1st Filipino Infantry Regiment

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1st Filipino Infantry Regiment
Per pall Argent, Gules and Azure, over the second and third an Igorot war shield and kris in saltire Or.
Regiment Coat of Arms
Active4 March 1942[1] – 10 April 1946[2]
Disbanded1952[2]
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
TypeInfantry
SizeRegiment
Motto(s)"Laging Una" (Always First)[3]
March"On to Bataan"[3][4]
EngagementsWorld War II
Decorations
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation[2]
Campaign streamersAsiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal streamer
Commanders
Regiment Commander
Distinctive Unit Insignia
A Gold color metal and enamel device 1+1⁄4 inches (3.2 cm) consisting of a shield blazoned: Per pall Argent, Gules and Azure, over the second and third an Igorot war shield and kris in saltire Or. Attached above the shield a wreath of the colors Argent and Gules three mullets Or. Attached below the shield a Gold scroll inscribed 'LAGING UNA' in Blue letters.

The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was a

veterans of the Battle of the Philippines that saw combat during World War II. It was formed and activated at Camp San Luis Obispo, California, under the auspices of the California National Guard.[13] Originally created as a battalion, it was declared a regiment on 13 July 1942. Deployed initially to New Guinea in 1944, it became a source of manpower for special forces and units that would serve in occupied territories. In 1945, it deployed to the Philippines, where it first saw combat as a unit. After major combat operations, it remained in the Philippines until it returned to California and was deactivated in 1946 at Camp Stoneman
.

Background

In 1898, the Philippines was

was revoked.[16][17]

In 1941, the

PFC Ramon S. Subejano, who was awarded the Silver Star for actions in Germany.[27]

History

Stateside

Constituted in March 1942,

medical detachment, and a band.[32] Members of this regiment were notably issued bolo knives in place of rifles.[33]

In the foreground a platform with officers facing away from the camera. In the background a formation of over a thousand soldiers, raising their right arms
Naturalization ceremony at Camp Beale on February 20, 1943

The Regiment continued to train and grow, leading to the activation of the

Camp Beale.[1] Eventually, more than 7,000 soldiers would be assigned to the Filipino Infantry Regiments.[34][35] While at Camp Beale, there was a mass naturalization ceremony of 1,200 soldiers of the Regiment.[36][37] As members of the armed forces they were able to become citizens;[38] in 1924 naturalization of Filipino Americans had been barred, as it was determined that only aliens could be naturalized and Filipinos at the time were nationals.[39] In November 1943, it paraded through Los Angeles, with Carlos Bulosan, the influential Filipino author of America Is in the Heart, there to witness it.[40]

Three soldiers behind a M1917 Browning machine gun while training in a field in California
Soldiers of the Regiment training on a machine gun in 1943.

Members of the Regiment faced discrimination during this period. The

Sacramento and San Francisco, where they were mistaken for Japanese Americans.[44]

Deployment

Five men in foreground, four in World War II uniform, one in the center in a suite and overcoat. Behind a color guard stands at attention, with a formation of Filipino American soldiers behind it.
Formation of the Regiment during the visit of Commonwealth Vice President Osmeña

In April 1944, the Regiment departed California aboard the

standard allocated size.[1] The remaining soldiers of the 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment who did not join the Regiment formed the 2nd Filipino Infantry Battalion (Separate).[1] During its time at Oro Bay, the Regiment was reinforced with Filipinos from Hawaii.[1][3] These men had not been able to enlist in the Army until 1943 as the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association had successfully argued that their labor was needed in the sugar industry.[13]

In February 1945, the Regiment was sent to

Bataan Peninsula,[6] and the recapture of former Fort Mills;[7] the Regiment was not awarded formal campaign participation for these individual actions.[2]

Post-combat

Color guard
of the Regiment

By August 1945, operations came to a close

Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary over differences in pay, culture and local women.[3] Others married women under the War Brides Act,[63] which allowed spouses and adopted children of United States military personnel to enter the U.S.[64] For these newly married couples, a "tent city"[1] was established by Colonel William Hamby, who had succeeded Offley as the Regiment Commander.[1] Many younger soldiers connected to a culture to which they had previously only had a distant relationship, learning language and customs that were not used or practiced in the United States.[3]

Soldiers of the Regiment who did either not qualify to return to the U.S., either due to having insufficient

Pittsburgh, California, where it was deactivated on 10 April 1946.[1][2]

Legacy

During the war the efforts of Filipino and American defenders during the

marker in Salinas in honor of their former unit.[70]

The War Brides Act of 1945, and subsequent

war brides.[72] These new Filipino American families formed a second generation of Filipino Americans,[26] significantly expanding the Filipino American community.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Fabros, Alex S. "California's Filipino Infantry". The California State Military Museum. California State Military Department. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Statement of Service". Center of Military History. United States Army. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
    "Statement of Service". United States Army. Center of Military History. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Revilla, Linda A. (1996). ""Pineapples," "Hawayanos," and "Loyal Americans": Local Boys in the First Filipino Infantry Regiment, US Army" (PDF). Social Process in Hawai'i. 37. University of Hawai`i at Manoa: 57–73. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  4. ^ . Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  5. ^
    Honolulu Advertiser
    . Retrieved 10 May 2011. Soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments also participated in bloody combat and mop-up operations in New Guinea, Leyte, Samar, Luzon and the southern Philippines.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7385-6981-9. Retrieved 24 May 2011. The 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments trained at Fort Ord
    , after which they distinguished themselves in the Battle of Leyte and on the Bataan Peninsula.
  7. ^ . Retrieved 8 June 2011. Members of the first and second regiments also served in the parachute-naval assault to recapture the island of Corregidor in 1944
  8. ^ . Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  9. ^ "1st Filipino Infantry and 2nd Filipino Infantry in Bataan, Philippines". CriticalPast.com. 1943. Retrieved 8 June 2011. First Commander of the 1st Filipino Infantry, Colonel Robert H Offley.
  10. ^ . Retrieved 8 June 2011. Robert H. Offley Filipino.
  11. ^ . Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  12. . Retrieved 26 May 2011. The War Department already had several long-serving segregated units for African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Filipinos and established several more during 1942. The Office of War information saw propaganda value in having combat units of different nationalities. Thus during 1942 the War Department organized the 1st Filipino infantry in California and battalion-size units of Norwegians, Austrians, and Greeks.
  13. ^ . Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  14. . Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  15. . Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  16. ^ "Filipino Immigration" (PDF). Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  17. ^ Eftihia Danellis; Ann Du. "Fight for Democracy: An Educator's Resource Guide" (PDF). National Center for the Preservation of Democracy. Retrieved 18 May 2011. However, in 1934, they were reclassified as "aliens".
  18. Center of Military History. United States Army. 3 October 2003. Archived
    from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  19. . Retrieved 10 May 2011. filipino Americans World War II enlist reject.
  20. . Retrieved 10 May 2011. Filipinos world war II.
  21. ^ "Key Events in the Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt". Miller Center of Public Affairs. University of Virginia. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  22. . Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  23. ^ . Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  24. . Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  25. ^ Perez, Frank Ramos; Perez, Leatrice Bantillo (1994). "The Long Struggle for Acceptance: Filipinos in San Joaquin County" (PDF). The San Joaquin Historian. 8 (4). The San Joaquin County Historical Society: 3–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2011. In San Joaquin County many Filipinos who volunteered for military service were rejected because of their age and/or the need for them to continue to work in the fields harvesting the crops to feed the armed forces.
  26. ^ . Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  27. ^ Al Livingston (December 2008). "Remembering Ramon Subejano, A One Man Army" (PDF). Carriage News. taxi-usa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  28. ^ The reference Creating Masculinity in Los Angeles's Little Manila (España-Maram, 2006) used the word "Formed". By Army terminology this is incorrect. Per Army Regulation 220-5 Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine the correct term is "Constituted". The article has been edited to reflect that.
  29. . Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  30. ^ "Fort Ord". California Military Museum. California State Military Department. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2011. Another unit of interest, the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, was activated in April and eventually included a few veterans of fighting on Bataan that had been wounded, evacuated, and returned to duty in the United States.
  31. ^ *Andrew Ruppenstien; Manny Santos (21 January 2010). "The First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments U.S. Army". Historic Marker Database. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  32. ^ a b "1st Filipino Infantry" (PDF). Camp Roberts Trainer. United States Army. 1943. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  33. .
  34. ^ "An Untold Triumph: The Story of the 1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, U.S. Army". Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program. Smithsonian Institution. 30 January 2003. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011. An Untold Triumph captures the never-been-told story of how the U.S. Army's World War II 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, made up of more than 7,000 immigrants and sons of immigrants, played a vital role in General Douglas MacArthur's covert plan to retake the Philippines.
  35. ^ . Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  36. ^ "World War Two 1st Filipino Infantry". Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program. Smithsonian Institution. 2008. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  37. . Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  38. ^ "Selected Dates and Events of Asian Pacific American History". Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs. State of Washington. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011. As members of the armed forces, Filipinos are allowed to become U.S. citizens. 1,200 Filipino soldiers stand proudly in "V" formation at Camp Beale as citizenship is conferred on them.
  39. ^ *"Asian Americans". History World International. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  40. ^ Dr. Riz A. Oade. ""The Day of Infamy" SD's Unsung Heroes of World War II". Asian Journal. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  41. ^ Alex S. Fabros Jr. (1995). "My Funny Valentine: A Battle In The Filipino American Civil Rights Movement" (PDF). AAS 456. San Francisco State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  42. . Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  43. ^ A Filipino Wife. "Letters from Readers: The Filipinos Do Not Understand" (PDF). AAS 456. San Francisco State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  44. . Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  45. ^ "USS General John Pope (AP-110)" (PDF). Naval History Division. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  46. Center of Military History. United States Army. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  47. ^ "1st Filipino Regiment". Center of Military History. United States Army. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  48. ^ a b "The Philippine Army World War II". Waiting Room USA. Sirzib Publishing Inc. 2 July 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  49. . Retrieved 18 May 2011. Many were paratroopers or from the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, a US Army unit organized in the States.
  50. .
  51. OCLC 316829618. Archived from the original
    on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2014. From Filipino regiments stationed in the United States Whitney selected about 400 men, who received training in communications, intelligence, and sabotage and formed parties to penetrate the Philippines.
  52. . Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  53. ^ Captain Francis D. Cronin (1951). "Americal Division Order of Battle". Americal Division Veterans Association. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  54. . Retrieved 24 May 2011. Reinforced by elements of the 1st Filipino Infantry, U.S. Army, the 182ds battalion overran organized resistance on northwest Samar by 1 March, and on the 4th of the month relinquished responsibility for patrolling in the region to the 1st Filipino Infantry and attached guerrillas.
  55. ^ a b Cannon, M. Hamlin (1993). Leyte: The Return to the Philippines. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 365. Retrieved 25 May 2011. In the X Corps phase, the island of Samar was cleared of Japanese troops. The Americal Division, advance elements of which arrived on 24 January, extensively patrolled both the islands of Leyte and Samar. During the Eighth Army Area Command phase, the constant searching out of isolated groups of enemy soldiers continued. In addition to the Americal Division, the Regiment patrolled Leyte. On 8 May, the control of the Eighth Army over the area came to an end.
  56. ^ Eftihia Danellis; Ann Du. "Fight for Democracy: An Educator's Resource Guide" (PDF). National Center for the Preservation of Democracy. Retrieved 24 May 2011. Assigned to the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, Domingo came ashore on Leyte Island in the Philippines. His unit had been assigned the dangerous task of "mopping up" enemy soldiers who refused to surrender at all costs.
  57. ^ M. Hamilin Cannon (1993). "Chapter XXII: Leyte is Liberated". Leyte: The Return to the Philippines. ibiblio.org. Retrieved 24 May 2011. In addition to the Americal Division, the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment patrolled Leyte.
  58. . Retrieved 24 May 2011. Additional American units were called into the battle of Leyte: the 32nd Infantry Division, the 77th and 37th Infantry Divisions, the Americal Division, the 11th Airborne Division, the 112th Cavalry Regiment Combat Team, the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, the 20th Armored Group, and the 1st Filipino Infantry.
  59. . Retrieved 24 May 2011. "On Samar, elements of Americal Division and 1st Filipino Infantry clear Mauro area.
  60. District of Columbia: United States Army. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original
    on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  61. ^ "Japan Capitulates, August – September 1945". Naval History & Heritage Command. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  62. ^ "The Philippine Airborne". The Corregidor Historic Society. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011. Shortly after the mission, the 5217th, now the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, was sent to Manila, where Walter and his cadre were returned to the 503d PRCT. Shortly thereafter, in August 1945, the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was disbanded and the men reassigned.
  63. . Retrieved 25 May 2011. The 1945 War Brides Act enabled these veterans to bring back war brides from the Philippines, and the 1946 Luce-Cullar Act gave all Filipinos the right to naturalize.
  64. . Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  65. .
  66. ^
  67. . Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  68. ^ "Philippine Studies Audio-Visual Resources". Wong Audio-Visual Room, Sinclair Library. University of Hawaii at Manoa. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  69. ^ Dennis Harvey (26 March 2003). "An Untold Triumph: The Story of the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, U.S. Army". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  70. ^ Andrew Ruppenstien; Manny Santos (21 January 2010). "The First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments U.S. Army". Historic Marker Database. Retrieved 8 June 2011. Personnel won more than 50,000 decorations, awards, medals, ribbons, certificates, commendations and citations.
  71. . Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  72. . Retrieved 11 June 2011.

Further reading

External links