Philippine Scouts Heritage SocietyPhilippine Scouts Heritage Society’s guests is $99.00 plus tax. Guests have four weeks prior to arrival to make their reservation. Flyers containing

Winter/Spring 2007

Preserving the history, heritage, andlegacy of the Philippine Scouts for

present and future generations

An Incident in Bataan

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society

What’s Inside?Winter/Spring 2007 Issue

Editor’s Comments..................................2National President’s Letter................3

First Vice-President’s Letter.................3Website News...............................4The General’s Corner.............................9

GC: Of Things Remembered........9GC: Recollection of WWII in Pangasinan..9In Flanders Fields (Poem)..............14

We shall keep the faith (Poem)....14Member Activities................................15Chapter News........................................16

Surviving Philippine Scouts.............17Reunion Registration......................19

The Philippine Scouts

On the morning of January 21, it be-came evident that the enemy had movedup a lot of new artillery batteries,105mm. guns. Some of the new batter-ies were to the north near Samal, butmany more were to the northwest, upon the high plateau under the fringe of See An Incident in Bataan Page 6

Lt. Col. Frank O. Anders, the S-2 (intelligence) officer, for the 57th Infantry is now deceased. Hedistinguished himself during the defense of Bataan by frequently infiltrating behind Japanese linescollecting intelligence. For his courage, he received a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster. Survivingcombat and POW incarceration, he wrote “Bataan: An Incident” in 1946 while recovering frominjuries that would lead to his retirement shortly thereafter. His family connection to the Philippinesstretched over two generations, as Anders’ father served in Manila during the Spanish AmericanWar, receiving a Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor in combat. In 1961father and son visited the Philippines together to retrace the paths each had taken in his own war.Because of its length, the Anders article was serialized over two issues—Fall 2006 and this issue. Italso is being published in the current issue of the Bulletin of the American Historical Collection,Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. Editor

by Lt. Col. Frank O. AndersThis is the final installment. It is continued from the Fall 2006 issue.

See The Philippine Scouts Page 4

by Chris Schaefer

These were General MacArthur’s sol-diers—the guys who fought America’sfirst battle of World War II. The Philip-pine Division. Probably the best trainedand possibly the best prepared U.S.Army division at the outset of that war.

But they weren’t farm boys from Kan-sas and California, or Italian-Americansfrom New Jersey as depicted in the blackand white movies made during and af-ter the war years. They were mostlyFilipinos serving as enlisted soldiers inUnited States Army units commanded

the mountains. Throughout the morning,these guns registered on their base point.Before the sun had reached the meridi-an, we knew that something was afoot.First one battery, then another wouldopen up, bracket the church and then

by American officers. They were spe-cial men in special units, officially des-ignated “Philippine Scouts.” At the be-ginning of World War II, General Dou-glas MacArthur’s U.S. Army Forces inthe Far East, spearheaded by the Philip-pine Division, were mostly Filipinos.

The Philippine Division was com-posed of two infantry regiments of Phil-ippine Scouts—a term applied both tothe Filipino enlisted men and theirAmerican officers—and one infantryregiment of American soldiers, a totalof about 10,000 men. Philippine Scoutsalso served in a horse cavalry regiment,

manned the coastal artillery and anti-air-craft batteries that defended Luzon Is-land, and staffed most of the support el-ements of the U.S. Army in the Philip-pines. Although the officers were gen-erally Americans, there were a few Fili-pino officers in the Filipino regiments.In 1910 the U.S. began sending one out-standing Filipino soldier per year to WestPoint, and by 1941 some of these menhad risen to the rank of senior officers.

Beginning on December 7, 1941 theywere put to the test. On that day theImperial Japanese Navy attacked the

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society Winter/Spring 2007

Page 2

Editor’s CommentsOur twenty-third annual reunion

brings us back to Tacoma twelve yearsafter our last visit to that lovely city. JoeCalugas and his chapter have planned agala event with plenty of good food,stimulating conversation and interestingpanels. These panels will discuss theheroic defense of the Philippines, thepost-war role of the “new” PhilippineScouts and the wonderful support un-der extremely trying conditions provid-ed by combat nurses then and now. Thekeynote speaker will be Brigadier Gen-eral Oscar Hilman (Ret.), a naturalizedFilipino-American, who came to theU.S. after high school, enlisted and rosethrough the ranks to command the Wash-ington National Guard’s 81st ArmoredBrigade during its deployment in Iraq.

In the business portion of the reunion,the Second Vice-President, Assistant

Treasurer and Counselor positions aredue for rotation. A slate of nomineeswill be posted on our website closer tothe reunion.

There also are heroics aplenty in thisedition of our newsletter. Our lead sto-ry, written by PRO Chris Schaefer, takesa fresh look at the Philippine Scouts andtheir heroic stand on Bataan, Corregi-dor and in the guerrilla resistance fol-lowing surrender. Lt. Col. FrankAnder’s epic recounting of “An Incidentin Bataan” concludes in this issue. Alsoincluded is the first installment of Dr.Isabelo Torio’s recounting of his warexperiences as a young 26th Cavalry (PS)trooper and Dr. Alice Benitez’ “Recol-lections of World War II in Pangasinan”,when her family sheltered a young 26th

Cavalry (PS) officer named Ed Ramseyas he began to organize a guerrilla army.

These four pieces complete our offer-ings from The General’s Corner.

Also in this issue are two memorablepoems honoring those fallen in battle.Although written during World War I,they both pay fitting tribute to those dy-ing in the service of our country in anywar. Furthermore, we include a list of92 surviving Philippine Scouts. Addi-tions and corrections to this list will beappreciated.

In the back of this newsletter is theregistration form for the reunion. I hopeas many of you as possible will be ableto join this gathering of family andfriends in honor of those warrior heroes,the Philippine Scouts.

Mike Houlahan, Editor

Newsletter and LibraryOur Philippine Scouts Heritage Society newsletter fund donations are over

$3,200 and library fund donations total around $1,500. Thanks to the efforts ofNational President John Patterson, the PSHS now has 501(c)(3) status, whichqualifies donations as tax free.

A two year newsletter subscription may be obtained by non-members for $10.00and overseas subscribers for $14.00. Three year subscriptions offer a slight sav-ings at $14 domestic and $18 overseas. Email subscriptions are available for $4or $6 for two and three years respectively. Newsletter donation and subscriptionchecks should be made out to the “PSHS” and mailed to the address listed below:

J. M. HoulahanEditor, PSHS Newsletter6774 Lakeside Circle WestWorthington, OH 43085

Library donations should be made out to “PSHS” and mailed to:PSHS-GGBACP.O. Box 179Daly City, CA 94016-0179

Advertising RatesOur newsletter advertising rates

are as follows:

Full page: $100Half page: $55Quarter page: $30Business card: $15

Our current circulation is slightlyover 500 copies per issue. For ad-vertising placement or additionalinformation, please contact news-letter editor Mike Houlahan throughour website or at:

J. M. HoulahanEditor, PSHS Newsletter6774 Lakeside Circle WestWorthington, OH 43085

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society Newsletter

J. Michael Houlahan, Editor & Publisher

6774 Lakeside Circle W., Worthington, OH 43085

Winter/Spring 2007, Issue 14, Published twice annually

Annual Subscription: domestic $5 and overseas $7


Page 3

National President’s LetterI have recently been reminded yet

again of how blessed we are to have thePhilippine Scouts Heritage Society. I’vebecome aware of the struggles otherveterans’ groups are having remainingviable and relevant. Original membersare aging, memberships are declining,and attendance is lagging at the annualgatherings, which remain largely social.At the same time, more and more fami-lies of these veterans are seeking infor-mation about relatives who were killedor experienced the horrors of captivityunder the Japanese.

When these questions are asked, I re-alize anew how fortunate we are to bepart of the PSHS. The history of theScouts is preserved, their heritage isshared with their families and othersthrough articles and books often writ-ten by our members, as well as throughour newsletter, website and the paneldiscussions that have become a traditionof our annual reunions.

We look forward with anticipation toour annual reunion and business meet-

ing in Tacoma on May 18-19 and aregrateful to Joe Calugas and his team forhosting this gathering. The Society’s lastreunion was a resounding success, fea-turing Joe’s late father, Jose Calugas, Sr.,one of three Scouts who received theMedal of Honor in World War II.

This year, Joe has lined up an out-standing speaker and organized pan-els around the experience of nurses onBataan and Corregidor. There willalso be a panel highlighting the NewScouts, a group that we need to knowmore about.

While our time in Tacoma will in-volve these historical and educationalactivities, we also will be conductingSociety business such as the election ofnational officers, review of bylaws, etc.More importantly, we will take time torenew friendships, share experiencesand recognize the significance of thePhilippine Scouts.

The Philippine Scouts Heritage Soci-ety has accomplished a great deal overthe years. Let’s continue to preserve the

First Vice-President’s Letter

John A. Patterson, PresidentPhoto: David Rosen

history, heritage and legacy of these ex-traordinary warriors.

See you in Tacoma!

John Alexander Patterson, PresidentPhilippine Scouts Heritage Society

Let me wish everyone a Happy andProsperous New Year! The Captain JoseC. Calugas, Sr. chapter will be the hostof the 23rd National Reunion. The offic-ers and members recently held a chap-ter meeting to discuss plans for the re-union.

I have been communicating with ourNational President John Patterson re-garding the plans and activities for thetwo days that we will be together. Theprogram will be similar to previous re-unions. We will have panel discussions,a dinner and a dance, but most impor-tantly gather together with old friendsand comrades.

Before we finalize these plans, wewill consult with the Society officers toget their ideas bearing in mind the pur-pose of the Society, which is to preservethe history and legacy of the Scouts.

Jose “Joe” Calugas, Jr., 1st Vice President

The last time the Chapter hosted theannual reunion was May 1995. TheGGBAC chapter has been hosting mostof the reunions and I am sure Cion needsa break.

La Quinta Inn and Suites in Tacomawill accommodate the reunion. LaQuinta is located just off Interstate-5,with 155 rooms and offers easy accessto downtown Tacoma. Guests can en-joy a full time restaurant, and cocktaillounge with complimentary appetizersand a free deluxe continental breakfast.

The special offer of the rooms for thePhilippine Scouts Heritage Society’sguests is $99.00 plus tax. Guests havefour weeks prior to arrival to make theirreservation. Flyers containing this in-formation will be distributed to the dif-ferent chapters and individuals.

On behalf of the members and offic-

ers of the Tacoma Chapter we look for-ward to meeting you all on May 18-19,2007. Welcome to Tacoma!

Jose “Joe” Calugas, Jr.National First Vice PresidentPresident of Tacoma Chapter


Page 4

The Philippine Scouts From Page 1

U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor, but PearlHarbor was only one part of a much big-ger Japanese operation. The Japanesehad decided to capture the oil fields ofBorneo in the Dutch East Indies, andthey wanted to get everyone else out ofthe way. So on December 7, they hitand sank the U.S. Navy’s Pacific fleetat Pearl Harbor, they bombed and de-stroyed the U.S. Army’s Far East AirForce at Clark Field in the Philippines,they attacked British Hong Kong, andthey landed troops on the shores of Brit-ish Malaya. The four attacks were allcoordinated to begin at the same mo-ment, but because of weather problemsthe U.S. Navy’s battleships were alreadysinking to the bottom of Pearl Harborby the time Japanese bombers destroyedthe U.S. Army’s B-17s on the ground atClark Field. Over the next few monthsthe Japanese Army marched throughSoutheast Asia, and by March 1942 theJapanese had completely overrun everycountry and island in the western Pacif-ic—except the Philippines. The Japa-nese controlled almost 500 million peo-ple and four million square miles of land,more than double the area controlled bythe Nazis in Europe.

That left the Philippines, and Gener-al MacArthur’s army, alone in the Pa-cific. On the Bataan Peninsula of Lu-zon Island, the Philippine Scouts, a few

U.S Army National Guard units and tendivisions of poorly equipped, almostuntrained Philippine Army soldiers stillheld out against the Japanese.

In some respects, the Philippines wasone place that the United States’ over-seas policies had “gotten it right.” TheU.S. took over the Philippines in 1899,ending four hundred years of feudalSpanish governance. General ArthurMacArthur, Douglas MacArthur’s fa-ther, was the third U.S. military gover-nor of the Philippines and he institutedprograms of improvements that Filipi-nos still remember today. The U.S.Army built roads, increased farm pro-duction, and built schools all over theislands. Army instructors, later sup-planted by civilian teachers broughtfrom the States, taught Filipino childrenhow to read, write and speak English.Soon, the Philippines was the most lit-erate country in Asia. Today, the Phil-ippines counts itself as the world’s sec-ond largest English-speaking country.

In 1901 the United States Army or-ganized the Philippine Scouts to com-bat insurgents and bandit groups in theislands, and when the insurgency wasover the Scouts became the U.S. Army’sfront line troops in the Pacific. At theoutset of World War II they bore thebrunt of the Japanese attack on the Phil-

ippines, the first action of the war inwhich units of the United States Armyfaced the enemy on the ground. Survi-vors of the Battle of Bataan, to a man,describe the Philippine Scouts as thebackbone of the American defense there.President Franklin Roosevelt awardedthe U.S. Army’s first three Congression-al Medals of Honor of World War II toPhilippine Scouts: to Sergeant JoseCalugas for action at Culis, Bataan onJanuary 6, 1942, to Lieutenant Alex-ander Nininger for action near Abucay,Bataan on January 12, and to Lieuten-ant Willibald Bianchi for action nearBagac, Bataan on February 3, 1942.

Shortly after he graduated from WestPoint, young Douglas MacArthur hadserved a tour of duty in the Philippines,and later he came back as a senior offic-er and general. Filipino admiration forhis father, General Arthur MacArthur,was quickly extended to his son. In themidst of the Battle of Bataan PresidentRoosevelt recalled General DouglasMacArthur and had him spirited out ofthe Philippines by PT boat and airplane.With the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor inshambles, and the Japanese Navy block-ading the Philippines, there was no wayfor America to send food, medicine orreinforcements to the troops on Bataan.Japanese airplanes rained propaganda


Website NewsIn January our Philippine Scouts Her-

itage Society website passed the 25,000mark, increasing at the rate of more than9,000 visits per year.

Our message board, which is visitedby seventy or eighty viewers daily, nowcontains about 300 topics and shortlywill exceed 1,000 comment postings. Bythe time you receive this, more than1,600 will have signed up as messageboard members. You are invited to visitthe PSHS website (www.philippine-scouts.org) and the message board (note

the link in the margin of our homepage)to share your own thoughts or questionsand to supply answers to queries sub-mitted by others.

We also will consider appropriate andoriginal short articles or vignettes forposting on our website or including inour newsletter.

The website is useful for researchpurposes. Our site is the first entrythat appears when someone research-es the Philippine Scouts using eitherthe Google or Yahoo search engines.

Our “Exchanges” page lists researchprojects and requests. The “Resourc-es” page has links to more than twentyother websites containing useful infor-mation and to U.S. government sourcesof information on former Scouts and onbenefits available to them.

Thank you for your support!

Christa HoulahanWebmaster


Page 5

leaflets down on the Filipino soldiers,designed to drive a wedge between themand their American officers. But Dou-glas MacArthur had promised that hewould return, and the soldiers main-tained their faith that MacArthur wouldindeed be back. They held out for morethan four months without adequate foodor medicine, while malaria, dysenteryand malnutrition ravaged their ranks,and Japanese attacks drove them furtherdown the Bataan peninsula. But Filipi-nos throughout the islands kept up theirfaith that General MacArthur and theUnited States Army would be back torescue them from the Japanese.

The Battle of Bataan ended on April9, 1942, when General Edwin King sur-rendered rather than see any more of hisstarving, diseased men slaughtered bythe advancing Japanese Army. At thatpoint 70,000 men became Prisoners ofWar: about 16,000 Americans and54,000 Filipinos. What followed wasone of the worst atrocities in modernwartime history—the Bataan DeathMarch. As the emaciated men weremarched north up a highway to prisoncamp in the blistering heat, Japaneseguards summarily shot or bayoneted anyman who fell, attempted to escape, orstopped to quench his thirst at a road-side spigot or puddle. The Japaneseguards killed between 7,000 and 10,000men on the Death March—they kept norecords and no one knows the exactnumber. If a man fell, it was certaindeath unless another could pick him upand support him. It was here that thelegendary bond between the Filipino andAmerican soldiers was cemented.

When they got to their prison camp,Camp O’Donnell, conditions were notmuch better. The Japanese divided theFilipino and American soldiers into twoseparate halves of the camp. CampO’Donnell was a Philippine Army campdesigned to accommodate about 10,000men. The Japanese crammed all 60,000

survivors into the camp, with little run-ning water, sparse food, no medical care,and only slit trenches along the sides ofthe camp for sanitation. The heat wasintolerable, flies covered the prisoner’sfood, and malaria, dysentery, beriberiand a host of others diseases sweptthrough the crowds of men. They be-gan to die at the rate of four hundred perday. It got so bad by July, 1942, that theJapanese replaced the camp command-er, moved the American prisoners toanother camp, Cabanatuan, and decid-ed to parole the Filipino prisoners.

From September through December1942, the Japanese gradually paroled theFilipino soldiers to their families and tothe mayors of their hometowns, whowould be held personally responsible foreach man’s conduct. Men from Manilawere paroled first, then men from theprovinces. To be paroled, each man hadto sign an affidavit that he would notparticipate in guerrilla activity, and hehad to be well enough to walk. Anyonewho was too sick to walk was simplyheld in camp until he either got well ordied. By the time Camp O’Donnellclosed in January 1943, after eightmonths of operation, 26,000 of the50,000 Filipino Prisoners of War therehad died.

The American prisoners fared no bet-ter. Conditions in Cabanatuan weremarginally better than CampO’Donnell, and the prisoner doctorswere able to somewhat stem the dis-ease and death rate. But as U.S. forcespulled closer to the Philippines in 1944,the Japanese decided to evacuate theAmerican prisoners to Japan and Man-churia, to use them as slave laborers inJapanese factories and coal mines.Thousands of men were crammed intothe dark holds of cargo ships so tightlythat the men could not sit or lay down.Again, food and water were scarce, san-itary facilities were virtually non-exis-tent, and the heat in the closed holds of

the ships was unbearable. Men suffo-cated to death standing up. In somecases, the guards would not even let thedead bodies be removed from the holds.The Japanese ships were unmarked andsome of them were torpedoed by Amer-ican submarines. More of the men diedof malnutrition and exposure in thework camps. By the time Japan sur-rendered and the U.S. Army liberatedthe Bataan Prisoners of War, two-thirdsof the American prisoners had died inJapanese custody.

Back in the Philippines, a strong guer-rilla movement developed to opposeJapanese oppression. Many PhilippineScout officers and enlisted men who hadescaped from the Japanese, and otherswho chose to ignore their parole terms,joined these clandestine groups to dowhat they could to hasten the return ofU.S. forces. Contrary to the impressionmany of us get from our history text-books, help was not on the way. Gener-al MacArthur’s forces, such as theywere, were engaged around the SolomonIslands and New Guinea to protect Aus-tralia from Japanese attack. It was notuntil 1944 that MacArthur in the southand Admiral Nimitz to the east com-menced their two-pronged advance intothe Pacific. But during the interim years,the Philippine guerrillas put together aclose network to gather intelligence dataon Japanese troop movements and ship-ping, and transmit it to MacArthur’sheadquarters using radios smuggled inby submarine. It has been said that theirinformation was so complete, that whenMacArthur finally did make it back tothe Philippines he knew what every Jap-anese lieutenant ate for breakfast andwhere he had his hair cut.

As MacArthur’s forces, supported bythe guerrillas, rolled into the PhilippineIslands, men began to come out of hid-ing. The Philippine Scouts, some whowere members of the guerrilla forces,




Page 6

some who were not, stepped forward andrejoined the U.S. Army. Other Filipinoguerrillas joined them and the Army setup new Philippine Scout units. The“New Scouts” actively participated incombat action against the JapaneseArmy in north Luzon, and served asmilitary police to restore order and helplocate pockets of escaped Japanese inthe south. As planning for the invasionof Japan progressed, the PhilippineScouts were included in the invasionforces and begin training for what wasexpected to be the bloodiest struggle ofWorld War II.

After the surrender of Japan in Au-gust 1945, the United States made goodon its previous commitments, andgranted the Republic of the Philippinesfull independence on July 4, 1946. Atthat point the Philippine Scouts held aunique status in U.S. military history:they were soldiers in the regular U.S.Army, combat veterans at that, but nowthey were citizens of a foreign country.To solve the dilemma, the United Statesoffered the Philippine Scouts full U.S.

citizenship. Most of the survivingScouts accepted, and the Army trans-ferred them to other units to finish theirmilitary careers. In 1946, PresidentTruman disbanded the PhilippineScouts as an official element of theUnited States Army, and all of their unitcolors were retired. Today, the Philip-pine Scout veterans who are still withus are scattered around the UnitedStates, with the highest concentrationon the West Coast.

On April 5, 1989, Rhode Island StateSenator John Patterson, along withformer Philippine Scout officers JohnOlson, Lloyd Mills and Roy Reynolds,founded the Philippine Scouts HeritageSociety. The Society’s mission is to helppreserve the history and legacy of theseoutstanding soldiers. It was a move thatwas long overdue, since there are so fewof us who are aware of who they are orwhat they did. The Society has chap-ters in the San Francisco Bay area, Taco-ma, El Paso, and Los Angeles, and holdsa reunion on or around Memorial Dayeach year.


Today the sons, daughters and grand-children of the Scouts are taking overthe Society, as only a few of the menare left. More than half of them died inthe merciless hands of their country’senemy. Advanced age has further de-pleted their ranks. At the closing dinnerof their annual reunion only ten or fif-teen line up across the dance floor now,with graying hair and an occasional caneor wheelchair momentarily pushedaside. In the darkened room with itssparkling lights, flashbulbs and back-ground music, they receive the applauseof their families and admirers. I havehad the privilege of attending two ofthose dinners now, and I am alwaysstruck by how straight these men stand.

Chris Schaefer is a historian who livesin Houston, Texas. He is the author of“Bataan Diary,” a book about WorldWar II in the Philippines. For more in-formation, see www.philippine-scouts.org. This article was first print-ed in the August 2006 issue of FilipinoTimes magazine and is reprinted withpermission.

An Incident in Bataan From Page 1

See An Incident in Bataan Page 7

cease firing. Our own artillery stood byin impotent rage, unable to open up onthese definitely located targets. Ten ortwelve slow observation planes—“wash-ing machines,” they were called—werehovering overhead all day long, with aconstant string of dive bombers from thenorth to plaster any of our batteries thattheir observers spotted. Nor did they waitfor definite targets, but bombed andstrafed all woods, mango groves andbamboo clumps large enough to conceala gun. The service company bivouac,where all food was prepared before be-ing trucked forward to be carried intothe lines by hand, was bombed out ofposition three times. It was in such amango grove near the cadre training bar-racks at Balanga that Maj. George Fish-er, Regimental Supply Officer, one of thebest-loved officers of the 57th Infantry,

and several Scouts of Service Companywere killed. Hourly we prayed that Cor-regidor would release just one or two ofthese few remaining P-40s to hit thoseplanes, chase them away if only for anhour or two so that our artillery mightfire.

Through the afternoon the Jap regis-tration continued—until four o’clock.Then one long battery opened, planteda salvo over, a salvo short and then athird salvo. We knew that that salvomeant business.

There is that eternity of waiting be-tween the gun flashes and the report, asecond eternity until you hear the whis-tle of the shells. Those shells had a dif-ferent sound. We knew they were com-ing close to home. They screamed in—

one, two, three and then a pause. Onedemolished the little garden court; theother two dug great craters in the gar-den in the rear. And then the fourth came,hitting in through the court and explod-ing against the solid masonry betweenthe arched windows along the passage-way from church to convento.

The ground jumped up; the tiling ofthe church floor heaved and buckled.The whole church was filled with smokeand dust. Capt. Francis was walkingdown the corridor toward the churchwhen the salvo was fired and had thrownhimself to the floor at the base of thewall between the windows. The explo-sion tore out a great section of masonrybut failed to penetrate. Several blocksof stone were jarred out of the inside of


Page 7

the wall and falling, came close tosmashing him; but he was unscarred,suffering only minor shock.

Seconds later we took stock of our-selves and resumed what we had beendoing before the shells hit. The churchstill stood; the little statuette “Christ theShepherd” was still on its fragile pedes-tal; the troops, the Scouts, resumed theirwork. Runners were coming and going,field phones jangling, a draftsman plot-ting on an operations map, and out inthe garden the grinding whirr of the gen-erator of some radio. Night closed in andwith it the usual increases in the soundsof battle—small arms, machine guns andan occasional mortar; but the artillerywas silent.

After all the shelling that Abucay hadtaken, our opinion of the enemy artil-lery was not too high. Their area firingwas good, but in spot target firing theywere very poor. For that reason, our ar-tillery suffered very little in counter bat-tery fire, whereas we knocked out a largenumber of enemy batteries by the greataccuracy of our own trained crews. Nowwe had found an enemy battery whoseaccuracy we could respect. Its firing hada new cadence distinct from the batter-ies with which we were familiar, and wewere thankful it was silent after its ex-ploratory salvos on the church. Wedreaded to hear that cadence again.

There was desultory shelling the nextmorning, the morning of January 22.Then at about eleven o’clock they openedup for an hour with heavy concentrationson the city square in front of the church,churning up the stone rubble that hadonce been the municipal hall and the busi-ness buildings that had lined the squareon three sides. Three or four trucks andbuses for the Philippine Army were burn-ing along the road in front of the church.

At about three o’clock the shelling re-commenced, not unduly heavy, and con-

centrating again on the city square, thehighway bridge across the river and thelength of the highway itself. There wasan unusual amount of traffic that after-noon. We couldn’t stop it, for althoughwe didn’t allow our own vehicles tomove by daylight except for an occa-sional single car, we couldn’t control theconstant stream of supply trucks of thePhilippine Army division on our right,which due to the lack of road nets wereforced to pass through the bottleneck atAbucay. So Abucay took another shel-lacking. After a half hour or so the gunsceased. It was quiet—not quiet either,there was silence, an ominous, forebod-ing silence. Even the small arms firefrom Mabatang died. As suddenly, theenemy planes were gone, and but for thedesolation, the dusty smoke-laden hazethat filled the air, there might have beenno war, no death, and no hatred.

At four o’clock a single observationplane appeared out of the north, circledthe town, flew to the south, returned andtook up a course flying around andaround the town. A few moments laterthe enemy batteries opened again—sixof them—and we knew their cadence.They had registered and bracketed thechurch the day before. And one of thosebatteries was the one that had fired theextra salvo that had hit here.

Deliberately each battery in turnopened. The range was short, shells fall-ing 100 to 500 feet to the north and westof the church.

Again they fired. This time the shellscame over, falling on the riverbank andin the streets to the south.

The third series of salvos began. Shellsfrom the first five batteries came close,hitting into the convento, the gardens, thecemetery, the paved front terrace. Onesalvo blew great craters in the highwayapproach to the ancient stone bridge,knocking over its heavy parapets.

Then the sixth battery fired—that ca-dence we had been introduced to thenight before. Men dived for the walls,hugging the tile floor—every man ex-cept the telephone operators and theswitchboard men. They stood by theirposts. Outside in the garden court, a ra-dio operator crouched in the shelter ofthe recess of one of the huge arched win-dows of the church, his walkie-talkie onhis back, talking to an artillery observa-tion post forward, and listening. Again,we waited that eternity for the shells toreach us.

The shells were on their way, andagain we knew—knew with that intu-itive certainty that all men have, allmen who have been bombed, all menwho have lived through a barrage—we knew that those shells were meantfor us. In those seconds no manmoved, no man could have moved; butminds were active with such startlingclarity and rapidity—the highlights ofa lifetime—and trivial thoughts ridic-ulous in retrospect.

In a large wooden strongbox waspacked the last of our precious coffeeand the last jar of peanut butter. Some-where in the nave of the church the messboy was crouching on the floor, in hispocket the key to the box. And the boxitself was sitting in the recess of one ofthe great side windows where a shellmight blow it to bits. A great problem;an awful shame that the coffee and pea-nut butter hadn’t been removed. It wouldhave been far safer had they beenclutched in my hands… or if I could lieon them, protecting those precious arti-cles with my body.

In that eternity I thought of the belltower, the huge 2,400-pound bronze bellthat hung from the rafters 80 feet abovethe ground, and the smaller bells thathung in their arched recesses in the stonewall—all cast long before our Revolu-


See An Incident in Bataan Page 8


Page 8

tionary War. There was a rickety wood-en platform, reached only by a series ofsmall, rickety ladders, mounting fromone platform to the next. On that topplatform were air observers and artilleryobservers. I thought of what would hap-pen to those men should the tower bestruck and the great bell come hurtlingdown. A thick concrete slab roofed theground floor room of the tower, where-in stood a small altar and the carved bap-tismal font. In that small room were thecombat team commander, his executiveofficer, the S-3 section with its phonesand their operations maps. I wonderedif when the bell came down it wouldcave through the concrete slab and crushthose men.

And then it was done. A flash—a deaf-ening roar—the world bursting apart. Agreat gaping hole appeared now, high inthe corner of the sanctuary to the rightof the high altar; the roof above wasripped back; a large section of the wallwas falling.

And then the guns again—the samebattery, the same cadence, and the samecertainty. There was no question IF, butonly where—what—and who.

That was the last salvo for the morn-ing; and again, but one shell of the fourhit truly home; but that shell struck theroof exactly in the center, penetrated,passing through the high wooden innerceiling, and exploding directly over thecentral aisle, directly over the pedestalwith its statuette “Christ the Shepherd.”There was a black moment of silence anddread. Then with a tearing, splinteringcrash the whole section of wooden ceil-ing the width of the nave collapsed intothe body of the church and the wholescene was obscured with smoke and dust.Silence again, to be broken presently bycries and groans of the wounded. Theshock lasted but a moment, and then therewas work to be done.

No destruction could have been morecomplete. What had been row on rowof long pews were great piles of splin-tered kindling wood, unrecognizable.The great front altar was torn apart—ashambles. The side altars had collapsed;religious vessels were strewn about.

The great arched windows were opento the outside, guarded only by heavyiron grille work secured in the solidmasonry. Yet the force of the concussionwas so great that these grilles were tornfrom their anchorage. The massivewooden doors in the front and side en-trances were blown from their hinges.Along the sides of the nave bits of glass,shattered frames, scraps of cloth, andmutilated wooden figures were all thatremained of the glass-enclosed Stationsof the Cross. The huge stone basin, squaton its broad base—the holy water font,protected as it was, set far back underthe balcony—was toppled and brokento fragments.

In the midst of the ruin, five Scoutslay dead. The telephone operator satslumped over his switchboard amid a tan-gle of wires. The radio operator with theSCR 196 crouching in the court windowhad slumped against the iron grille, theset smashed, the antenna bent and riddledwith splinters of wood and rubble. A clerkand two runners lay still in the messagecenter. Some of the living were wander-ing bout stupidly. Many were bloodyfrom wounds, their clothing in rags, tornfrom their bodies. Then aid men weresearching the debris for the wounded.Other man salvaged equipment; wire menrepaired wire circuits; a new switchboard;a new operator. Soon the telephone wouldring again; runners would scurry in andout. The nerve center of the Combat Teamwould live again. But at the moment itwas chaos.

Yet there on the wall, above the placewhere the altar had been, hung the life-

sized Crucifix gazing down on the scene.And in the midst of that chaos—in themidst of the debris, with death lyingabout and the screams of the woundedrending the air—in the very middle ofthe church where the force of the explod-ing shell was the greatest, where thesplintered ceiling collapsed all about it—there on its fragile, unstable pedestal,stood “Christ the Shepherd” leaning onHis crook, a sad smile on His lips, sor-row in His eyes, an arm outstretched.“Come unto Me and I shall give yourest.”

There is little more to tell. It was doneso quickly—just a few moments actual-ly—an incident out of Bataan. Somemight shrug their shoulders and say,“What of it? Only a quirk of chance.”Others, “A minor miracle.” I don’t know.But the awe we felt is never to be for-gotten.

The war moved on. The lines movedback. The fighting continued for a whileand then it was done. The world knowsthe story, or as much as it need know.Those lofty heights looked down andwatched the end of that struggle. Theysaw the land and a free people enslavedby a savage, sadistic horde to whom theSamurai sword was the symbol of goodrather than the sign of the cross and therights of free men.

They were black days, black yearsthat the Zambales witnessed in watch-ful silence—but a brief period in thecenturies of struggle they had watched.Through the agony of waiting, throughturns of hope and despair, through sick-ness and starvation, the men who hadstruggled against this newest invader ofthe land and of the Zambales could clingto the hope and promise of “Christ theShepherd,” standing serene amid thedesolation and destruction of the churchat Abucay.



Page 9

THE GENERAL’S CORNERThe General’s Corner is dedicated to the memory of Brigadier General

Royal Reynolds, Jr. During the early days of World War II, General Rey-nolds commanded the First Battalion of the 57th Infantry Regiment (PS).He led his unit in the defense of Bataan and then, instead of surrendering,spent the remainder of the war as a guerrilla. As the first President of thePhilippine Scouts Heritage Society, he was one of the Society’s foundersand a longtime staunch supporter.

The Generals Corner publishes historical accounts of World War II inthe Philippines. This issue contains four such articles: the lead piece on ourfront page is an article on the Philippine Scout by PSHS Public RelationsOfficer Chris Schaefer, followed by the concluding chapter of a two-partseries by Lt. Col. Frank Anders, 57th Infantry (PS), Philippine Scout concerning an incident at the Abucay Church. Thelead article on this page is the first of a two-part series recounting Dr. Isabelo Torio’s story of survival as a young 26th

Cavalry (PS) trooper during combat, the Bataan Death March and prison camp. The second article details Dr. AliceBenitez’ recollections of her family’s experience sheltering Lt. Col. Ed Ramsey, 26th Cavalry (PS) during his earlydays organizing guerrilla resistance to the Japanese.

Of Things RememberedBy Isabelo S. Torio, M. D.

What I would share with you today is a segment ofthe roadmap of my life that happened to me more thanhalf a century ago, buried in the depth of my memory...toshare my experiences during the Second World War thattook place in the Battle and Campaign in:

(1) Northern Luzon in 1941(2) Bataan Peninsula in 1942(3) Luzon Liberation in 1945

I had just enrolled in college when I was called toreport to the Philippine Army Drafting Center in Lin-gayen, Pangasinan. I did not like what I saw, so I wentto Fort Stotsenberg, Pampanga. With the help of mybrother, Tech. Sgt. Victoriano Torio, I was able to en-list in the HQ Troop, 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts,U.S. Army on July 18, 1940. I was assigned to theMessage Center, Communications Section. My mainduty was to encode and decode messages sent and re-ceived by the Command post.

Recollection of WWII inPangasinan

By Alice BenitezIt was early in the morning of December 8th 1941

when I woke up to my parents listening intently to thenews over our Philco radio. I was only 10 then, but feltfrom their worried expressions something was terriblywrong. My father, who was a Judge in Dagupan City,Pangasinan, decided not to go to work that day and sodid my mother, then Councilor of our City of San Car-los, Pangasinan, and a nurse as well. My concern andcuriosity grew deeper when they told me to stay homeaway from school.

�That was indeed a very unsettling day. I learned the

United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt de-clared war against Japan, which meant we were nowdirectly involved in World War II. The Philippines wasa Commonwealth of the United States. The Benitezhousehold industriously prepared for the imminent in-vasion of the Japanese army. I remember my mother

See Of Things Remembered Page 10 See Recollection of WWII Page 12

Brigadier General Royal Reynolds, Jr.


Page 10

I. BATTLE AND CAMPAIGN INNORTHERN LUZON, 1941

Dec. 7, 1941: Hawaii, Day of Infamy

We called it as a sneak attack of thePearl Harbor, Hawaii by the JapaneseImperial Air Force leading to the subse-quent declaration of war against Japanand Germany by President FranklinDelano Roosevelt. The Japanese hadinflicted tremendous casualties in PearlHarbor. It sank a good number of bat-tleships, including Battleship Arizona,which is now a memorial icon.

December 8, 1941: In the Philippines

At midday, the Japanese Air Forceattacked Clark Air Field and Fort Stot-senberg. The American Air Force inClark Air Base was caught flat-footed.Practically, all the planes on the groundwere destroyed. Some Japanese planeswere also shot down. The stables of thehorses of the 26th Cavalry were hit,causing some casualties to the horsesand personnel.

December 12, 1941: The Charge ofthe 26th Cavalry Regiment

Four days later on December 12,1941, General Wainwright ordered the26th Cavalry Regiment to Northern Lu-zon, in Damortis, La Union to face theJapanese Imperial Forces which werepoised to land. Imagine almost a thou-sand Cavalrymen on their march tocharge the Japanese forces who werepoised to make landing in Northern Lu-zon. On our way to Damortis, La Union,we were constantly bombed and strafedby Japanese planes. Being in the Com-munications Section, I was riding in oneof those scout command cars. Along theroad, I saw a lot of Cavalry men diedwith their boots on, with their horsesbeside them. In 10 days on Dec. 23rd,the main forces of the 26th Cavalry weredeployed in Damortis area overlooking

the eastern side of Lingayen Gulf. Theinvading Japanese forces were seenlanding around the train station in Dam-ortis. At this point in time, the battle withthe invading Japanese forces began.

—Of things I remembered:

Before or after the bombing of ClarkAir Field, one reconnaissance scout carunit was sent to Aparri, Cagayan underthe command of Capt. Joseph Barker. Iheard later that Capt. Barker became aguerilla leader and was captured andexecuted by the Japanese. Another com-munication unit was also sent to Din-galan Bay, Tayabas, now called Quezonprovince. I could not recall who com-manded this unit. The third Scout Carunit was assigned to Gen. Wainwright’sHeadquarter. The radio operator as-signed to the General Headquarters wasmy friend, Pvt. Joshua Bunda. My com-munications section was assigned to HQTroop 26th Cavalry under the commandof Col. Clinton Pierce.

December 19, 1941: Troop C underthe command of Capt. Praeger, wasdetached from the regiment and wassent to Bontoc area to prevent the Japa-nese from seizing the City of Baguio.The advancing Japanese forces subse-quently cut off this unit.

December 23, 1941: Battle of Dam-ortis, La Union

Upon arriving in the vicinity of Dam-ortis, north of the town of Rosario, over-looking Lingayen Gulf and its coastline,we saw the Japanese Armada scatteredin the gulf. We saw Japanese forces land-ing their tanks, trucks and other warequipment. Immediately upon arrivingat Damortis area, we were deployed, andshortly thereafter, we were locked incombat with the invading Japanese, aid-ed by their planes strafing and bombingus. Several Japanese planes were shot

Of Things Remembered From Page 9

down. Some units were on closed com-bat with the invading Japanese forces.The battle lasted the whole day with the26th Cavalry inflicting heavy casualtieson the enemy. This was the last Caval-ry Charge of a Regimental size underthe command of Colonel Clinton Pierceagainst the invading Japanese forces.Toward the evening, we retreated to-wards the town of Rosario and vicinity.On the following days, the 26th Caval-ry had fought the advancing Japaneseforces toward the towns of Pozzorubio,Binalonan and Urdaneta area in CentralLuzon. The 26th Cavalry, together with71st Division, had engaged fierce battleto check the advancing Japanese forces.Casualties on both sides were tremen-dous. After these battles, there were onlyabout 500 men left in the 26th Cavalryregiment. The regiment was then placedon reserve.

In one of the skirmishes in centralLuzon, I got separated from my Scoutcar unit that I had to grab one of the hors-es whose rider was killed in the battle tolook for my unit. In the process ofsearching for my unit, I found myself inthe center of the command post of Gen-eral Wainwright in Bamban, Tarlac.Here, I looked for Pvt. Joshua Bunda,the radio operator assigned to GeneralWainwright HQ. When I found him, heintroduced me to the Commanding Of-ficer of the Communications Dept., Col.Stansell. I told the Colonel that I be-longed to the Communications Sectionof the 26th Cavalry (PS) and that I wasseparated from my unit during the bat-tle with the enemy in Central Luzon. Ishowed him my Cipher Device. TheColonel was surprised to see me with atop-secret device. He was very pleased,as he needed somebody to work in theHQ Message Center.

After asking me questions about myencounter with the Japanese forces in the

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Of Things Remembered From Page 10North, he put me to work right away.Since then, I became a regular memberof his team.

II. BATAAN CAMPAIGN, 1942

Retreat to Bataan: War Plan 3

It was during these last few days ofDecember 1941 when General Wain-wright ordered the 26th Cavalry to delaythe advancing Northern Japanese forcesto give time for the USAFFE Forces fromthe Northern and Southern Luzon to with-draw to Bataan Peninsula.

Raging and fierce battle aroundCalumpit Bridge and Abucay - Samatareas:

We were in the process of moving toBagac, Bataan where we set up our HQsouth of the town of Bagac, Bataan alongroute 19 in the western part of BataanPeninsula. We were incessantly and con-stantly attacked by enemy bombers andbombarded by enemy artillery. Manytimes the Japanese forces tried to pene-trate our defenses on the Abucay-Bagacline only to be repulsed. At one time,the enemy forces composed of Japaneseamphibious forces tried to make landingssouth of Bagac area called the Points,which were located south of our (HQ) inBagac area and north of Mariveles.Again, the 26th Cavalry was called tobattle these Japanese waterborne forcesthat made their landing behind us. TheseJapanese forces were subsequently wipedout. Some were captured and werebrought to the HQ as Prisoners of War.It was at this time that I met some scoutsfrom the 26th Cavalry, who took part inthe battle of the points and informed methat my brother, T/Sgt. Victoriano Toriotook part in that campaign and was at theircamp. I invited my friend Pvt. Bunda tosee my brother. Unfortunately, my broth-er was not there as they went to attackthe infiltrating Japanese forces. So wewent back to the trail leading to our HQ.

While we were waiting for a vehicleto hitch a ride, a truck delivering breadto different units passed by and sudden-ly its back door opened and two loavesof bread fell down. We ran to retrievethe bread from the ground. We thoughtit was really a miracle as the truck had aclosed panel from all sides and no win-dows at all. I was so amazed to see thebread fell on the ground. I could notreally understand how the door openedand closed after the bread fell. I thankGod for being the greatest provider. Afew minutes later, an open truck camealong and gave us a ride. We jumpedon the open truck and we were horrifiedwith what we saw. There were six deadsoldiers brought by a priest to be bur-ied. God bless them.

In the first week of April 1942, theJapanese forces started their massiveassault on us by constantly shelling theirartillery guns with increasing intensity.By the end of the week, their planes be-gan bombing us. In the midst of con-stant bombing and artillery shelling, wewere ordered to destroy our sensitiveequipments, radios, cipher devices andothers. Top secret and restricted docu-ments were burned. The situation be-came so critical that a great number ofsoldiers retreated from the front line.

Finally, on April 9, 1942 the GeneralHeadquarters was ordered to surrender.That was the end of the Bataan Cam-paign. All units were disbanded. Webecame prisoners of war. The only wayopen for us was a trail toward Marive-les. After several days of walking, myfriend Joe Bunda reached the town ofMariveles where we joined other pris-oners. This date is what we now com-memorate as the Fall of Bataan.

THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH

In Mariveles, the Japanese soldiersherded us, along with other war prison-ers who were already in the town, like

cattle. We were ordered to march downthe road toward San Fernando. Guard-ed by very mean Japanese soldiers, un-der the scorching summer heat, we weremade to march without food or water.During this torturous walk, we were allsuffering from hunger, fatigue, extremethirst and dehydration. A lot of soldierssuccumbed to heat stroke and died. Stillhundreds of us continued the dreadfulwalk. For our survival, we drank con-taminated water from ponds along theroad; sometimes those ponds had bloat-ed bodies floating on them. The starv-ing prisoners on the march ate leaves ofbushes and trees by the roadside alongthe route. Delirious soldiers walkingaimlessly had given up the will to live.Some of the prisoners became insane,tried to create trouble and fought theJapanese guards who would either bay-onet or shoot them. These made the Jap-anese guards more strict and cruel so thatthey began to kill prisoners for no rea-son or just for fun. As we continued thewalk, I witnessed and felt a tremendousamount of suffering by all of us. A lotof us got sick and would just collapse.

A lot of soldiers would just pass outand die by the roadside. We could smellvery intense odor of decayed and decom-posing human bodies along the route.We could see dead bodies of white andblack soldiers but could not distinguishbetween the colors as everybody wasdiscolored by the exposure to extremesummer heat. I felt so oppressed butcould not do anything. This humantorture was a challenge not only to ourphysical and emotional strength butmostly, to our dignity and respect.

One day as I tried to help a prisonerwho was very sick and delirious, a Jap-anese guard butted me on the right sideof my head, by my right ear. As I beganto pass out, I looked at my friend JoeBunda, who also looked at me with agesture of “Good Bye”. That was thelast time I saw him. I fell down uncon-

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scious by the roadside. I did not knowhow long I was unconscious. When Iregained my consciousness and openedmy eyes, I saw another Japanese soldiercoming towards me. In my very weak-ened condition, I thought that he wouldfinish me off. With the last ounce ofmy strength, I managed to join the groupand continued to walk. With the help ofother prisoners, I was able to reach thenext stop.

THREE-MINUTE WALK BE-TWEEN LIFE AND DEATH

At the next stop, we were confined ina stockade enclosed by sharp barbedwires. Not far from the stockade was acivilian camp. About 25 meters fromthe gate of the stockade, there was anold artesian well with flowing water.The following morning, I approachedthe guard on duty by the gate and madea sign that I would like to wash myselfin the well. The guard permitted me. Assoon as I reached the well, I shed off my

uniform and started to wash myself. Atthe same time, I was observing what washappening on the gate. As a group ofprisoners were ordered to march out ofthe gate, the guard went to guard them.This gave me an opportunity to escape.I got up and walked calmly toward thecivilian camp as I submitted my fate inthe hands of GOD. At that very tensemoment, I was expecting that the Japa-nese guards would shoot me. I also no-ticed the anxious faces of the civiliansexpecting my inevitable death as an es-caping prisoner of war. The moment Ireached the camp, the civilians hid mequickly and provided me with civilianclothes, offered food, water and othernecessities. At that very moment, I hadmixed emotions about my freedom fromthe hands of the cruel Japanese guards.At that moment, I could still feel thehardships of my fellow soldiers whowere still in the march. I felt very furi-ous about the inhuman treatment to-wards us. I felt the total assault to hu-man dignity and respect. I felt so weak

and very angry at the thought of myfriends and my fellow soldiers who wereunable to escape.

Words are not enough for me to ex-press here what we, the Filipinos andAmerican Ex-Prisoners of War, had un-dergone during that infamous BataanDeath March. It was “THE ULTI-MATE TEST OF HUMAN ENDUR-ANCE, THE SUPREME SACRI-FICE AND HUMAN SUFFERING.THAT EVERY SINGLE DROP OFTEARS, EVERY SINGLE DROP OFBLOOD WE SHED AND EVERYSINGLE WEARY STEP THAT WETOOK DURING THAT DEATHMARCH WAS A BIG JUMP TO-WARD THE VICTORY OF THEFREE WORLD, SO THAT WE MAYLIVE IN PEACE AND FREEDOM”.I thank the Lord Almighty for my life.

(To be completed in our next issue. Editor)

Of Things Remembered From Page 11

Recollection of WWII From Page 9

buying numerous boxes of cannedgoods. She also had pigs and chickensbutchered from our farm, cooked “ado-bo” and had it all canned. She orderedenormous cans of kerosene and coco-nut oil in the event we had to evacuateto the rural area where there was no elec-tricity. The amount of goods my moth-er stocked overwhelmed me. It was onlyafter the war that I had realized that with-out my mother’s foresight, we wouldhave ran out of the basic needs duringthe 3 wartime years. It also served wellfor some of our relatives who came toour farm where we evacuated from thecity.

�The farm, approximately 8 kilometers

from our residence in the town of SanCarlos, was refuge to four Filipino sol-diers, one of them a relative, who es-

caped from the Capas death march.They arrived wary in their uniforms,which they had to bury to hide any evi-dence of being part of the Philippinearmy. The soldiers, wearing loaned ci-vilian clothing, stayed with us for a fewmonths. They continued on their jour-ney to the Ilocos region when it was safefor them to travel back to their homes.

�Things settled down a little not too

long after the Philippine and Americanarmies surrendered in Bataan. Our fam-ily went back to our home in San Car-los. I returned to school as a grade 6pupil at a school close to our house.Every morning, before classes began,the routine was to participate in the flagceremonies. Prior to the war, we sangboth the Philippine and American na-tional anthems. However, during the

Japanese occupation, the latter was re-placed with the Japanese national an-them. My loyalties were clearly to theCommonwealth, and even as a young 11year old, I felt confused and awkwardsinging the Japanese anthem. Out offear, however, I got away with mum-bling the words, which were quite for-eign to me.

�One day towards the middle of 1943,

my parents asked me to clear my bed-room to accommodate a very importantguest. I knew we had a guest room so Imust have protested wondering why Ihad to give up my own room. My par-ents explained that the guest had to stayat the rear-end of the house, which meantmy room. My intense curiosity led themto tell me that our ‘guest’ was an Amer-

See Recollection of WWII Page 13


Page 13


ican officer named Lt. Edwin P. Ram-sey, who was hiding from the Japanese.This was to be our small family secretas, I do recall, making me promise notto tell anyone about our ‘guest’. Thefact was that I was actually more thrilledthan scared to have an American stay inmy room!

�Lt. Ramsey was all but 26 years old

then. He was lean (very thin, as a mat-ter of fact), tall and handsome, I thought.He was every inch a Gentleman Offic-er! He greeted me casually and retreat-ed to my room where he stayed duringthe few months (or so it seemed), livingin our home.

�My mother or I brought Lt. Ramsey’s

meals to him in the bedroom. His fa-vorite desert was “leche flan” made fromgoat’s milk and eggs, both organic, fromour farm. My childhood close friend andrelative, Aurora Soriano-Cudal, everynow and then, would help me serve cof-fee and food to our guest. It was a rareopportunity for us to see Americans,which explains our excitement.

�Our American guest, Lt. Ramsey, now

a retired Colonel, was the Head of theresistance movement organizing the eastcentral Luzon area, covering the prov-inces of Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Eci-ja, Pampanga, Bulcan, Bataan, Zam-bales, Rizal and Manila. His unit is apt-ly called the East Central Luzon Gueril-la Area (better known as ECLGA).While he was staying in San Carlos, Irecall him meeting regularly with twoother Americans at the nipa hut at theback of our home. The two Americanofficers were Capt. Charles Putnam andLt. Darwin. Capt Putnam was appoint-ed the Commanding Officer for the Pan-gasinan-Tarlac Military District(PTMD), ECLGA, and my father, JudgeJuan A. Benitez as Deputy to the Com-manding Officer. My father’s Ameri-can comrades referred to him as“Johnny”.

�

The nipa hut at the back of our housewas used as a meeting place and to in-duct recruits for the underground move-ment, after sundown. I eventually calledLt. Ramsey’s routine “he walks bynight”. Other members recruited by myfather and my cousin, Lt. Col. TomasSoriano, included Speaker EugenioPerez, Dr. Fancisco Untalan, who wasthen the Mayor of our town, and so manyothers who lived in nearby towns andvillages.

�Because of the nighttime meetings, I

remember Lt. Ramsey resting and sleep-ing during the day. I remember himpeeping through the curtained windowwhen the Japanese army trucks woulddrive by our street. One day, a runnercame to the house to warn us about someJapanese soldiers dropping by a storetwo houses away from ours. Lt. Ram-sey was escorted hastily to the backyardnipa hut.

�The Japanese, after a few months,

learned of Lt. Ramsey’s presence in thearea of San Carlos. He was quicklytransported back to Bayambang, Pan-gasinan then transported to Manila in aboxcar of a train loaded with nipa shin-gles (made of palm leaves). There weretwo bodyguards prepared to shoot incase the Japanese soldiers discoveredhim inside the boxcar. Seated next tothe train engineer was another guerillaofficer, Claro Camacho, who brought alarge bag (bayong) of Japanese money.The money was given to the engineer toferry his passengers to safety.

�Back in San Carlos, right after Lt.

Ramsey left, my parents got me to stayin different friends’ houses for my safe-ty. A few months later, someone hadsquealed on the underground activitiesof the guerillas, and in particular, myfather and mother’s involvement. Thethree of us left to hide in a neighboringtown, Malasiqui, at a relative’s housemoving from one house to another to

evade capture. One close encounter waswhen the Japanese raided a house wherewe had just left, and luckily did not seemy father’s pen with his name engravedon it.

�We were all set to leave for Cuyapo,

Nueva Ecija, in an oxen-drawn cart,when a runner came to inform us thatthree of my father’s relatives were tak-en by the Japanese soldiers as hostages:an elderly uncle, a lady cousin and aniece. Without any hesitation, my fa-ther decided to surrender to the Japanese.He believed his relatives should not bemade to suffer for his cause. The hos-tages were then released. To our reliefand surprise, my father was not detained.There was, however, a particular Japa-nese soldier who visited our house dai-ly pretending to befriend the Benitezhousehold. It was our belief that hisobjective was to extract informationfrom anyone in our household about Lt.Ramsey’s whereabouts.

�My father’s so-called freedom did not

last long. He was eventually arrestedand taken to the Japanese headquartersknown as “Kem Pe Tai”. For a wholemonth, we did not hear from him. Mymother and I would take a small boat(banca), and go behind the headquartershoping to get a glimpse of my father.We would then visit the Cathedral topray, walked on our knees from thechurch door to the altar, for his safe re-turn. This was our daily routine.

�One day, someone came to inform us

that my father was confined for highblood pressure at the Pangasinan Pro-vincial Hospital in Dagupan City. Thehospital director, Dr. Romulo, brother ofGeneral Carlos P. Romulo, who was myfather’s friend, told the Japanese hishospitalization was required. WithGod’s grace, the Japanese did not comeback for him. He lived to Chair the Phil-ippine Veterans Board in 1950.

� See Recollection of WWII Page 14


Page 14

We learned later that the other twoAmerican comrades of Col. Ramseywere also captured. Capt. Putnam andLt. Darwin, sadly, were executed inwestern Pangasinan.

�After the war, our family would occa-

sionally see Col. Edwin P. Ramsey whooften came to Manila. In 1964, he andhis family came to our house in San Car-los where a grand reunion of officers andmembers of the Pangasinan-Tarlac Mili-tary District (PTMD, ECLGA) was held

in his honor. He asked to visit the nipahut at our backyard where he inductedrecruits and conducted meetings.

� In 1982, I had the pleasure of meeting

Col. Ramsey’s lovely wife, Dr. RaquelRamirez. The three of us had dinner atthe Manila Garden Hotel in Makati,where they stayed. Unfortunately, we hadlost contact for over 20 years. I immi-grated to Canada in 1987 and after a longsearch, we finally had a very touching andmemorable reunion in May, 2006 at the

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society eventin San Francisco, California.

�Today, at 75, I am honored and de-

lighted my friendship with Col. Ram-sey has endured for 65 years. My fam-ily will always remember the youngAmerican, now at 89, a legendary hero,who made a supreme sacrifice for thefreedom that we now enjoy.

Alice Benitez is a physician now livingin Vancouver, British Columbia. Editor

��


In Flanders FieldsBy Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD(1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.�We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.�Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.�

We shall keep the faithBy Moina Michael

Oh! You who sleep in Flanders’ FieldsSleep sweet - to rise anew;We caught the torch you threw,And holding high we keptThe faith with those who died.�We cherish, too, the Poppy redThat grows on fields where valor led.It seems to signal to the skiesThat blood of heroes never dies.But lends a lustre to the redOn the flower that blooms above the dead� � �

In Flanders’ fields.�And now the torch and Poppy redWear in honour of our dead.Fear not that ye have died for naught:We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught� � �

In Flanders’ fields.

In 1918, Ms. Moina Michael, an American teacher,introduced the poppy as a symbol of remembrancefor those who fell in combat. Editor


Page 15

Member ActivitiesAn important objective of this newsletter is the encouragement of our members to raise public awareness of the proud

patriotic legacy of the Philippine Scouts. Examples of member’s efforts to accomplish this over the last six months follow:

Immediate Past National PresidentFred Foz and Mrs. Filma Foz are bothplanning to attend our May reunion. Thefollowing are excerpts from his email:

“Our annual PSHS reunion in Taco-ma, Washington will give us the oppor-tunity to strengthen our resolve to pre-serve the legacy of the Phil. Scouts.Tacoma is most appropriate to celebrateour reunion being the home of our heroJoe Calugas Sr. who was awarded thehighest honor. It will give us the oppor-tunity to meet old friends since we leftFort McKinley 65 years ago.

“We remember the motto of ourfounder BGen. Royal Reynolds, Jr.,‘We learn from our experience so thatwe can apply those lessons learned.’ Heled a battalion of PS in combat duringthe Bataan Campaign. He always men-tioned his love of the Philippine Scoutswhenever he attended our reunions….

“Gen. MacArthur said of the fallen:‘I do not know the dignity of their birthbut we know the dignity of their death.’

“I will be looking forward to seeingyou all in Tacoma….”

National Vice President and Taco-ma Chapter President Joe Calugas’and wife Goody have put in a great dealof effort, as have various members oftheir Chapter, into organizing our May18-19 reunion at the La Quinta Inn &Suites in Tacoma.

�National PRO Chris Schaefer pub-

lished an article about the PhilippineScouts for the South Bay Times (a com-munity magazine in San Diego, Calif.),which is republished elsewhere in thisissue and a piece entitled “JapaneseAnti-Guerrilla Countermeasures in thePhilippines” in the Bulletin of the Amer-ican Historical Collection.� Chris andCol. John E. Olson will be speaking tothe Texas A&M Association of FormerStudents in San Antonio, Texas, in mid-

February.� Their topic will be WWII inthe Philippines, based around Chris’sbook.� The subjects covered will beBataan, the Death March, CampO’Donnell, the Hell Ships and libera-tion.� They expect 80 to 100 attendees.�The objective will be to educate their au-dience about the war in the Philippines,the Philippine Scouts, and the plight ofthe Filipino and American POWs

Chris also has place articles in theMiami Herald and Stamford Advocateon the reuniting of the Major Karol An-thony Bauer family through our websitemore than sixty years after his death ina Japanese Hell Ship. Major Bauer was45th Infantry (PS).

Col. Mel Rosen, Counselor, spokein October at a Kingston, New Yorkconference on WWII and again in No-vember at the D-Day Museum in NewOrleans. Both talks were on hisBataan, Death March and Hell Shipexperiences.

Col. John Olson, Historian contin-ues to devote extensive time to organiz-ing the Philippine Scout archives at theFort Sam Houston Museum and supply-ing information on Scout-related ques-tions coming to our website.

Malcolm Decker currently is work-ing on his second book, Not Authorizedto Save American Lives; The Story ofFassoth’s Camps. �

In November Lt. Col. Ed Ramsey,accompanied by wife Raquel, was guestof honor at the Filipino WWII VeteransReunion & the Pangasinan Associationof San Diego County annual VeteransBall, which was expanded to includenumerous politicians and a cross sectionof the Fil-Am community. Congress-man Bob Filner, now the Chairman ofthe Congressional Affairs Committee,

presented Ed with a “Certificate of Spe-cial Congressional Recognition” for his“outstanding and invaluable service tothe community.”

In early January Cong. Filner invit-ed Ed to appear in mid-February be-fore the Congressional Committee onVeterans Affairs to testify concerning thepending Equity Bill on behalf of the Fil-ipino Veterans.

In September the Ed and Raqui at-tended the U.S. Cavalry Association re-union in Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Sgt. Gary Hurd continues his ef-forts to organize troops in the Philip-pines and the U.S. in honor of the 26thCavalry (PS).�

The U.S. Military Academy’s Asso-ciation of Graduates presented the firstannual Alexander R. Nininger Awardfor Valor at Arms in a September cere-mony.� This award furthers the ideals ofWest Point by presenting to the Corpsof Cadets an exemplar of heroic actionin battle.� The Award is named in recog-nition of the heroic actions of SecondLieutenant Alexander R. Nininger,USMA Class of 1941, who was the firstAmerican awarded a Medal of Honor inWWII.� (Lt. Nininger, an officer in the57th Infantry (PS), is an uncle of Na-tional President John Patterson.)

The recipient of the award was Ma-jor Ryan L. Worthan ’97 as a resultof conspicuous valor shown under firein Afghanistan for which he received aSilver Star.

Mike Houlahan’s review of Col.John Olson’s novel The Guerrilla andthe Hostage was published in the Bulle-tin of the American Historical Collec-tion. (This novel also was reviewed inour last newsletter.)


Page 16

Chapter NewsCapt. Jose Calugas, Sr. Chapter:(Tacoma) Joe and Goody Calugas arehard at work organizing our next re-union, which will be held in Tacoma forthe first time since 1995. Tentative plansare for two panel discussions, one oncombat nurses on Bataan and the otheron recollections of former PhilippineScouts, as well as a veterans’ benefitsworkshop. It is expected that Col. JohnOlson and CWO-4 Aniceto Bagley willdiscuss the history of the “New” (post-war) Philippine Scouts at the reunion.

The 23rd National Annual Reunionwill be hosted by the Tacoma Chap-ter on May 18-19, 2007 at the LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Tacoma.

Last September the Tacoma Chapterheld its 16th Anniversary Dinner and

Dance at the Elks Lodge #174.� Part ofthe program was to honor the late Pvt.Melencio Figueroa, 26th Cavalry(PS), who died in Bataan. He finallyreceived his�Bronze Star and PurpleHeart Medals. Family members attend-ing came from California, Chicago andWashington, DC.�

Gen. John J. Pershing Chapter:(El Paso) No chapter activities involv-ing any members other than ChapterPresident Menandro Parazo were re-ported. Menandro himself has beenvery active as reported on the MemberActivities page.

Golden Gate-Bay Area Chapter:Chapter President Cion Rael reportsthat, since May 2003, the Chapter hasraised $814.00 from the sale of PSHS

books. All these funds go to the Na-tional. Also Ofelia Capuyan, a daugh-ter of our late President Larry Pangan,has agreed to take over as Chapter Trea-surer and administrator of the LibraryFund. There have been no chapter ac-tivities since the last newsletter.

�Monterey County Chapter:No activities reported.

Lt. Alexander R. Nininger Chapter:Inactive.

LTC Lloyd E. Mills Chapter:Inactive.


Page 17

26th Cavalry (PS)—13Salvador Abad, San Francisco, CAEulalio Arzaga, Killeen, TXSgt. Baccani, [“B” Troop], Junction City, KSDamaso Basco, Pittsburg, CABill Cabillon Lakewood, WAMSgt. James Downey, Jr., Newport News, VACapt. Felipe Fernandez, Seaside, CASFC Dan Figuracion, Lakewood, WALt. Felipe Francisco, [HQ Troop], Monterey, CACol. Thomas S. Jones, Safety Harbor, FLCapt. Menandro Parazo, El Paso, TXLt. Col. Edwin P. Ramsey, Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Isabelo S. Torio, San Diego, CA.

45th Infantry (PS)—11Captain Paul Balanga, San Francisco, CASgt Norberto Ballesteros [3rd Bn.], Aeia, HIEdward Bautista, [“A” Co.],Floriano Castaneda, [Intelligence Section],

Kaneohe, HIMajor Fred Foz, Pearl City, HINick Lozada, [3rd Bn.], Vallejo, CAFeliz Magalong, [“H” Co.], Aurora, COPablo Mesina, Daly City, CA

Antonio Nimis, Seaside, CAPacifico Valdevarona, [“H” Co.] Alameda, CAHermenio Vargas, Lakewood, WA

57th Infantry (PS) Veterans—15John Benson, [“A” Co.], San Francisco, CAJustiniano B. Benton, “A” Co., Malabon City,

PhilippinesMariano Cauilan, [Service Co.] Pleasant Hill, CAWilliam Penalosa Cazar, [“F” Co.], Ormoc

City, PhilippinesPrimitivo Alcala Cuenca, [HQ Co.], Vallejo, CA

Sgt. Maj. Vic dela Cruz, Marina, CARomy Entac, [“G” Co.], Machine Gun Platoon,]

Lennox, CACapt. Nick Golla, [“E” Co.], Seattle, WADomindor Guevara, [Anti-Tank Co.],

Morton Grove, ILCpl. Agustin O. Lacao, [“I” Co.], Seattle, WACol. John E. Olson, San Antonio, TXMajor Urbano Quijance, [“B” Co., SD w/ S-3,

Regtl. Hqtrs], Seattle, WAMSgt. Alfredo Quijano, San Antonio, TXSgt. Joe Taton, Sr., [HQ Co.], Seattle, WA

Col. Frederick Yeager, Wilmington, NC

12th Medical (PS)—5Ben Austria, San Antonio, TXSFC Mariano A. Berona, Kent, WA�Gil Gutierrez, Waipahu, HIRicardo Maravillas, [“C” Co.] Fairfield, CARodolfo Viray, Lakewood, WA.

12th Signal Co. (PS)—5SFC Elliot Desoto, Seaside, CAVictor Magallanes, Ewa Beach, HIGuillermo (Gil) Perla,2nd Lt. Marcial Sabado, Seaside, CADavid Tejada, Daly City, CA

12th Quartermaster Reg. (PS)—1Florintino Paunil, Gaithersburg, MD

14th Engineers Bn. (PS)—7Lawrence Castro, Pittsburg, CASgt. Mario Cid, San FranciscoGeoffray Dumaguit, San Francisco, CAPFC Escolastico G. Galarosa, [“A” Co.],

Seattle, WAMSgt. Rosendo Luna, [“C” Co.], Seattle, WAJess Velasco, San Francisco, CA

Vincente Villarta

191st MP Co. (PS)—1Cpl. Alejandro Llanto, Seattle, WA

23rd Field Artillery Reg. (PS)—2Anthony De Castro, [Battery “A”], Vallejo, CASFC Manuel Gavino, [Battery “A”],

Pittsburg, CA

86th Field Artillery (PS)—1Zosimo Guiang, San Francisco, CA

88th Field Artillery (PS)—3Eduardo Abinsay, Pittsburg, CABrig. Gen. Paul D. Philips, [1st Bn.],

Denver, COCol. Mel Rosen, [2nd Bn.], Falls Church, VA

91st Coast Artillery Reg. (PS)—5SP5 Gavino Cabanilla, [Btry. “C”]SSgt. Juan Guzman, Seaside, CAFrankie Ramirez, [Battery “A”], Killeen, TXMsgt. Lauro Villagracia, Lakewood, WA

LTG John M. Wright, Jr, Riverside, CA

Surviving Philippine Scouts (92)92nd Coast Artillery Reg. (PS)—5SFC Eduardo Abinsay, Pittsburg, CA�Lt. Jose Aquino, [Battery “G”], South San

Francisco, CASimplicio Babao, Jr., [Battery “D”], Davao

City, PhilippinesCSMJ Ricardo Devilla, Lakewood, WAAmbrosio Quevedo, Monterey, CA

63rd Quarter Master Co. (PS)—1 “New Scout”unitPvt. Tiwe Abrigo, Rancho Cordova, CA

76th Ordnance Ammunition Co. (PS)—1

“New Scout” unit

CWO4 Aniceto Bagley, Huntsville, AL

81st Harbor Craft Co., Transportation Corps

(PS)—1 “New Scout” unit

Dr. Dionisio Torcuator Tonel, Elk Grove, CA

Unidentified Units—14Desiderio Abreo, Pittsburg, CAPFC Tiwe Abrigo, Rancho Cordova, CA,

Infantry (New Scout)Nick Casabuena, Sacramento, CAMSgt. Rafael G. Escanilla, Sacramento, CAJoe Estero, (New Scout), Makati, PhilippinesManuel Gavino, Pittsburg, CA

Hendriclaro Macavinta, (New Scout), Makati,Philippines

Zosimo Macavinta, (New Scout), Makati,Philippines

Simplicio Ochoa, FA, Los Angeles, CALeonardo Pena, Pittsburg, CAJaime Quevedo, Rancho Cordova, CAAlfredo QuijanoJoe Rueles, Pittsburg, CAEmilio T. Terencio, (New Scout), Makati,

PhilippinesBenjamin Tubig, San Antonio, TX

We would welcome additions and correctionsto this list of surviving Philippine Scouts.

Editor


Page 18

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society(Preserving the History & Legacy of the Philippine Scouts)

Capt. Jose C. Calugas,Sr. Chapter2907 Narrows PlaceTacoma, WA 98407

23rd National Annual Reunion – May 18 - May 19, 2007

Dear Sir/Madam:

The Philippine Scouts Heritage Society will have their 23rd Annual National Reunion and membership meeting onMay 18 through May 19, 2007, at the La Quinta Inn & Suites, 1425 East 27th Street, Tacoma, WA 98421.

We would like to invite you to support us by advertising in the Souvenir Program that will be printed for the occasion.

Advertisement Rate:

( ) Inside front cover $120.00 ( ) Inside back cover $120.00 ( ) Color back cover $140.00 ( ) Full Page $100.00 ( ) 1/2 Page $ 50.00 ( ) 1/4 Page $ 30.00 ( ) Business card $ 15.00

We thank you for your kind and generous support.

Sincerely,

Jose Calugas Jr., PresidentCapt. Jose Calugas Sr. Chapter

NOTES: 1. Please attach your AD to this form with your payment made payable to:Capt. Jose Calugas Sr. Chapter and return it to your solicitor or Mail to:PSHSCapt. Jose Calugas Sr. Chapter2907 Narrows PlaceTacoma, WA 98407Attention: Jose Calugas Jr.

2. Deadline for submission of Advertising is April 15, 2007

Signature of Advertiser: _______________________________________________

Date:___________Telephone No.____________________________________________________Solicited By: _______________________________________________________


Page 19

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society23rd National Annual Reunion

May 18 - 19, 2007Tacoma, Washington

REGISTRATION FORM

Name:________________________________________________________________________________

Address:______________________________________________________________________________

Phone No:________________ Number in Party: ______________ Arrival Date:__________________

DINNER MENU CHOICES: (indicate number of each)

Filet Mignon & Salmon_____ Filet Mignon & Prawns_____ Sweet ‘n’ Sour Kabobs______

REGISTRATION CHARGE: $ 40.00 per PersonPlease make check payable and mail to:

PSHS Capt. Jose Calugas Sr. ChapterC/0 Goody Calugas, Registration Chairperson

2907 Narrows PlaceTacoma, WA. 98407-1057

NOTES: 1. Upon receipt of your payment, your registration will be confirmed.2. R.S.V.P. and payment must be received NO LATER THAN April 20, 20073. Groups / Party of 5 or 10, please list the names on the reverse side of the paper so we may arrange your sitting accordingly.

LODGING: La Quinta Inn & Suites1425 East 27th StreetTacoma, WA 98421

Telephone: 253-383-0146Fax: 253-627-3280

Toll Free: 800-531-5900- ask for La Quinta in Tacoma, WA.Ask for a “block of rooms under PSHS”

RATES: One to four persons per room: $99.00 plus taxes. This is the same reduce ratefor the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society.

CUT-OFF DATE: April 26,2007 After April 26,2007 rooms will be provided on a space, rate and availability basis.Important: Make your reservation prior to the cut-off date and identify yourself as a PSHSmember. Note: (40) rooms are guaranteed.

There is no free shuttle service from the Seatac Airport to La Quinta in Tacoma, however LaQuinta has a contract service with the Cap Aeroposter for nominal group rates, Please callfor reservation at: 1-800-962-3579 or at (253) 927-6179. There is also a car rental at the air-port, by the luggage claim area. The Shuttle Express does not go to La Quinta in Tacoma.

Meet Our National Officers and Chapter Presidents

Major Fred FozPresident Emeritus1658 Hoolana StreetPearl City, HI 96782(808) 454-0629

Sen. John A. PattersonPresident721 N. Quidnessett Rd.North Kingstown, RI 02852(401) 885-7776

Jose Calugas Jr.,1st Vice President & PresidentCapt. Jose Calugas Sr. Chapter2907 Narrows PlaceTacoma, WA 98407(253) 752-2573

Menandro Parazo2nd Vice President & PresidentGen. John J. Pershing Chapter6705 Morningside Cir.El Paso, TX 79904(915)565-7607

Nora G. WarrenTreasurer92 Russell DriveAntioch, CA 94509(925) 757-3267

Col. (Ret.) John E. OlsonHistorian1 Towers Park Lane #510San Antonio, TX 78209(210) 821-6017

Rob CapistranoAssistant Historian5725 Santa Cruz Ave.Richmond, CA 94804

Col. (Ret.) Melvin H. RosenCounselor3415 Arnold LaneFalls Church, VA 22042(703) 560-5557

J. Michael HoulahanSecretary andNewsletter Editor6774 Lakeside Circle WestWorthington, OH 43085(614) 847-1016

Chris SchaeferPublic Relations Officer11930 River ViewHouston, TX 77077(281) 493-0761

Concepcion M. Rael, PresidentGolden Gate-Bay Area ChapterVeterans History Project Coord.P.O. Box 179Daly City, CA. 94016-0179(650) 756-9057

Isabelo S. Torio, M.D., ContactLt. Alexander R. Nininger Ch.11374 Grassy Trail DriveSan Diego, CA 92127(858) 485-5696

Philippine Scouts Heritage SocietyJ. Michael Houlahan

Secretary & Newsletter Editor6774 Lakeside Circle West

Worthington, OH 43085

NON PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDCOLUMBUS, OH

43218

PERMIT #8189

LTC Lloyd E. Mills ChapterCurrently inactive

Greg Ramos, PresidentMonterey County Chapter708 John StreetSalinas, CA 93905(831) 424-9084

John MangusoDirector, Fort Sam Houston MuseumMCCS-GPTMS-M2250 Stanley Road, Suite 36Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6111(210) 221-1886The Museum is the official repositoryfor Philippine Scout memorabilia

Christa M. HoulahanWebsite Designer and ManagerNewsletter Design and [email protected]

Please contact us if you have questions or would like to becomeinvolved with the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society!

If you would like to contact usvia email, visit our website:www.philippine-scouts.org.

Past issues of this newsletter areavailable on our website.

Documents

Philippine Scouts Heritage SocietyPhilippine Scouts Heritage Society’s guests is $99.00 plus tax. Guests have four weeks prior to arrival to make their reservation. Flyers containing