that gruesomely takes out one of their number and a Syrian child: filmed with tight, disorientating camerawork by director Justin Kurzel, the visuals drained of colour amid the murk of the landscape, it immerses you completely in the horror.

From there the story moves between three timelines. There's young Dorrigo (Elordi) in 1940, as he is stationed to Adelaide for military training and forms an intense connection with his uncle's young wife Amy (Odessa Young); Dorrigo in Thailand in 1943, now one of thousands of prisoners of war in the Thai jungle forced by the Japanese to help build Burma's notorious "Death" railway; and 77-year-old Dorrigo in 1989, an affluent surgeon with a happy-ish marriage who nevertheless can never hope to forget what he witnessed all those decades ago – "the strange terrible neverending-ness of human beings," as he puts it – or make others who didn't experience it understand.

(Credit: Curio Pictures)

The older Dorrigo's sense of alienation is deftly sketched in an early scene in which he is interviewed by a combative young journalist, prepared to question his blanket definition of the Japanese as "monsters". It's a measure of Shaun Grant's skilled writing that as she prods him, and with his rebuke, you sympathise with both characters' point of view. Similarly impressive is the way the show deals with Dorrigo's extra-marital affairs, as both young and old man, with no crude judgements. There are no heroes and villains in either set-up, exactly, just messy feelings and a search for connection.

It's a show as much about love as war, and it's good that the romance has equal impact, thanks to the smouldering chemistry of Elordi and Young

Where the drama possesses clearer moral definition is in the indisputable evil of the sadism directed at the captured Australian soldiers. It is in these prisoner of war scenes that Kurzel, known for films like Snowtown and True History of the Kelly Gang, really excels himself, creating grimly powerful images – take a scene early on of a heap of dehydrated men being transported in a truck, sticking their tongues out ecstatically as rainwater comes through the slats of their container. But he also deftly colours in the bravado and, yes, mateship, that (barely) sustains them in the most terrible of situations, as they share penis jokes and impromptu comedy skits amid the unbearable slog of their labour.

When it comes to their Japanese captors, meanwhile, the dangers of presenting them as one-dimensionally malign are counterpointed in part by the character of a conflicted young major. At the same time, the way one of his seniors talks about how cutting off someone's head feels both "euphoric and horrible" could not be more chilling. It will be interesting to see how their perspective develops, as the episodes progress.

But this is a show as much about love as war, and it's good that the romance has equal impact, thanks to the smouldering chemistry of Elordi and Young. Young gives a beguiling sense of a woman with a wisdom and self-knowledge beyond her years, while Elordi has simply never been better: returning both to the small screen and his homeland Australia, he holds the screen with a particular kind of reserved charisma, suggesting his character's hidden recesses of pain and desire with mere flickers of expression. And even if he hardly resembles Elordi, Hinds is equally superb in the older timelines, his natural lugubriousness put to good use.

As for Kurzel, he brings an auteur's confidence to everything here, creating a seamless symphony of visuals, editing and music. The Narrow Road to the Deep North feels like a searingly "true" account of war, indeed, but also one founded on the finest artistry, if that's not too much of a contradiction. I watched this on Prime Video.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20250215-the-narrow-road-to-the-deep-north-review-this-ww2-miniseries-is-a-stunning-showcase-for-jacob-elordi

Meanwhile, another new TV Series on Starz is Etiole ( pronounced it tual), that I enjoyed also very much this week. Etiole is a French word meaning-Star. This TV series has mixed reviews. If you love Ballet and Comedy, this is a must view TV show. Amazing Choreography!

For Details visit:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/etoile/s01

Finally, here are two photos of Grand Daughter Carenna Katague Thompson on her recent trip to the Netherlands.

Lighting of the Beacon on Mount Diablo Today

2024-12-07T08:56:00.007-08:00

The Beacon on Mount Diablo was originally installed and illuminated in 1928 to aid in transcontinental aviation. It is one of the four guiding beacons installed along the West Coast by Standard Oil of California and is the only one known to still be operational.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Beacon’s light was extinguished during the West Coast blackout, for fear it could enable an attack on California.

It stayed dark until Pearl Harbor Day in 1964, when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces during World War II, relit the Beacon in a commemorative ceremony and suggested it be illuminated every December 7th to honor those who served and sacrificed.

Since that day, Pearl Harbor veterans and their families have gathered every December 7th to see the Beacon light shine once again.

The Beacon now shines brighter than ever since it underwent an extensive restoration process in 2013 (thanks to a campaign led by Save Mount Diablo) to ensure it continues to shine for many more years.

The Pearl Harbor Survivors now know that the Beacon will shine long after they are gone.

The Beacon is lit at sunset and shines all night on this evening each year. Beginning in 2022, it is also lit on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

On Sunday, April 11, 2021, Save Mount Diablo concluded a year of lighting the Beacon weekly to bring light and hope to our region during the worst of the pandemic.

Save Mount Diablo has restored, maintained, and operated the Mount Diablo’s Summit Beacon, the Eye of Diablo for many years, and the organization is grateful to provide this service to our communities despite the time and cost involved.

About Save Mount Diablo

Save Mount Diablo is a nationally accredited nonprofit land trust founded in 1971. Our mission is to preserve Mount Diablo’s peaks, surrounding foothills, and watersheds; and its sustaining Diablo Range, through land acquisition and preservation strategies designed to protect the mountain’s natural beauty, biological diversity, and historic and agricultural heritage; enhance our area’s quality of life; and provide educational and recreational opportunities consistent with protection of natural resources. To learn more, please visit https://www.savemountdiablo.org/.

SUMMARY

What: Save Mount Diablo; the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Chapter 5; and California State Parks will light the “Eye of Diablo,” the Beacon atop Mount Diablo to memorialize National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. As the number of survivors has decreased over the years, the number of people attending the ceremony in honor of these heroes has increased, including many sons and daughters vital to organizing the service.

When: Saturday, December 7, 2024

USS Arizona viewing begins at 3:00 PM, ceremony at 3:45 PM, Beacon lighting at 5:00 PM

Where: The ceremony will be held at the California State University, East Bay Concord Center, 4700 Ygnacio Valley Road, in Concord.

Directions: http://goo.gl/maps/jXhcW

Access: Parking is available, and parking fees will be waived for this event. See map.

For more information on the Beacon:

https://savemountdiablo.org/experience/events-outings/beacon-lighting/

Photo: Mount Diablo Summit Beacon, the “Eye of Diablo,” by Stephen Joseph. Additional high-resolution photos of the Beacon and the Pearl Harbor Survivors are available upon request by contacting lkindsvater@savemountdiablo.org.

Media Contacts:

Ted Clement, Executive Director, Save Mount Diablo

P: 925-947-3535, C: 925-451-8108, email: tclement@savemountdiablo.org

Personal Note: I was 7 years old in the Philippines when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. It was a day, I will always remember.

The 80th Anniversary of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor

2021-12-10T10:51:00.003-08:00

Photo Credit: Joel Cuello, Ph.D.

Yesterday's 80th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor reminded of my memories of the world War II as a child growing up in Panay Island, Philippines. The war has affected million of lives all over the world including my own. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been if Pearl Harbor was not bombed. I would have not been able to experience my childhood years in the small town where my mother was born. I would have been raised in a modern small city with all the conveniences and not knowing how to survive in the jungles of Panay Island without running water and electricity.

Again this year to celebrate this 80th anniversary of the start of WW II, I am reposting the following article for your reading pleasure. If you have read this before, my apologies, but remember There are no winners in war, all are losers.

"Childhood Memories of the Japanese-American War in the Philippines"

The Bataan Death March

"War is a terrible thing to happen. Few among us have heard the stories of civilians in the war zones. I saw and lived the anxieties and horrors of the Japanese-American war through the eyes of a child. This article (Part 1 of the trilogy) received the ViewsHound Gold Prize of $50 in 2011. ViewsHound is now a defunct writing site formerly based in UK.

Life in the time of war is a difficult experience for a child. All school and play activities are interrupted. Survival amidst the chaos becomes a paramount goal in life. Our family had to uproot ourselves from the comfort of home and move several times to the hard life in the countryside. We had to avoid the conflict and the bombing in the city.

We chose a life of peace and quiet away from the invading Japanese troops. Due to the language barrier, the Japanese instilled order and dominance of the conquered using fear, by hurting or killing innocent civilians, resulting in the rise of the resistance movement. For every day that passes, there was the dream of peace, but during the lengthy war period, one had to expect the worst before anything good happened.

Before the war started, we lived a comfortable life in our home in the city of Jaro, Iloilo located in the central Philippine island of Panay. My father had a dental practice and we had our farm landholdings around the province. It was 13 days before my 7th birthday when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in the morning of December 7, 1941.

On that evening, Japanese planes had taken off to attack several targets in the Philippines, which was then an American colony. It was the start of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, and the reign of fear was about to begin.

I was in 2nd grade at the Jaro Elementary School when Japan started bombing the bigger cities of the country. When we heard the terrifying news, my parents became concerned for our safety and decided to get out of the city, a possible bombing target.

They chose to move to our farm in the small town of Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, my mother’s ancestral town 60 kilometers north of Jaro. It was a time of panic, chaos and fear over what was to happen in the city. We were about to leave our cherished home and anxiously head to the unfamiliar and unknown.

Within a couple of days all the essential items we could bring were already packed. All the furniture and the huge and heavy items were left behind. My mother had all her china and silverware buried in the backyard for safekeeping.

We found out later that our house was bombed and totally destroyed. All the furniture were either destroyed or stolen. All the china and silverware was dug up and stolen. Despite the losses, we were grateful that we made a wise decision and survived unharmed.

For a short period we settled in a small farm house of our tenant in a remote district of town. As the war progressed, we were informed that the Japanese forces had penetrated most of the big cities in the country and were starting to occupy smaller towns. My father was a captain and dental officer of the newly organized Philippine guerrillas, an underground resistance movement to fight the Japanese. As a precaution, he decided to move our family a second time, to the jungle in the interior of Panay Island.

We had to walk for three days through the woods of the jungle, cross over numerous creeks and climb over mountains with the help and guidance of our farmer tenants. Our trek ended and we settled in a hidden valley lined by a creek with clean running water. Our tenants built us a hut for shelter made of bamboo and nipa palm, an outdoor kitchen and a dining area.

They used a bamboo cart pulled by a water Buffalo to bring us supplies of rice, salt, sugar and other spices regularly. In the valley we cleared the land to plant vegetables, corn and sweet potatoes. We also raised chickens and ducks for eggs, pigs for protein and goats for milk.

One of the scariest events while living in the jungle was when our pig livestock were preyed upon by a python snake measuring about 30 feet long. It was pitch black at night when we heard our two pigs squealing out loud in fear. My father instructed our helper to inspect the pig pen using a kerosene lamp. He saw the snake strangling one of the pigs. He struck and killed the python using his machete and a piece of wood, sadly, our small pig also died. That whole week we had protein in our meals. It was proof that the jungles of Panay are inhabited by dangerous pythons.

We had no pet with us. I chose the chickens and the goats to become my pets. I raised one of the chickens; it slept with me, got attached to me and kept trailing me wherever I go. My mother tolerated my unusual pets because I had no peers my age aside from my younger brother.

To continue with our education, my father home schooled us together with two of my older cousins. For four hours each day we were taught arithmetic, spelling and history. We were lucky to have brought with us a few books on Philippine and US history. Whenever our tenants brought us food supplies, they would update us on news about the status of the Japanese occupation.

Late in the war when the Japanese brutality and atrocities appeared to have stopped, we moved again from the jungle to a seaside village. We stayed at the house of another tenant. My father warned us not to talk to any stranger, and if asked, to avoid giving our real last name of Katague and instead provide an alias which was Katigbak. There were unverified rumors that the Japanese had a list of names of all the guerrillas, which might have included my father. Some traitor Filipinos worked as spies for the Japanese by pinpointing the guerrillas in exchange for favors.

One day, we saw a platoon of uniformed Japanese soldiers armed with guns and bayonets passing by our village. My brother and I watched them march while hiding in the bushes. I knew their brutal reputation towards the natives, and I was afraid of us being seen and getting in trouble. I was relieved that nothing happened and they continued with their march to the next village.

A terrible incident happened to about 30 of my maternal relatives while we were living in the jungle. They were similarly hiding and living in the jungle on a mountain ridge next to us. They were killed by the Japanese soldiers who discovered and penetrated their location with the help of the spies. A handicapped relative in a wheelchair was spared. During the massacre, she fell on the creek and must have been left for dead. She lived to tell the tragic story. This is only one example of many atrocities that was committed by the Japanese to the Filipino civilians.

When General MacArthur landed in Leyte on October 1944, it was the happiest day for the Filipinos, the Americans were back to save us from the Japanese tyranny. The Japanese troops started to retreat and surrender. The chance for peace in the Philippines was welcomed with excitement. The schools were planning to reopen. There was no more need to live in hiding and in fear, and to lie about one’s name. We were able to live free from the oppressors.

From the seaside village we moved to another district much closer to town where we built a bigger house. At the back of the property was a hill, and on a clear day, from the top of the hill you could see the nearby island of Negros. We used it as an observation hill where we could watch the Japanese and American planes flying and then fighting each other. My brother and I witnessed two planes attacking each other, with one plane being blown to pieces and burning as it fell from the sky to the sea between Panay and Negros islands. It was a thrilling dogfight show to watch, although we never found out the victor.

When school reopened, we were required to take a test to determine which grade level we would qualify for. I passed the test for a 4th grade level. I was merely in grade 2 when war broke out. In short, I completed six grades of elementary in only four years of schooling. In class, I was two years younger than most of my classmates. I was thankful for the result of my father’s patience in home schooling us while living in the jungle. At last we were able to go back to our school, new home, and live the life of what was left of my childhood years in peace.

Always remember that there are no winner of wars. Everybody are losers!!"

Turning Eighty-Five in Seven Days

2019-12-13T09:22:00.002-08:00

Next week, I will turn 85 years young. Some of my relatives and friends asked me what I have done and what have I done that makes me proud of myself. I thought for a moment and an item that flashed into my memory is the article I wrote in my Hubpages.com account as follows:

https://letterpile.com/inspirational/my-bucket-list-101-things-to-do-before-i-die

Of the 101 items, I have done 98 items. The only 3 items I have not done and will not be able to do in my current situation are #32, #33 and #34.

The other article that I am proud of is my personal participation to help alleviate the sufferings of the burnt victims of the bombing of the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

https://hubpages.com/education/the-day-the-world-trembled

The next item that I will also remember is Macrine's ( my spouse of 62 years) and my involvement with the Medical and Dental Mission in Marinduque-Philippines. Marinduque is our second home- we have a retirement home and beach house in this beautiful island south of Manila.

Medical Mission of Love to Marinduque, 2004

https://hubpages.com/politics/medical-mission-of-love-to-marinduque

Last but not least is my writing activities( Hubpages and Personal blogs) after my retirement from the Food and Drug Administration in 2002.

1. https://hubpages.com/my/hubs/stats

2. https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2322822668769076508#allposts/src=sidebar

Allow me to quote my favorite saying: You have only lived if you have touched the life of others. Thank you Lord for giving me this opportunity to celebrate my 85th birthday! For a summary of my autobiography read:

Golden Wedding Anniversary Photo, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines, 2007

https://davidbkatague.blogspot.com/2011/12/trail-blazer-in-hemistry.html

One of the highlights of my work as a Chemistry Reviewer and Team Leader for the FDA was this letter of appreciation from Sion A. Boney, President of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

This is a Letter of Appreciation from the President of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company thanking me of my work as Chemistry Reviewer, 1997

For my other awards and accomplishments read:

https://marinduqueawaitsyou.blogspot.com/2019/11/my-involvement-with-united-states.html

https://davidbkatague.blogspot.com/2014/05/my-self-destruct-selfie-and-other-non_17.html

Of course my most important achievements in life is producing 4 professional children who are successful in their chosen fields of livelihood: Their bios are listed in their linkedin page as follows:

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dodie-katague-83ab6a18

2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinah-katague-832ab67

3. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-katague-b1a9037

4. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ditas-katague-7a155a5

Meanwhile, enjoy to one of my favorites- Serenade by Franz Schubert

https://youtu.be/wj2GDmaEDSs

Latest Photo of the Katague-Jambalos Clan, 2019

Life at the University of the Philippines, Diliman in the Early 1950's

2018-10-23T10:17:00.003-07:00

Some members of the UPSCA-LA Chapter with Fr John Delaney, 1954.

About a year ago, I joined the Narra Residence Hall (UP Men's South Dorm) FaceBook group. I had numerous discussions with several members of the group about life in University of the Philippines(UP) during the 1950's and had published a number of photos during my college years. Among the active participants in our discussion were: Oscar Evangelista, Dan Etsirc, Willy Banlaoi, Guillermo Canlas, Ricky Sasil, James Esquerra and Kalder Eduardo.

This blog is a response to the query of Ricky Sasil regarding my activities in the mid 1950's in UP Diliman. I searched my souvenir files today and found the following events that I have attended ( I have still the ticket stubs/souvenir programs of the five events in my scrapbook. This is in addition to the monthly socials sponsored by the Women's Club and UPSCA Meetings that I attend regularly. I was an Active UPSCAN and consider myself one of Fr John Delaney admirers/worshippers.

I was in UP Diliman from 1953 to 1955 as a Chemistry student and a later as a Chemistry Instructor from 1956 to 1959. I stayed at the South Dorm ( Narra Residence Hall) from 1953 to 1959.

South Dorm Officers, 1954. I am in the first row kneeling from the Left.

The five events are as follows:

1. A Song Recital of Helen Traubel, world-famous soprano, sponsored by the Conservatory of Music and the President's Committee on Culture, January 16, 1953

2. A Garden Party in honor of the visiting members of the International Olympic Committee and the Heads and members of the Delegation to the second Asian Games, Kawilihan, Mandaluyong, Rizal, May 9, 1954

3. Lecture Forum, The Intellectual and his Faith, sponsored by the Iota Eta Sigma and conducted by Rev Horacio de la Costa, S.J., July 24, 1953

4. A song recital of Aurelio Estanislao, baritone with the UP Symphony Orchestra, conductor, Ramon Tapales and Accompanist Regalado Jose, January 12, 1955

5. A dramatic presentation by the UPSCA Dramatic Guild, The Woman of the House directed by Alejandro Casambre. Some of the actors were Isabel Seviila, Letty Tison, Violeta Mariano and Rudy Aluyen, Feb 22, 1955. Other names associated with this play were Basilisa Manhit, Dionisia Rola, Conception Dadufalza, Angelina Villanueva and Ma Luisa Lorenzo.

I have attended several other plays, lectures, recitals and dances, but the above five events I will always remember.

UPSCA General Meeting, UP Diliman, 1954

Pleasant Memories, Indeed! Some photos of my college years at UP, Diliman, QC, Philippines
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2012/11/photo-memories-of-my-college-years-as.html

Antonio A Nieva and Jose Antonio Vargas Added to My Pinoy Pride List

2018-05-02T21:40:00.001-07:00

Two years ago, I wrote in one of my hubs a list of names I called my Pinoy Pride List. There were 20 names of accomplished Filipino-Americans or Filipinos in that list. Here's my article as published in my Hubpages.com account.

https://hubpages.com/business/caste-system-in-the-philippines

Today I am proud to add two names to this list.

1. Antonio A. Nieva-Writer and Filipino-American veteran of World War II. Tony Arevalo Nieva is my wife's uncle and father of Ronie and Pepi Nieva. For details of his life and book read the following:

https://www.usphsociety.org/2017/05/24/filipino-veterans-honored-at-the-washington-dc-book-launch-of-nievas-cadet-soldier-guerrilla-fighter/

2. Jose Antonio Vargas- DACA and Dreamer's Act Activist. For his biography and accomplishments read the following.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Antonio_Vargas

Boy Scout Uniform Featured on the Mindanao Daily News

2017-11-16T12:04:00.001-08:00

Dr. David B.Katague of Iloilo wears the BSP uniform circa 1943-1945, similar to the one worn by Scout Loloy Queppet when he met MacArthur in 1942.

While surfing on the Internet the other day, I was surprise to see the following article with my boys scout uniform picture. I did not have a copyright to my photograph so I was not aware that the Mindanao Daily News had used my picture in the following article of historical significance- regarding the reenactment of General McArthur's arrival in Macabalan Pier, Cagayan De Oro in 1942 from Corregidor on his way to Australia.

The departure of General McArthur from Corregidor to Australia was not well publicized in comparison to his return to Leyte from Australia in October, 1944 almost at the end of the war. ( see footnotes on bottom of this page),

Here's a reprint of the whole article as published in the Mindanao Daily News dated March 15, 2017.
General Douglas MacArthur Week: BSP Council to honor scout who met MacArthur in Macabalan
Mar 15, 2017 Clifford Santillan , Mindanao Daily News.

The Boy Scouts of the Philippines Cagayan de Oro Council will honor one of its scouters for the role he played in a footnote in history on March 13, 1942.

As recounted by Ann Gorra in her anthology “City of Gold: People Who Made Their Home and History in Cagayan de Oro”, Abelardo Neri Queppet was one of the scouts of Baden-Powell Troop (named after the founder of the Scouting movement Lord Baden-Powell) in charge of enforcing the mandatory blackout.

His Dad encouraged him to join the Boy Scouts and he was a member of Troop 1 at the City Central School. There were at least 20 scouts in the troop among them Jaime Tiano, Victor Roa, Terencio Gadrinab, Hugo Balase, Antonio Zacharies, Vic Itchon, Jose Apolinario and Cristobal Nagac.

These were dark days in Philippine history when the country was tottering on the brink of defeat with US and Filipino forces boxed in Bataan and Corregidor by the all-conquering Japanese Imperial Army. So it was strictly lights out after 5PM for everyone lest they be subjected to Japanese attack.

Cagayan de Oro’s Macabalan Pier during the Japanese Occupation

“As soon as dusk gave way to night, I rode my bike (bought from a Japanese Bazaar) and rode around Del Mar, Mindanao and to the pier, blowing my whistle to warn residents that it was time to shut their lights off.” Loloy was assigned to do the task by his Scout Master Epifanio Balase since he was a native-born Kagay-anon and knew his way around. Even if he was just 14 years old at the time, Loloy went about his routine like a professional: waking up at 6AM, clean the house, eat breakfast, and report to HQ in his Boy Scout Uniform: shorts, knee socks, red and blue neckerchief, brown shirt and Boy Scout cap.

Another of Loloy’s responsibilities was to direct traffic at Plaza Divisoria to expedite the passage of US military convoys to avoid strafings by Japanese planes.

His friend, one Sergeant Hunter, charged with the security of Macabalan port in those days, often kidded him about making sure he stops the tartanillas since they had no brakes.

On the evening of Thursday, March 12, 1942, Sgt. Hunter asked Loloy to be at the parola (lighthouse) in Macabalan at 7PM. Upon his arrival, Sgt. Hunter told him they were expecting General Douglas MacArthur to arrive between midnight and dawn. Sure enough, at 7AM of Friday, March 13, 1942, MacArthur and his party disembarked from two PT Boats at Macabalan Pier and rode a convoy of military vehicles to the Del Monte airfield in nearby Tankulan, Bukidnon.

But not before the General noticed the Boy Scout and his bike (who saluted him with the three fingered Boy Scout salute), standing by the gangplank where they were disembarking (now the site of the flagpole for the Cagayan de Oro Port Management Office of the Philippine Ports Authority).

Asked what the Boy Scout was doing there, one of the soldiers replied he was a community volunteer.

“Send him home,” MacArthur said. “The war is inevitable.” (Gorra, 2010)

On Monday, March 13, 2017, the City of Cagayan de Oro through the City Historical and Cultural Commission (Hiscom) leads the 75th Diamond Jubilee of General MacArthur’s Breakout from Corregidor to Australia, via Cagayan, Misamis and Dicklum, Tankulan (Manolo Fortich).

Among the salient moments of the week –long celebration from March 13-17, 2017, is the reenactment of MacArthur’s arrival at Macabalan.

To be included among the cast of reenactors, (and unknown to world history save for the local yarn as told by Loloy to Ms. Gorra), is Boy Scout Abelardo “Loloy” Neri Queppet, who will be played by his 9-year old grand nephew Clark Dexter M. Prudente of the Baden-Powell Troop of Xavier University High School, the same troop of by his late grand uncle when he met MacArthur.

According to Boys Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) Cagayan de Oro Council Chair Roy Hilario P. Raagas, they will be awarding the late Scout Queppet a posthumous award for his valiant deeds as a Boy Scout in enforcing the blackout and directing traffic under dangerous circumstances in Plaza Divisoria in 1942.

BSP Cagayan de Oro Council Scout Executive Rudy Guligado added the local council will also present the family of Genevieve Josefa Queppet Ramonal, his only child, with a BSP Centennial Medallion and plaque during the 75th Commemorative Dinner and Program on March 17 which closes the curtains on General Douglas MacArthur Week.

Scout Loloy Queppet passed on in September 2008. But his date with one of the titans of the 20th Century will now forever stay entwined with the saga of General Douglas MacArthur, “The Liberator of the Philippines.”

Footnotes: From McArthur's Biography in Wikipedia:

"In February 1942, as Japanese forces tightened their grip on the Philippines, MacArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt to relocate to Australia. MacArthur discussed the idea with his staff that he resign his commission and fight on as a private soldier in the Philippine resistance but Sutherland talked him out of it.

On the night of March 12, 1942, MacArthur and a select group (that included his wife Jean and son Arthur, as well as Sutherland, Akin, Casey, Marshall, Willoughby, Diller, and George) left Corregidor in four PT boats. MacArthur, his family and Sutherland traveled in PT 41, commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley. The others followed in PT 34, PT 35 and PT 32.( The PT's disembarked in Macabalan Pier in Cagayan de Oro, then proceeded via military vehicles to the Airfield in Bukidnon).

MacArthur and his party reached Del Monte Airfield in Bukidnon province on the island of Mindanao two days later. General George Marshall sent three U.S. Navy B-17s to pick them up. Two of them arrived, and brought the entire group to Australia".

Source: http://www.mindanaodailynews.com/general-douglas-macarthur-week-bsp-council-to-honor-scout-who-met-macarthur-in-macabalan/

http://www.mindanaodailynews.com/general-douglas-macarthur-week-bsp-council-to-honor-scout-who-met-macarthur-in-macabalan/

My Six Most Treasured Vidoes

2017-10-21T10:02:00.002-07:00

The following six videos are my treasures. They are the videos that have touched my life!

Ditas, my youngest daughter, interviewed by Comcast, as California Director of Census, 2010

Carenna singing one of her original songs

Macrine's 80th Birthday

Chateau Du Mer, 2011

Carlos Avila, Macrine's Nephew

The Manila and Balleza Clan Massacre During World War II

2017-03-10T14:33:00.001-08:00

The most famous and documented massacre of Filipino civilians by the Japanese Imperial army during World War II was the bombing of Manila. My mother-in-law youngest sister, Blanca Decena Nieva who was an army nurse died during that time. The summary of this massacre as documented in Wikipedia is as follows:

The Manila massacre involved atrocities committed against Filipino civilians in the city of Manila, Philippines by Japanese troops during the World War II Battle of Manila (1945). The Manila massacre was one of several major war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, as judged by the postwar military tribunal. The Japanese commanding general, Tomoyuki Yamashita, and his chief of staff Akira Mutō, were held responsible for the massacre and other war crimes in a trial in late 1945 in Manila. Yamashita was executed on 23 February 1946 and Muto on 23 December 1948.

In the Battle of Manila from February to March 1945, the United States Army and the Philippine Commonwealth Army advanced into the city of Manila to drive out the Japanese. During lulls in the battle for control of the city, Japanese troops took out their anger and frustration on the civilians in the city. Violent mutilations, rapes, and massacres occurred in schools, hospitals and convents, including San Juan de Dios Hospital, Santa Rosa College, Santo Domingo Church, Manila Cathedral, Paco Church, St. Paul's Convent, and St. Vincent de Paul Church. Dr Antonio Gisbert told of the murder of his father and brother at the Palacio del Gobernador, saying, "I am one of those few survivors, not more than 50 in all out of more than 3000 men herded into Fort Santiago and, two days later, massacred. The Bayview Hotel was used as a designated "rape center".

According to testimony at the Yamashita war crimes trial, 400 women and girls were rounded up from Manila's wealthy Ermita district, and submitted to a selection board that picked out the 25 considered most beautiful. These women and girls, many of them 12 to 14 years old, were then taken to the hotel, where Japanese enlisted men and officers took turns raping them. One Japanese order read, "The Americans who have penetrated into Manila have about 1000 troops, and there are several thousand Filipino soldiers under the Commonwealth Army and the organized guerrillas.

The combined death toll of civilians for the battle of Manila was approximately 100,000, most of which was attributed to massacres by Japanese forces. Some historians, citing a higher civilian casualty rate for the entire battle, suggest that 100,000 up to more than 500,000 died as a result of the Manila massacre on its own, exclusive of other causes.

However, similar events in Panay Island is not well documented including the Balleza Clan massacre in my hometown Barotac Viejo, Iloilo. Philippines, with the exception of the Hopevale Martyrdom of American soldiers in Tapaz, Calinog, Panay Island.(www.us-japandialogueonpows.org/Ibuki%20Kumai.htm)

However, through oral communications, I have received the following FB communication regarding the Balleza clan killings. These were events that I heard from relatives when I was growing up in my hometown of Barotac Viejo in the 1940's. The Balleza family that were killed were closed relatives of my mother, Paz Balleza Katague. I remember very well Noel Balleza, Sr and his wife Nay Edna who was a paraplegic( wheel chair bound)were survivors of the massacre. The following is from the FB page of Freya Tupas Tamon-member of the Balleza clan from Barotac Viejo, Iloilo.

Me and My youngest sister(Amor Katague Gregorio) in front of Barotac Viejo National High School, pointing at the sign showing the Land Donation of my mother (Paz Balleza Katague) and my uncle Jose Balleza-members of the Balleza Clan. This is the school where I graduated valedictorian in 1951.

Freya Tupas-Tamon: "During World War II, Japanese Troops were searching for the well-known BALLEZA CLAN ! But before they reached the House. GOOD that maybe it was LOLO GENARO who let HIS SONS: Tay Noel, Tay Adan,& Tay Alec to FLEE AWAY (Hide in Forest) to SAVED their LIVES... GOD hath MIRACLES !!! Then, Nay Edna, wife of Tay NOEL was placed in the river for she was sickly, and water was her only Medicine. I won't also FORGET the story of Nay COLING (SOCORRO Balleza TUPAS BOQUIREN): It was in Bgry. Gen. Luna that the Japanese ordered them to make two lines: Balleza Family & Workers!! Some workers joined the Group of Balleza w/out knowing that Group of Workers were NOT MASSACRED !!! All the Balleza clan were killed".

The following is my FB communication with one of the grandson of the Genaro Balleza, whose father was saved because he fled from the hideouts of the Balleza clan who were rounded up by the Japanese soldiers.

"All I know from the story was that my father was not there when they were rounded up. He fled to Balaring. My mom was not there too for she could not walk. "Lupog sya". The one who led the Japs was their former servant. All in all there were 17 members of the family killed including servants. Dads two sisters were killed also (Concordia, and the other sister) and one of the husband and their child. I hope this will explain a bit more of that painful tragedy."

Another undocumented massacre by the Japanese of Filipino civilians closed to my heart was the killing of my aunt( youngest sister of My Dad) family in Negros Occidental. I just heard this from another aunt ( first cousin of my Dad) just last year. I have no details of the event.

If you are reading this and have details on the Balleza clan killings please let me know. I really would like to know the exact date of the massacre and how many were killed and who survived to tell the story.

The Women Who Have Touched My Life

2016-12-22T08:57:00.001-08:00

Sending Holiday Greetings to all the Women (and Men) who have touched my life.

The following photos are some of the women that have touched my life.

Mama Pacing ( Paz Barrido Balleza Katague) and Me, 1976

Macrine( bride) and Sister Guia ( bridesmaid), Katague-Jambalos Wedding May 8, 1957

Ditas Baptism Party, KC, Mo, 1965

The Four Sisters( Fe, Sister Guia, Charro and Jean) of Macrine and First Cousin, Angie Jambalos Aulds, 2015

I love my four sisters-in-law. Yesterday ( a day after my 82BD), Charro and Jean surprised me by bringing a cake( see photo), pancit( noodles) for long life and curried chicken adobo( my favorite Pinoy dish) for a belated birthday party celebration. Thank you Jean and Charro for the visit and the goodies.

Two candles for my 2nd year after 8 decades.

Dinah and Elaine, 2014

Ditas and Carenna, 2016

Grand Daughter, Alix Katague at Cornell University Gardens, 2014

Grand Daughter, Marina Katague High School Graduation Photo

Grand Daughter, Carenna Katague Thompson, 2016

Daughter Ditas and Me, 1982

Grand Daughters Marina and Alix Katague-Daughters of Dodie Katague-my oldest son, 2014

Dinah and Elaine, 2016

Carenna with her guitar getting ready for her singing weekly night club gig

My Three Sisters, Myrla, Agnes and Amor, 2014

Amor and Pol Wedding, with Mama Pacing, Brothers and Sisters, 1976

Time for the Joke of the Month

2016-10-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

Are you getting depressed reading and watching the political news about the Philippines and the Clinton and Trump Fiasco? If you are one of the many that NEEDS A RESPITE from all these shenanigans, please read the following joke. Smile!

I found this joke from the timeline status of a Facebook friend titled "In Mourning". I am retitling it as My Deepest Condolences. My friend said there is no copyright and I am free to share to all my blog readers.

"Anna had lost her husband almost four years ago. Her daughter was constantly calling her and urging her to get back into the dating world. Finally, Anna said she'd go out, but didn't know anyone. Her daughter immediately replied, Mom I have someone for you to meet."

Well, it was an immediate hit. They took to one another and after dating for six weeks, he asked her to join him for a weekend in Spain. Their first night there, she undressed as he did. There she stood nude, except for a pair of black lacy panties. He in his birthday suit.

Looking her over, he asked, "Why the black panties?" she replied: "My breasts you can fondle, my body is yours to explore, But down there I am still mourning."

He knew he was not getting lucky that night. The following night was the same. She stood there wearing the black lacy panties, And he was in his birthday suit, but now he was wearing a black condom.

She looked at him and asked: "What's with the black condom?" He replied,"I want to offer my deepest condolences."

I hope this will brighten your day.

Choral Music Reminds Me of My College Years

2016-10-19T10:33:00.001-07:00

My UPSCAN years at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, QC, Philippines, 1952-1958

If you love choral music, you must view the video below. Choral music reminds me of My UPSCAN and college years at the University of the Philippines in the 1950's. For more details of my college years, read Chapter 4 of my autobiography at http://davidbkatague.blogspot.com

My Treasured and Memorable Videos

2016-10-18T10:55:00.001-07:00

Mango Pancakes for Breakfast Today

2016-10-16T09:16:00.002-07:00

I woke up early this morning with the sound of welcome rain in my roof. It has been raining here in Northern California since yesterday. This is a much welcome rain. The last significant rain we had was last February this year. I was wondering what I will cook for breakfast this morning when I remembered I have chunks of fresh mangoes in my refrigerator. I was not sure if I had a Pancake Mix. But luck is with me today. I have a Betty Crocker Complete Pancake Mix in my cupboard. Here's my very simple recipe:

1 cup Pancake Mix ( Betty Crocker or Equivalent)
3/4 cup Milk
2 Eggs
1/4 cup smashed fresh mangoes

Mixed all the ingredients: Cooked in Portions of the mix (amount will determine the size of the pancake) in a Skillet with trace amount of cooking oil. I used olive oil today. Serve with butter and pancake syrup. Garnished with fresh mango chunks and blueberries as shown in the photo above.

With freshly brewed coffee from the Philippines ( Baracco brand)-this recipe can qualify for a Good breakfast for all Seasons.

Enjoy!

Old and Almost Forgotten Photos in My Collection

2016-10-15T12:42:00.001-07:00

While looking at my photo files I found the following photos that I have almost forgotten. If you are in one of these photos and are still alive and kicking, I will appreciate if you get in touch with me via FaceBook!

UP Mens South Dorm ( Narra Hall) Open House with Mercy Lopez, Hector Taleon. Vivencio Villaflor, Emmanuel Espino and Me, 1954

The David Katague Family, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo without Eric and Me, 1956
After our wedding ceremony outside the Boac Cathedral, Marinduque, Philippines, May 8, 1957

Macrine and I enjoying the Pool of the Hamilton Heights Country Club, Gladstone, Missouri, 1967

The University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) Berkeley Chapter, News on Induction of Officers, 1989

Macrine and I ( inset) during Asian Pacific Heritage Celebration with then President Bill Clinton as our guest speaker, Washington DC, 1994

The UP Chemistry Alumni Reunion ( 50th Anniversary),and Dr. Augusto de Leon and wife, 2005

In front of our Residence in Colesville, MD with my Clematis vine in full bloom, getting ready for the Phil-American Grand Ball in downtown DC. 1994

Constipation- One of the Side Effects of Carbo-Levo Dopa for the Treatment of Parkinson Disease

2016-10-14T14:27:00.003-07:00

My wife had been diagnosed with Parkinson Disease in 2013. One of the several medications, she is taking to control her movements disorder is Carbo-Levo Dopa ( Sinemet). The drug is effective in controlling tremours but one of the side effects of the drug is constipation. Her neurologist gave her a recipe that contains bran (high fiber) and prune juice, but Macrine hates it. Currently she is also taking Ducolax-a stool softener. I also encouraged her to consume fruits and vegetables with high fiber content. The fruits, vegetables and grains that she like are: apples, seedless grapes, bananas, mangoes, kiwi, avocado, papayas, broccoli, spinach and cucumbers. The fruits and food she hates are dried prunes, pickled sugar beets, cabbage and dark bread.

The following video lists the top 10 high fiber food to prevent constipation:

I am Finally Using Windows 10

2016-10-13T09:21:00.002-07:00

For the last four weeks, I have been using Windows 10. I am getting used to it and really getting to like it. Please read my post dated May 19, 2016 on this subject as follows:

" Last month, my son wanted me to try Windows 10. Currently, I am happy with my Windows 7. I tried Windows 10 just for a few hours now. I notice the resolution and speed is better. However, I am not sure if I really need to upgrade since I am not into Gaming. So I did some search on Windows 10 differences with Window 7 and here's what I found in the Web. It is a very informative article. I like to hear from you if you have similar experiences as discussed in the more than 700 comments in the article as follows:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/windows-10-vs-windows-7

Here's the conclusion from the above article:

There's nothing wrong with sticking with Windows 7, but upgrading to Windows 10 definitely has plenty of benefits, and not too many downsides. Of course the fact that it's a free upgrade right now makes it even more tempting.

Windows 10 has a lot of genuinely useful new features, as well as key improvements to old features, compared to Windows 7. None is enough on its own to make an upgrade necessary, but when combined they do make a compelling case.

You’ve got better search, window management, file management, gaming tools and more. Windows 10 is faster in general use, too, and the new Start Menu is in some ways better than the one in Windows 7.

The only real sticking point is that Microsoft wants you to sign in with a Microsoft account and if you choose not to you lose some features. Features that shouldn't need to be linked to any online account. You certainly can get away with a normal 'offline' version but Microsoft really doesn't want you to, and that's something we're not keen on".

Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/windows-10-vs-windows-7#CE2u7i3UcP40ToSJ.99

Day of Valor- Battle of Bataan-Revisited

2015-04-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Bataan Death March

April 9 is proclaimed as Day of Valor( Araw ng Kagitingan) in the Philippines. It is observed as a holiday in the Philippines and celebrated by Filipino-Americans here in the US. Araw ng Kagitingan is also known as Bataan Day or Bataan and Corregidor Day. It commemorates the fall of Bataan during World War II. Today will be the 73rd anniversary of this historic event during World War II in the Philippines

The following is an article from militaryhistory.about.com reminding us of this historic battle during the Japanese-American Was in the Philippines.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor ( December 7, 1941) Japanese arm forces began conducting an aerial assault on American forces in the Philippines. In addition, troops moved against Allied positions on Hong Kong and Wake Island. In the Philippines, General Douglas MacArthur, commanding United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), began making preparations to defend the archipelago from the inevitable Japanese invasion. This included calling up numerous Filipino reserve divisions. Though MacArthur initially sought to defend the entire island of Luzon, prewar War Plan Orange 3 (WPO-3) called for USAFFE to withdraw to the highly defensible ground of the Bataan Peninsula, west of Manila, where it would hold out until relieved by the US Navy. Due to the losses sustained at Pearl Harbor, this was unlikely to occur.

Battle of Bataan - The Japanese Land:

On December 12, 1941 Japanese forces began landing at Legaspi in southern Luzon. This was followed by a larger effort in the north at Lingayen Gulf on December 22. Coming ashore, elements of Lieutenant General Masaharu

Homma's 14th Army began driving south against Major General Jonathan Wainwright's Northern Luzon Force. Two days after the landings at Lingayen commenced, MacArthur invoked WPO-3 and began shifting supplies to Bataan while Major General George M. Parker prepared the peninsula's defenses. Steadily pushed back, Wainwright retreated through a succession of defensive lines over the next week. To the south, Major General Albert Jones' Southern Luzon Force fared little better. Concerned about Wainwright's ability to keep the road to Bataan open, MacArthur directed Jones to move around Manila, which had been declared an open city, on December 30. Crossing the Pampanga River on January 1,1942 the SLF moved towards Bataan while Wainwright desperately held a line between Borac and Guagua. On January 4, Wainwright began retreating towards Bataan and three days later USAFFE forces were within the peninsula's defenses .

Battle of Bataan - The Allies Prepare:

Stretching from north to south, the Bataan Peninsula is mountainous down its spine with Mount Natib in the north and the Mariveles Mountains in the south. Covered in jungle, the peninsula's lowlands stretch to cliffs overlooking the the South China Sea in west and beaches in the east along Manila Bay. Due to the topography, the peninsula's only natural harbor is Mariveles at its southern tip. As USAFFE forces assumed their defensive position, roads on the peninsula were limited a perimeter route that ran along the east coast from Abucay to Mariveles and then north up the west coast to Mauban and an east-west route between Pilar and Bagac. Defense of Bataan was divided between two new formations, Wainwright's I Corps in the west and Parker's II Corps in the east. These held a line stretching from Mauban east to Abucay. Due to the open nature of the ground around Abucay, fortifications were stronger in Parker's sector. Both corps commanders anchored their lines on Mount Natib, though the mountain's rugged terrain prevented them from being in direct contact forcing the gap to be covered by patrols.

Battle of Bataan - The Japanese Attack:

Though the USAFFE was supported by a large amount of artillery, its position was weakened due to a tenuous supply situation. The speed of the Japanese advance had prevented the large scale stockpiling of supplies and the number of troops and civilians on the peninsula exceeded prewar estimates. As Homma prepared to attack, MacArthur repeatedly lobbied leaders in Washington, DC for reinforcements and aid. On January 9,1942 Lieutenant General Akira Nara opened the assault on Bataan when his troops advanced on Parker's lines. Turning back the enemy, II Corps endured heavy attacks for the next five days. By the 15th, Parker, who had committed his reserves, requested assistance from MacArthur. Anticipating this, MacArthur had already put the 31st Division (Philippine Army) and Philippine Division in motion towards II Corps' sector.

The following day, Parker attempted to counterattack with the 51st Division (PA). Though initially successful, the division later broke allowing the Japanese to threaten II Corps' line. On January 17, Parker desperately attempted to restore his position. Mounting a series of attacks over the next five days, he managed to retake much of the lost ground. This success proved brief as intense Japanese air attacks and artillery forced II Corps back. By the 22nd, Parker's left was under threat as enemy forces moved through the rough terrain of Mount Natib. That night, he received orders to retreat south. To the west, Wainwright's corps fared somewhat better against troops led by Major General Naoki Kimura. Holding off the Japanese at first, the situation changed on January 19 when Japanese forces infiltrated behind his lines cutting off supplies to the 1st Regular Division (PA). When efforts to dislodge this force failed, the division was withdrawn and lost most of its artillery in the process.

Battle of Bataan - Bagac-Orion Line:

With the collapse of the Abucay-Mauban Line, USAFFE established a new position running from Bagac to Orion on January 26. A shorter line, it was dwarfed by the heights of Mount Samat which provided the Allies with an observation post overseeing the entire front. Though in a strong position, MacArthur's forces suffered from a lack of capable officers and reserve forces were minimal. As fighting had raged to the north, Kimura dispatched amphibious forces to land on the southwest coast of the peninsula. Coming ashore at Quinauan and Longoskayan Points on the night of January 23, the Japanese were contained but not defeated. Seeking to exploit this, Lieutenant General Susumu Morioka, who had superseded Kimura, dispatched reinforcements to Quinauan on the night of the 26th. Becoming lost, they instead established a foothold on Canas Point. Obtaining additional troops on January 27, Wainwright eliminated the Longoskayan and Quinauan threats. Tenaciously defending Canas Point, the Japanese were not expelled until February 13.

As the Battle of the Points raged, Morioka and Nara continued assaults on the main USAFFE line. While attacks on Parker's corps were turned back in heavy fighting between January 27 and 31, Japanese forces succeeded in breaching Wainwright's line via the Toul River. Quickly closing this gap, he isolated the attackers into three pockets which were reduced by February 15. As Wainwright was dealing with this threat, a reluctant Homma accepted that he lacked the forces to break MacArthur's defenses. As a result, he ordered his men to fall back to a defensive line on February 8 to await reinforcements. Though a victory that boosted morale, USAFFE continued to suffer from a critical shortage of key supplies. With the situation temporarily stabilized efforts continued to relieve the forces on Bataan and the fortress island of Corregidor to the south. These were largely unsuccessful as only three ships were able to run the Japanese blockade while submarines and aircraft lacked the carrying capacity to bring the needed quantities.

Battle of Bataan - Reorganization:

In February, the leadership in Washington began to believe that USAFFE was doomed. Unwilling to lose a commander of MacArthur's skill and prominence, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered him to evacuate to Australia. Reluctantly leaving on March 12, MacArthur traveled to Mindanao by PT boat before flying to Australia on a B-17 Flying Fortress. With his departure, USAFFE was reorganized into the United States Forces in the Philippines (USFIP) with Wainwright in overall command. Leadership on Bataan passed to Major General Edward P. King. Though March saw efforts to better train USFIP forces, disease and malnutrition badly depleted the ranks. By April 1, Wainwright's men were living on quarter rations.

Battle of Bataan - Fall:

To the north, Homma took February and March to refit and reinforce his army. As it regained strength, it began to intensify artillery bombardments of the USFIP lines. On April 3, Japanese artillery unleashed the most intense shelling of the campaign. Later in the day, Homma ordered a massive assault on the 41st Division (PA)'s position. Part of II Corps, the 41st was effectively broken by the artillery bombardment and offered little resistance to the Japanese advance. Overestimating King's strength, Homma moved forward cautiously. Over the next two days, Parker fought desperately to save his crumbling left as King attempted to counterattack north. As II Corps was overwhelmed, I Corps began falling back on the night of April 8. Later that day, seeing that further resistance would be hopeless, King reached out to the Japanese for terms. Meeting with Major General Kameichiro Nagano the next day, he surrendered the forces on Bataan.

Battle of Bataan - Aftermath

Though pleased that Bataan had finally fallen, Homma was angry that the surrender did not include the USFIP forces on Corregidor and elsewhere in the Philippines. Massing his troops, he landed on Corregidor on May 5 and captured the island in two days of fighting. With the fall of Corregidor, Wainwright surrendered all remaining forces in the Philippines. In the fighting on Bataan, American and Filipino forces sustained around 10,000 killed and 20,000 wounded while the Japanese sustained approximately 7,000 killed and 12,000 wounded. In addition to the casualties, USFIP lost 12,000 American and 63,000 Filipino soldiers as prisoners. Though suffering from combat wounds, disease, and malnutrition, these prisoners were marched north to prisoner of war camps in what became known as the Bataan Death March. Lacking food and water, prisoners were beaten or bayoneted if they fell behind or were unable to walk. Thousands of USFIP prisoners died before reaching the camps. Following the war, Homma was convicted of war crimes relating to the march and was executed on April 3, 1946.

Personal Note: I do not have any relatives involved in the Battle of Bataan. However, my father was a member of the Philippine Guerillas forces in Panay Island during that time.

Book Review Update-Tears in the Darkness

2015-04-03T10:41:00.003-07:00

I have just finished reading the above book. It is the story of the Bataan Death March and its aftermath. It was written by Michael and Elizabeth Norman in 2009. I recommend the book to all Filipino-Americans who are history nuts and to all who are history enthusiasts of the Japanese-American war in the Philippines (1941-1945). As a son of a former Filipino-American guerilla defender of the Philippines from the Japanese invaders, the book reminds me of my childhood fears as well as the valor and heroism of all the 76,000 Americans and Filipinos who died and survived from the first major land battle of World War II: the battle for the Philippine peninsula of Bataan. I have still nightmares remembering the sufferings of the Filipino and American prisoners from the hands of the Japanese two days after reading this book. But it was worth my time relieving history and the story of heroism and survival of one cowboy named, Ben Steele. The book describes in detail the 41 months of starvation, dehydration, hard labor, deadly diseases, tortures, murder and journey on "hell ships" of the Filipino and American prisoners of war to the enemy's homeland. Here's a short video of the book.

The following is one of the many reviews of this book when it was published in 2009. It was written by Dwight Garner of the New York Times on June 17, 2009. He titled it "Revisiting Wartime: 66 miles of Cruelty".

“Tears in the Darkness” is authoritative history. Ten years in the making, it is based on hundreds of interviews with American, Filipino and Japanese combatants. But it is also a narrative achievement. The book seamlessly blends a wide-angle view with the stories of many individual participants. And at this book’s beating emotional heart is the tale of just one American soldier, a young cowboy and aspiring artist out of Montana named Ben Steele.

This story begins in earnest on Dec. 7, 1941, the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Japan had planned to attack American military bases in the Philippines, where the peninsula of Bataan lies, at the same time, but its bombers and fighter planes were delayed by fog, eliminating the element of surprise, Japan thought. But when its planes flew over, eight hours after Pearl Harbor, the American planes sat on runways, inexplicably, like sitting ducks. It was carnage.

Two weeks later Japan invaded the Philippines. The poorly trained and untested American and Filipino forces were overmatched; they eventually retreated into the mountainous jungles of Bataan for a brutal last stand, one that the Normans, who are husband and wife, describe as “a modern Thermopylae.”

After four months of intense fighting, the Allied forces — their ranks decimated by hunger, dysentery and malaria, and with no relief or reinforcements in sight — surrendered. “No American general had ever surrendered such a force,” the Normans write, “76,000 men, an entire army.”

The authors are sympathetic toward Ned King, the surrendering American major general, who was beloved by his men. (General King made it clear to his soldiers that he had surrendered, not they.) Mr. and Ms. Norman reserve their scorn for the initial Allied general overseeing Bataan, Douglas MacArthur, whom they accuse of not leading from the field and later abandoning his men there.

What is now known as the Bataan Death March began on April 10, 1942. Some 76,000 soldiers, many already close to death, were forced to walk 66 miles during the hottest season of the year — there were almost no buildings along the way, no trees, no shade — with little food and almost no water.

It was called a death march for a simple reason: if you stopped marching, you were killed, by bayonet or rifle. There were many other ways to die during the Bataan Death March; it was a spree of arbitrary brutality. For sport, Japanese soldiers fractured skulls with their rifle butts. Japanese tanks ran over men who fell. Good Samaritans who tried to help fallen comrades were beaten or stabbed. Men were forced to bury others alive.

To be on this march, one soldier said, was what it must feel like to “come to the end of civilization.” Some 11,000 died along the way to the ultimate destination, a prison camp.

What’s remarkable about this story, for Ben Steele and many others, was that it was just the beginning of the horrors that awaited them as Japanese prisoners of war. There are accounts here of train journeys in deadly, overheated box cars; of foul prison camps and hospitals filled with dying men; of being placed into the holds of transport ships like “pickles jammed into a jar”; of work details that were their own kinds of death marches. Many men who didn’t die simply lost their minds.

There are many Japanese voices in “Tears in the Darkness.” Mr. and Ms. Norman don’t excuse Japan’s actions, but place them in careful context. Japanese soldiers, they write, were the products of “a closed world of violence where men were subjected to the most brutal system of army discipline in the world.” These soldiers “had been savaged to produce an army of savage intent.”

Mr. Norman is a Vietnam veteran and formerly a reporter for The New York Times; Ms. Norman’s books include “Women at War: The Story of Fifty Military Nurses Who Served in Vietnam.” In this book they step back, at regular intervals, to explain dispassionately what it was like to undergo the experiences these men went through.

What are the physics of suffocation? How does a bomb blast actually kill a person? What exactly does lack of water do to a human body? “Tears in the Darkness” is a grim and comprehensive catalog of man’s inhumanity to man.

In the end, though, “Tears in the Darkness” is a book about heroism and survival. All along you are glued, out of the corner of your eye, to one story, Ben Steele’s. If you aren’t weeping openly by the book’s final scenes, when he is at last able to call home and let his family know that he is still alive after more than three years “missing in action,” during which time this thin young man lost 50 pounds, then you have a hard crust of salt around your soul".

Note: I purchased this book last week, hard bound for $6.95 ( bargained price) from Barnes and Nobles. It is also available on line on Amazon new or used.

My Wife's Childhood Experiences during the Japanese-American War in the Philippines

2014-04-08T19:21:00.001-07:00

Model T-Ford 1930 stolen by the Japanese Invaders from its owner in Boac.

My first article on this subject is my own personal war time experience. This new story, Part 2, is about the personal experience of my wife, Macrine, during the Second World War in the Philippines. In comparison to my adventure-filled wartime story, her experience was confined within the city, although both reflected anxiety, pain and tragedies.

Macrine and her family resided in the town of Boac, Marinduque, the capital of the small and lovely island province in the middle of the Philippines. She was a typical islander who had most of her relatives including her grandparents living nearby or in the next town. Some individuals such as her aunt Blanca moved to Manila for work.

Unlike the larger cities of Manila, including my hometown of Iloilo, Boac was spared from any aerial bombing by the Japanese invaders. Life during the war period in the sleepy small town seemed normal, except for the presence of the Japanese troops stationed in town.

She was only 6 years old when the Japanese military invaded the Philippines. She was studying in first grade at the Boac Elementary School. Her family did not leave their home. They stayed in town and had interaction with the Japanese forces who occupied Boac for almost 14 months, from the middle of 1942 to early 1944.

Macrine was the oldest daughter of Bernardo Jambalos, Jr., a certified public accountant and Elena Decena Nieva, a science teacher. Her younger sister was then 4 years old. Her paternal grandfather, Bernardo Sr. was a successful businessman who owned and operated several fishing boats. They resided in the coastal village of Laylay about 10 km south of downtown Boac. He had nine children, five boys and four girls.

Her father was the oldest of the five boys. During the war, he continued his practice as a CPA to support his young family. He did not join the guerrilla or resistance movement organized by the locals. However, his four younger brothers were active members in the movement against the Japanese.

The guerrillas had their hideout in the interior of the island. To avoid detection by the enemy, they made covert visits to the town regularly to obtain their food and supplies, and to gather news update about the war. There were some minor encounters between the Japanese and the guerrilla forces, but not as destructive and violent as the war incidents in my childhood island of Panay.

Macrine's maternal grandparents also resided in the town of Boac and were actively involved in the local politics. Her maternal grandfather Juan Morente Nieva was the first governor of Marinduque. During the Japanese occupation period, her uncle was the mayor of Boac. The local officials cooperated with the occupying forces in Boac to keep the peace and order.

The presence of the invaders on the island was unnerving to the local Filipinos. The Japanese were unpredictable and when they felt the need, they would unjustly punish or torture innocent civilians. They established their headquarters in the local elementary school while school was in session.

The Japanese occupation in Marinduque did not meet a lot of resistance from the poorly armed local Filipino guerrillas. The Japanese tried to maintain normality by allowing the schools and businesses to remain open. Macrine and her schoolmates were allowed to attend school. They learned a few Japanese words and strangely, a Japanese military song.

Macrine's aunt Blanca Decena Nieva was the older sister of her mother. She was single and strikingly beautiful with her mestiza looks inherited from their Spanish ancestors. She had been a hospital nurse for two years before the war. She joined the Philippine army as a nurse and was based in Manila shortly after war was declared.

After the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941, they invaded the American controlled Philippine islands. There was an initial aerial bombardment by the Japanese to cripple the Filipino and American forces around Manila and the major cities of the country. Soon it was followed by the landing of Japanese ground troops. There was combat in the streets between the invaders against the Filipino and American troops.

The residents of Manila panicked amidst the bombings and the fire fights in the city. Many civilians were caught in the crossfire. On the first few days of the Japanese occupation of Manila, Macrine's aunt Blanca became a victim of the Japanese forces. She was shot and died from a Japanese machine gun fire at the doorstep of her apartment.

Blanca and her maid fled from their apartment building. They heard about the arrival of the invading soldiers and the ensuing conflict. They realized they had to evacuate to a safer place. She could have survived had she not returned to her apartment to retrieve her jewelry. Her maid survived unharmed to tell the tragic story to the Nieva family.

When my future mother-in-law learned of the violent death of her sister, she was distraught, angered and devastated with the loss of a loved one. She vowed that she would never forgive the Japanese for the tragedy that befell her sister. She wanted to avenge the loss, but first the family had to grieve for the passing of Blanca.

At the latter part of the war, Filipino and American forces started arriving on the island to support the guerrillas. The Japanese forces were retreating, surrendering and on the brink of defeat in Marinduque. Two Japanese soldiers who chose not to surrender were cornered hiding in the attic of the school, where the local Japanese garrison and prison camp was located.

They were shot dead by the Filipino guerrilla forces. Their bloody bodies were paraded in the town square for everyone to see. My future mother-in-law had her revenge realized. She was one of the many civilians who kicked and spat at the remains of the two soldiers.

Her hatred for the Japanese continued through the rest of her life. She stuck with her vow and never forgave them for killing her only sister. When my mother-in-law was still alive, during social events she avoided mingling at the same table where a Japanese person was seated.

A second incident which affected Macrine, and which she vividly remembers to this day, involved the harassment and torture of her grandfather Bernardo. One summer day, a squad of armed Japanese soldiers went to his home looking for him. They suspected him of helping the resistance movement and took him away to be punished for the alleged charge of insurgency.

They tied his hands by his back and took him to the sea where they let him stand in the water up to his waist. Later in the afternoon, the tide had risen and the water level was up to his neck. He was left standing in the water under the sun for almost the whole day without food or drinking water.

There were four other civilians being punished at the same time. They were similarly suspected of rebellion by aiding the guerrillas. They were all cruelly punished with their hands tied on their backs, exposed to the hot summer sun, while standing in the sea water waiting for the high tide to possibly drown them.

Macrine's grandfather was eventually saved from dehydration and possible death from drowning. The local officials arrived and intervened on his behalf. They conferred and convinced the Japanese troops that he was not involved with the resistance movement, but a respected entrepreneur in the community. The other four civilian men were not released from their agony until they almost drowned. The high tide was already above their heads.

The Japanese troops were not aware that four of his sons were in the resistance movement. There was a an occasion when he was entertaining his unsuspecting Japanese visitors in his living room, while at the same time a group of guerrilla fighters including his four sons and their comrades were in his kitchen. They were securing food, rice and other supplies to bring to their mountain hideaway.

Macrine's experience of the Japanese-American war was not as traumatic as mine. Her family never fled from their home and stayed in town, versus my experience of moving several times including staying in the jungles of Panay to avoid the conflict. The Japanese occupation of Boac, Marinduque was more peaceful and uneventful compared to the bombings and firefights in Manila and my own hometown of Iloilo.

The death of her aunt by machine gun fire and the punishment of her grandfather were the two incidents that she intensely remembers from the war. However, today, she informed me that the horrors of that war are almost gone and just a haze in her memory. Time eventually heals the trauma of war slowly, if not completely.

Filipino Traditions on New Year

2014-01-01T08:25:00.002-08:00

Twelve kinds of round fruits should be in your table by midnight to bring good luck and prosperity to the Household When I was growing up in the Philippines, my parents will tell us kids that on New Years Eve and Day, we should do the following for good luck. Doing these things will help insure that the coming year will be a happy and prosperous one. Many of these traditions and superstition are of Chinese influence, I believe. 1. Turn on all lights so that the coming year will be bright. 2. Make as much noise as you can to scare away evil spirits. 3. Debts must be paid off. Fill you wallet with fresh peso bills. 4. Open all doors, windows, cabinets and drawers to let good fortune in. 5. Scatter coins around the house, on tabletops.... inside drawers... 6. Clean everything including your body by taking a long bath, the closets and the whole house. 7. Wear polka-dots, preferably black and white. Anything round signifies prosperity. 8. Jump twelve times at midnight to increase your height. (Observed by Filipino children.) There are five things related to food that we must do for good luck as follows: 1. Prepare 12 round fruits, one for each month of the coming new year ( see photo above). 2. Have a very round grape in your mouth at the stroke of midnight. 3. Eat a native delicacy made from sticky rice to make good fortune stick in the new year. 4. Eat long noodles (pancit) for long life ( definitely of Chinese origin). We should eat pancit also during our birthday. 5. Don't eat any chicken or fish. They are associated with the scarcity of food. Then on New Years Day we should not clean anything, otherwise we might sweep away the good fortune. In addition we should not spend money at all. Our being thrifty that day will help us manage our money very well for the whole year. Do you have any New Years Eve tradition in your family? Please share! Happy 2014 to All of You, my dear readers and FaceBook Friends!