This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 19, June 19-25, 2005
The Real Heroes of
Bessang Pass On the
60th anniversary of the Battle of Bessang Pass, we honor its real
heroes – the nameless farmers, soldiers, bolomen, haulers who supplied the
fighters with ammunition, food and other war materials, and the brave Igorot
volunteers who fought tooth and nail the fascist Japanese forces who entrenched
themselves in the northern highlands.
By Arturo P. Garcia As we commemorate the 107th
Philippine Independence Day on June 12, we must also remember that on June 14,
Filipino World War II veterans, especially those who fought in Northern
Luzon, will commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the first Filipino military
victory at the Battle of Bessang Pass (1945). The event is particularly significant for the
Filipinos who three years earlier witnessed the surrender of Bataan and
Corregidor and the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese Imperial Forces in
1942. The Battle of Bessang Pass was thus a sweet
revenge for the Filipinos and Americans who participated in the three long years
of war of resistance against the Japanese occupation forces. A place in history Bessang Pass is located in Cervantes, Ilocos
Sur, a province more than 260 kms north of Manila. The area serves as a gateway
to the Cordillera mountains and the city of Baguio. Bessang Pass was the last stronghold of the
Japanese imperial forces under Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, known as the “Tiger of
Malaya” and conqueror of Singapore. It was part of the triangular defense of
General Yamashita in the north, namely the Balete Pass, Villaverde Trail and
Bessang Pass, guarding the Ifugao-Benguet-Vizcaya borders. Its fall on the hands of the United States
Armed Forces in the Philippines (USIFP-NL) on June 14, 1945 paved the way to the
entrapment of Yamashita’s forces in the Cordillera until the general’s surrender
in September 1945. The USIFP-NL was of composed of five infantry
regiments and a field artillery battalion of 20,000 officers who were all
Filipinos except for five American officers. The latter included Col. Russell
Volckman, its commanding officer. The troops bore the brunt of the fighting,
sustaining over 2,000 casualties, including 600 men killed. The units of the USFIP-NL that fought at the
battle were the 121st, 15th , 66th and the Provisional
infantry regiments. During the three long years of Japanese occupation, almost
all of the forces of this command served as guerillas. Most of them also fought
in Bataan and Corregidor. For them, this battle was a payback for all the
dishonor they suffered during the surrender of the Philippines and for the
atrocities the Japanese implicated on them. They faced the crack 73rd Tora
(Tiger) Division, the 79th brigade and the 357th Battalion
led by Lt. General Yoshibaru Osaki. The Japanese forces fortified the hills and
the ridges to stop any American offensive on their way to Baguio City and the
Cordillera stronghold of Yamashita. The Japanese forces withdrew from Manila and
other areas of Luzon after sacking and destroying Manila with a pogrom of
atrocities. The stay-behind-force of Japanese marines and Korean conscripts
massacred more than 300,000 residents of south Manila and destroyed the city.
Manila became the most devastated city after Warsaw gaining the moniker “The
Warsaw of Asia.” The initial fighting started in February 1945
around the town of Cervantes. At the same time, the 121st Infantry
was driving out the Japanese in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur on the western lowlands of
the Pass, the other guerilla forces were clearing Ilocos Norte, the rest of
Ilocos and Abra around the Tangadan area. By March, the harder part of the
battle commenced. After liberating San Fernando, La Union, on
March 29, the USFIP-NL forces started the all-out assault for Bessang Pass.
Their advance was steady, gradual and costly. Without air support at first, they
attacked persistently armed only with rifles, submachine guns and their sheer
guts until the first week of April when air and artillery support became
available. On June 14, the units of 121st launched
a final assault on Buccual Ridge and planted a symbolic flag made from a dirty
green face towel. The battle was the crowning glory of the
battle exploits of the all-Filipino USFI-NL forces. The battle lasted for four
months of protracted, fierce, relentless blood hand to hand combat with suicidal
enemy. On the real heroes of Bessang Pass In 1982, when the brouhaha over the Japanese
revision of the history of World War II exploded, dictator Ferdinand Marcos, in
a rare press conference stated that “he was the real hero of the Battle of
Bessang Pass.” During this time, China, Vietnam, Korea and
other Asian countries that Japan conquered during the war were protesting the
Japanese revisions in their history. On the other hand, the Philippine
authorities kept quiet about it. Marcos even bragged to the foreign and local
media that General Volkmann confided to him that “General Yamashita should have
surrendered to him (Marcos).” Marcos made it appear that as an
intelligence officer, he supplied the USFIP-NL vital information about the
Japanese forces in Bessang. But it was a known fact among guerillas that he was
in Nueva Vizcaya during those times. He was nowhere around Bessang Pass to be
involved in the battle. The incident raised a lot of howl among
historians especially military historians who knew about the battle. Most of the
military historians kept quiet about Marcos claims to glory. Even the relatives
of military heroes of Bessang Pass like Major Rigor, General Balao and Major
Borje kept quiet about the Marcos claims so as not to ruffle the feathers of the
dictator. The newspaper “Ang Malaya” printed articles
on the guerilla activities in Northern Luzon casting doubts on Marcos
allegations that he was at Bessang Pass. But most of the articles were
indirectly saying that. It was only in late 1985 that the late Col.
Bonifacio Gillego who later became a congressman after the overthrow of Marcos
in 1986, directly questioned Marcos’s 27 military medals and his claim to glory
at Bessang Pass was exposed. The well-documented exposé was a big factor in the
defeat of Marcos during the snap election of 1986. Gillego did a good research
in the US military archives and exposed Marcos as a fake hero. Now, on the 60th anniversary of
the Battle, we honor the real heroes of Bessang Pass – the nameless farmers,
soldiers, bolomen, haulers who supplied the fighters with ammunition, food and
other war materials, and the brave volunteer Igorots who fought tooth and nail
the fascist Japanese forces who entrenched themselves in the northern highlands. American tribute to Filipino soldiers The American officers in the Cordilleras
during the siege issued statements with glowing praises for the Filipino
soldiers. Gen. Walter Kruger, commanding general of the U.S. 6th Army
where the USFIP-NL belongs, in his memoir and official report, described the
Battle of Bessang Pass as:“ one whose magnitude and decisiveness far surpasses
the U.S Army 32nd and 25th Divisions’ battle for the
Villaverde Trail and the Balete Pass, respectively.” Gen. Douglas Macarthur, the U.S. Supreme
Commander in the Pacific also paid tribute to the victors of Bessang Pass: “The
work of the Northern Luzon guerillas alone was equal to a front line division.” Brig. Gen. Russel W. Volkman, USFIP-NL
Commanding officer, said: “With such courageous spirit as the motivating force
behind USFIP-NL, together with the wholehearted cooperation ad willingness on
the part of the officers and men of the USFIP-NL, to undergo sacrifices and
hardships, the seemingly insurmountable obstacles through the dark days of the
Japanese occupation were overcome. Your devotion to duty, to the cause, to your
country, and to the United States of America has been rightly blessed with
commendations of highest order.” The USFIP-NL was not disbanded after the war
and it became the 2nd regular Philippine Army Division. Many of its
top officers became army chiefs of staff like Gen. Calixto Duque and Eulogio
Balao who later became the secretary of national defense and a senator. On June 14, 1952, President Elpidio Quirino
officially declared the Fall of Bessang Pass as a military holiday to be
commemorated in the Philippines. Quirino declared ruing the 7th
Anniversary of the Battle: “…to win the liberation of Northern Luzon in which
the USFIP-NL played a major role, you accomplished no ordinary achievement. Your
battle for Bessang Pass in eastern Ilocos Sur in 1945 for instance stands out
prominently as one of most decisive battles of the Philippine liberation
campaign.” Thus, to honor the Filipino American veterans
in the United States and living in city of Los Angeles and in the Philippines
who fought in this great battle and to support the continuing struggle of the
Filipino Veterans to be recognized as American World War veterans for equity,
recognition and justice, we remember the Filipino victory at Bessang Pass. From the Filipino community in the United
States – we salute you! Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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Remembering the first
Filipino military victory in World War II
Bulatlat