Sat. Dec. 13/41

The news this morning was to the effect that more than a hundred planes came over central Luzon yesterday and attacked several military objectives. Eleven were shot down. Mr. Pineda came to see us. He had just walked in from Imus. Said his brother was missing, and he was most likely killed in the raid in Cavite. Cecil went to market, but not much there. No change in the fighting. Paper just says that the USAFFE lines are holding. Went to Misos and tried to get news on the radio, but it seems nothing is being broadcast on the long wavelengths. Also visited Rizalina a few minutes and told her to come to our place for meeting tomorrow morning. Some of the neighbors are building air raid shelters. Our little building has cement walls up about 3 feet, and we will crouch behind them if they raid the city proper. It is 11:30 a.m. and the sirens are whining again. We go out to see what’s happening, but no planes. We ate our dinners and soon afterward heard the motors of many planes. Fighters seemed to be whirling and maneuvering to the east of us. Then we can see the large bombers from the north. First a group of sixteen, and then a larger group of 25. As they flew over the city we wondered if they would drop their bombs. They did not and we heave a little sigh of relief. But what will happen to their objective, for it seems there are no fighter planes to drive them off and the anti-aircraft fire is not reaching them. The first group dropped its load, and the ground trembled and rocked under us. We could not tell whether it was Cavite or Nichols Field again, but we learned afterwards that it was Nichols Field and the southern edge of Pasay. The second group dropped its load in the same place. The earth rocked and shook again as if it were having a chill and shivers. Fighting planes swooped and zoomed, but we could not see the fights. Machine gun bullets spattered around us, going through roofs, but not penetrating the tin roofs. None seemed to come near us. The first group swerved toward Corregidor on its return home, and the guns there brought down one of the bombers.
The second group turned inland and did a little bombing in other places. The “all clear” signal did not come for some time, so that we did not have opportunity to go to Pasay to visit our friends there, nor to view the damage. We visited Cruz’s and Ocampo’s and arranged a meeting for Sunday in our house.