A Chronological History of the Activities of the Lipa Guerrilla Regiment Part II

25. Last day of August, 1944, about a platoon of men in “A” Co. 1^st Bn. broke through the Japanese storage of supplies at Lipa Railroad Station and set on fire one wagon fully loaded with Japanese military supplies and ran away with several boxes of ammunition and other war materials, about midnight.

26. September 12, 1944, Capt. Reyes led several of his men and destroyed the railroad track approaching the barrio of Tambo, and thereafter caused the derailing of the train which carried many Japanese troops, resulting in several dead and wounded.

27. Sometime in the middle of September 1944, at Sitio Sapac, Lipa, Batangas, the men under the command of Capt. Reyes entered the Japanese storage of supplies and carried away twelve boxes of ammunition, several pairs of shoes and four heads of cows which were all turned over to the Headquarters, for the use of the Regiment.

28. On the last part of September, 1944, the men under Captain Timoteo Paran and members of other companies of the Regiment raided the Japanese garrison at Sitio Talisay, Sapac, Dagatan and Lumbang, all in the Municipality of Lipa, Batangas, with overwhelming numbers. The Japanese retreated with no casualty and the bounties were 12 boxes of ammunition, several pairs of shoes, 4 heads of cows and clothes which were distributed to the men of the Regiment.

29. October 8, 1944, Major Saludo’s two men posted at the Malvar Airstrip, Malvar, Batangas, reported 300 barrels of high grade aviation gasoline well-camouflaged in the said place. They at once were ordered to blow them up which they successfully did.

30. October 15, 1944, from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. [likely a.m.], more or less, men of this Regiment encountered the Japanese at [the] Lipa Railroad Station, Lipa, Batangas. After firing subsided, twenty of our men were slightly wounded and so were not able to determine the casualties on the other side as it was extremely dark.

31. About the third week of October, 1944, Capt. Mendoza arrested two Makapilis by the name of Crispulo Bandelaria and his wife at Lodlod and turned them over to the Headquarters for investigation.

32. October 20, 1944, four men of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. were ordered to report to the branch base at San Lucas, Lipa, Batangas. On their way, they were ambushed by two Japanese soldiers but they only escaped without firing for fear that if the Japs were killed, the people in the neighborhood would be massacred.

33. About the last week of October, 1944, 20 men of this Regiment, particularly from “A” Co. 1^st Bn., led by Major Burgos, entered and sabotaged the Lipa Elementary School at Lipa, Batangas where they destroyed big quantities of Japanese water materials, but on their way back at about 8:00 a.m., they were overtaken by around 50 fully armed Japanese soldiers in the house of Claudio Pena at Mataas na Lupa. 18 out of the 20 men met a cold death in the hands of the enemy while only two were able to escape, with the namesof Antonio O. Lucero and Felino Alzate. (See attached appendix No. 7)

34. Immediately after the death of Major Floro Maranan (alias Major Burgos), Major Juan Salazar assumed the post of Executive Officer of the Regiment.

35. October 29, 1944, several men led by Capt. Reyes entered the Japanese storage of supplies at Tambo, Lipa, Batangas and carried away several rounds of ammunition and other war materials.

The bodega then used by the Japanese was formerly the house of Agapito Recio of the said barrio.

36. October 40, 1944, the second time the American planes raided the Malvar Airstrip, and the Japanese and Filipino laborers scampered for safety in confusion. Olquin and Mangubat taking the opportunity burned the gasoline dump, while the high explosive bodegas were directly hit by the raiding planes. Their mission being accomplished, the two men of this Regiment rallied immediately to the Headquarters with two Japanese rifles.

37. November 3, 1944, one of the American planes which raided the Japanese military positions at Lipa, Batangas was shot down and its aviator by the name of JOHN BOYLE, USNR, bailed out and was rescued by Lt. Wenceslao Magkauas and his men and taken to the Headquarters for food, shelter, and protection. Together was rescued from the wrecked plane was a 50 caliber machinegun with several rounds of ammunition. (See attached appendix No. 8)

38. Sometime in the first week of November, 1944, our Headquarters was for the fourth time moved to Pinagkaanuran, one of the remote barrios of Rosario, Batangas, to evade detection by Japanese spies. (See attached appendix No. 9)

39. Also in the early part of November, 1944, one Japanese truck that was parking at the street of the poblacion of Lipa, Batangas was loaded with several sacks of rice and, without being noticed by the guard, the men under Capt. Reyes were able to take out 10 sacks and brought them to the Headquarters for consumption.

40. Mid-November, 1944, between Banaybanay and Pangaw, Capt. Mendoza and his men encountered 7 Japanese soldiers at about 3:00 in the afternoon repairing their communication lines which we had disconnected the other day. After a few exchanges of firing, the Japanese fled leaving their equipment behind consisting of several rolls of wire, tubes, tester, and 2 helmets which were all carried to the Headquarters for use of our Regiment.

41. About the third week of November, 1944, Major Saludo and his men raided the Japanese Signal Detachment at the boundary of Lipa and Malvar. Eight Japs were killed and they ran away with two cows and a horse, set on fire the signal equipment loaded on two carts parked near their quarters. (See attached appendix No. 6)

42. At about the end of the second week of November, 1944, our Headquarters were for the fifth time moved from Pinagkaanuran to Bibilog at the foot of Malarayat Mountain, province of Batangas, for military reasons. (See attached appendix No. 10)

43. November 22, 1944, JOHN BOYLE, an American aviator who was rescued during the raid at Lipa, Batangas, was escorted by Major Juan Saludo, Capt. Mendoza, Lts. Magkauas and Vivas and the rest of the men in the Regiment and delivered to Brig. Gen. Avancena of the 25^th Red Lion Division for a better accommodation. (See attached appendix No. 8)

44. November 24, 1944, Lt. Vivas and several [men] of this Regiment raided the house of Eduardo Magsino where the Japanese kept their supplies in Lodlod, Lipa, Batangas, and carried with them 5 rifles, several rounds of ammunition, 25 parachutes, 2 boxes of Jap biscuits, 8 sacks of rice, a map and a Japanese flag.

45. November 26, 1944, men of this Regiment raided the Japanese depot at Tambo, Lipa, Batangas, and ran away with 200 cavans of rice, 25 boxes of biscuits, and brought them to the Headquarters. These food supplies were later rationed to the civilian evacuees who survived the Japanese atrocities in the neighboring towns of Batangas.

46. Last week of November, 1944, Capt. Timoteo Paran joined Lt. Antonio Paran in the sabotage operation at Sitio Sapac, Lipa, Batangas. They set on fire 60 barrels more or less of high grade aviation gasoline and other war materials.

47. On or about November 28, 1944, our Headquarters at Bibilog was attacked by no less than a company of Japanese soldiers unexpectedly. The encounter started at about 1:00 p.m. and ended at about 4:00 p.m. By this time, we outnumbered the enemy so that they later retreated. Thirty enemy soldiers were killed and one trench mortar was captured. One of our men, Felino Alzate, was wounded in the left leg.

48. November 29, 1944, at Lipa Elementary School, Lipa, Batangas, one platoon under the command of Capt. Sebastian Reyes sabotaged the enemy storage of supplies and destroyed big amounts of war materials in the said place.

49. December 19, 1944, at Banaybanay, Lipa, Batangas, Capt. Mendoza and his men set on fire one Japanese truck parked on the street loaded with gasoline and ammunition.

50. December 21, 1944, Gen. Avancena and some members of his staff came to Malvar, 3 kilometers east of the town. He and Major Saludo agreed to coordinate their activities and established a joint and temporary Headquarters in the said place until they had both fully executed their respective missions.

51. December 26, 1944, at Tambo, Lipa, Batangas, one squad of “A” Co. 1^st Bn. completely disrupted enemy communication lines such as telephone and electric wirings in the vicinity of the said place.

52. December 29, 1944, all members of the espionage and sabotage work of the Regiment were assembled at the Headquarters to hand in their respective reports as well as to receive new instructions. It was on this date when [a] complete map of the Lipa Airfield, Lipa, Batangas was drafted.

(D) 1945 ACTIVITIES:

1. January 2, 1945, Capt. Timoteo Paran with Lt. Antonio Paran and their men raided the Jap garrison at barrio San Celestino, Lipa, Batangas. They killed 10 Japs and captured to 30 caliber machineguns, one 81mm mortar, and 200 sacks of rice while burning the depot before they left.

2. First week of January, 1945, for the sixth time, our Headquarters was transferred from Bibilog to Payapa, Rosario, Batangas, for purposes of evading enemy detection. (See attached appendix No. 30)

3. January 12, 1945, we completed the map of the Japanese military installations, communication lines, storage of ammunition and supplies in the respective sectors of our operation.

4. About the first week of February, 1945, began the civilian evacuation from the neighboring municipalities of Batangas. During the frequent raids of the American planes, the Japanese became very suspicious and so started their massacre of the natives. Great numbers of Japanese soldiers had retreated from the north and south of the province of Batangas and they were heavily concentrated in various municipalities of the province. As we were greatly outnumbered, we thought it not advisable to attack, so that all we did was to go to civilian homes at midnight and conducted them down to our camps. These evacuees were the remnants of the 17,000 of innocent men, women, and children who were the victims of Japanese atrocities. In our camps, civilians were provided with food, medical care and protection. Our men were divided in several municipalities of the province to attend to the evacuees and these activities lasted up to March, 1945, when the American Forces came. (See attached appendix No. 11, 12)

5. About the middle of January, 1945, Major Saludo and his men were surprised by the Japs east of Santiago, Malvar, Batangas while crossing their lines connecting Sto. Toribio, Lipa, and Sta. Clara, Sto. Tomas. One [of] his boys by the name of Napoleon Abrenica was killed. (See attached appendix No. 6)

6. First week of February, 1945, Capt. Reyes and his men were assigned to cover up the areas of Tanuay [likely Tangway], Tibig, Lipa Airfield, San Salvador, Bulaknin, Mataas na Kahoy, Mataas na Lupa, and Tambo. Capt. Mendoza, Lts. Vivas and Loleng, the sectors of Lodlod, Pangao, Bolbok, and their vicinities; while Major Saludo, the northern towns of Malvar and Tanauan.

7. February 13, 1945, Major Saludo was in charge of the civilian evacuees at Bagbag, Tanauan. Then, from Bagbag to Pulo Islands of the province of Batangas.

8. On the first week of March 1945, our Headquarters for the 7^th time was transferred back to Pinagkaanuran, Rosario, Batangas for military reasons. (See attached appendix No. 9)

9. March 9, 1945, the Japanese attacked Major Saludo and his men at their camp in Bagbag, Tanauan. The civilian evacuees were immediately advised to leave as the men under Major Saludo stopped the advance of the enemy.

10. March 10, 1945, to protect the civilian evacuees from Japanese stragglers, Major Saludo evacuated them en masse to Canlubang, Laguna.

11. March 12, 1945, Major Saludo contacted Major Schommers of the 11^th Airborne Division, driving from the north, in the barrio of Natatas, Tanauan, and the next day when Major Schommers left the place, he was again introduced to Lt. Col. Conner of the 8^th Cavalry to whom he had given valuable information about the Jap gun emplacements, hideouts at Malvar Landing Field, Lumbang, Bubuyan, Lipa, and Talisay. Major Saludo and the men under him were immediately taken as guides and informers of the above American officers. (See attached appendix No. 6)

12. About the middle of March, 1945, our Headquarters at Pinagkaanuran was raided by the Japanese soldiers, about 54 of them more or less. As most of the men were detailed in various assignments, only around 35 were left as guards. The fighting

began at about 1:00 p.m. and lasted up to 4:00 p.m. As we were in proper places, our boys had the advantage so that 3 Japs were killed before they retreated while on our side, no casualty.

13. March 25, 1945, Col. Felino Paran and the men under him were attached to AC of S, G-2, 11^th CIC Detachment, 11^th Airborne Division by Col. Henry J. Mueller, to cover the southern part of the province of Batangas, more particularly in the municipalities of San Jose, Lipa, Malvar, Rosario and Ibaan, which areas were already under control by the American forces. (See attached appendix Nos. 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17)

14. March 26, 1945, Capt. Mendoza and his men met the patrols of the 11^th A/B Division at Ibaan and guided them to Calamias, Lipa, Batangas, where they first had their camp. The boy helped build the camp. While the next day, Capt. Mendoza went with several American patrols as their guide to the poblacion of Lipa where two Americans, Stanley and William, were killed by Japanese snipers.

15. March 28, 1945, Col. F. Paran received a letter from Capt. Vicente V. Nazareno of Co. “8” 188^th Para-Glider Infantry Regiment, 11^th Airborne Division. (See attached appendix No. 18)

16. April 2, 1945, at Ibaan, Batangas, all records were turned over to the CIC for guidance. Some of the men were attached to the CIC Detachment of the 11^th A/B Division under Lt. Dave Finn and Lt. Myhan in apprehending Makapilis, collaborators and spies.

17. April 7, 1945, Major Salazar with several of his men were attached to the 187^th. Paraglider Infantry and fought the enemy in the environs of Lipa, Batangas. They were able to kill 2 Japanese soldiers and capture on alive and turned him over to Lt. John Hurster of the 186^th Paraglider for interrogation. (See attached appendix No. 14)

18. April 8, 1945, Lt. Wenceslao Magkauas was taken as personal guide and informer of Major Schommers of the 11^th Airborne Division.

19. About the second week of April, 1945, Capt. T. Paran and Lt. A. Paran, while [in] charge of the civilian evacuees from Lipa, San Jose, Rosario, Tiaong, Candelaria and San Pablo, also engaged several scores of retreating Japanese near the evacuation camps. They killed three Japanese soldiers, captured two rifles, several hand grenades and one Japanese flag and a saber.

20. April 15, 1945, Capt. Mendoza presented to Makapili suspects to the Headquarters.

21. April 16, 1945, Major Saludo and his men joined with Lt. Col. Martiniano Carandang of the PQOG and engaged the enemy at Sta. Clara, Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Their guerrilla units suffered heavy casualties this time including Lt. Col. Carandang. (See attached appendix No. 6)

22. That the above guerrilla outfit established its Headquarters at Tambo, Lipa, Batangas, Philippines sometime in the first week of June, 1945, where some of the men were disbanded to wait for recognition while some whose services were still indispensable were retained. (See attached appendix No. 19)

23. That Capt. Jose Mendoza and Lt. Gregorio Mendoza, with their respective men were later attached to the 86^th Division, and performed duties as guards, informers and helpers. (See attached appendix Nos. 20, 21, 22, and 23) Additional evidence: (See attached appendix Nos. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29)

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby affixed my signature on this 14^th day of January, 1947 in the City of Manila, Philippines.

[Sgd.] JOSE T. MENDOZA

[Sgd.] FELINO Z. PARAN

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 14^th day of March 1947, in the City of Manila, Philippines. Affiant exhibited his Res. Cert. No. A-1770060, issued at Lipa, Batangas on anuary 6, 1947.

[Sgd.] [Illegible]

Notes and references: