Figure 1.--Japanese brutality was evident from thge point that they began landing after Pear Harbor (December 1941), but was primarily directed at civilians believed to assisting the Americans. The major problem for Filipinos was food. Japanese seizures of food and mismanagement of the economy. As a result serious food shortages developed. When the Americans began the liberation of the Islsnds, especially Luzon (January 1945), the Japanese were enraged at the Filipino outburst of joy and reacted with unbelieveable bvrutality. hole villages seen to be supporting the Americans were massacared. This reached a peak in Manika where Japanese Marines defined Gen. Ymashit's oirders to evacuate and dug in for a fight to the death. And they decided tio take as many Filipinos with them as oossible. Here are children who survived a Japanese attack, the rest of their family was murdered.

The Japanese committed terrible war crimes in the Philippines from the very onset of the War, most notably the Baatan Death March (March 1942). The treatment of Ameriacn POWs and Filipino soldiers as well as American civilian internees has been widely reported. The American internees were the largest number of American civilains held by any Axis power. There were reports of unbelievable crulity and near the end of the War, the Japamese killed a group of Ameriamn POWs on Palawan by burning them to death. The primary problem was food. As the War went against the Japanese, food became a major problem both on the Home Islands and Japanese field armies. Japanese Army regulations mandated that the Imperial soldies had the first priority for available food stocks, then the local population, and finally the POWs and civilain internees. If the Japanese had managed the situation reasonably, there should have been sufficent food throughout Southeast Asia. Unfortunately they did not manage the food situation reasonably and terrible famines occurred in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Vietnam, and other areas. These were food exporting areas before the War. The situation was not as bad in the Philippines, but by 1944 the POWs and internees were beginning to starve. And unlike the Germans, the Japanese did not allow Red Cross parcels through to the POWs and internees. Filipino civilians had better access to food, but were targets of the most savage attrocities imaginable. The situation escalated when President Roosevelt acceeded to General MacArthur's demand that after the Marianas, the next target would be the Philippines and not Formosa (Taiwan) (July 1944). Formosa actually made more strategic sense. The decession saved the lives of many POWs and internees hovering near death by starvation, but it put the Filipino people in a war zone and the Japanese turned very vindicative knowing that most Filipinos were strongly pro-American. The Filipinps no doubt were delighted when the Americans began landing on Leyte (October 1944), but few Filipinos or Americans for that matter understood the barbarity that the Japanese would unleash on the Filipino people. Japanese propaganda had little impact on the Filipinos. Unlike Dutch, the Amerivans were in the process of granting independence when the Jpanese invaded. And Japanese behavior during the occupation only futher alienated the Filippino people. This was especially the case of the people of Manila where the Imperial Marines and others in the Manila garison refused to surender and decided to take every civilian in their grasp with them, often after raping the women.

American Military POWs and Civilian Internees

The Japanese committed terrible war crimes in the Philippines from the very onset of the War on both military POWs and civilian detainees. Most notable was the dreadful Baatan Death March (March 1942). The treatment of Ameriacan POWs and Filipino soldiers as well as American civilian internees has been widely reported, more so in the West than Japan. The American internees were the largest number of American civilains held by any Axis power. There were reports of unbelievavle crulity and near the end of the War, the Japanese killed a group of American POWs on Palawan by burning them to death. The primary problem, however, fior the POWs and internees was food. As the War went against the Japanese, food became a major problem both on the Home Islands and Japanese field armies. Japanese Army regulations mandated that the Imperial soldies had the first priority for available food stocks, then the local population, and finally the POWs and civilain internees. If the Japanese had managed the situation reasonably, there should have been sufficent food throughout Southeast Asia. Unfortunately they did not manage the food situation reasonably and terrible famines occurred in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Vietnam, and other areas. These were food exporting areas before the War. The situation was not as bad in the Philippines, but by 1944 the POWs and internees were beginning to starve. And unlike the Germans, the Japanese did not allow Red Cross parcels through to the POWs and internees.

Military POWs

There were approximately 65,000 American and Filipino men under arms in the Philippines at the time of the Japanese invasion (December 1941). They consisted of 23,000 American soldiers, sailors and marines (3,500 Navy and Marine personnel, and about 18,500 Army personnel). In addition a number of American civilians enlisted just prior to, or immediately after the beginning of hostilities. The remainder comprised the combined Filipino defense forces, numbering about 12,000 scouts and about 30,000 members of the Filipino Commonwealth Army. General MacArthur handled the defense of th Philippines very poorly. Even after news of Pearl Harbor reached him, he allowed most of the American air assetts to be destoyed on the ground. An he did no preposition of supplies in Bataan so when the American forces retreated there, there were inadequate supplies to sustain operations. The Japanese report taking 9,000 American soldiers, sailors and marines, and 30,000 Filipinos captive. Some 1,000 men on Bataan evaded capture by fleeing into the surrounding hills or getting across Manila Bay to Corregidor. This meant that some 8,000 American soldiers, sailors and marines, and about 5,000 Filipinos were on Corredidor and surrendered a month after the men on Bataan. There were also a small group of Army and Navy nurses. In all, the Japanese captured at least 53,000 American and Filipino fighting men during the entire Philippines campaign (December 1941-May 1942). This included 20,000 American soldiers, sailors and marines, 12,000 Filipino scouts, and 21,000 soldiers of the Filipino Commonwealth Army. [USA-OPMG] The Japanese committed terrible war crimes in the Philippines against the American and Filipino servicemen. This began at the very onset of the War, most notably the Baatan Death March (March 1942). There were reports of unbelievavle crulity and near the end of the War, the Japanese killed a group of American POWs on Palawan by burning them to death.

Civilian internees

America acuired the Philippines Islands from Spain in the Spanish American War (1898). It was America's primary experience with colonialism. After a bloody insurgency, the Philippines became a quiet American outpost in the Pacific. A small number of American military and civilians lived in the Philippines. The civilian included government administrators, military dependents, business people, missionaries, and teachers. Many became very attached to the Philippinrs and Filipino people. It was very clear by 1940, especially after President Roosevelt embargoed oil exports to Japan that war with Japan was likely. It is unclear why so many American civilians stayed in the Philippines. The War Department ordered civilan dependents home. Why many stayed is unclear. Apparently some did not want to leave their husbands. There are other indications that Ameican officials in the Philippines sought to delasy or prevent dependants from returning to America. Their motivations are unclear, but some apparently believed that their presence strengthened the American commitment to the defense of the Philippines. Other civilian dependents apparently believed that America could defend the Islands, especially when President Roosevelt moved the Pacific Fleet forward to Pear Harbor. Civilians in the Philippines like many other Amerians underestimated the military potential of Japan, especially the Imperial Navy. Whatever the reasons, at the time of Pearl Harbor, there were about 6,000 American civilianbs in the Islands. The Japanese seized four U.S. territories (Wake, Guam, two Aleutian islands (Attu and Kiska), and the Philippines during World War II. The Philippines at the time was a Commonwealth which the United States was preparing for independence. It had by far the largest number of American civilians interned by the Japanese. The Japanese after invading the Philippines quickly rounded up American civilians and interned them. The Japanese set up internment camps on Luzon and other islands. The largest and best known was Santo Tomas. Some of the military POWs were transported off the Islands for slave labor at other locations. The civilian internees were kept in the Philippines. The liberation of these camps after the American invasion beginning at Leyte (October 1944) is one of the most emotional accouts of the Philippines campaign.

Filipino Civilians

Filipino civilians had better access to food, but were targets of the most savage attrocities imaginable. Japanese propaganda had little impact on the Filipinos. Few Filipinos wanted to attend schools and learn Japanese. And in the countryside the Japanese requisitioned crops and far, animals with little or no compensation, and not invommonly cosiderable brutality. Unlike the Dutch, the Americans were in the process of granting independence when the Jpanese invaded--real independence and not meer propaganda posturing. And Japanese behavior during the occupation only futher alienated the Filippino people. The situation escalated when President Roosevelt acceeded to General MacArthur's demand that after the Marianas, the next target would be the Philippines and not Formosa (Taiwan) (July 1944). Formosa actually made more strategic sense. The decession saved the lives of many POWs and internees hovering near death by starvation, but it put the Filipino people in a war zone and the Japanese turned very vindicative knowing that most Filipinos were strongly pro-American. The Filipinps no doubt were delighted when the Americans began landing on Leyte (October 1944), but few Filipinos or Americans for that matter understood the barbarity that the Japanese would unleash on the civilian population still under their control. Therte were many attrocities reported, inclusing whole villages heing destroyed/ Nothong approached, however, what the Japanese did in Manila. The Imperial Marines and others in the Manila garison refused to either evacuate the city or surender. And they decided to take every civilian in their grasp with them, often after first raping the women. Photographs of Manila rotinely showed bodies of Filipino civilains scattered everywhere. It was the worst attrocity commotted by Japanese troops outside of China. The only difference with Nanking is that the Japanese mainly attacked civilians in individual acts of savegery rather than large-scale killing orgnazed by higher echelons.

Incidents

There are many terrible incidents connected with the Japanese World War II occupation of the Philippines. Some merit apecufic reference here. The worst atrocity was committed by the Japanese Marines in Manila who as the americans closed in on them began killing what ever civilians they could lay their hands on which hs become known tgo history as the Rape of Manila. There were also whole villages the Japanese attacked and destroyed because they believed they were aiding the Americans. And some of these incidents do nnot fit neatly into the military/civilian orginaztional formt we have set up here. A Filipino readers tellus about 'The Red House' This was a Japanese facility in the province of San Ildefonso, Bulacan. It was a garrison during the Japanese Imperial Army occupation. The Japanese tortured and killed thousands of Filipino soldiers and civilians there. Once captured soldiers were mirdered, the Japanese began capturing and exually abusing girls and women (some as young as 12 years old). [Grande]

Sources

Grande, Phyllis. Dir. "Horror House: A Visit to the Red House" (2017). This is a dicumentary about a torture and killing facility at aapanese garrison at San Ildefonso, Bulacan. It was brought to our attention by coordinator Reichelle Ann S. Gonzales.

U.S. Army. Office of the Provost Marshal General (USA-OPMG). "Report on the American Prisoners of War interned by the Japanese in the Philippimes," (November 19, 1945). The USA-OPMG used various sources, including the PW Information Bureau.

Created: 1:20 AM 8/21/2013
Last updated: 6:17 PM 6/22/2017