FALLEN JAPANESE ARMY LEADER. The photograph of Capt. Isao Yamazoe displayed at a shrine in Dulag, Leyte built to honor the fallen Japanese army leader. The locals described him as 'a good leader, a smiling captain and a friend to everyone'. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
DULAG, LEYTE-- For most Filipinos, the Japanese soldiers during World War II were enemies but for the locals of Dulag town in Leyte, the foreign invaders led by a young captain were regarded as good friends and still are after 75 years of the country’s liberation.
Called “Little Tokyo” during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines from 1942 to 1945, Dulag’s economy was alive during the war, historian Jovito Bautista, 89, recalled in an interview on Wednesday.
Bautista, just 13 when hundreds of Imperial Japanese Army members invaded their town, described the head Capt. Isao Yamazoe as “a good leader, a smiling captain and a friend to everyone.”
Local historian Jovito Bautisa, 89, recalls how the Japanese soldiers under the leadership of Capt. Isao Yamazoe nicely treated locals during World War II. He was just 13 when the Japanese soldiers invaded Dulag, Leyte. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
“Those years, the Japanese were one of my best childhood memories. Capt. Yamazoe initiated morning calisthenics, athletics, and cultural shows, dances and movie screenings for the entertainment of residents. Civilians and Japanese officers enjoyed the occasion. Guerrilla officers would sometimes slip secretly to enjoy these activities,” Bautista reminisced.
The local historian said Yamazoe and his men showed genuine concern for the locals as they encouraged families to plant root crops and vegetables on their own backyards so no one would go hungry. The children, on the other hand, continued their education inside Japanese-run schools.
Bautista, a retired school principal, said the Japanese army leader learned of the guerrillas’ plan to raid their garrison. Aware that such an attack would kill innocent civilians, Yamazoe decided to bring the battle away from the residents and asked the guerrilla forces to meet him and his men outside the town proper.
On his way to the battleground, Filipino guerrillas led by Lt. Jose Naxareno attacked Yamazoe and his men in Curva village (now named as M. H. Del Pilar) where the army officer died at the age of 32.
When they received the news of his death, the locals mourned. The church bell tolled from morning to night, according to Bautista.
Although there was no record of how many men died with Yamazoe but the accounts of his deeds are printed in two unpublished books, one of which is written by Bautista.
The municipal government has the sole possession of these books being read every Leyte Gulf Landing anniversary thus local government employees are aware of Yamazoe's story.
Accounts of American veterans in their blogs as told by locals here also contribute to the late Japanese Army captain's lingering memories.
A group of local professionals built a shrine in M. H. Del Pilar village to honor Yamazoe in 1985. Japanese tourists including the fallen captain’s descendants have been regularly visiting the shrine to do rituals.
The shrine in M. H. Del Pilar village in Dulag, Leyte built in honor of Japanese army leader Capt. Isao Yamazoe. This is the same spot where Yamazoe was killed by guerilla fighters. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
“We have Capt. Yamazoe who treated us fairly. All their efforts made Dulag a center of commerce in Leyte during the World War,” said Mayor Mildred Que.
The status of Dulag prompted American soldiers to land in the town and fight the Japanese army in 1944. The bombing took a heavy toll on the townspeople.
The church, public buildings as well as residences were razed to the ground. The streets that used to be concrete and asphalt crumbled to rubble after the American shelling, according to Que.
Aerial view of the Japanese airfield in Dulag, Leyte in 1944 after it was shelled by the US Navy light cruiser. (Photo from US Navy site)
One of the town’s historical sites is Hill 120 in San Rafael village where soldiers hoisted the American flag in Philippine soil for the first time after it was lowered in Bataan in 1942.
On Oct. 20, Leyte province will commemorate the Leyte Gulf Landings, the largest naval battle in the Pacific, and the largest naval battle in recorded history.
It was on Oct. 20, 1944, when Gen. Douglas MacArthur, together with Pres. Sergio Osmena and Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, set foot on Philippine soil, their first after they left Corregidor in 1942.
Their arrival started a battle that spanned 100,000 square miles of sea; and was fought for three days, from Oct. 23 to 25, 1944, during the invasion of Leyte by the Allied forces.
The battle signaled the fulfillment of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's famous words, “I shall return,” after going to Australia to muster support from the Allied forces in the quest to liberate the Philippines from Japanese forces’ occupation. (PNA)
