MINDANAO DAILY T H E P U RV E YO R O F T R U T H , J U S T I C E , A N D D E V E LO P M E N T
General Douglas MacArthur Week Special Issue
Monday
March 13, 2017
75th Diamond Jubilee: general MacArthur’S Breakout Celebrated
The local government units of Cagayan de Oro City and Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon will unfold a week-long schedule of events celebrating the 75th Anniversary of General Douglas MacArthur’s Breakout from Corregidor to Australia. “This marks the 75th anniversary of General MacArthur’s breakout from Corregidor when he rode the PT Boat to Cagayan, Misamis and eventually reached Australia by B-17 bomber,” said Dr. Erlinda M. Burton, chairperson of the Cagayan de Oro City Historical & Cultural Commission (Hiscom) which is coordinating the event. On March 11, 1942, General Douglas MacArthur, his family and general staff ran the Imperial Japanese Navy blockade and arrived in Macabalan Pier at Cagayan, Misamis at 7:00AM of March 13th. After sweating it out in Del Monte, Tankulan (present day Manolo Fortich) for four days waiting for their flight to Australia, the party finally boarded two B-17E bombers which brought them safely to Batchelor Field, Northern Territory in Australia. On his way to Melbourne, MacArthur met journalists
in Terowie, South Australia where he uttered what has probably become the most famous phrase to come out of World War II: “I Shall Return!” To celebrate the 75th Diamond Jubilee of MacArthur’s Breakout, the Cagayan de Oro City Council officially declared March 13-17, 2017 as “General Douglas MacArthur Week.” A re-enactment of MacArthur’s arrival in Macabalan Pier and Convoy to Del Monte, Tankulan (Manolo Fortich) kicks off the weeklong festival. Spectators will be treated to a spectacle of World War II vintage vehicles such as Willys MB jeeps ridden by reenactors dressed in military uniforms of the time (March
1942) and sporting replica vintage WWII weapons as the convoy winds its way along Julio Pacana Street and C.M. Recto Avenue and up to Sayre Highway to Dicklum, Tankulan (now Manolo Fortich) where a whole day activity has been planned by the LGU of Manolo Fortich as part of its Centennial celebration as a municipality. On March 14-17, the movies “Unsurrendered 2” and “Valor: The Legacy of Col. Emmanuel V. De Ocampo” by the Film Production Com-
pany Spyron-AV Manila, will be screened for free every morning at 8AM and 10AM in all Centrio Ayala Cinemas. These documentaries tell the stories of the forgotten Filipino Guerrillas who fought against the Japanese during WWII. Written and directed by Bani Logroño, a Kagay-anon. The Hiscom is coordinating with the DepEd Division of Cagayan de Oro to bring high school history students to watch the films. The Field Service Extension
BSP Council to honor scout who met MacArthur in Macabalan The Boy Scouts of the Philippines Cagayan de Oro Council will honor one of its scouters for the role he played in a footnote in history on March 13, 1942. As recounted by Ann Gorra in her anthology “City of Gold: People Who Made Their Home and History in Cagayan de Oro”, Abelardo Neri Queppet was one of the scouts of Baden-Powell Troop (named after the founder of the Scouting movement Lord Baden-Powell) in charge of enforcing the mandatory
blackout. His Dad encouraged him to join the Boy Scouts and he was a member of Troop 1 at the City Central School. There were at least 20 scouts in the troop among them Jaime Tiano, Victor Roa, Terencio Gadrinab, Hugo Balase, Antonio Zacharies, Vic Itchon, Jose Apolinario and Cristobal Nagac. These were dark days in Philippine history when the country was tottering on the brink of defeat with US See full story, page B8
Office-Region X of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) is also coordinating to bring WW2 veterans and their kin to the free screenings. A symposium will be held after each screening with the film maker and WWII veterans to answer questions from the audience. History students, teachers, researchers and World War II enthusiasts are invited to attend a series of symposiums on how it was in Mindanao during the time. These include “Guerrilla Daughter” by Virginia Hansen Holmes on 10AM Tuesday, 14 March at the Centrio Activity Center. Ms. Hansen is the President of the American Guerrillas of Mindanao Descendants Group (AGOM) and will share her personal experience her family spent in Lanao, Misamis Oriental and Surigao from the late 1930s through WWII. Her Dad operated a sawmill in Lanao while her three older brothers attended Ateneo de Cagayan (present day Xavier University) while her sister attended Lourdes Academy (now Lourdes College). The Hansen family later See breakout, page B7
B1 Finding Our Heroes:
Philippine Guerrilla Files from the US National Archives If you are a fan of World War II history, novels and movies, come to the Centrio Activity Center on Wednesday, March 15 at 2:00PM. The Cagayan de Oro City Historical and Cultural Commission (Hiscom) has arranged two free lectures on “Finding our Heroes: The BGen. Francisco Licuanan Jr. Memorial Collection, Philippine Guerilla Files f rom t h e U S Nat i on a l Archives” and memories of our heroes from World War II as a component program of General MacArthur Week on March 13-17, 2017. See full story, page B5
Life During Wartime and the Guerrillas of Mindanao
Among the salient events of General Douglas MacArthur Week are an eyewitness account of how it was to live in Mindanao during the Japanese occupation from 1941-1945, and the operations of Filipino and American guerrillas in Mindanao during that period. The Cagayan de Oro Historical and Cultural Commission has coordinated t w o l e c tu re s on t h e s e interesting subjects, both to be held at the Centrio Mall Activity Center. The first, “Guerrilla Daughter” is scheduled for See full story, page B4
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