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Post by friscohare on May 7, 2012 0:49:22 GMT -5
70 years ago, once the Bataan Peninsula fell, Corregidor Island and the three smaller island fortresses endured heavy shelling and bombing from the Japanese. The enemy landed on Corregidor on May 5. In order to save Allied lives, on May 6, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright bravely attempted to surrender. The Japanese took the General and his associates to Bataan to see General Homma, Commander of the 14th Army & the Imperial Forces in the Philippines.
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Post by friscohare on May 7, 2012 0:49:59 GMT -5
From left, Maj. Pugh, Lt. Col. Dooley, and Gen. Wainwright were forced to wait for Gen. Homma under the beating sun for 30 or so minutes.
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Post by friscohare on May 7, 2012 0:51:00 GMT -5
During the negotiations, Gen. Wainwright told Gen. Homma that he was only surrendering Corregidor and the neighboring islands... and not the entire Philippines. He said only General MacArthur had that authority. Homma then told Wainwright that he must unconditionally surrender the entire U.S. Forces in the Philippines or they would continue bombing and shelling the islands. Homma then stormed away.
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Post by friscohare on May 7, 2012 0:51:40 GMT -5
The Japanese brought Gen. Wainwright back to Corregidor. With no other choice, Wainwright agreed to surrender all of the Philippines. He was taken to Manila (above) and broadcast surrender orders to the entire archipelago. General Sharp, commander of the Visayas-Mindanao Forces (the southern regions of the Philippines), complied on May 10. Troop C of the 26th Cavalry in Northern Luzon also surrendered. The Philippines had "fallen."
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Post by friscohare on May 7, 2012 0:51:58 GMT -5
T.S. Eliot once said, "What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."
The end of the formal U.S. Forces in the Philippines gave birth to a huge resistance movement against the Japanese occupation. This movement allowed for the Philippines to return to Allied control and the restoration of freedom and democracy.
The end was only the beginning.
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Post by frank on Nov 3, 2012 19:13:06 GMT -5
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