Posts Tagged ‘Philippines’

Loyal Forces – The American Animals of WWII

Meet the Authors — Loyal Forces: The American Animals of World War II

Thursday, March 7, 2013
5:00 pm Reception | 6:00 pm Presentation
US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center

Join The National WWII Museum to celebrate the launch of Loyal Forces: The American Animals of WWII, written and compiled by the Museum’s very own Assistant Director of Collections, Toni M. Kiser and Senior Archivist, Lindsey F. Barnes.

At a time when every American was called upon to contribute to the war effort — whether by enlisting, buying bonds, or collecting scrap metal — the use of American animals during World War II further demonstrates the resourcefulness of the US Army and the many sacrifices that led to the Allies’ victory. Through 157 photographs from The National WWII Museum collection, Loyal Forces captures the heroism, hard work, and innate skills of innumerable animals that aided the military as they fought to protect, transport, communicate, and sustain morale. From the last mounted cavalry charge of the US Army to the 36,000 homing pigeons deployed overseas, service animals made a significant impact on military operations during World War II.

This event, held in the brand new US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center, is free and open to the public.

The Last Cavalry Charge

In 1941, as the Japanese continued to wage war on China, their need for oil, rubber, and other natural resources became desperate. Both the United States and Great Britain had placed embargoes on these items and frozen Japanese assets, making it increasingly harder for them to acquire the raw materials they needed to continue their war efforts in China. The Japanese took bold steps to ensure their gains in China would not be lost by invading the island nations in the Pacific. They hoped to secure oil from Borneo, Java, and Sumatra, along with rubber from Burma and Malaya. To secure shipping lanes for these raw materials, Japan invaded the American-controlled Philippine Islands.

Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright was commander of the Philippine Division, assigned to the post in 1940. Nicknamed “Skinny,” Wainwright was a 1906 graduate of West Point and a World War I veteran. His assignment as commander represented a significant achievement for Wainwright, with about 7,500 soldiers under his command. These soldiers were mostly Philippine Scouts, or native Filipinos who fought under the American flag. Also assigned to Wainwright was the 26th Cavalry Regiment, one of the last horse-mounted cavalries in the U.S. Army. Wainwright was a traditionalist when it came to the cavalry. His sentiments were that horse-mounted cavalry were some of the finest, most select, and most well-trained soldiers in the military. In his memoir, General Wainwright’s Story, he says of this unit that they were “to fight as few cavalry units ever fought.”

One officer of the 26th Cavalry Regiment was Lt. Edwin Price Ramsey. Like Wainwright, Ramsey believed the horse-mounted cavalry to be a superior unit of the military. His passion to remain in a mounted unit motivated him to volunteer to go to the Philippines in April 1941. He was assigned to lead Troop G, 2nd Squadron, of the 26th Cavalry Regiment. His troop consisted of twenty-seven men, all Filipinos, whom Ramsey was to train in mounted and dismounted drill. The men were disciplined, some having served close to thirteen years in the 26th, and Ramsey enjoyed working with them. It was with this troop that Ramsey was assigned his horse Bryn Awryn, a chestnut gelding fifteen and a half hands tall and with a small white blaze on his forehead. Bryn Awryn was powerful and well schooled, clever and aggressive, with the ability to turn on a dime.

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MacArthur Evacuates the Philippines

Remember when MacArthur was ordered to evacuate the Philippines last month? Well, today, 70 years ago, he actually did. Under the cover of night, MacArthur, along with his family and staff were transported from the Philippine Islands by PT boat, then plane, and then train. Though his “I shall return” catchphrase originated from a speech he made in the small railroad town of Terowie in southern Australia, he repeated the speech many times over. Supposedly, leadership in the States had asked that he change the “I” to “We,” but MacArthur ignored the request. In April, he would assume the post of Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area and continue the fight for the Pacific from there. He fulfilled his promise to return to the Philippines in late 1944 and became a hero to Filipinos who had been living under ruthless Japanese occupation for years.

This post by Curator Meg Roussel

MacArthur Ordered to Evacuate Philippines

Postcard featuring MacArthur. Gift of Gordon McWilliams, The National WWII Museum Inc., 2011.376

On this day 70 years ago, President Roosevelt as Commander-in-Chief ordered Gen. Douglas MacArthur to leave the Philippines as the islands’ defenses fell and Allied forces continued to retreat toward Bataan. Retreat, in fact, was the original plan of “defense” in the Philippines. When the Japanese attacked the Philippine Islands shortly after Pearl Harbor, the then-current War Plan (Rainbow Five) plan was not to fight, but to retreat immediately to Bataan to await better equipment and additional troops. MacArthur, however, believed Allied forces in the Philippines were stronger than the attacking Japanese, and rolled the dice by taking them head on. As the tide in the Philippines turned repeatedly for the worse, and as more and more territory in the south Pacific was lost to the Japanese, Roosevelt felt the urgent need to remove MacArthur from the Philippines.

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Retreat in the Philippines Continues

Falling Back to Bataan, January 1942

The mighty resistance put up by American and Filipino forces following the initial December 8^th attacks was a surprise to Japanese military leadership. They expected the Philippines to be taken in just a few weeks.

After underestimating Allied resistance once, the Japanese leadership did it again when in early January 1942 they made the decision to pull out an entire division of its elite troops to be sent elsewhere. The use of air power was also cut back, as it was believed that the campaign was essentially over, and that the Philippines had been won for Japan.

This second underestimation of American and Filipino determination allowed for continued combat. Had those crack troops not been transferred elsewhere, the fighting in the Philippines would most likely have ended much sooner than it did, and freed up thousands more Japanese troops to push towards expansion elsewhere. Instead, combat would continue in the southward direction of the Bataan Peninsula where General MacArthur hoped for reinforcements that would never come. Between the end of January and the beginning of February, additional landings by Japanese troops were somewhat disrupted by what remained of the Far East Air Force’s P-40 Warhawks.

While American and Filipino forces continued to retreat southward, the mere fact that they were still fighting at all, when Pearl had been so badly damaged and Wake and Guam taken relatively easily, was an opportunity for positive American propaganda.

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