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Bacolod City, Philippines Saturday, March 24, 2012
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TIGHT ROPE
WITH MODESTO P. SA-ONOY

Liberation of Negros

TIGHT ROPE
WITH MODESTO P. SA-ONOY

Some of our readers say that I have not written any historical events lately. There are so many pressing issues and subjects that have to be commented on and discussed in depth so that our people will have a better understanding of these issues.

The feedback is most welcome and March is a good time to write about a historical event that due to ignorance of the actual events or misled by selfish interests have victimized us all in believing in something that is far from fact.

There was a time when Bácolod celebrated March 29 as the “Negros Liberation Day”. At the plaza is the monument erected in 1948 to honor PFC Theodore Vinther who the drumbeaters of the time say the hero of Bago Bridge. Why is his monument, granting he is indeed the hero there, is not in Bago? The United States Army did not find his death heroic enough to merit a high decoration but only a Purple Star that is given to all soldiers who died or were wounded in battle. The higher award in that encounter went to Lt. Aaron Hanson.

I will not go into the motivations of the drumbeaters because that is immaterial. What is material is that the Bacolod City government that partly funded this monument that stands on its land makes the correction.

In truth the liberation of Negros began months earlier but these were done by the Negros guerrillas and not by the Americans. Unfortunately many consider the Negros liberation only from the point of American landing in Pulupandan at dawn of March 29, 1945.

As early as November 1944 the Negros guerrillas were already attacking Japanese garrisons and inflicting damage but these were mainly harassing. By month’s end, on orders from MacArthur’s headquarters the guerrillas in the south of the island went on the offensive and forced the Japanese to retreat to the Mt. Silay. The guerrilla attacks from the north came about after the American fleet bombarded the San Carlos. The guerrillas had been trying to dislodge them since December 1944. Finally on March 1, 1945 the American fleet gunned San Carlos and forced the Japanese to abandon the town and flee southward also towards Mt. Silay, the guerrillas at their tail.

It was in Mt. Silay that the Americans found the Japanese in their last stand. When the Americans arrived, the Negros guerrillas were relieved and their officers sent to training camps some in the US, while the rest were deactivated. Those sent to training were to take part in the expected invasion of the Japanese mainland.

The Americans did not capture Bácolod on March 29. It was still in Japanese hands. The forward elements of the US 40th Division reached the Bácolod airport which was abandoned after it had been successively bombed since first week of September 1944. By the time the Americans landed Japan had not a single plane in the island. The Americans found some fighter planes hidden in bamboo grooves near the Magsungay Pequeño.

The Americans halted by the south bank of Magsungay Grande and waited for the night. They spanned east and west. Early morning of March 30, a company forded the river near Alijis while the unit to its west probed Magsungay Grande Bridge due to guerrilla reports of demolition charges but none was found and the forward units moved in to the city.

The Americans moved cautiously due to reports that the Japanese had placed demolition charges all over the place. A unit of Japanese attacked the Americans with but they were easily disposed of. A Japanese soldier with demolition charge attached to a pole attacked an American tank but was blown to pieces.

By late morning the 40th had cleared Bácolod and the unit moved towards Granada. Another unit from the 160th Regiment of the 40th arrived and was committed to take Granada and attack the barrio which was the leftmost flank of the forward defense line of the Japanese.

At the north, the Filipino guerrillas halted at Fabrica without crossing the Himugaan Bridge. The 503rd Regimental Combat Team, a parachute unit, was directed to fly from Mindoro after a brief rest after it liberated Corregidor in one of the fiercest battles of the war.

General George M. Jones, the commander of the 503rd was directed drop near Himugaan, capture the bridge and attack the Japanese right flank, another unit from Bacolod will assault against the left flank and another regiment to attack frontally. Intelligence estimates placed the Japanese strength at 11,000.

He took a plane for an air reconnaissance and found Fabrica in flames and decided not to drop as the action would be dangerous. His regiment was to come in to Negros by ship. He also raised the estimate of Japanese troops to 17,000.*

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