World War II in the Philippines-An Update

Si Malakas at Maganda(The Strong and the Beautiful)-The first Pinoy couple in Planet Earth

A neighbor whose father served during the Japanese-American War recently asked me what I know about World War II in the Philippines. I told him I wrote an article about the war two years ago. I am updating and re-posting the following post not only for my neighbor's information but also to my other readers and Facebook friends who have not read it.

"Sometime in the early 1970's, I was invited as a guest speaker by the Lions Club of Kansas City, Missouri. They requested that I talked about The Filipino-American War (1898-1902) and also the Japanese-American War in the Philippines(I941-1945). My knowledge of the first war was from books that I have read. However, I have personal knowledge of the second war having written an article about my childhood memories of that War( see video at bottom of this page).

In my speech class in college, I was taught that in giving a speech, one must start with a joke to put your audience and you at ease. Preferably your joke should be related to your topic. This is my pre-talk joke-The origin of the Filipino Race.

Evidently, when God created mankind, he molded the human form using clays and an oven. The first time, he was doing this, God was so excited that he took what he was baking too soon. The human clay was under cooked or underdone. So it was pale and white. That was the origin of the White Race. God was not happy, so he started to bake another human form. This time he got a telephone call from Satan. God was upset he forgot about what he was doing and the baking over done, the human form was overcooked, and turned black. This was the origin of the Negro Race. God then told himself. This time It will be perfect. I will watch it very carefully and will not be distracted by any calls. His baking was perfect. The human form was golden brown, and perfectly cooked. This was the origin of the Filipino race".

The following video summarizes the Invasion Of the Philippines by the Japanese as well as the destruction of Manila. Do not forget to view the related videos in this set. This is a must see video for all history enthusiasts and students.