Blood Brothers | Page 3

at Pearl Harbor could clear the way for
Japan to conquer the Philippine Islands, without any outside
interference. Of all the Pacific territories of the United States, the
Japanese most wanted the Philippines. General MacArthur, as well as
the Japanese, believed that the Philippine Islands were the 'Key to the
Orient'; Japan would have to take the Philippines before attempting to
conquer any other countries in Southeast Asia. Some Navy admirals
had recently remarked that the 'Pacific Fleet belongs in San Diego!' If
the Japanese should sink one ship in Pearl Harbor (the so-called Mouse
Trap), they could bottle up the entire fleet. Now, with the Pacific Fleet
crippled, there could be no rescue attempt. For several years we had
been aware that in the event of an invasion, all our defending military
forces would hole-up on the Bataan Peninsula, where supplies and
equipment had previously been stored, until the U.S. Navy, the most

powerful in the world, could come to our rescue (Orange Plan-WPO
III). "
By 0530 hours, I was standing in the office of Lt. Col. John Horan, Post
Commander of Camp John Hay, waiting for instructions. I was a
captain and a doctor, the C.O. of the thirty five bed station hospital.
Saluting the colonel, I was told to sit down and wait for further
instructions. It was dark and cold. Maps and orders were on the
colonel's dimly lighted desk. Other officers were beginning to arrive.
Don Bell's voice blared forth from Radio KZRH in Manila: "Those
dirty little bastards have struck Pearl Harbor! Reports remain sketchy,
but there is no doubt! "Oh God!" Bell was actually crying, near hysteria,
as he continued: "The yellow-bellied Japs have hit our ships at anchor!"
Everyone was extremely excited; the air was becoming blue with
cigarette smoke. No one was talking; we were all intently listening-for
any late news. Several junior officers were openly nipping on pocket
flasks. I thought to myself, "This is one time when I'm going to need all
my marbles." We had recently returned two junior officers for
alcoholism; they couldn't cope with the tropics even in peacetime. Or
did they outsmart me and get back to the States to sit out the war?
No news was coming in; we were all anxious to get back to our units to
make necessary preparations for war, but had to await instructions. For
months we had anticipated war with Japan. We were the nearest U.S.
base to Japan, so were very sensitive to any war-like talk or gestures.
Actually, the thoughts of war hadn't bothered me too much; a farmer
had once told me, "If you are going to get kicked by a mule, it is best to
be close to the mule!" Over the last forty years, we knew the Japanese
had been preparing for war, taking scrap iron and raw materials from
the Philippines to Japan. Now, we had a strange feeling that we might
be getting some of these materials back in a more sophisticated form.
We had no idea how, when or where this war would begin in the
Philippines. The last place we expected it would happen was Camp
John Hay, a Rest and Recreation Center (R.&R.), offering a delightful

climate for military and naval personnel and their dependents on duty
in the Far East, desiring temporary relief from the intense heat and
humidity of the lowlands.
Camp John Hay was pleasantly located one mile above sea level
amongst the pine trees of Mountain Province in Baguio, the summer
capital of the Philippines. It was only twenty miles from the beautiful
white sand beaches, the stately palms and the sweltering sun of
Lingayen Gulf. Camp Hay actually had no real military value. It had
been set
aside in 1903 as a recreation area by President Theodore Roosevelt, and
named after his Secretary of State, John Milton Hay. The same year
Roosevelt designated Baguio as the summer capital of the Philippines.
In December, 1941, there were only two companies of the 43rd Infantry
of Philippine Scouts (P.S.), a housekeeping detachment, stationed there.
The camp had no fortifications and no large weapons, only a few
wooden barracks and some one hundred or so obsolete rifles of W. W. I.
vintage. There was one small salute cannon for raising and lowering
"Old Glory."
Looking back several months to July, 1941, when General MacArthur
was appointed Commanding General of the U.S. Armed Forces in the
Far East (USAFFE), he recruited 110,000 young Filipinos for the
Philippine Army (P.A.). It would be many months before they could be
trained as they spoke some sixty dialects. They looked more like boy
scouts than soldiers with their fiber helmets, sport shirts and tennis
shoes.
About the same time, War Plan Rainbow 5 was adopted by Roosevelt's
Joint Army-Navy Board: first