US Army Signal Corps Pictures taken during the Liberation of Santo Tomas, Batangas in 1945

A set of pictures taken by the United States Army Signal Corps in the Philippines in 1945 and filed away at the United States National Archives in digital format are labeled has having been taken in the “town of Santo Tomas, Luzon, P.I.” In the island of Luzon, there are towns named Santo Tomas at least in the provinces of La Union, Isabela, Pampanga and, of course, Batangas. The phrase “at least” is used because these are what show up in the initial pages of a Google Search.

A closer examination of the captions, however, confirm that the town called Santo Tomas where the pictures were taken was, indeed, the northernmost town of the Province of Batangas. First, all the pictures were dated 18, 24 or 25 March 1945. Second, two combat groups of the United States Army were involved: the 7^th Calvary as well as the 8^th Cavalry. Finally, the captions seem to indicate that the pictures were taken at around the time when the town of Santo Tomas was being liberated from Japanese Occupation.

We refer now to a United States Army document listing the approximate dates when the towns of the Philippines were liberated from Japanese control. For Santo Tomas, the date given was 28 March 1945. It further stated that the town was “seized” from the Japanese by the 7^th Cavalry. These details were contradicted by Robert Ross Smith² who, in a book, wrote that Santo Tomas was taken four days earlier on the 24^th; and that the combat group involved was the 8^th Cavalry.

From the captions, we learn that both the 7^th and 8^th were BOTH involved in the liberation campaign. A “liberation festival” was held as early as the 18^th, but this does not necessary belie the dates given by the US Army document and Smith. The pictures when the festival was being held appear to have been taken in the poblacion or town center; and it is entirely possible that the dates given by the US Army document and Smith were for when the entirety of the town was freed of Japanese control.