
How Filipino WWII Soldiers Were Written Out of History - miciah
http://priceonomics.com/how-filipino-soldiers-were-written-out-of-the/
======
ptio
My grandfather, while studying law in the Philippines was drafted to fight for
the United States Armed Forces of the Far East (USAFFE) during WWII.

I guess he was part of the few that got US citizenship as he was able to bring
his children and consequently his grandchildren (me) to America.

I am thankful for what he has done so I can live the life I have now. In
return I try to contribute to society the way I know best by writing software
for startups, SpaceX, and now EdgeCast.

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bane
I recently came into a collection of bank notes from various places and points
in history. Among them was a small collection of Japanese Occupation era
Philippine Bank Notes (Pesos, Centavos, etc.) which has lead me to start to
investigate more into that time period and more about the places Japan
occupied during the war. [1][2]

I have other banknotes from similar tumultuous times (Korean Yen, before and
after revolution Russian and Soviet banknotes, same for Iran). I find it
interesting that it seems one of the first things new governments do is find
engravers, make high-quality engravings, and start printing new currency.

1 - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_government-
issued_Phi...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_government-
issued_Philippine_peso)

2 -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_money](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_money)

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danmaz74
> The Philippines was a large American holding in the South Pacific

"holding"... looks to me like the whole history of the Philippines as a US
colony has been written out of history.

~~~
afarrell
It's definitely got a section in The American Pageant, a textbook used for
Advanced Placement US history in some high schools. I was aware of the
counterinsurgency war but didn't know many specifics. I think I just assumed
"It was like Vietnam, but with more racism, less press coverage, and
consequently more murder of civilians."

I believe I remember also learning that Kipling published White Man's Burden
at the same as a caution against that war.

~~~
jacobolus
I’m not sure I’d say it “got a section” in The American Pageant. The coverage
is pretty slim and light on detail. There’s discussion of how atrocious the
American military was, but with some “oh the Filipino soldiers did bad things
to American soldiers and then the Americans retaliated” excuses thrown in.

It’s on pp 637–638 here:
[http://www.scuc.txed.net/webpages/cbaker/files/chapter%2027%...](http://www.scuc.txed.net/webpages/cbaker/files/chapter%2027%20the%20path%20of%20empire.pdf)

And pp 646–647 here:
[http://www.scuc.txed.net/webpages/cbaker/files/chapter%2028%...](http://www.scuc.txed.net/webpages/cbaker/files/chapter%2028%20america%20on%20the%20world%20stage.pdf)

And page 807 here:
[http://www.scuc.txed.net/webpages/cbaker/files/chapter%2035%...](http://www.scuc.txed.net/webpages/cbaker/files/chapter%2035%20franklin%20d.%20roosevelt%20and%20the%20shadow%20of%20war.pdf)

~~~
afarrell
Huh. You're right. I must have read some stuff independently and assumed I was
taught it in school.

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kmfrk
Reminiscent of the Indian contribution.

~~~
rdl
India in WW2 is...complicated.

(Unless you meant the Native American contribution to the US WW2 effort -- the
code talkers got a lot of the coverage there, especially since the Windtalkers
movie)

~~~
walshemj
One Sikh MP in the UK apparently got heckled to the effect "your granddad was
not at Dunkirk" \- As he said later No "He was fighting in Burma in the Indian
Army"

~~~
rdl
The Sikh Regiment of the (British) Indian Army was amazing (and probably
should be re-established in the British Army, in addition to the units in the
modern Indian Army,) One of the most formidable and honorable military units
of all time, completely loyal to the Allies.

The "complication" with India was the (Second) Indian National Army during
WW2, following Subhas Chandra Bose, who were allied with the Axis. (They
argued fighting colonialism was more important than fighting the Nazis and
Imperial Japanese.)

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hrabago
I grew up in the Philippines knowing about the Bataan Death March. Not
details, but the fact that it happened and the general idea of it. Now that I
think about it, I didn't learn it at school, I learned it because it was
taught to me by my older brothers and sisters, and it was likely taught to
them because this is how our grandfather died.

Looking back now, I realize it was never taught to me in school. The only time
I remember discussions about it was when I brought it up in a university
discussion - after the teacher allowed us to research a topic of our own
choosing and present on it.

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jkot
Taiwanese soldiers who served under Japan share similar faith.

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ghshephard
_“The Bataan Death March has never, ever,” Gaerlan says, “been part of the
history curriculum in American schools.” She also says it’s neglected in
education in the Philippines._

Is this true? As a Canadian, it certainly got a mention in our (Grade 9? Grade
10?) social studies.

~~~
Phithagoras
What provincial curriculum were you following? In Alberta, it was not covered
at all.

~~~
ghshephard
British Columbia, 1983/1984\. I'm struggling to remember whether it was Grade
9 or Grade 10 - it was in the section covering world war II. Mind blowingly
boring, and the teacher was clearly just checking off all the bullet points in
the curriculum, one after another. Horrible way to teach.

I'm wondering if that particular segment was dropped(or was added at one
point) to the curriculum for propaganda purposes - certainly didn't make the
Japanese sound like very nice people.

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davelnewton
On the plus side, I've trained with direct students of some of those amazing
soldiers. I've heard a bunch of stories of epic bravery. There's an awesome
heritage of stick and knife fighters that were just crazy brave.

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cafard
Whose history? I certainly heard of them.

