Speech #790063006

The story of Filipino loyalty. the unrelenting resistance. the thousands of acts of courage. and the giving of life itself. is one of the brightest chapters in the history of America. for the Philippines are still under our flag. To illustrate. on the island of Panay. during theJapanese occupation. through friendly Filipinos word was sent to our Navy that there were 40 Americans on the island who wanted to be taken off. The Navy said it would send a submarine to a certain point on the island on a given date to take off these refugees. word spread around and when the sub arrived. instead of 40 there were 67 Americans who had assembled to be taken off. Although this maneuver required several days and the news of the event had to be passed on to hundreds of people. and although a garrison of 500 Japanese soldiers was but 3 miles distant. the sub came to the point at the appointed time. took on all of the American refugees. and departed before a single Jap knew anything about it. On another occasion. at an important juncture in the Battle of Leyte. the chief Japanese admiral was flying across the Viscayan Islands. Bad weather forced down his plane on the island of Cebu.