Filipinos returning home after the Battle for Manila, March 1945... These Filipinos were very lucky they were able to flee the city before the Battle for Manila began with what few possessions they could carry with them. Here they are returning home after the battle. They will probably find that their home is nothing more than a pile of rubble and ashes. Except for historians what happened here in Manila, Philippines 70 years ago this coming February is little known and is fading into the past. The city of Manila was 80% destroyed during WWII. Over 100,000 innocent men, women, and children citizens of Manila lost their life in just February of 1945 alone. And it was not just caused by the Japanese. The very heavy-handed attack by the American’s was directed at eliminating the occupying Japanese by killing as many as possible with little concern for the lives of the innocent Filipinos whom it was home to. Manila was caught in the middle, Japan and the USA, fighting a war in a country not their own. Up until the Japanese invasion of December 1941 Manila was rightfully known as the Pearl of the Orient, the most modern and glorious city in all of Asia. With no restitution from Japan after war and actually not even an apology, and not enough from the USA to rebuild, Manila was never able to regain its status as the most wonderful city in the Orient. And this was just Manila, the same destruction occurred all over the Philippines from the far north to the far south of the 7,000+ Islands. Photograph taken by a “Life” magazine photographer. Photographer: Carl Mydans For personal non-commercial use only This image is copyrighted by © Time Inc. and if you would want to use it for a commercial publication you will need to get permission.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 07:07:19 +0000
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