Weren't they mostly destroyed by GIs right before the surrender?
“There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by readin’. The few who learn by observation.
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” - Will Rogers
Weren't they mostly destroyed by GIs right before the surrender?
Not all of them...there's a published photo taken in occupied Manila of a mother and child evading a Japanese sentry with what is obviously an M1903 with fixed bayonet. And, some were "reissued" to a group of US POWs used as extras in a Japanese propaganda film around 1943.
But yes, from accounts I've read, many of them were either piled up and burned, or thrown in the ocean. Some kept fighting in the hands of the guerilla forces, but after years of tropical conditions and homemade ammunition I wonder how salvageable they would have been.
And, some were "reissued" to a group of US POWs used as extras in a Japanese propaganda film around 1943.
I didn't know this. Is the footage still around and viewable?
“There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by readin’. The few who learn by observation.
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” - Will Rogers
It was a Japanese propaganda movie showing the "independence" of the Philippines given by the Japanese in 1943. Quite a few POWs were used as the "bad guys" during the movie. They were given a new uniform to replace the rags they had and a couple of decent meals. They played their part and back to the POW camp they went.
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
I had a buddy, now passed on, who was in heavy combat in Manila 1944-45. He told me he saw piles of Japanese equipment and US equipment being sorted by US Ordnance folks. The Japanese stuff was destroyed and the US stuff was retained. He said all of it had been heavily used by Japanese troops and was in very poor shape. He said the Japanese had many M1903's and M1917 rifles that had been captured by US troops. He said anyone could pick up whatever they wanted and it was OK. He said the US stuff was in terrible shape. He did give me a US bayonet from that pile and I still have it. I have heard the US stuff was given to the Philippine Army to help start them off in 1946, don't know if that is true.
Originally Posted by 
PM
