Statements of Juan M. Villegas of the 6th Infantry, McKinley Division Put on Record by the US Army

GSCPG 201-Villegas, Juan M.

APO 707 17 December 1945

It is desired to place on record the statements of Juan M. Villegas, who at different times has represented himself as the Commanding Officer of the 1^st Regiment, 6^th Infantry, McKinley Brigade at Nasugbu, Batangas. A similar report is on file from an interview with Miguel M. David, also a claimant as Commanding Officer of the same guerrilla unit. David’s statement was made prior to, and without the knowledge that the following day, both David and Villegas would be interrogated together. Although both men have sworn statements on file that each is the Commanding Officer of the unit concerned, when they arrived together for interrogation, they were cordial to each other and had come to an understanding. The first dual interrogation was on 12 December 1945 in the Guerrilla Affairs Office and the second was on 13 December 1945 in the same office.

Villegas was immediately asked to write the succession of leadership on the unit and it was as follows:

1. December 1942 to January 1944, Miguel David was Executive Officer in the absence of Calixto Gasilao (Hugh Straughn’s man).
2. From February 1944 to February 1945, Longinos de Sacola was in command (David fled and remained in hiding).
3. From 22 February 1945 to now, Juan M. Villegas commanded.
4. Villegas (in the presence of David) now states David is the leader.

Villegas was then asked to enumerate the list of actual achievements of the unit, and since he was with the unit longer than David and also had an opportunity to compare notes with David prior to the interview, the following list was given:

1. Sixty Jap soldiers were killed at Papaya Beach in February 1944 by C Company under Ambrosio Liwanag. A Jap ship had been bombed by Americans. The Japs attempted to swim ashore and were met by many Filipinos who killed them with bolos (unconfirmed).
2. We snatched three rifles from the Jap garrison at Wawa.
3. We removed three or four pieces of track on the railroad to Laog.
4. Two small, wooden railroad bridges were burned.
5. Two locomotives and parts removed and were temporarily rendered unserviceable.
6. Two maps were stolen from the Wawa garrison (Jap) and sent to General Lim in Mindoro.

7. We cut the telephone line from the sugar mill to Palico.
8. We sent approximately ten reports to Major Vanderpool through the ROTC at Cutad during 1945.
9. We saved three pilots that crashed in the ocean during December 1944.
10. We built three CP’s. The one at Natipuan had five cogon grass huts. The one at Balaytigui had three buildings. The one at Utod one building. Also, an evacuation center was started and three houses were built.

In connection with the above activities, it should be noticed that Villegas knows they happened but on several of them, he does not know or will not state who the actual men were who accompanied them. He also states that the actions were not done on orders of the unit but were done in each case on the individual initiative of the men involved.

Villegas states that David was the original organizer but that several men assisted him and, therefore, they are all equally deserving. He also states that in February 1945, when de Sacola was in command, that approximately 600 men were selected for attachment to the United States Army. These men were picked from the entire regiment. After that time, Villegas took command and considered that de Sacola was no longer a part of the organization. Villegas claims that 2,500 men were full-time guerrillas, but also states that they did farming or fishing.

There is a possibility of political connections as all of these men are men who work on the Roxas (President of the Senate) estate. Villegas also admitted that 650 of his men were recognized on the Blue Eagle rosters. It is felt that Villegas did not try to lie directly during the questioning, but it could be concluded that he does attempt to take credit for actions of which he was not in charge of and which there is no proof that it was actually his organization that accomplished the acts.

/s/ Charles P. Middleton Jr.
/t/ CHARLES P. MIDDLETON JR.

[Sgd.] BRUCE BROMLEY, JR.

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