US envoy receptive of Victory Day celebration

By Dexter See

BAGUIO CITY –The United States government is receptive to proposal of Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan to celebrate Victory Day in the Summer Capital every Sept. 3 as it was on the said date that World War II ended when Gen. Tomoyoki Yamashita of the Japanese Imperial Army officially signed his surrender documents inside his room at the Ambassador’s Residence located within the Camp John Hay, a former American military base, US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg said here.

           

During a meeting with Domogan at City Hall Monday morning, Goldberg said the US Embassy will study the celebration of Victory Day in the city in order to appropriately celebrate the end of the hostilities between the American and Filipino forces against the Japanese forces starting this coming September 3, 2014.

           

The US envoy was impressed by Domogan’s knowledge on the history of the Americans and Japanese in the country.

He said the proposal to celebrate Victory Day is appropriate to give justice to those who fought for the country’s independence and enrich the history of the Philippines.

           

“We need to give recognition to those who fought hard in order to put an end to the World War II hostilities the soonest and we are happy to celebrate Victory in Baguio City which we consider as our second home,” Goldberg stressed.

           

Goldberg jokingly informed Domogan that he refused to use the room that was used by Yamashita inside the Ambassador’s Residence  during his 3-day stay in the city for fear that there are still “ghosts” left behind by the Japanese military in the area.

           

“It is unfortunate that the Philippine government is giving priority to the celebration of our defeat in the hands of the Japanese by making the Fall of Bataan a red letter day but our victory in the war is obviously being set aside for still unknown reasons,” Domogan told Goldberg during their 40-minute talk.

           

According to Mayor Domogan, World War II officially started and ended in Baguio City considering that after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the gate of Camp John Hay, which was then known as the John Hay Air station, an American rest and recreation center, was bombed by Japanese warplanes on December 8, 1941 that signalled the start of the war in the country.

           

While Yamashita was captured in Kiangan, Ifugao on September 2, 1945, the local chief executive disclosed he was immediately brought to Baguio City by joint American and Filipino forces and on September 3, 1945, the embattled Japanese general officially signed his surrender documents inside the Ambassador’s Residence inside John Hay that also signalled the end of World War II hostilities.

           

He claimed the celebration of Victory Day was only done once with the presence of previous US and Japanese ambassadors in the city but the said activity was never given importance for reasons that he still cannot explain, thus, he appealed to Goldberg to initiate the move to institutionalize the joint celebration of Victory Day in order to give importance to an historic event that ended the war instead of highlighting the celebration of our defeat in the hands of the tyranic Japanese soldiers.