Diary entries from Philippine history.
A heavy snowfall did not help to cheer us up. All of us were in a bitter mood. Vargas has definitely rejected the proposition that, due to the possible suspension of funds from Manila, he be put on the Japanese government payroll. “It would put me in the position of a querida,” he exclaimed. And…
The events are developing kaleidoscopically. The Philippine government, reduced to the bare minimum, that is, to the members of the Cabinet—the multitude of government employees are without work to do, just idling—has been moved to Baguio by General Yamashita. As we are only few, we will have a grand time of it. They are coming…
A spirited exchange of fire woke us up last night and alarmed the whole neighborhood of these mountains from exactly 1:00 to 3:00 A.M. The discharge of rifles, pistols and machine guns thundered through the valleys and hills, resounding with the echoes of a real battle. We suspected the aggressors to be the guerrillas of…
A total of 9,000 males are included in the first draft for compulsory labor in Jap airfields, port installations and other military establishments. The names of those forced to serve have been sent to neighborhood presidents who will in turn forward the names to neighborhood leaders who will then inform the draftees to appear in…
Air raid. I can hear the roar of U.S. planes. There goes one explosion. Quite strong. Must have hit an oil tank. Sound of planes diving. Sort of gets into your nerves. Dogfight, perhaps, strafing. Machinegun sounds like corn being dropped on a tin can. Dolly is shouting. She says there is a plane in…
Judging from the movement of troops, tanks and artillery guns, and from the waves of winged motors, the campaign against Bataan is going to take on gigantic proportions. It will not only be an offensive campaign but also a decisive one. According to Radio San Francisco, General Yamashita, conqueror of Singapore who is directing this…
Today, Palm Sunday, we saw an unusual display of tanks and other kinds of war material being transported to the north. Are they preparing a final attack on Bataan? Radio San Francisco announced that General Yamashita, conqueror of Singapore, is directing this campaign. For the last several days, however, we heard the rumors that General…