Symposium on 70th anniversary of Yamashita surrender set on Thursday

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 2): Symposium on 70th anniversary of Yamashita surrender set on Thursday

As part of the observance on Wednesday of the 70th anniversary of the formal surrender of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), together with the Philippine Historical Association (PHA) and the city government of Baguio, will hold a symposium dubbed as the “Hour of Redemption: The End of World War II” on Thursday.

The event will be held at 10 a.m. at the Baguio Convention Center.

Yamashita, also known as the "Tiger of Malaya" for his swift conquest of then British-held Malaya and Singapore, surrendered to Filipino troopers of the 14th and 66th Infantry Regiments of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines (USAFIP)-Northern Luzon, in Kiangan town, Ifugao on Sept. 2, 1945.

Brought to Baguio City, Yamashita, together with Vice Admiral Denshichi Okochi, formally signed the surrender document at the High Commissioner’s Residence in Camp John Hay on Sept. 3.

The symposium is to honor the victory of the USAFIP-NL and the end of the Second World War in the Philippines which began on Dec. 8, 1941 with the Japanese forces bombing of numerous civilian and military installations in the country.

Various officials from the government and non-government organizations will grace the event, namely: Lt. Gen. Ernesto G. Carolina, Administrator of PVAO; Baguio City Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan; Brig. Gen. Restituto L. Aguilar, AFP (Ret.), Acting Chief of Veterans Memorial and Historical Division; Prof. Emmanuel Calairo, president of PHA; and Prof. Michael Charleston Chua, Public Relations Officer of PHA.

Films entitled “The Surrender of Gen. Yamashita” and “Secret War in the Pacific” will be shown.

 

 Books from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) will also be raffled off during the event.

The two main topics will be presented during the symposium.

Aguilar, a military historian, will talk about “The Koga Papers” or documents containing the detailed plans of the Japanese against the American forces seized by Filipino guerrillas from the enemy; while historian and TV personality Xiao Chua will discuss “Healing in the Midst of Rape” which is about the heroism of medical professionals during the battle for the liberation of Manila.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=799699