Tribute to Wainwright

Title

Language

English

Source

Philippines 3 (3) May 6, 1943

Year

1943

Subject

Philippine--History--1898-1946

Wainwright, Jonathan Mayhew, 1883-1953

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

On April 19 President Quezon paid tribute to the gallant defender of Bataan and Corregidor, Lt. Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright, on the occasion of the President's participation in the state ceremonies honoring General Wainwright and the heroes of Bataan and Corregidor, at Hartford, Connecticut.

Fulltext

MAT. GEX. BASlLIO T. \':\LDES. Chief of Src1ff of che Philippine Army. infor~ed rhe Filipino people tlm Americ,1 has seize.:l rhe offensi,·e iniciarive in rhe Sonrhwest Pacific. Disclaiming anr :mempr co r,1ise false hopes. he answered the question, "Ho~· soon will the Japanese be dri,·en out oi the Philippines?"· in the lighc of developments in the first fourteen months of ~rnr. "There is no doubt that America has begun the job of bearing Japan," he said. '"Ir will take a long rime yet of bitter fighting to bring her co her knees. Bue whether it rakes months or years, one thing is certain-the job is going co be done, and done uncompromisingly." The General concluded with President Ro11s~,·dc"s address to the American people in which che President declared: "\\7e do not expecc co spend che rime 11 would cake co bring Japan to final defeat by inching our way forward from island to island across rhe ,·asc expanse of the Pacific. Great and decisive actions against the Japanese will be taken in the skies of China-and in chc skies o\·er Japan itself. The discussions at Casablanca ha,·c been continued in Chungking with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek by General Arnold and ha\·e resulted in definite plans ior offensive operations. There are many roads which lead righc w Tokyo. And we're nor going tO neglect any of chem." Quezon Pleacls for Pacific Aid E XPRESSlNG grave concern o\·er recent reports of Japanese naval concentration in the island arc north of Auscrnlia and a new Japanese mass air offensi\•e on allied Southwest Pacific bases, Presidem Manuel L. Quezon issued this statement on April 15: '"The whole world knows that my heart is in the Philip· pines; and I cannot forget that the fate of the Filipino people, who are now under the iron heel of a ruthless enemy, is bound up with the course of rhe war in the Pacific. "Japan must nor be allowed co make further gains. She must not be granted time co devote all her energies to consolidating her position and mastering the immense natural resources now available to her-resources even greater chan those available to Hider. To give Japan the chance ro do these things would mean very serious risks for rhe United Nations and would raise tremendously the price of her ultimate defeat in lives and in sacrifices. "I hope, therefore, that steps will be taken--and taken immediately-to strengthen our arms in the Pacific, at least enough to stop Japan in her tracks. "It is true that, in waging this global war, many coldblooded decisions must be made. There have been, and no doubt will continue to be, times when whole battlefronts and even whole nations will be considered temporarily expendable in order to win the final victory. But it is impossible for me to conceive that the entire Far East is expendable." 2 J All'.IE HER.i"\IANDEZ. i\udit0r-(jencr.il of the Philip· pines, assured rhe Filipino people char che Commonwealth (~m·ernmcnt will be as financially sound at che end of the war as ir was before the Japanese im·as1on of rhe Philip· pines. The Auditor-General reported that practically all the funds of d1e Philippine Government were saved from Jap;111ese hands and that the inreresr accruing co Go"ernmenr bends and funds on deposit in the United Scares is sufficient co meet rhe much-reduced expenses of running the Gov· ernment. the payment of interest on Government bond issues, and rhe p<tyment of allowances co Government pensionados and to young Filipino srnd~ncs scr.rnded in the United Scares. Mr. Hernandez stated char rhe Commonwealth Go\'crnment is keeping its expenses within ics limited income. "\Ve are sa,·ing every peso we can for chc d.iy of viuory,"' he said. "And when that day comes. as come ic muse, your Government will be financially pre-pared for the gigantic ra~k of our country's reconstruction.'' This he believed possible through cone inucd co11p(·r.11ion between the United Scates and the Philippines. He con· eluded, "'With the economic assistance of the United Stares, we can face rhe future with confidence. \X'irh Cod's help. we can look forward co a greater. stronger. more prosperous Philippines." Tribute to Wainwright On April 19 President Quezon paid tribute to the gallant defender of Bataan and Corregidor, Lt. Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright, on the occasion of the President's participation in rhc state ceremonies honoring General Wainwright and the heroes of Bataan and Corregidor, at Hart· ford, Connecticut. He reminded his audience that in thus rendering due honor to General Wainwright, who was the son of the State, they should remember that they owed him more than a citation. "You owe him," President Quezon emphasized, "the pledge that he will soon be freed from the prison camp; that the flag of freedom will again fly over Corregidor, and chat the Filipino people will be liberated from the invader, governing themselves under the independent Republic they will establish after the enemy is driven out." The full text of the President's address follows: "I have come ro share with you the sentiments that in· spire chis official recognition, by rhe General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, of the gallantry and heroism of chat great soldier, Lieutenant General Jonathan M. Wain· wright, and his American and Filipino officers and men. "The memory of those desperate days of fighting in the Philippines is always with me, and my heart is pierced by chat memory. I think of those fighting men-yours and PHILIPPINES ours-battling side by side until the bitter end. Their weapons were practically those of a bygone military age. They fought against an enemy superior to them in numbers, an enemy armed with all the modern cools of \nr. And yet. they held him at bay for a time. Bur, in the end, they were defeated by the cruel combination of bullets :md bombs. hunger and disease. and sheer fatigue. "I am proud of chat memory-as you all must be, coo. For, in the bnguage of Gener.ii l\facArthur. no army has done so much with so little. '"From the first day of the war, Jonathan \\7ainwright was in the from lines. facing the enemy and brilliantly executing the plan of defense bid out by General Headquarters. "MacArthur and ·wainwright-they made a superb team. And they commanded a superb body of men. Only such a combination of military leadership and fighting forces could have climbed co the heights of human glory where rests the n::une of the men of Bataan and Corregidor. "General \\7ainwrighr was given supreme command of the heroes of Bataan and Corregidor after General MacArthur was ordered co proceed co Australia. No soldier ever faced inexorable destiny with more bravery than did General Wainwright, nor e"l'er led his troops toward certain doom with grearer glorr. He lose the battle. Bur he won the :idmirarion of the world for his army of Filipinos and Americans-he won the respect of mankind for his country and the Philippines-he won a furure freedom and security for the Filipino people who had fought by his side. ""Now General \':?ainwright is a prisoner in the hands of ;t ruthless enemy. The flag for which he risked his life has been hauled down. His men lie in bloodstained graves under the skies of Bataan, or they languish, with him, in the enemy's prison camps. And the seventeen million people of the Philippines are enslaved. 'You people of Connecricur arc rendering due honor co a great General who is rhe son of a proud Stare. Bue you owe Jonathan Wainwright more than chis. ""You owe him the pledge that he will soon be freed from the prison camp: that the flag of freedom will again fly over Corregidor, and that the Filipino people- will be liberated from the invader, governing themselves under the independent Republic they will establish after the enemy is driven out. "Then, and only then, will it be sai,! that those who suf· fered and died in the Battle of the Philippines have not died in vain." Vice-President Osmena Stresses Cooperation, Defines Criteria for Lasting Peace A SIGNIFICANT basic refrain runs through VicePresidenr Sergio Osmeiia's speeches, delivered before American and Filipino audiences in various sections of the United Scates-that of Filipino-American cooperation, which found cryscallizarion in the Battle of the Philippines, and which should continue to endure in the hard years ahead. Never is this more clearly presented than in a speech the Vice-President delivered before the Philippine Society of Southern California, on December 5, 1942. "The exemplary cooperation between the United Stares and the Philippines is not new," he said. "It is the logical conrinuation of a cordial relationship thac rook ~oot many years ago and grew warmer as the years ripened. Suspicious and even hosrile at first, the Filipino people learned to trust America because of her sincerity. In 1901, even before the end of the Filipino-American war, the Filipino people first showed their conciliatory attitude by participating in the first municipal elections held under American sovereignty. Then, in 1907, the first Philippine Assembly was established. The Filipino people, through their chosen representatives, decided upon a policy of complete cooperation. From that rime on, a real partnership between the United Stares and the Philippines began." This important theme is also emphasized in other addresses the Vice-President has delivered-in his first speech at the United Nations Rally at Boston, on June 14, 1942; at the Institute of Pacific Relations in New York, on July 13, 1942; in Cincinnati, Ohio, before the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United Stares, on August 31, 1942; before MAY 6, 1943 chc American Women's Voluntary Services of New York City, on October 9, 1942; and more recently, before the Bendix Aviation Plant Employees of New York. In one of his most solid and constructive addresses, delivered at the 47th annual meeting of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, at Philadcl phi a. Pennsylvania, on April 10, 1943, he said: "Peace, if it is co be lasting, can only be a people's peace, and force is not enough to achieve it. Within the domains of a people's peace force must be supplemented by the maintenance of justice, and the cultivation of understanding, goodwill, and cooperation among peoples. Bue, before we can ever hope co achieve harmony and cooperation, we muse first dissipate che distrust of subject peoples, for it is principally to them chat the United Nations address the democratic principles of the Atlantic Charter. This war, in the military sense, may or may noc be won without cheir active collaboration, but an enduring peace can not be established without their whole-hearted support." The full text of the Vice-President's speech follows: THE United Nations are engaged in a war for survival. They are fighting the diabolical attempts of the exponents of force to subject che whole world co perpetual slavery by depriving mankind of all rights and liberties within the four walls of the so-called "new order". A common danger has brought them together, but more lofty aims have also impelled them in their struggle. The United Nations are fighting co establish a new world of freedom ancl justice, of equality and progress, not for a 3

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