battan

BATAAN – MADNESS OR METTLE? Victorino P Mapa
There is no shortage of memorials to Bataan in both the United States and the Philippines. A dwindling few congregate at the “Shrine of Valor” in Mt Samat. To commemorate its fall every April 9. .Bataan monuments and memorials in the United States stretch from the US West Coast, the Midwest, to Florida. The last convention of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor was held on May 29 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. 73 American survivors showed up. The aftermath of the battle, the infamous “Death March is better remembered, not the actual conflict .It is estimated that 2,500 – 10,000 Filipino soldiers died compared to 100-650 Americans who perished before reaching camp O’Donnell. Even today historians couldn’t agree how many died on the March or how many blended in with the population and escaped.But one thing is certain: Far more Filipinos died than Americans on their way to the prison camp. . America expected the Japanese to be its potential enemy as far back as 1923. The military planners decided that the Philippines and its 7,000 islands was indefensible and therefore drew War Plan Orange3 (WP3) It called for a strategic retreat of the Armed forces to Bataan where protected by superior air power, the Allies could hold out until reinforcements arrived from Hawaii. The surprise attack at Pearl Harbor and the consequent raid on Clark Field that virtually wiped out the US Air Force, negated the concept. With years to prepare for its defense the planners neglected to pre- stock the peninsula with food and supplies. In the haste of its retreat almost all fo the food and materiel. Were left behind. The flight to Bataan favored the Japanese. In the words of one Japanese officer the retreat was “like a cat entering a sack.” Essentially , Bataan was doomed from the start The 75,000 defenders of Bataan, were three-quarters Filipino troops. Many American historians generally disparaged them. “with the exception of the highly skilled scouts of the Philippine Division, the bulk of the soldiers were untrained, unequipped,……and uninterested in hanging around once a battle started. A division commander opined. He commented further that “ the native troops did only two things well: one, when an officer appeared, to yell attention in a loud voice, jump up and salute; the other, to demand three meals per day.” (Read Richard Sassaman’s “The Battling Bastards of Bataan.”)This was only partially true. Untrained ROTC cadets armed with World War I rifles that often wouldn’t fire and grenades that would not explode were hurriedly thrown into battle during the initial landings. They ran at the first sight of the enemy. Nonetheless Filipino troops made the stand possible. .The 26th Cavalry, an all Filipino regiment fought a series of holding engagements when the Japanese landed at Damortis. They . slowed the Japanese advance long enough to enable Fil-American forces to- successfully beat an orderly, albeit hasty retreat to Bataan. They even turned around to attack the Japanese, a move redolent of the Charge of the Last Brigade immortalized in prose by Lord Tennyson……. Men on horseback with nothing but rifles and grenades against tanks and machine guns. the last cavalry charge in recorded history. Filipino infantry stopped the Japanese on the beaches of Longoskawayan, Quinauan, Anyasan and Silaiim in what became known as the “Battle of the Points.” The Japanese landed troops along the southwest coast of Bataan hoping to cut the Fil-American troops in half. . The defenders, on higher ground obliterated the invaders. By February 13, only about three dozen of the 2,000 Japanese soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Points were still alive. The bulk of the Bataan defenders were Filipino. Most of the American troops along with General MacArthur were on the island of Corregidor. After Bataan the Japanese were masters of Asia and the central Pacific. It was the limit of their conquest. They would go no farther. Two months later in the Battle of Midway the tide would turn. The Rising Sun would set until Japan’s eventual defeat. . Circumstances thrust America’s war upon us. The choice on whose side we would be was ours..In addition to the fallen of Bataan ten percent of the Filipino population perished during the three years of the Japanese occupation. We won something. We won nothing.

retaking values part two

RETAKING OUR VALUES - II: Victorino P Mapa John F Kennedy prefaced his presidency by telling America, “Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country”.With this message JFK led America to a bright shining hill and for the next thousand days until his assassination the legend of Camelot came alive before the world. That same challenge very well applies to our country today if we are to restore our place to where the Philippines used to be – a time when we were the envy of every nation in Asia, when neighbor countries sent the best of their best to our schools and universities; our leaders were respected for their intellect and probity; the economy was thriving , the peso was strong at the exchange rate of four to one and life was good. Nearly everyone was employed. There was no inducement to find work overseas.. We had agrarian unrest and a communist threat but our able and efficient army efficiently handled the problem. Life was too good to worry about the little chicaneries committed by a few minor officials. Unfortunately we are a tolerant and forgiving people and we allowed the doors of our values to open just a bit. In the 60s that door was violently pushed ajar. The youth of our land saw where the country was headed and took to the streets. It was near-anarchy. Martial law was imposed. We began to play loose and easy with our morals. That was when we lost our way. The Philippines with its new leaders is currently striving to bring us back to our own “bright shining hill.” . We cannot simply rely on the few men at the top to do all the work and damn them once more if they fail. They need help from each and everyone of us. We can no longer afford to just watch what is happening build walls in our compound and be grateful it’s happening someplace and to someone else and not within our own backyard. The Philippines is the only land that God has given to us, the only ship that we’re all in. If it sinks, we all sink. Filipinos have been buffeted by typhoons and floods and survived through it. When we could no longer abide the abuses and excesses of corrupt leaders we rose as one through “People Power” and cast them out. . We transplanted ourselves to other lands and despite discrimation and at times unfair treatment have risen above it and succeeded in creating a better life. The love of country is innate in every Filipino, including this Balikbayan and thousands of others like me who have exiled themselves to other lands in search for a better life. Time and distance can never diminish our love for the Motherland. One might as well ask the expat Filipino to stop breathing as to stop loving the land where he was born. Like JFK’s call to action we must all ask ourselves: What can I do for my country? How can I be a better citizen? We must ask these questions and follow them up with deeds as if our lives and our children’s future depend on it because they do Only apathy and indifference stand in our way. We once had men who asked these same questions , ordinary men who became extraordinary because They gave their lives striving for the answers. We are the heirs of what they died for. I believe in the strength and resiliency of the Filipino.. With the resolve and strenght of character that is inherent in all of us we can achieve our hopes and dreams of a brighter tomorrow and someday return to our own “bright, shining hill.”

retaking our values Part 1

RETAKING OUR VALUES: Victorino P. Mapa Gloria is forgotten for the moment. All attention is focused on the impeachment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the first ever case in the Philippines. Whether or not he is ousted is still up in the air. Whatever the outcome the attention will eventually focus back to Gloria who has more cases piled on her than a brewery truck loaded with six packs. She and her FG (stands for Fat Guy) stand accused of just about every crime and venality that’s happened before and during her watch as prez except raiding Fort Knox. Given the dark mood of the people she may even be accused of that. The ex-prez unfortunately has become the poster child of all the tribulations that have fallen upon our country all these years. It’s all part of the “Moro-Moro” that’s been going on since time immemorial: After each election new leaders conduct investigations, blame is placed, charges are filed and the incoming officials try to place the guilty in jail. Justice is served, the people are satisfied, life goes on and within a few weeks the cycle of corruption resumes. But it shouldn’t worry GMA. History is on her side. Everybody gets sued. Nobody goes to jail. One of the sins La Gloria stands accused of is how she has stolen our values.I disagree. They weren’t stolen. We haven’t lost them either.. We just set them aside without realizing it. Decades of unrelenting poverty, incessant graft and the uncertain future she and her predecessors have placed the country in is what caused us to develop temporary amnesia of our morals. It’s a shocking indictment and many may not care to admit, but take a close look and see how civic discipline is almost non-existent: We drive through city streets filthy with garbage. People nonchalantly toss away thrash anyplace they want ; men simply stick close to any wall to relieve themselves. As long as it’s not in our own backyqard, who cares? The well-off create enclaves, build high walls and hire security guards to keep beggars and the homeless away from their front doors; squatters occupy private lots and violently demonstrate when they are evicted from land they do not own.We commit traffic violations, bus drivers run their own Indianapolis 500 with impunity, cops quickly catch and arrest, bribes are offered and we damn the taking ways of the policeman; Licenses are given to illegal loggers who denude our forests; unlawful fisheries jampack our lakes and rivers causing massive fish kills. All that is needed is some pesos slipped here and there to “expedite” Gifts, kickbacks and inducements is the accepted norm to coax higher officials to get things done. Everyone participates in the bribery. Then we get indignant, participate in rallies to complain about the corruption that pervades. We rail at the sleaze that pervades. - until we find ourselves in our own civic violation. We shrug our shoulders,initiate our own “kotong” and fail to see that we have jumped into the same cesspool. Conscience be dammed. We must look to our own hide first if we are to survive. “Looking out for number one, I’ve got mine, go get yours” have become our mantras. Election year comes along and once more we search for another Moses to lead us out of Egypt. We look to the new leaders for salvation, to remove the ills and miseries we are mired in and leave everything to these leaders to fix the problems we helped a create. The newly elected assume office and the “rigodon” begins again.. There are idealists and well-meaning reformers who suggest several remedies to get us out of the plight we’re in. All are sincere recommendations. A recent one from no less than Vice President Binay said : “…..we need to make the people see that they have a government they can trust, that we have a government that is not out to lie and cheat,” and so many similar etceteras echoed again and again they no longer mean anything because we’ve heard them so many times. We’ve gotten so inured in our world of ill governance for so long we seem to have lost the resolve and desire for a better tomorrow . Modified morality and modified honesty has become a way of life. Despite all that is happening, of mere Customs clerks driving Porsches, government officials equaling the riches of Croessus, of late, a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court allegedly stashing Millions of US doillar accounts and ordinary cops owning mansions, all is not lost. The divine spark that defines the Filipino as a good and decent person is still there. Our churches overfill on Sundays;. The majority continue to believe that we must be governed by God – or be ruled by tyrants. We spontaineously took to the streets with “People Power” when we were up to here with the excesses of corrupt officials. And what Filipino parent does not continue to dream of a better future for their children? We may have set our morals aside but we have not lost them. The desire to change is there but we just can’t leave it to the officials we elect. A man once showed us the way. He had a fierce love of country and pride in himself as a Filipino. He gave his life for these beliefs. He was our first Filipino – the Pride of the Malay race. Change is not going to be easy.There are no quick solutions, no magic medicine that can cure the cancer that the country has been sick of these many years. The changes must ensue from every Filipino. Each of us must be involved.Like it or not we must accept the fact that we are all partly to blame for allowing the corrosion that is eating away our morals. When we do we shall be more responsible with our right to vote and choose leaders not because of their athletic skills or show biz clout but “men whom the lust for office does not kill; men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; men who possess opinions and a will; men who have honor and will not lie; men who can stand before a demagogue and damn his treacherous flaterrings without winking; tall men, sun-crowned, who rise above the fog in public duty and private thinking ……” * Only then can we get out of the rut we’re in, restore the ethics and values inherent in all of us and perhaps contribute to the world something more meaningful than having the largest crocodile in existence. Actually not a big deal. Hundreds of these crocs have been roaming the halls of our government for years. Many are bigger than Lolong.. *words of essayist and poet, J. B. Holland To be continued

The ghosts of Corregidor

THE GHOSTS OF CORREGIDOR: Victorino P Mapa A moat surrounded the castle. Once the drawbridge was raised the castle keep and its inhabitants with ample supplies could defend themselves indefinitely. On occasions the defenders would even sally forth, repulse and counter-attack. This concept of warfare has long gone into oblivion along with the times when knighthood was in flower and armies fought with swords and bows and arrows. The castles extant today are nothing but tourist attractions Incredibly this method of warfare was kept alive in the 20th century with the creation of Corregidor, The elements of a castle-like fortress were all there: the bay was the moat. The battlements were the gun emplacements. All save two, were permanently sited on concrete bunkers to imperil any attacks that came from the sea. What was worse is her guns were pieces taken off closing military bases in the United States, turn-of-the century ordnance that bore the year they were forged: 1906. There was, of course, Malinta tunnel which only reinforced the mole’s idea of defense. . This tadpole shaped, two and a half mile islet with an undulating terrain could only accommodate an airstrip small enough for a piper cub. Corregidor had no place in an era of fleet warships, armor-piercing cannons and attacks that would come from the sky. All the island fortress had going for it was the hype. The American press touted that the “Impregnable Rock” could repel any invaders that set foot in the Philippines; that her sixteen inch guns could obliterate any warship from twenty miles; that her shores were dotted with deadly short-range guns and machine guns; and most of all she had the US Marines and Philippine Scouts ready enough to do battle with anyone foolish enough to take her on. America was totally unprepared for war when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. She had no air force, an outdated navy of which half were sunk in the sneak attack and barely 300,000 men in uniform. Corregidor, along with Singapore (ballyhooed as the “Gibraltar of the East”) had to be touted as deterrents to aggression against a battle-tested, vastly superior Japanese army. The Allies were playing bluff poker with no cards to play with. The Japanese didn’t fall for the trick with Singapore. They landed troops in Malaysia, overran the British Army and in February 1942, Yamashita’s 22,000 troops accepted the surrender of the British garrison – manned by over 100,000 men. But the bluff with Corregidor worked. The Japanese had so much respect for the island-fortress that even when they landed troops in North and South Luzon and overran its defenses, even when they pushed the Filipino-American army into the Bataan pocket ( “ a cat entering a sack”) and could invade Corregidor from the east, opposite of its guns’ fixed trajectory they did not. The Japanese so believed the American press that they staged their first air raid from a high, high altitude nearly a month after the Philippine invasion. Almost all of Corregidor’s water supply was destroyed on that first raid. From then on Corregidor was subjected to daily bombings. By February 1942, the Japanese had set up 75 millimeters on the hills of Ternate, Cavite and the bombings were joined by uninterrupted shelling. Battery Geary took a direct hit on its munitions room that her sixteen inch guns flew a quarter mile like matchsticks. Other batteries were similarly hammered enough as to make them inoperable. Corregidor’s guns couldn’t fire back at all. Their mountings were fixed. Hundreds died from shrapnel and direct hits. The wounded considered themselves lucky. Their wounds granted them a “pass” into Malinta tunnel. The non-stop bombardment, the realization that they were cut off, that escape was impossible, and no news was forthcoming from the outside world except for the exhortations to hold on ( grandiously broadcasted through General MacArthur) began to affect the defenders. Morale sunk: Men broke into tears, others walked around aimlessly, many picked fights and a malady acquired a name: Tunnel Syndrome. Malinta Tunnel with its series of laterals was the sole, sane refuge from the din of explosions. Many who went in for duty or to report refused to come out; the sick and the wounded who were brought in malingered. The “Tunnel Rates” were recognized by the wan pallor of their skin. But for the rest who had to man their posts Corregidor was a daily hell. These were the “gaunt, ghastly men, unafraid” remembered by MacArthur as he escaped from the Rock in late March. Bataan fell on April 9, and from its Mt Samat Japanese guns could now site Corregidor as well. With no fear of retaliation lest Corregidor’s guns (if operable, which wasn’t) would hit the 75,000 troops who surrendered. The “Rock” was bracketed from the south and north and subject to daily air raids. She was now ripe for invasion. A Japanese battalion landed in the early morning of May 3.Sick, hungry and debilitated as they were the shore defenders put up a fight wiping out the first wave. Defenders from the cliff hurled down grenades and mortar shells.Survivors were finished off by the bayonet. Marines and scouts stood and held and died when their ammo ran out. But the issue was never in doubt. By the third day Japanese tanks at the entrance to Malinta tunnel demanded unconditional surrender. During the first months of the war Japan faced no defeat. Corregidor was the last to fall. On that day, May 6, 1942 Japan was the master of all Asia. Philippine army soldiers today garrison the island to protect it from souvenir hunters and salvagers. When they patrol the grounds at night they allege that they catch glimpses of wraiths and hear strange moans and cries. Whether you believe them or not the soldiers swear there are ghosts in Corregidor. But there are other ghosts that are visible to the senses. In no other place in the world can one find gun emplacements, ammunition dumps piled high with defused shells, fox holes and machine gun nests by the shore and Malinta tunnel, all looking as if the conflict happened only yesterday. The Rock’s two major places of interest is Topside and Bottomside. Bottomside is where you catch sight of Malinta tunnel as your sightseeing boat docks. Linger long enough and in the sound of soft breezes that waft through the laterals you can feel the fears and anxieties of those “gaunt,ghastly soldiers” who sought refuge ; go Topside where you find the parade grounds and the “Mile-long barracks” now partly covered by creeping vines. As the wind whispers through the ruins you can hear the the footsteps of soldiers who once walked about its hallways with a free, swinging stride., men who were warriors once and young. Look up at the two flags in the old parade grounds as they flutter in the breeze and you can hear the melancholy tune of taps played at sunset. Walk around the monument to the fallen brave for those who fought and died, when Filipinos and Americans were comrades-in-arms, when they fought, bled and died together – in the remembrances that the sights and memories evoke it is hard to keep from weeping.

OLD AGE ADAGE

OLD AGE ADAGE Victorino P. Mapa I intend to live forever. So far, so good. ----o---- I was born in 1930.. And the room next to me was 1931. ----o---- I’m not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be around when it happens. ----o---- Hypochondria is the only disease I haven’t got. ----o---- The best thing about Alzheimer’s disease is that you always keep meeting new friends. ----o---- Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where’s it going to end? ----o---- Be nice to your kids.They’re the ones who will be choosing your nursing home. ----o---- A clear conscience is the sign of a bad memory. ----o---- If exercise is good for you why do athletes retire at age 35? ----o---- Death is nature’s way of telling you to slow down. ----o---- He who hesitates is probably right. ----o---- I always wanted to be somebody – but I guess I should have been more specific. ----o---- Been there, done that, can’t remember most of it. ----o---- I went to buy some camouflage clothing. I could’nt find it. ----o---- Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die ----o---- The only way I can hear heavy breathing again these days is to take up jogging. ----o---- Time may be a great healer, but it’s a lousy beautician. ----o---- Marriage is nature’s way of preventing people from fighting with strangers. ----o---- Old Lady : Do you remember if we ever had mutual orgasm? Old Man: No, we always had AllState. ----o---- and going back to the womb ….. Knock knock Who’s there? Keith Keith who? Keith me, thweetheart

Lin-Tik

LIN-TIK Victorino P. Mapa He’s an overnight hero in Asia, spawning gosh- awful puns of his name, unabashed admiration, unceasing tweets and cover stories all over the world. Lin-sanity spawned countless cover stories and features reached such a fever pitch that NBA ran out of NYC his Number 17 Tee shirts. We’re, of course, referring to Jeremy Lin. If the name is still unfamiliar to you then you must be living in some other planet.. Lin entered the NBA through the back door. The Golden State Warriors took him on presumably to improve attendance,, that is, having an Asian American on a home team with a predominant Asian American population.The gate receipts did’nt improve. . The Warriors gave him for free to the Sacramento Kings, another cellar dweller. He was the best bench warmer for both teams. With some glee the Kings released him to the New York Knicks. The knicks were losing key players to injuries. The water boy was unavailable. So was the peanut vendor. In desperation the coach gave the ball to that Chinese guy sitting at the far end of the bench.His entry causes the knicks to win six games continuously. Lin fever was born. . The hooray and hoopla isn’t because Lin suddenly learned how to play overnight.. His dad, Gie Ming a compurer engineer was the basketball freak who showed his son films of Larry Bird , Kameel Abdul Jabbar and other NBA stars and taught young Jeremy the basics at the local YMCA. In High School he led his team to a State championship; in college he racked 30 points against the perennial NCAA contender, the University of Connecticut. But no one came knocking because he played for Harvard. Whartda…???? Harvard? You choose senators, justices and presidents from Harvard but not, nay never, ball players Like it or not he wa also a victim of racial stereotyping: To main street America you mine ball players from African Americans. Ever so often you can also get white guys like Larry Bird, Steve Nash. . But Asian? They may be computer geeks, did laundry or ran gourmet restaurants but play ball? No way Jose! The conventional wisdom is Asians can’t jump! Even Pinoys had their own perceived images. Hollywood during WWII was rife with war movies where Fiipino soldiers spoke pig-din English. Thanks to those John Wayne flicks . When I was fresh off the boat in San Francisco I always got left-handed praises , “Why, you speak English!!!” . If a Pinoy lives in Southern California he’s invariably asked the question, “were you Navy?” Even today old gezzers continue to ask the same question. The categorization continues to exist, albeit, slowly dying. For instance, Manny Pacquiao’s TV interviews and his mellifluous command of the english language is erasing that image. Many even opine that he sounds just like James Mason, but I’m digressing. Jeremy Lin is a great ballplaye. but he’s no Kobe Bryant. His star-status in American eyes stems from his being Asian., the novelty of having a 6 ft 3 Asian playing in the major league. Of late the hype has abated somewhat due to Lin temporarily sidelined by an injury and by the fact that the NY Knicks have been losing games oftener than the prosecution panel struggling to impeach Chief Justice Corona. If and when Jeremy Lin resumes dribbling fans will hopefully re-evalutate him whether or not he’s a good hoopster by his ability. Not because of his looks and/or race.

one Liners

ONE LINERS FROM THE FAMOUS AND NOT SO:
Victorino P. Mapa


I used to have a job in the Kotex factory. I thought I was making mattresses for mice.
Ray Scott
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Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake it you got it made.
George Burns
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You have a cough? Go home, eat a box of Ex-lax and tomorrow you’lll be afraid to cough.
Pearl Williams
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People who say money can’t buy happiness just don’t know where to shop.
Tom Shivers
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My wife calls our waterbed the Dead Sea.
Milton Berle
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There are three ages of man: youth, middle age and “Gee you look great!”
Red Skelton
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I once wanted to be an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays.
Henny Youngman
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I don’t have anything against facelifts, but I think it’s time to stop when you look permanently frightened.
Susan Forfleet
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Have you noticed? Anyone driving faster than you is an idiot, and anyone driving slower than you is a moron.
George Carlin
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Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?
Robin Williams
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You can’t take it with you. You never see a U-Haul following a hearse.
Ellen Glasgow
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Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone may be looking.
H. L. Mencken
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My husband says I treat him like a God; every meal is a burnt offering.
Rhonda Hansom
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There are two ways to handle a woman, and nobody knows either of them.
Ken Hubbard
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I went to a meeting for premature ejaculations. I left early.
Red Buttons
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Whoever called it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.
Groucho Marx
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It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I Just don’t want to
Woody Allen
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I know a guy who saved all his life to buy a cemetery plot. Then he took a cruise and was lost at sea.
Norm Crosby
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Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, when’s it going to end?
Tom Stoppard
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Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.
Erma Bombeck
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A woman drove me to drink. I never even had the courtesy to thank her.
W. C. Fields.
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I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
Mark Twain
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I bring out the worst in my enemies. That’s how I get them to defeat themselves.
Roy Cohn
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If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all the evidence that you tried.
Newt Heilscher
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You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety seven today and we don’t know where the hell she is.
Ellen de Generes
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A friend of mine willed her body to science, but science is contesting the will.
Joey Adams
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If blind people wear sunglasses why don’t deaf people wear earmuffs?
Steve Mcfarlin
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Who invented the brush they put next to the toilet? That thing hurts !
Andy Andrews
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I don’t make jokes; I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will Rogers
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I’m desperately trying to figure out why Kamikaze pilots wore helmets.
Dave Edison
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The hold-up guy walks into a Chinese reastaurant and says, “Give me all your money!”
The man behind the counter says, “To take out?”
Henny Youngman
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I like two kinds of men: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN.
Mae West
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I have a new philosophy. I’m only going to dread one day at a time.
Charles M. Schulz
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Love is what happens to a man and woman who don’t know each other.
W. Somerset Maugham
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Why is it when we talk to God we’re said to be praying, but when God talks to us, we’re schizophrenic?
Lily Tomlin
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Life is a sexually transmitted disease.
Guy Bellamy
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If I look confused it’s because I’m thinking.
Samuel Goldwyn