“Only the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and the late President Fidel V. Ramos recognized Bessang Pass”
Tomorrow, June 14, the nation is supposed to mark the 78th Anniversary of the Battle of Bessang Pass in Northern Luzon which effectively caused the surrender of the Japanese Commander of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Philippines, General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
Santa Banana, sadly this signal victory of the USAFIP-NL or the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon was never marked as an event that should be celebrated, unlike the Fall of Bataan and the Fall of Corregidor that we celebrate every April 9 as “Araw ng Kagitingan” or Day of Valor.
I call this unfortunate due to the nation’s damaged culture when we mark defeats instead of victories.
There was a time when the Fall of Bataan and the Fall of Corregidor were celebrated separately, but were soon marked as a Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan), my gulay!
USAFIP-NL was composed of more than 20,000 men, mostly Ilocanos and Igorots who fought the Japanese as a guerilla force in many battles in Northern Luzon during the almost four years of the Japanese Occupation.
That signal victory of the USAFIP-NL was under an American Colonel Russel Volckmann , together with Americans who were recruited as USAF officers when World War II broke out.
They were in the Philippines engaged in mining operations.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines in its annals labelled the Battle of Bessang Pass poetically as the “Battle Among the Clouds,” my gulay.
I am passionate about this signal victory of the Battle of Bessang Pass because my elder brother Desiderio, who later on became an associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, and my other brother Willie, were in the Battle of Bessang Pass as officers of the 21st Infantry, Third Battalion under the late Major Conrado Rigor.
I am now quoting official sources on that battle, which took almost 5 1/2 months forcing the forces of Yamashita to retreat to the Cordilleras when the Americans started landing in the Philippines when then General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his promise, “I shall return.”
My brother Desi, as Lieutenant of Company E, led the final assault against the Japanese who were on the higher grounds, which finally caused the surrender of the Imperial Forces.
Yamashita fled to the forests of Kalinga, but was soon captured by a combined force of the USAFIP-NL.
Desi was awarded a Silver Star for “courage and bravery” beyond the call of duty.
Here’s the account of official sources of the signal victory of Filipinos that led to the surrender of Yamashita and his execution in as a war criminal:
The Siege
“ The Battle of Bessang Pass was a major battle during the Philippines Campaign of World War II.
“It was fought from January 9 through 15 June 1945 in Cervantes, a municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, located 382 km north of Manila. The area serves as a gateway to the Cordillera mountains and the city of Baguio.
“Bessang Pass was a 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-Northern Luzon borders.
‘Its fall at the hands of the United States Army Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL) on June 14, 1945 paved the way for the entrapment of Yamashita’s forces in the Cordillera until the general’s surrender in September 1945.
‘The USAFIP-NL was composed of five infantry regiments and a field artillery battalion of about 20,000 men, all Filipinos except for five American officers, and commanded by Col. Russell W. Volckmann.
“The troops bore the brunt of the fighting, sustaining over 3,375 casualties, including over 900 men killed, from 9 Jan, through 15 June 1945.
“The units of the USAFIP-NL that fought at the battle were the 121st, 15th, 66th, the Provisional battalion, and the 122nd Field Artillery. They faced the 73rd Infantry and the 76th Infantry, part of the 19th Division led by Lt. General Yoshiharui Ozaki.
“The Japanese forces fortified the hills and the ridges to stop any American offensive on the way to Cervantes and the Cordillera stronghold of Yamashita.
“The initial fighting started in February 1945 with an advance inland to the town of Cervantes by the 121st Infantry. After liberating San Fernando, La Union, on 23 March, the USAFIP-NL forces started the all-out assault on Bessang Pass. However, on 17 May, the 73rd Infantry, 19th Division made a strong counterattack, pushing back the 121st.
“On 1 June, Volckmann started his renewed attack with three regiments abreast. They cleared the Lamagan and Lower Cadsu Ridges by 5 June. Magun Hill was captured by 10 June, and the Upper Cadsu Ridge was taken by 12 June, On 10 June, the units of 121st launched a final assault and by 14 June, the “last opposition melted away.”
Cervantes was secured by 15 June.
“On September 3, 1945, Gen. Yamashita formally surrendered, along with his less than 50,000-strong command in Camp John Hay, Baguio City.
“General MacArthur, five other generals, and the Supreme Court of the United States ultimately held Yamashita responsible for war crimes, since he was in command of all Japanese troops in the Philippines at the time.
“Yamashita was convicted on the grounds that he made no attempt to discover or stop atrocities from being committed.
“This would be known as the Yamashita Standard. Yamashita was sentenced to death by hanging. He was hanged on 23 February 1946 in a camp south of Manila.”
Sadly, despite my many urgings the AFP and the Department of National Defense mark June 14 as a signal victory in our fight against imperialism, only the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and the late President Fidel V. Ramos recognized Bessang Pass.
Ramos even built a shrine in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur for the relatives of those who fought to commemorate the June 14 victory of the Battle of Bessang Pass.
Dates to remember
Here are dates to remember in connection with the Japanese Occupation and the end of World War II.
-Battle of Bessang Pass : January 9 to June 15, 1945
-The drop of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan: August 6, 1945
-The drop of the the Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki: August 9, 1945
-Surrender of Japan: September 2, 1945
-Actual surrender of Yamashita in Baguio City: September 3, 1945
-Hanging of Yamashita: February 23, 1946. (To be continued)