23/02/2023
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Umaga ng February 23, 1945, ilang buwan bago ang pagtatapos ng World War II, sinalakay ng pinagsamang puwersa ng mga sundalong Filipino, Amerikano, at Tsino ang Los Baรฑos Internment Camp upang palayain ang higit 2,000 bihag na nakakulong sa loob ng halos tatlong taon. Ang pagsalakay na ito sa Los Baรฑos ay isa lamang sa mga rescue operation na isinagawa ng pinagsamang puwersa ng mga Filipino at Amerikano noong WWII.
Dahil sa pagsisiksikan ng mga prisoners-of-war at kakulangan ng suplay sa University of Santo Tomas campus sa Maynila, napilitan ang mga Hapon na gawin na ring concentration camp ang Philippines College of Agriculture (ngayoโy UP Los Baรฑos) sa Laguna. Bagamaโt naging maayos ang naging pagtrato sa mga preso sa mga unang taon, naging mahigpit ang patakaran sa kulungan pagsapit ng 1944 sa ilalim ng pamumuno nina Maj. Iwanaka Yasuaka at Warrant Officer Konishi Sadaaki. Mas hinigpitan pa ang pamamalakad sa internment camp nang unti-unting sumasalakay ang puwersa ng mga Amerikano sa Luzon noong January 1945. Nakarating sa kaalaman ni Gen. Douglas MacArthur ang karahasang sinasapit ng mga POWs kung kayaโt naglunsad siya ng isang operasyon upang palayain ang mga ito. Itinalaga ito ni MacArthur sa 11th Airborne Division na pinamumunuan ni Maj. Gen. Joseph Swing. Hinihingi rin nila ang tulong ni Maj. Jay Vanderpool at ng Hunters ROTC, Marking's Fil-American Troops, President Quezon's Own Guerrillas (PQOG), Anderson's Guerrillas, ang Wa Chi Guerrillas, at mga lokal na puwersa ng HUKBALAHAP.
Noong umaga ng February 23, 1945 nang lusubin nila ang Los Baรฑos. Isa-isang lumapag ang mga sundalo gamit ang parachute mula sa C-47 aircrafts at ilang amphibious landing naman ang isinagawa sa Laguna de Bay. Tumulong naman ang mga gerilya sa pagsasaayos ng mga nasirang tulay at pagghahanda sa evacuation route. Napasok nila ang concentration camp nang alas siyete ng umaga, kasagsagan ng morning exercise ng mga preso at sundalong Hapon. Matagumpay na nailigtas ang higit 2,000 internees at naihatid patungong Mamatid, Cabuyao, Laguna. Mula Cabuyao, dinala ang mga POWs sa New Bilibid Prison sa Muntinlupa upang asikasuhin at gamutin. Ang pagsalakay ng mga sundalong Amerikano sa Los Baรฑos ay ikinagalit ng mga Hapon. Dahil sa pag-aakalang kasabwat ang mga lokal sa operasyon, ipinapatay ang higit 1,500 residente sa lugar. Sa pagtatapos ng digmaan, nilitis si Officer Konishi at hinatulan ng bitay noong 1947.
Bilang pag-alala sa makasaysayang operasyong ito, tinawag na UPLB Freedom Park ang dating kinatatayuan ng concentration camp sa lugar. Isang historical marker din ang inilagak ng National Historical Commission of the Philippines sa UPLB Baker Hall noong 2005.
Project Vinta. (February 23, 2022). Los Banos Raid. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pvinta/photos/a.1962088134038450/3162930853954166/
On the morning of February 23, 1945, the combined forces of the US Army's 11th Airborne Division, and various Filipino and Chinese guerrillas raided the Los Baรฑos Internment Camp in Laguna. They freed more than 2,000 internees who have been detained for about three years. This was the second rescue operation executed by the joint US-Filipino forces during the Second World War.
Issues of congestion and scarcity of basic necessities among the interned Allied civilians inside the University of Santo Tomas campus prompted the Japanese to convert the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (now UP Los Baรฑos) campus as a concentration camp for American internees. While the initial administrators were described as compassionate and tolerant, this changed in 1944, when the camp's leaders, Major Iwanaka Yasuaka and Warrant Officer Konishi Sadaaki, imposed strict policies. This made the lives of the internees further miserable. These restrictions became tighter as the Americans landed in Luzon in January 1945.
The intelligence reports on the Japanese brutal acts against Allied prisoners of war made General Douglas MacArthur authorize the rescue operation at Los Baรฑos. It was assigned this mission to the 11th Airborne Division, then based in Paraรฑaque and led by Major General Joseph Swing. They planned to use airborne and amphibious tactics for the raid. However, this was delayed for a week as they were heavily involved in the assault of the Genko Line, a Japanese defensive line south of Manila. For this mission, they sought the help of Major Jay Vanderpool to coordinate with different guerrilla units in the area: the Hunters ROTC, the Marking's Fil-American Troops, the President Quezon's Own Guerrillas (PQOG), Anderson's Guerrillas, the Wa Chi Guerrillas, and the local HUKBALAHAP squadron.
On the morning of the operation, units from the 11th Airborne arrived in Los Baรฑos through parachute drops from C-47 aircrafts and amphibious landings from Laguna de Bay. Another 11th Airborne unit then acted as a diversionary force by attacking a major Japanese force stationed along Calamba's San Juan River. The guerillas gave assistance by building the blown bridges along the planned evacuation route and fending off possible Japanese reinforcements. The concentration camp was breached at 7:00 A.M., in time for the morning exercise of prisoners and soldiers. As a result, many of the Japanese soldiers were caught unarmed during the attack. The internees were transported in amphibious vehicles and traveled to Mamatid, Cabuyao, Laguna via the Laguna de Bay. From there, they transferred to trucks that brought them to the New Bilibid Prisons complex in Muntinlupa (then part of Rizal Province) for accounting and treatment.
The occurrence of the raid enraged the Japanese, who thought that the raid succeeded with the help of the local populace and the guerrillas. Aided by the Makapilis, they conducted reprisals against the Los Baรฑos residents, resulting in the deaths of about 1,500 residents. This led some surviving residents to blame the reprisals on the Americans, who failed to secure the area from Japanese hands. After the war, Konishi would be convicted for these war crimes and subsequently executed in 1947.
To memorialize the Los Baรฑos raid, the open field that was used for the concentration camp was renamed the UPLB Freedom Park. In 2005, a historical marker was unveiled by the National Historical Institute (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) at the UPLB's Baker Hall.
