80th Commemoration of the Liberation of Manila

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Cliff Mills

Martin Meadows was kind enough to forward some photos and a letter from Mr. Aaron Key, past president of the Elks of Manila lodge 761, involving the 80th Commemoration of the Liberation of Manila which was held at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial on 22 February 2025. This event was one of many commenorations which occurred in the Philippines and United States this year.

Message and photos from Aaron Key [click any photo to enlarge]:
Hello Martin,

I cannot possibly do justice in recapping the events that occurred here this past week. I would simply be grasping at words to do justice. It was an overwhelming success. A chapter was written in the legacy of human triumph.

The returning heroes were greeted by the Ambassador and a delegation at the airport.

On Feb 18th, at the Manila Elks Lodge, with an audience of Veterans, I read your letter to the returning WWII veterans Corporal John Hodges of Virginia age 101 and Yeoman Second Class Arthur Grabiner of New York City. They were joined at the Lodge by Filipino Guerilla fighter Prospero Evangelista aged 97. He fought with Captain Ramon Magsaysay, the future 7th President of the Philippines.

To our Liberators:

It is not really possible to fully express my gratitude for what you and your fellow GIs did in liberating the Santo Tomas Internment Camp and its nearly 4,000 prisoners some 80 years ago. I was a scrawny 14-year old, 69-pound youth at that time. Hardly a day passes when I do not happen to recall that literally life-altering day — or rather, night — and the inexpressible thankfulness, happiness, and relief that flooded over us internees. Even now, eight decades later, I still tear up (really) when I try (but fail) to describe that indescribable night.

At the risk of exposing my pretentiousness, I would like to quote two well-known writers. Cicero, the renowned ancient Roman statesman, philosopher and orator, said that gratitude is “the greatest of virtues”; and that fable-spinner Aesop said “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” Well, I certainly don’t know about all that; and, frankly, I am rather dubious about such overblown claims. But of one thing I am certain. Gentlemen, it is incredibly impressive that you are in attendance at this extraordinary Commemoration. I am truly honored to say to you (unfortunately at a distance) and all your fellow Liberators, past and present: you have our undying gratitude — you have never been, and you will never be, forgotten. [Martin Meadows]

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Prospero recounted the night Magsaysay gave an order to light a signal fire near the beach but did not reveal the reason. The fire signaled awaiting American forces off-shore in the night. It was a signal preparing for the American landing. They had returned. His voice cracked with joy as he told the story.

Yeoman Arthur Grabiner told of dodging kamikaze planes, zigging and zagging and sometimes not being successful in doing so. He witnessed the burial at sea of 1500 sailors at one time. An event of the nature no generation should ever endure again nor bear in the their memories for 80 years.

Corporal Hodges who land in Zambales and fought through Zig Zag pass said that “they had a job to do and they did it”

They had a full week of meetings, lectures, tours and ceremonies. They imparted their messages to youth, Scouts and University students. They made national headlines, shook hands with President Marcos, inspired Veterans who came after them and Arthur sang New York New York at the Elks lunch.

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On Saturday, in addition to the President of the Philippines, members of his cabinet, the U.S. Ambassador and the Head Admiral of US Indo-Pacific Forces, four of their former Filipino comrades from WWII, a thousand others came. The spirits of those interned were stirred.

I took note of one of the several banners honoring the fallen. Mildred Mae Harper whom we exchanged about recently. Her gleaming smile is eternal.

[Photo of Mildred Mae Harper, killed in the Japanese shelling of Santo Tomás Internment Camp on 7 February 1945. She was about 17-years-old.]

The height of my day was when Leslie Murray was reunited in particular with Corporal John Hodges. As it turned out he made it all the way from his landing at Zambales to the grounds of Santo Tomas where he recalled being ordered to disperse beer and chocolate. When he and Leslie exchanged he asked her if she was one of the ones they gave the beer and chocolate to. She confirmed she received the chocolate but not the beer. She gifted them with coins from the Filipino American Monument Endowment (FAME).

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So much occurred that day, this week with pivotal effects to follow. An eternal torch was passed forward to the testament of human triumph.

Thank you for your inspiration Martin. As noted, I can’t provide the due tribute to this week and the Commemoration Ryan orchestrated on Feb 22 by Ryan Blum.

A 1000 words, 1000 moments recalled and 1000 photos…and one would only be at the start of the story.

Many thanks to Aaron Key and Dr. Martin Meadows for their contributions.

Editor’s note: My uncle, Alvah Don Johnson of the U.S. 31st Infantry Regiment, is one of the many victims of World War II buried in the Cemetery.

Passing of Ian C. M. Hall

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Cliff Mills

I am sad to report the passing of Ian Hall. Ian and his family were largely not interned in the Philippines, during the War, but suffered very greatly at it’s end. Ian died in Palm Desert, California, on 1 May 2023, according to an obituary published by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Hall children were all born in Manila and were not interned, as were others of the family except the father, Alaistair Cameron “Shorty” Hall, who was interned at STIC. The children were:

Roderick Cameron McMicking Hall, 1932
Ian Cameron McMicking Hall, 1934
Alaistair Cameron McMicking Hall, 1936
Consuelo Angela “Connie” Hall, 1937

Alaistair Hall and his four children: Ian, Consuelo, Alaistair and Roderick

On 20 January 1945, the Japanese arrested the mother, grandmother, an aunt and an uncle and took them for interrogation at the Masonic Temple in Manila. They became part of the almost 100 people killed there. Father and children were reunited after the Battle of Manila.

Ian, and his brother Rod, traveled on the U.S.S. General Harry Taylor leaving Manila on 2 June 1945, arriving in San Francisco, California, on 26 June 1945. They were repatriated aboard the the S.S. Eros, leaving New York City on 20 July 1945 and arriving in Liverpool, England, on 30 July 1945.

Roderick contributed to the 2008 book, Manila Memories: Four Boys Remember Their Lives Before, During and After the Japanese Occupation. It is one of the hundreds of items he donated to the Filipinas Heritage Libray, Manila.

Link to Ian’s obituary at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Australian War Memorial photos

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Cliff Mills

This week, I’m posting a small collection of photographs from the Australian War Memorial, at Canberra, Australia. These photos are in no particular order but relate to the Battle of Manila and the liberation of Australian internees in the Philippines. I am not posting descriptions of these photos, as most of them are self-explanatory.

Click on any of the photos to enlarge, but unfortunately, these are not high-definition photos. For print quality images, prints, or for commercial uses please contact the Australian War Memorial. If you reuse these photos, please reference AWM as the source.

On their website, the AWM also has a feature article on VP Day: Victory in the Pacific, and an article on the Japanese surrender at Morotai, on 9 September 1945.

Please use the comment form if you have any comments, corrections, questions or if you recognize any of the unnamed people in the photos.

Spanish family’s Battle of Manila ordeal

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Cliff Mills

The tragedy that befell a non-interned Spanish family is detailed a recent El País article titled Anna Maria: The Spaniard who survived 16 bayonet wounds during the Battle of Manila.

The 28 August 2020 article, by José Manuel Abad Liñán, begins:

“Anna Maria’s first life began in Cebu City in the Philippines on August 23, 1938. That was the day she was brought into the world by her mother Aurora, the daughter of two Catalans from Cerdanyola del Vallès who had immigrated to the Philippines to work in copra, the dried kernel of the coconut which is used in soaps and oils. Her father, Plácido Antonio, had left Onda in the Spanish province of Castellón to work for the prosperous General Tobacco Company of the Philippines (CdF), the first Spanish multinational. In the end, the family moved to Cavite, south of the capital Manila, where speaking Spanish did not clash so much with chabacano, the creole language spoken by the local population.”

Anna Maria Aguilella arriving in Barcelona in 1946

At points, it is a very difficult story for me to read, because it echos what happened to my family during the Battle of Manila. In that instance, my mother and grandmother, together with their neighbors, were taken out of their homes in Manila by the Japanese to be shot. Luckily for them, and me, that didn’t happen. However, the outcome for Anna Maria’s family was far more tragic. I think that it is important to read for those who were inside, and outside of, the camps, showing the trauma that far outlasts the experience.

Link to the full article in El País.

Another collection of Photographs

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Cliff Mills

This week, I’m showcasing a collection of photographs from the Pierce Library, at Eastern Oregon University, called the Fred Hill World War II Photographs. Fred served during the War and took many photographs during his service. He also collected photos from others, so some of these may have been published before in books, articles, websites, etc.

Click on any of the photos to enlarge. Unfortunately, these are not high-definition photos. For print quality images, prints, or high resolution tiff files, or for commercial uses please contact the Library Director at Eastern Oregon University. If you reference any of these photos, please cite Pierce Library, Eastern Oregon University, as the source.

Please use the comment form if you have any comments, corrections, questions or if you recognize any of the unnamed people in the photos. I am also looking for people to view a short Japanese propaganda video shot at Santo Tomás early during the War. I am hoping to annotate a version of the video with comments and identify any of the recognizable internees.

	Fred Hill near Dulag, Philippines
	Santo Tomás Internment Camp (STIC) shown from street, 1945
	Beulah Mae Schechter and Patricia Muriel Chittick at STIC after liberation, 1945
	U.S. Captain Price with two internee children, 1945
	Two young women handling mail at STIC after liberation, 1945
	Indoor mail call at STIC, 1945
	View of Manila from the tower at STIC, 1945
	Aerial view of Corregidor on 16 February 1945
	U.S. infantryman near the mouth of Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor, 1945
	Fred Hill and pals taking a break, 1944

Another batch of NARA photos

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Cliff Mills

Following is but another set of ten photographs downloaded from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They are all in the public domain and can be freely printed, downloaded, or circulated. Many of these photos have been used before in books, magazines and websites. The description for each of the photos is to the right of the photo. Photos in this, and future, series will include STIC, Los Baños, Baguio, Old Bilibid, the Battle of Manila, Liberation, etc. If you publish any of these photographs, please cite the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as the source.

Because there are so many photos, I will continue to post them in weekly batches of ten. Eventually, they will be collected into various photo albums on this site. Click any of the photos to enlarge. Please use the comment form if you have any questions or if you recognize any of the people in the photos.

Many thanks to Lexi Zotomayor for identifying last week’s photo of some former internees in the shade of an Army transport plane as that of Chief Nurse, Laura Mae Cobb, and the rest of the liberated U.S. Navy nurses from Los Baños.

Next week, I will begin publishing photographs from other sources.

	Liberated Los Baños internees, Albertina Janssens and Mary Martha Brown, talk with U.S. liberators, February 1945
	Some newly liberated Los Baños internees during evacuation, February 1945
	U.S. bombing raid on Cebu City, 1945
	Captured Japanese soldiers, 1945
	Carabao amunition-train on Leyte, 1945
	Filipino guerrilla unit on Luzon, 1945
	Three liberated POWs from Old Bilibid Prison being fed, February 1945
	Ex-POW Arthur Raynolds visiting Old Bilibid Prison graveyard, 1945
	U.S. tank-destroyer outside Manila Legislature Building, February 1945
	Repatriation of STIC U.S. Army nurses, 1945

Yet more NARA photos

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Cliff Mills

Following is yet another set of ten photographs downloaded from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They are all in the public domain and can be freely printed, downloaded, or circulated. Many of these photos have been used before in books, magazines and websites. The description for each of the photos is to the right of the photo. Photos in this, and future, series will include STIC, Los Baños, Baguio, Old Bilibid, the Battle of Manila, Liberation, etc. If you publish any of these photographs, please cite the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as the source.

	Liberated Los Baños internees lining up for meal at New Bilibid Prison, February1945
	Liberated Los Baños internees being fed in meal hall a New Bilibid Prison, February 1945
	Liberated Los Baños internees being checked into New Bilibid Prison, 1945, with the Red Cross giving out cigarettes and chocolate.
	Baguio bombing damage, 1945
	Filipino guerrillas conferring with American GIs, 1945
	First helicopter in the Philippines, Leyte 1944
	American paratroopers landing on Corregidor, 1945
	American pilot walks away from his crashed P-38 Lightning
	U.S. Navy nurses wait beneath aircraft on the way to being first of the former Los Baños internees to be evacuated in 1945. Chief Nurse, Laura Mae Cobb, can be seen on the right conversing with a U.S. serviceman.
	Civilians bombed-out by the Japanese in Tacloban, Leyte 1945

Still more NARA photos

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Cliff Mills

Following is another set of ten photographs downloaded from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They are all in the public domain and can be freely printed, downloaded, or circulated. Many of these photos have been used before in books, magazines and websites. The description for each of the photos is to the right of the photo. Photos in this, and future, series will include STIC, Los Baños, Baguio, Old Bilibid, the Battle of Manila, Liberation, etc. If you publish any of these photographs, please cite the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as the source.

	Three young former Santo Tomás internees speak with U.S. Army personnel, 1945. Elizabeth Lautzenhiser, later known as Liz Irvine, is the third person on the right.
	Newly liberated Los Baños internees enjoying a meal at New Bilibid Prison, February 1945
	Newly liberated children from Los Baños eating at New Bilibid Prison, February 1945
	The rescuing of two downed American pilots, a former San Francisco banker, and a guerrilla leader on a lake on Luzon, 1945
	3-year-old Robert Tangen with U.S. Air Force personnel after Bobby's liberation from Old Bilibid Prison, 1945
	Elmer Mocklin and Charles Bradfield pushing a cart with the caskets of two other internees killed in Japanese shelling of STIC, February 1945
	Allied troops advancing past Manila's heavily damaged Post Office, February 1945
	American actor Lew Ayres, aka "Dr. Kildare," serving in the Philippines in 1944.
	Former Los Baños internees clean their meal kits at New Bilibid Prison, February 1945
	U.S. Army troops with newly liberated Japanese beer, found on Luzon,1945

Even more NARA photos

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Cliff Mills

Following is another set of ten photographs downloaded from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They are all in the public domain and can be freely printed, downloaded, or circulated. Many of these photos have been used before in books and magazines. The description for each of the photos is to the right of the photo. Photos in this, and future, series will include STIC, Los Baños, Baguio, Old Bilibid, the Battle of Manila, Liberation, etc. If you publish any of these photographs, please cite the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as the source.

	A wounded Los Baños internee being evacuated after liberation, February 1945
	Archibald and Nicholas Mathews taking shelter at STIC during February 1945 Japanese shelling
	Mexican pilots serving in the 201st Fighter Squadron in the Philippines, 1945
	A U.S. B-25 bomber attacking a Japanese destroyer in Ormoc Bay, Leyte, 1944
	The Bowie family, with new baby Lea, after 1945 Los Baños liberation
	"To relieve the nursing problem of Santo Tomás University camp, recently liberated by our forces in Manila, Luzon, P.I., a shipment of U.S. Army nurses arrive in the compound and are immediately put to work in 1945."
	G.I.'s cooking meal for ex-Los Baños internees, 1945
	Bomb damage to the Yokohama Bank, Manila 1945
	Invading Japanese troops crossing river on Luzon, January 1942
	Newly liberated Los Baños internees en route to New Bilibid Prison, February 1945

More NARA Photos

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Cliff Mills

Following is another set of ten photographs downloaded from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They are all in the public domain and can be freely printed, downloaded, or circulated. Many of these photos have been used before in books and magazines. The description for each of the photos is to the right of the photo. Photos in this, and future, series will include STIC, Los Baños, Baguio, Old Bilibid, the Battle of Manila, Liberation, etc. If you publish any of these photographs, please cite the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as the source.

	Internees wounded in the taking of a prison camp at Los Baños, Luzon, Philippine Islands, await evacuation.
	Mr. & Mrs. Michael O'Hara, and children, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, liberated from a prison camp at Los Baños in February 1945, are interviewed by an Army representative before boarding an Amtrack. The O'Hara family, from left to right: Kathleen, Michael, Michael Jr., and Lorraine, February 1945 after liberation.
	"A happy nun, Sister Mary Alphonsa held prisoner by the Japanese in Los Baños Internment Camp, Luzon, tells of her deliverance, to Cpl. Vick Campbell of Schenectady, New York."
	"Joyous internees as they arrive at New Bilibid Prison, Luzon, where they were to receive medical attention, food and clothing. The Japanese did not respect the clergy; the priest had been interned at the Los Baños."
	Members of a tank corps listen intently as an internee, Bernard Herzog, who lost 78 pounds and is suffering from Beri-Beri, talks over the days he spent In the Santo Tomás Camp In Manila.
	U.S. Liberation forces oversee cleaning of Old Bilibid Prison, 1945. All furniture and bedding were burned and buildings were cleaned and fumigated and cleaned for housing of prisoners until they could be moved to a rear area.
	A simple ceremony is held within the compound of Santo Tomás as our honored dead are laid to rest. A group of liberated internees witness the ceremony conducted by the Rev. in former prison camp garden.
	A destroyed Japanese plane, a Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally," 1945, San Miguel airfield.
	Cavite, in Manila Bay, after Allied bombing, 1945