To know he had a friendly base from which to attack Japan.
MacArthur's First Guerrilla Regiment (later the 14th Inf.) had produced a much needed diversion for the hard-pressed forces on Bataan and Corregidor. Thirty months later, these same guerrillas of the 14th Inf. played an important part under the brilliant leadership of Col. Russell Volckmann in assisting MacArthur's invasion of Luzon at Lingayen Gulf on January 9th, 1945.
MacArthur stated, "The guerrillas had been busy ever since receiving my orders 'to open up!' They cut telephone wires and otherwise disrupted Japanese communications. They blew up bridges and mined roads; they blocked supplies to the front lines; they smashed patrols and burned ammunition dumps. Their shining bolos began to turn red. I estimated that Col. Volckmann's northern Luzon guerrillas accomplished the purposes of practically a front line division."
(Still nine months later, these same guerrillas helped Col. Volckmann at Kiangan-both defeat and capture Japan's distinguished General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the "Tiger of Malaya." The Tiger was quite amazed and chagrined to find his veteran troops both surrounded and beaten by guerrillas in the northern Mountain Province.
On September 2, 1945, General Yamashita surrendered to Col. Volckmann
at Kianhgan. The following day, Sept. 3rd, he surrendered to General
Wainwright at the High Commissioner's mansion at Camp John Hay, ending
World War II in the Philippine Islands. Yamashita was then taken to
Bilibid Prison
in Manila to await war crime trials.
In December, 1941, some of the newly recruited Filipino soldiers '"broke and ran" for the mountains when the big guns were fired from the cruisers and destroyers in Lingayen Bay, but in 1945, these same Filipinos were ideally suited for guerrilla warfare; they thoroughly enjoyed twisting the "Tail of the Tiger." "This was their kind of war!" Actually Japan never conquered the Philippine Islands, nor did they ever gain the friendship of the Filipinos.
The Nipponese merely occupied some of the larger cities and controlled the main roads for three years, during which time they established much ill-will of the Filipinos, only serving to strengthen the resistance movements. Who could have ever dreamed that World War II in the Philippines would both begin and end at Camp John Hay, a Rest and Recreation Center?
Captives on the Move - July 20, 1942: Six of us the American captives, guests of the Japanese cavalry squadron stationed in Echague Constabulary Barracks in Isabella were placed aboard a charcoal burning truck, with a half dozen Jap guards, bound for an internment camp.
When we reached Bambang, our truck stopped to pick up a junior Japanese officer, who was being transferred to another area. The Nips wanted to give him a big send-off; they had gathered and instructed a group of Filipino children to express their great fondness for the officer by waving Japanese flags, by shouting: "Banzai, Banzai, Banzai!" and by presenting the officer with a small bouquet.