The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present The Pacific Story. In the mounting fury of world conflict, events in the Pacific are taking on ever greater importance. Here is the story of the Pacific and the millions of people who live around this greatest sea. The drama of the people whose destiny is at stake in the Pacific war. Here as another public service is the tale of the war in the Pacific and its meaning to us and to the generations to come. Manila, Pearl of the Orient. If I am fortunate, I shall get this letter through the Japanese guards and out of the Philippines to you. I have been a prisoner here in Manila nearly three years now. It is a strange experience to be a prisoner in a city where you have lived more than 40 years. Yet, now looking back over the years as I write this, I am suddenly aware of the many changes I have seen here. The Spanish influence, the American influence, and now the Japanese influence. Mr. Ainsworth. Yes. Open the door. Yes, sir. I slipped the letter under the mat on the chair. Open up. Just a moment. What was the delay, Mr. Ainsworth? I was sort of dozing in all these warm Manila days. Major, I wish to speak with you. Right now? Immediately. Come along. He took me to the Major's office. The Major said writing. He paid no attention to me, so I was brought in. I stood before him for two minutes before he put his pen down and looked up. Mr. Ainsworth, you know anything about what is happening outside of Manila here? Well, I know that the Americans are operating Yaminda now. How do you know? Well, just what we learned from your Japanese accounts. Could it be that you have any other source of information? How could we have? Answer. I am a prisoner. Who could give it to me? It would be dangerous to have any contact with the outside, Mr. Ainsworth. That is all. All right, Mr. Ainsworth. Come along. The Japanese in Manila are becoming more apprehensive. They are alert to the meaning of everything happening around them. In the town where they have built barracks and parks and fields, there is an air of tenseness. Recently when I was out with the work party of prisoners, I saw how they have taken everything. Schools, the hospitals, many of the buildings of the religious orders. I remember the city as it looked in 1941 before the Japanese came. Ah, beautiful country here. Beautiful. Do you want to stop here, Tupper? Yes, let's. Right. Just like stopping on Riverside Drive. Yes. The Duer Boulevard here runs for 13 miles along the waterfront. Right out there is where Duer fought the Battle of Manila Bay. Look at that moon over the water. It's one of the most beautiful harbors in the world out there. It's a beautiful crescent in shape. How big is it? Well, they say it has an area of 770 square miles. Big enough to accommodate a fleet. Yeah. And then some. Almost any time you go down to the harbor, you'll see ships from every part of the world. American ships, Japanese, Swedish, Greek, German, Turkish. You know, Ainsworth, that's the kind of stuff that gives me the wanderlust. Well, I had it too until I came here at the time of the Spanish Trouble. So I stayed. And there were a lot of other people who came here before me who had the same reaction. And they stayed. Portuguese, Arabs, Spaniards. That's why Manila has a character it has today. You mean they influenced the character of the city? They made the city tougher. That was Roger Solomon who ruled the Muhammadan community here back in the late 1500s. Roger Solomon, a courier brings a message from the Cadite. Deal with it as you see fit. You are my minister. But it's a message of high importance. Where is the courier? I will bring him in. Courier, come in with your message. Yes. Give it to me. I will read it. I was ordered by Martin de Guitti to read it to His Highness myself. Read the message then. Yes, Your Highness. To His Highness, Roger Solomon, ruler of Intramuros. As emissary of His Majesty's General, Miguel Lopez de la Gaspé, and in the name of Philip II, King of Spain, I extend a hand of friendship to you, Roger Solomon. Who sends this message? Martin de Guitti, emissary of Miguel Lopez de la Gaspé. And he is at Cavite? Yes, Your Highness. Go on. We come as friends and beg your friendship. We offer you the benefits of the protection of the Crown of Spain and ask that you and your people submit to the authority of King Philip II. Humbly, we await your answer, signed Martin de Guitti. Do I understand that this man asks that I submit my people and my own person to his rule? The man who sends this message has a force of men and ships at Cavite. Martin de Guitti's force at Cavite is strong. Friendship we will offer them, but submit to the rule, never. This is my answer. Carry it back to Martin de Guitti. Yes, Your Highness. We have offered Roger Solomon friendship. This he has refused. We attack now in the name of our king and our country. Let every man do his part for the flag of Spain. Forward! We are going into the city, Your Highness. The incident dawned. We must go now before they close in on all sides of the city and capture us. We go, but we shall come back. Well, Tepper, de Guitti took in Tremuros, which was what they called the community that was here at that time. He left the company here and then went to Palae. Solomon came back and took the city again. For the next year, Legospe himself led an expedition to retake the city. Put the torch to the city. Destroy everything. Burn the city. Set fire to everything. Everything shall be left to the infidel. Put the torch to every building. We believe nothing but ashes. Your Highness. Your Highness. Where are you? Take that torch and help set fire to everything you see. The enemy is coming in. The soldiers are advancing. We must go at once. This time we will not go until the city is destroyed. You must come with me now. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Oh, you are wounded. Roger Solomon. Roger. Roger. Well, Solomon died and the Spaniards took over. Then one day the Chinese Limahong, with 62 Chinese warships loaded with warriors, turned up in the bay. They stormed the city. The Spaniards defeated them and captured a good many of the warriors. These Chinese came in very handy some years later when the Spaniards built a great wall around the city. The wall they built then in 1590 is the same wall around the old city today. It's solid stone. Yes, it looks like a medieval wall, the kind you see in Europe. That's what it is. The Spaniards needed it. Behind that wall they fought for the city against all comers. They fought the Moroes who came in swarms of war bolts, the Portuguese and the Dutch who came in fleets, and even the British. I say, the British too, eh? The fact is the British occupied Manila in 1762 and held it for two years. And that wall's been here for 350 years. Yes. Let's drive over and look at it. Good. Well, we drove down to a boulevard and over within the walled city. Hmm. What's that, Inchworth? The wall's broken down there. Yes, earthquake. I notice that there are cracks in it too. I've seen a lot of things that wall has, hasn't it? More than we can imagine. And this was the original city within these walls? Yes. All the developments outside are more recent. Oh, here's something I want you to see. This is Fort Santiago, eh? Yes. Stands almost exactly on the spot Solomon's fort stood when Martin de Guiti attacked. This fort was built by the Spaniards. Oh, yes. Yes, I remember. This is the place that has the cells and dungeons that I've heard about. That's right. In one of those cells, either in the fort here or in the walls that used to stand to the east of it, there was a tragedy along about 1896, something like the black hole of Calcutta. Right here? Yes. That was a time of the insurrection against the Spanish authorities. Sixty Filipinos who were suspected of having something to do with the uprising were arrested and crowded into the cell. Fifty-six of them died. Good heavens. Now, Fort Santiago here is headquarters of the United States Army in the Philippines. Well, like most people who visit the Philippines for the first time, Tupper slowly began to understand the color, the drama, and the enchantment of Manila. I remember that Monday very well. We drove down to the harbor. You know, Ainsworth, standing here looking eastward, a man's imagination does wonderful things. Yes. Think of the part Manila here has played in the events of the China Sea. It's played an important role. I'm beginning to see why they call Manila the pearl of the Orient. Many say that it's the most beautiful and most interesting city on the China Sea. Well, I guess it is. Well, today Manila is the cleanest city in the Orient, but it's changed city from the time I first saw it. The night we arrived, we disembarked in the moonlight. So this is Manila, eh? I'm certainly glad to get on land. Me too. That's the longest boat ride I ever had. I didn't think I was ever going to see land again. I feel as if I've just got out of a can of sardines. Hey, hey, look at that. What? Right over there on the dock, around those bags. Rats. Yeah, they're big ones. Gosh, look at that. There's another one. There's a whole flock of them. You ever see anything like that? Here there's a thousand men, a couple of thousand on this dock, and those rats pay no attention to us. They're too busy eating. Look at those rats. Why, they're big enough to... Come on, come on, come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Now, men, we've landed on foreign soil. We're in a land different from ours. The only change that's not so much from the enemy is the conditions we find around us. Before you leave this dock and go to your new camp, there are a few things you must know for your own protection. Listen to Dr. Monroe. At ease. You've come a long way. Now you must learn to adjust yourself to this new environment. Some steps have already been taken to clean up sanitation conditions here, but more must be taken. First, remember that you can drink only boiled water. If the water has not been boiled, do not drink it. Another thing, there are rats around. You'll find many of them around your camp, perhaps so many that you'll have some in your own tents and maybe some in your own beds. The danger from rats is that they carry the fleas that spread bubonic plague. How many of you know what bubonic plague is? I don't want to be asked. It's deadly. We've organized rat killing gangs, and it'll be your duty to cooperate in every way, not only for your own life, but for the lives of your comrades. Your liberty will be closely supervised. For around us, there's a great deal of disease, even leprosy. Watch what you eat, what you touch, where you go. Remember the best way to deal with disease is not to get it. That's all. And cut. By face. Always. March. One. Two. Three. One. We found that it was worse than we expected. Malaria was rampant. Nearly everyone got dysentery. We were getting used to the food. We don't get anything but this smelly chow. You ain't home, you know. What do you want, shot at roost? Fish and rice. Back where I come from, that's what they feed the ducks. Roam another feast. Filipinos had no chance to have a part in the handling of their own affairs. They'd been under the Spanish crown for more than 300 years. Everything had to be done. Doctors, engineers, builders, teachers and businessmen started to come in. They got down to brass tacks right away. The doctors went after the sanitary conditions. The teachers went to work teaching the youngsters. Making them proud of their Filipino heritage. And the engineers started building. Their first big project was right here on the farm. That's the main wharf they're working on out there. Gonna be a big one, is it? Big enough to permit the largest vessels to unload directly on the wharf. Excellent. Manila with its strategic location should have the finest possible harbor. There's another factor too. Manila must have a harbor that is safe during the monsoon season. Why do you suppose the Spanish government abandoned its work here in the harbor? Well, there were probably several reasons. Probably the most important one was labor. We've had trouble ourselves. You can't get labor? Well, first we used Negroes, but they couldn't stand the climate. You think that Negroes could stand this heat? And then we tried Chinese Coolie labor. And they couldn't stand the climate. Well, they're right out there in the blazing sun. So now we have Japanese labor. Are they working out all right? Not especially. Now come along over here now. Yes. Mr. Wharton. Mr. Wharton. We've got to do something about our health. We're not making any progress. What's the matter? About half the Japanese have quit. The others are doing almost nothing. That's what I've been afraid of. Have you tried Filipino labor? That's what I was going to suggest, Mr. Wharton. We've been thinking about that, and that might be an idea. We'll try Filipinos. Now, those Filipinos did a remarkable job, Tupper. They built the harbor that you see out there now. And the years since, they've built those other piers and wharfs. And that stone breakwater wall out there. They've got plans for even greater developments. Now that I look back, it seems that I've seen all these things develop as if by magic. Well, Tupper and I sat there in silence for a few minutes, looking out over the harbor, westward out over the China Sea. Then we started back. How big is Manila today, Hainsworth? Well, I should say something over 600,000. Probably as much as 625,000. It's going far out beyond the whole city. Yeah, most of it is outside. We drove over one of the big bridges across the Pasig River. Now, remember that while we were crossing, I turned on the radio on my car. Ladies and gentlemen, a special bulletin has just come in. December 8, 1941. Pearl Harbor has been bombed by Japanese planes. No reports have been received on the extent of the damage. It is believed... We couldn't believe our ears. What did he say? He said that Pearl Harbor's been bombed by Japanese planes. Good heavens! By the time we got back, the streets were buzzing with excitement. The Escolterer was tense with grim-faced people. Well, that means we can expect them here at any time. Yeah, if they hit Pearl Harbor, they'll certainly hit here. Not only hit here, they'll be here. Well, we knew it wouldn't be long, but then a few hours, they came. And soon we were getting reports of the Japanese landings. They were driving on Manila. It was too late for us to get out. We looked out over the bay, out to Corregidor. Do you suppose Corregidor can hold? I don't know, Tupper. It's a strong fort, like a small Gibraltar. It's heavily armed and heavily fortified, isn't it? Yes. Some pretty big guns out there. Down under it, tunneled in the rock, they've got supplies to last them a good while. Well, I've read that it's one of the anchors of the defense line from Hong Kong to Singapore to kill. Well, yes, I guess it is. If Corregidor falls, it seems to me the positions of Hong Kong and Singapore will be weakened. Well, maybe Corregidor won't fall. It doesn't look good. That was the last time Tupper and I ever talked. Manila had been declared an open city, but the bombers came back. I went to look for Tupper, and I found him. After that I knew that it was only a matter of time until I was a prisoner. I wandered around alone. I'd been here for more than 40 years. I'd seen the city change from a cesspool of disease to a bright, gleaming modern city. A pole hung over the city. The Escolta and Rizal Avenue were tense. The picture houses were closed. Most of the shops were closed. I walked down to the Ayuntamiento. I stood there, alone, looking up at the old building. I remember the first time it had been shown to me. This is the Ayuntamiento. It was built in 1735, more than 40 years before the American Revolution. It was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1863. It now houses the Supreme Court and the Department of the Interior. It was almost as if those words echoed. I'd heard them so many, many years before. Come along with us. We're clearing out. Where are you going? We're clearing out of the city. Come on along. You can't get away. You might as well save yourself the trouble. Well, maybe we can get through. Come on, let's go. They were killed, all of them. I walked down to the Malacanían Palace. I'd passed it hundreds of times, but I'd never really stopped to look at it. Now I stood there, alone, looking up at it. Soon the Japanese will be here. An old Filipino walked up and talked to me. The Spanish governors lived here, and the American governors lived here. At last, President Quezon lived here. Now, soon the Japanese will live here. I was so quaked at the thought of the Japanese there. The Filipinos had so recently moved in. From this building, the Spanish governors ruled like despots. The Filipinos had endured all this, and at last had themselves taken over the building and established their own president there. The Japanese cannot stay here. You had better not stay here. This is one of the first places the Japanese will come. I will wait for them. Everything looked different. I saw interesting things that I'd scarcely noticed before. People, streets, buildings, signs. I knew the Japanese would soon be in the city. I walked out toward the laneta. Here, in this beautiful park, I had heard the constabulary band play so many, many evenings. This evening now, I could hear the music, long since past, singing in my ears. I stopped before the statue of Jose Rizal. Jose Rizal was the brilliant young Filipino patriot who gave his life for the freedom of the Philippines. He was a quiet young man, a writer, artist, linguist, statesman, and poet, a doctor of medicine, and an eye specialist. At this spot in 1896, the Spaniards shot him to death. I looked up at his face. This young man had given his life for the freedom of his people. Now, in a matter of hours, his freedom would be lost to the Japanese. The Japanese were coming. Soon I would be in their hands or dead. They marched into the city, column after column. With them came their tanks and armored trucks. The Filipinos stood along the line of march, their faces impassive. We were the vanquished. These thousands with their weapons were the victors. We watched the victory parade at the Luneta. A young Filipino named Gregorio Rias died. That is General Juma in the middle, up there. Yes, Gregorio. Look at the officers around him. He's tough. They are to be our rollers now. Yes. We must expect no consideration from them. They will take us at any time now. They shall not take me, Mr. Inchworth, but I shall keep in touch with you. Goodbye. Almost at once, the Japanese proclamation started to come out. Proclamation. It is ordered that all residents of the Philippines will immediately hold themselves responsible to the Japanese military government. Proclamation. The penalty of death is prescribed for the following offenses against the military government of the Imperial... Proclamation. It is ordered that all schools will be closed until such time as the Japanese military... Proclamation. Effective at once, the Japanese military currency will be adopted as legal tender and all friends... As they took me to the prison camp, I had one last look at the Escolta and the Pasig River and all the old familiar places that I'd come to know and love so well. But within the prison camp, I found that I could keep in close touch with what was happening in Manila and in many parts of the Philippines than before the Japanese came. They're looting this city and all the islands, taking everything of value that they can move and shipping it back to Japan. They took machinery, chemicals, automobiles, tractors, even furniture and personal property. They tried to win over the Philippine people, but they don't know how to deal with them. In the face of punishment and death, most Filipinos clung to the principles of freedom, taught them by the Americans. Flashes of food and everything was on sky high. The Filipino standard of living dropped lower and lower. As it fell, the Japanese tried to win the Filipinos over to their side with promises of a better living. The Filipinos could not be fooled. We have resisted the oppressors and fought for our freedom for more than 300 years. In a free world, a slave has a chance to be free. But in a slave world, a slave can do nothing more than a slave. Information has come into us bit by bit. The Japanese have not been able to stop it. And piece by piece, we have fitted together what is happening in Manila and throughout most of the Philippines. Gregorio was right. He has kept in touch with me. The island approaches to Mindanao are under attack by the forces of the United States. My heart beat faster when I learned that. The big port of Davao and several other places in Mindanao have been bombed by the United States. That meant that the United States was on its way back to the Philippines. And now for days, again and again, we have looked up and seen American planes over Manila. Mr. Ainsworth. Yes. Oh, just a moment. The Major wishes to speak with you. All right. The Major at last put down his pen and looked up at me. You know the Filipino Gregorio Reyes? Who is he? You need not try to deceive us, Mr. Ainsworth. Gregorio Reyes has been arrested. Ainsworth, it will be useless for anyone to try to make contact through him with the outside. Guard, take him away. Come along this way. The Japanese Guard took me back. Now I must try to get this letter through the Japanese and out to you. If Gregorio has been arrested, you will never receive it. You have been listening to The Pacific Story, presented by the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated independent stations as a public service to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable the cross-currents of life in the Pacific Basin. For a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send ten cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. We repeat, for a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send ten cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. The Pacific Story is written and directed by Arnold Markliff. The original musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Paluso. The principal voice was that of Jack Edwards Sr. This program came to you from Hollywood. This is the National Broadcasting Company.
