He is in his mid-80s now. Yet memories of the war are so vivid that he said he could still remember how the cordite smelled as Howitzer shells fell on the Japanese defenses on March 10, 1945, the day of liberation. American forces under Gen. Jens Doe of the 41st Infantry Division staged the landing at Yellow Beach in Zamboanga City.
It was a tearful reunion for the last remaining Filipino Zamboangueño veterans who had seen action during the war. It has been 60 long years since liberation day – so long that the many deeds of the young men who fought and died in that war have been forgotten, their heroic exploits left in the dustbins of the military archives. That is, until the city government of Zamboanga, together with the American forces serving in the Southern Command for the Balikatan exercises, decided to revive the historical consciousness of the Zamboangueños. They decided to stage a reenactment of the historical landing of the American forces at Yellow Beach, the codename the Americans gave to the long shoreline near the barangay of Sinunuc, on the west coast of Zamboanga.
The landing was to herald the liberation of Mindanao and the defeat of the Japanese Imperial Forces, who held dominion over the island immediately after the fall of Manila in 1942.
Lt. Col. Greg Wilson, commander of the American Forces serving at the Southern Command as part of the Balikatan exercises, said that 20 American soldiers volunteered as actors for the historic reenactment, along with a complement of some landing crafts that would simulate the landing of the allied forces. Soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines would comprise the larger invading liberators, while volunteer students from the ROTC would act out the role of the defending Japanese 30th Infantry Heitei Division, which was part of Lt. Gen. Sosaky Susuki’s 35th Japanese Army, which was tasked to repel the invading American/Allied forces.
"I am proud to participate in this historic exercise, because this only strengthens the ties between our countries, especially in the fight against aggression and any form of terrorism," Lt. Col. Wilson said. Wilson’s men spent many long hours with the Department of Tourism Regional Office here in Zamboanga and officials of the city government just to make sure that the reenactment would be true to the events that happened on March 10, 1945.
On March 2, 1945, six days prior to the amphibious landing, US forces gathered for assault operations around the waterways of Zamboanga. This force was led by Rear Admiral Forrest B. Royal, commander of the Amphibious Group 6. Royal’s arsenal of sea power included the heavy cruiser Phoenix and Boise, six destroyers, three Marine Air Groups, the 41st Infantry Division and numerous amphibious landing and assault crafts. The military operation was to be codenamed Victor Four. Their mission: To liberate Zamboanga city from the Japanese Imperial Forces, which invaded on March 2, 1942.
The Marine Air Groups 12 ,14 and 32 were responsible for providing close air support to the 41st division. During the days following March 2, 1945, two companies of the 24th Division of paratroopers were flown to Mindanao and dropped behind enemy lines to join the guerrilla forces to protect an airstrip that was vital to the Allied operations.
Pvt. Patrocinio Mariano, who is now an 80-year-old veteran, had to come down from his mountain home in Curuan for the reenactment. Like many others, he was a young man when the war started, who continued the fight by joining the guerrilla movement against the Japanese. Mariano said that he would not miss the 60th-anniversary celebration for the world. "I thought they had forgotten us," he said, "but we never gave up, we continued the fight as members of the guerrilla movement." It was not until they first saw the parachutes in the sky that he finally believed the liberation was at hand.
Prof. August de Viena, a researcher for the National Historical Institute who has done extensive studies on the events of World War II, said that the Filipino guerrillas, especially here in Mindanao, played a very important role in the liberation of the country by paving the way for the invasion of the Allied forces led by the Americans. De Viena said that Gen. Douglas MacArthur intended to land his invading forces in Mindanao. But thanks to guerrillas serving here, information was relayed to his headquarters in Australia about the prevailing strength of the Japanese forces in the country, thus giving the general a strategic advantage in his invasion plans.
De Viena said that it was the guerrillas here in Mindanao who discovered a crashed Japanese airplane carrying very important documents about troop movements. Thus, this gave MacArthur fair warning not to bring his forces to Mindanao and instead concentrate on the weakest area covered by the Japanese forces first, which was Leyte.
The foothold in Leyte led to the simultaneous invasion of various other parts of the country, Mindanao included, as it was the stronghold of some 8,300 Japanese Army regulars and Marines.
The American Marine planes operating from Dipolog airstrip provided cover over the battlefield. Ground elements of the Marine Air Group Zamboanga, commanded by Col. Clayton Jerome of the United States Marine Corps, were built up to almost 300 planes.
The Phoenix and the Boise and the six destroyer escorts under Rear Admiral Berkley arrived in the waterways of Zamboanga at about 6:22 on the morning of March 8, 1945. The Japanese forces resisted with small arms and their 77-millimeter cannon fire, but the opposition was soon silenced.
At 8:45 a.m. the US Marine Corps Combat Air Patrol, stationed over the airport, shot down a lone Japanese Mitsubishi Zero, clearing the sky of enemy aircraft and thus declaring Allied air superiority.
At about 1:20 p.m. on March 8, as the Japanese Imperial forces retreated from the beachheads to the city, a heavy explosion occurred in Zamboanga. Japanese demolitions blew up the inner end of the jetty in a last vain attempt to resist the Allied onslaught.
On March 9, the assault for the liberation continued, as Allied sea and air forces and Filipino guerrillas in the city continued to force the stubborn enemy’s front line defense further inland. The Japanese continued to resist as US minesweepers were harassed by light artillery and mortar fire. The desperate counterattack resulted in no American casualties.
However, US forces had their first casualty when an Army B-24 bomber was apparently hit by friendly fire and exploded. In an attempt to rescue the survivors, a Kingfisher seaplane from the heavy cruiser Phoenix landed on the water near the beach and recovered the lone survivor of the incident.
It was at about 6:36 a.m. on March 10 that admiral Royal finally gave the order "Commence the approach!"
After an hour of intense naval bombardment, the Admiral then ordered, "Land the landing force!" At about 9:15 a.m. as the last Allied rocket barrage landed, the first amphibious wave hit the beach. The American-invasion forces encountered very little resistance, except for a stubborn Japanese battery somewhere inland, which reacted with intermittent artillery fire. This, however, caused few casualties on two landing crafts. Most of the battery’s shells fell harmlessly between the line of departure and the beaches.
At about 11 a.m., General Jens Doe, commanding general of the landing forces, assumed his command on the shores of Zamboanga. The allied landing forces aggressively advanced against the sporadic rifle fire and machine-gun fire. A formidable network of pillboxes, trenches and wire entanglements were deserted by the enemy. Heavy downpours that morning made the advance difficult for the Allied forces as they continued to push the enemy to their mountain stronghold at Capisan and Muruk. Civilians and guerrillas eagerly aided the American-invasion forces, carrying their equipment when half trucks stalled on muddy roads, using their carabaos to ferry weapons and equipment to the front lines.
Pfc. Jesus Villanueva was at the Petit Barracks area when American liberator planes strafed and bombarded Japanese defenses on the morning of March 10, 1945, as fierce resistance from the Japanese held back the American forces within the city proper.
Along with the heavy bombardment, the Americans released cartoon leaflets informing the populace of the invasion, signaling the resistance movement to take up arms against the Japanese forces.
It would take days before the American and Filipino Forces would be able to contain the pockets of resistance coming from the Japanese. It was evident, however, that all throughout the campaign the courage and bravery of the Allied and guerrilla forces, which fought side by side, was a sight to reckon with.
It is sad to note that not many Filipinos in the younger generation even know about the bravery of their grandfathers, or the sacrifices that they made for the liberation of the city. There are so many colorful stories that are awe-inspiring for a younger generation that takes their freedom for granted.
Pfc. Jesus Villanueva Anore, a veteran of the 106th Infantry Regiment who fought bravely during the war, says that there are not many of them left to tell the story of how young high-school students bravely volunteered to join the long line of martyrs who gave their all for a piece of cloth they call the Filipino flag; of what it meant to be defeated by the overwhelming forces of the Japanese; of the humiliation of having to bow to a flag that was not your own. Anore says that the younger generation should know how they fought back to regain the honor of being called Filipino, and that some of those who made the ultimate sacrifice came from the Chavacano-speaking town of Zamboanga.