Oregon Native helps keep history alive on Phillipine Island

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Natasha Bay works on setting up the Tactical Operations center for the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Camp Adder, Iraq.  

TALLIL, IRAQ

09.23.2009

Courtesy Story

41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team

CAMP ADDER, Iraq — During the closing months of World War II, the Oregon National Guard and one its regiments were immortalized in the history of a city called Puerto Princesa, on the island of Palawan in the Philippines.

Puerto Princesa is a city of 200,000 and Palawan is the largest island province in the Philippines. It has about the same land mass as Klamath County in southwestern Oregon with a population of around one million.

The 186th Regimental Combat Team from the Oregon National Guard's 41st Division liberated Puerto Princesa and Palawan in late February and March 1945. Many elements of the 41st Division now make up the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Oregon National Guard which is currently deployed in Iraq.

Arrival of the 186th RCT came just weeks after a series of atrocities were committed in Puerto Princesa by Japanese Imperial Forces, said Oregon native Bart Duff who now lives on the island.

Many of Palawan's older citizens still remember the events and are grateful for what the 41st Division did there, explained Duff.

Duff was raised on a wheat farm near Pendleton, Ore., not far from the home of Oregon State Adjunct General, Maj. Gen. Raymond Rees, and he said, "There's something of an inadvertent history between the 41st Brigade and my own life."

He and his wife of 35 years retired to her ancestral home of Palawan in 2002, after spending 20 years with the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.

Duff is also related to Lt. Col. Steve Beach, who is currently the Executive Officer of the Brigade for their deployment.

Beach has also taken an interest in the memorial at Puerto Princesa and the history of his brigade while communicating with Duff.

In all, it is said that over 70,000 prisoners of war were taken by the Japanese in the Philippines (50,000 Pilipino and 20,000 American) and while many horrendous war crimes involving the torture of POWs have been documented, what happened on Palawan stands as one of the worst.

An account by Elizabethe Holland on the POW-MIA InterNetwork states the following:

"On Dec. 14, 1944, Eugene Nielsen and 149 other U.S. prisoners of war on the Philippine island of Palawan reported to work for their captors as usual - malnourished, plagued with injuries and illnesses and barely clothed, if clothed at all.

Nielsen, an Army private, noticed something peculiar about the Japanese captors that day. They didn't scream at the men to make them work faster and harder. They weren't quick with their clubs and other means of torture.

His sense was right. Later that day, the guards herded the Americans into three air-raid trenches at the Puerto Princesa Prison Camp, dumped fuel into the pits and set them on fire with torches and grenades. Prisoners who attempted to escape were killed with machine-gun fire or bayonets.

In all, 139 Americans died in the massacre. Eleven somehow, miraculously, escaped. But greatly to the dismay of Nielsen, 87, and other former prisoners held captive on Palawan, the events of that day have been regarded as little more than a footnote, if even that, in the history books of WWII."

The men killed were Americans who were taken prisoner in 1942 by the Japanese at Corregidor and Bataan in the Philippine Islands, then a U.S. possession. The most infamous atrocity of that time and place was the Bataan Death March, in which Japanese guards brutalized American and Philippine prisoners.

It was the 186th RCT which finally liberated Palawan when they came ashore in Feb. 1945. For this unit, knowledge of the massacre which had taken place just a few short weeks earlier lent special urgency to the event. The 186th lost 12 KIA and 56 wounded in the operation to free Palawan.

Verdell Davis, from Halfway, Ore., was a member of the 186 RCT during the liberation of Palawan. He said that after Island hopping up through New Guinea they eventually made it to Palawan.

Davis said he was part of the first group of Soldiers to land on the island in Landing Vehicle Tracked "Alligators." They are amphibious vehicles that are said to have helped win the war in the Pacific.

"We had quite a bit of resistance when we went in, in those old Alligators," said Davis.

Davis mentioned that he did not see any of the POWs on Palawan after they made the initial landing and pulled back, but that he knew they were there.

"We made the landing went and took it. It was another place to clean up. [I]t was always a priority when we knew there were prisoners," explained Davis. And when asked how the people on Palawan seemed to feel he said, "They seemed plenty happy."

"I am very proud we did as good as we did. My best memories are of my buddies, because in those days you had to have somebody looking over your backside all the time. You wouldn't have survived if you didn't have somebody covering your back all the time; I'm just glad we were like brothers."

The personal connection that Bart Duff has with the landing on Puerto Princesa comes with irony as he now lives in the same place that the 186 RCT went ashore along the coastline. He said that while the events may not be heavily documented in the history books, they are remembered with great admiration by many who live in Puerto Princesa.

Leopoldo Tabinga, who is now 86 years old, was a member of the Palawan Special Battalion, a guerilla unit which served from 1941 until March 1945 when the 186th Regimental Combat Team of the 41st Division liberated Palawan. Tabinga said he recalls intense feelings of elation and gratitude upon learning the 186th RCT had come ashore in Puerto Princesa, aggressively clearing the city and province.

A small memorial park in Puerto Princesa honors the American Soldiers involved in the events which transpired at the site of the Japanese garrison where the atrocities occurred. Duff has aspirations of renovating that park to help people remember and commemorate one of the island's most important historical events.

Duff is fully engaged in local development initiatives on the island and explained that he is working with the Puerto Princesa Chamber of Commerce, Rotary club, and the Philippine-Chinese Chamber of Commerce to move ahead on discussions with the city and provincial Governments to renovate, beautify and maintain the memorial in Puerto Princesa.

"The idea of rehabilitating the small park to provide a joint memorial to the POWs and commemorate the 41st Division [and 186th RCT] has created much interest and enthusiasm amongst the local Filipino community. Many Filipinos clearly recall the events of 1944 and 1945 which culminated in the liberation of Palawan," explained Duff.

The last survivor of the Palawan massacre, Don Schloat, recently visited Puerto Princesa in an attempt to mobilize support from all the local civic organizations on the island, and Duff said that after a few fits and starts, he thinks the rehabilitation effort will come to fruition.

Verdell Davis was surprised to hear that people on Palawan still care about what happened and that they want to make a memorial.

"It makes me feel pretty good, I didn't think anyone remembered that far back," said Davis.

Leopoldo Tabinga gave an example of why he and many of the older members on the island still have vivid memories of their history. Tabinga's brother, Sotero Tabinga, now 92 years old, was captured by the Japanese in 1941 during the fall of Bataan, he survived the infamous Bataan Death march, and was incarcerated for around four years in the Tarlac Province until the end of the war.

Tabinga stated that the people of Palawan are supportive of the memorial because there are few American and Filipino veterans of the Palawan campaign alive today. Memories of the events in which they played such a key role are fading. As Leopoldo says, the death of these veterans may also mean the loss of their legacy of sacrifice, and the heritage they have left the people of Palawan.

The legacy of what happened in Palawan is also important to the 41st Brigade.

The proud tradition of the 186th RCT is being carried on by the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, which is currently deployed at Camp Adder and Camp Korean Village, Iraq, with the 41st Brigade. The 1-186th is composed of units from Ashland, Medford, Coos Bay, Grants Pass, Roseburg and St. Helens.

Lt. Col Greg Day, commander of 1-186 for this year's deployment said he is proud of what the 186 RCT did during World War II by liberating Palawan, and that having such an important history just adds to the "espirit de corps."

"That's what "espirit de corps" really means—it is pride in your unit, the spirit of the organization," stated Day.

Beach added that he believes remembering what the 41st brigade did in the past, in places like Palawan, is important for the future of the brigade.

"We need to keep history alive so we can measure ourselves and our actions against historical actions both good and bad. We need to do all we can to remember those who have sacrificed for the benefit of all of us," mentioned Beach.

Beach admires the people of Palawan who care about what happened, and said "Liberation of the island must have meant a lot to them for it still to be remembered; Soldiers of the 186RCT would also be glad to know it matters to them."

Beach wants more Soldiers from the 41st brigade to be aware of what those who came before them accomplished to create the brigade's amazing history.

During World War II, the 41st Division earned the nickname "Jungleers" while seeing some of the heaviest fighting of the war in the jungles of places like New Guinea and the Philippines. Their 45 month deployment was the longest of any division during World War II.

"Other soldiers have asked why we are the 'Jungleers' and we always have to give them a short history lesson about WWII," said Beach.

Beach added that understanding great things have been done by a lot of people in the past gives extra motivation to accomplish more in the present.

The history of the 41st Brigade and events that occurred in places like Palawan, are an inspiration for people like Bart Duff and many residents of who live in Puerto Princesa. They are also an inspiration for Beach who says the history of his brigade is a big motivating factor during this year's deployment to Iraq.

"Our accomplishments now may seem small, and only time will tell if they are remembered, but the accomplishments of the 186th RCT in World War II were very important and I believe we should commemorate what has been done so honorably," said Beach.

If Bart Duff and other proud residents of Puerto Princesa have their way that is exactly what will happen with a renovated memorial on their island.

• Date Taken: 09.23.2009
• Date Posted: 10.02.2009 09:43
• Story ID: 39579
• Location: TALLIL, IQ