Taal, Batangas Mayor's Certification on the 6th Infantry, McKinley Division October 1946
[TRANSCRIPTION]
The Fil-American Irregular Troops or FAIT was a large guerrilla organization founded by the retired United States Army Colonel Hugh Straughn and had many affiliate units in Southern Luzon, including Batangas. The 6th Infantry Regiment, McKinley Division, which operated in the town of Lemery, was one of these. In this page is a transcription1 of a certification issued by one Dr. Ignacio Ylagan, then Mayor of Taal, Batangas, on the 6th Infantry Regiment. This certification was submitted to the United States Army as part of the unit’s application for official recognition.
MUNICIPALITY OF TAAL
PROVINCE OF BATANGAS
PHILIPPINES
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
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SUBJECT TO |
: CERTIFICATION : WHOM IT MAY CONCERN |
I hereby certify that I have known the 6th Inf. Fil-American Irregular Troops, McKinley Brigade, under Col. Hugh Straughn, as a guerrilla unit which was duly organized since 1942 in Lemery, Batangas. That I was secretly approached by Perpetuo L. Venturanza and Dominador Encarnado, the organizers of this unit in Lemery, sometime in 1942, to solicit my moral and financial support.
That I had morally and financially supported this guerrilla unit since 1942 up to the liberation of the province of Batangas.
That the guerrillas who participated with the 158th Division, U.S. Army in the liberation of the town of Mabine, Batangas, on March 7, 1945, which lasted for a week, were guerrillas from the 6th Inf. Fil-American Irregular Troops, side by side with the Blue Eagle in Mabini, Batangas.
That the 6th Inf. Fil-American Irregular Troops of Lemery participated also in the liberation of the towns of Alitagtag and Cuenca and in the mopping up operations around Mt. Makulot, side by side with the Blue Eagle, PQOG, and the 158th Division, U.S. Army.
That the guerrilla who killed two Japanese guards at the Taal-Lemery Bridge on 5 June 1943 was from Lemery who belonged to the 6th Inf. Fil-American Irregular Troops.
That the 6th Inf. Fil-American Irregular Troops had maintained sufficient force in the field throughout the occupation, and their saboteurs and intelligence activities had contributed materially to the eventual defeat of the enemy in the province of Batangas.
I also wish to state that I had contacts with the Filipino “boys” sent over from Australia by General MacArthur in 1943, and this information I sent to the 6th Inf. Fil-American Irregular Troops for its military and morale value.
Municipal Mayor