Sports Detour Military Honoree Profile: Pablo E. Gonzales ... sports 3 04102015.pdf · forced to...

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LOS ANGELES, CA (RPRN)04/07/15 —“My father told meus kids don't understand free-dom; all the liberties we haveand how we take things forgranted,” Ada Hurst said. “Hepassionately told me he wouldfight and die for this countryagain. He never spoke of how hesuffered the torture, other thanafter a while of pain, the brainprotects the body and you feelno pain.”

BackgroundApril 9, 2015 marks the 73rd

anniversary of the Bataan DeathMarch. The Japanese attackedthe Philippines on December 7,1941, the same day it attackedPearl Harbor. Three days later,the surprise attack was followedby a full invasion of the main-land of Luzon. By January 2,1942, the Philippine capital ofManila fell to the Japanese.President Franklin Rooseveltsent a message on February 20,1942, ordering General DouglasMacArthur to depart thePhilippines. On March 11,1942, General MacArthur leftthe Corregidor Island by PTboat, reaching the island ofMindanao and from there--fly-ing to Melbourne, Australia.Japanese forces caused the sur-render of American troops andFilipinos at Bataan on April 9,1942. This surrender was thesingle largest one in the historyof American military forces.An estimated 63,000 Filipinosand 12,000 Americans wereforced to march over 60 milesfrom Mariveles, on the southernend of the Bataan Peninsula, toSan Fernando, Pampanga. Up to15,000 Filipinos and 750American soldiers died duringthe march. Survivors were trans-ported by rail from SanFernando to prison of warcamps, where thousands moredied from disease, mistreatmentand starvation. Many survived.Some escaped and renewedfighting until the Allied Forces were able torecoup and later win the war.One such survivor was Pablo E.Gonzales.

Gonzales was born on January

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25, 1918 in Santa Ana,Philippine Islands, near the capi-tol of Manila. His parents wereCecilio and LumenadaGonzales. He had two siblings -a brother, Celestino Gonzalesand a sister, Constancia.Growing up, Pablo onlyreceived a fourth-grade educa-tion. He joined the U.S. Army atthe age of 19, as a private, onSeptember 18, 1937. On June 5,1939, he married CristinaGialon. Their marriage producedfive children. During the war,Pablo Gonzales served as aFilipino Scout with Jose C.Calugas Sr., who received theMedal of Honor for his actionsduring the Battle of Bataan.Gonzales and Calugas both laterbecame American citizens andcaptains in the U.S. Army.On December 7, 1941, while a

sergeant with Troop A 26thCalvary, Gonzales was stationedat Fort Stotsenburg, Pampanga,Philippines. At 0830 the follow-ing morning, commanding offi-cer Captain Gerome McDavittalerted the base that theJapanese Imperial Army hadinvaded the Philippines and wasadvancing on their location.The following day, Gonzales,

along with other soldiers fromFort Stotsenburg, engaged theJapanese at different locationsfrom sugar plantations to bam-boo groves. They would fighton the move from different loca-tions every few days, due toJapan’s superior numbers andfirepower.

Early on January 6, 1942,Gonzales and his squad wereassigned to re-establish severedcommunication lines. On thisday, the Japanese heavy-artillerypositions were established.Heavy bombardment devastatedU.S. and Filipino troops, caus-ing survivors to scatter through-out the jungles. The last twosurviving soldiers in Gonzales’squad were wounded and takenaway. Gonzales remained aloneand continued repairing thecommunication lines.Afterwards, he rejoined anothergroup of soldiers actively engag-ing the Japanese. During theevening, Gonzales and the sol-diers retreated into the jungles.On January 23, 1942, Gonzales

received a Special Order that hewas to receive a citation for aSilver Star due to his actions on

January 6th. Later, in February,U.S. Army soldiers andPhilippine Scouts regrouped andfought the Japanese at Trail 9Sayaayin Point in Bataan. TheJapanese controlled surroundingareas and conducted continualartillery, and bombings through-out the day and night.

On April 9, 1942, Gonzales’commanding officer, CaptainDeruus, ordered his troops tosurrender to the Japanese.Gonzales and all the soldierswere taken prisoner andmarched to Bagac, Philippines.April 9th was the start of theBataan Death March, a 60-plus-miles march to San Fernando,Pampanga. On that day of themarch, numerous soldiers--espe-cially Americans-- were behead-ed. Soldiers that were wounded,weak, suffering from heatexhaustion or walking too slowwould be bayoneted or behead-ed. Every twenty or thirty feetof the road was littered withdead bodies. Japanese officerson horseback would use theirSamurai swords to kill prison-ers, did so, just for sport. Duringthe march, a Japanese soldierthrew a grenade at the prisoners,wounding Gonzales’ legs. Aseach day passed, bodies alongthe side of the road increased.On April 22, 1942, Gonzalesarrived at San Fernando,Pampanga. Thousands of sol-diers who started the march didnot make it to San Fernando.

On April 25, 1942, Gonzalesand the other survivors wereloaded into railroad freight carsand transported to the concentra-tion facility, named Camp

O’Donnell in Tarlac. Hundredsof soldiers died enroute.Gonzales, being a sergeant, wasassigned to be in charge of a pla-toon within the camp.Gonzales’ father, Private FirstClass Cecilio Gonzales, also aPhilippine Scout, was assignedto his son’s platoon. On June 2,1942, Cecilio Gonzales died ofillness and starvation.Gonzales became seriously illwith malaria, beriberi anddysentery. Disposing of bodiesbecame a problem for theJapanese. On September 1,1942, Gonzales, nearing deathfrom the illnesses was taken outof the prison to die elsewhere.Gonzales, with the help ofunknown Filipinos, made it tohis mother’s house where shedid her best to care for him.Some time during January orFebruary, 1942, medicine deliv-ered by an American submarinefrom Australia finally cured himof his illnesses.Gonzales regained his strength

and organized his guerilla squad.Under the cover of darkness,they started actively destroyingJapanese supply lines on a regu-lar basis. In June, 1943 he wascaptured again by the Japanese.Suspected of being a guerilla, hewas severely tortured. Gonzalesconvinced them that he was nota guerilla and was released.

During this time, Gonzalesstayed in hiding because theJapanese were actively search-ing for all military and possibleguerilla personnel. OnSeptember 22, 1944, theAmerican forces returned to thePhilippines and conducted thefirst bombing raids against theJapanese. Gonzales met withthe arriving U.S. soldiers andunder the command of MajorLapham, joined the guerillagroup named BRONCOSQUAD 227. Gonzales led a guerilla group

and obtained intelligence onJapanese movements, combat

strengths and conducted smallscale harassing attacks. Some ofthis information was relayed toofficers who advised not toattack the Japanese. Believingthe Japanese were massingforces at a certain location,Gonzales travelled a distance topersonally meet with LieutenantGeneral A. Carlson, Battalion S-2, 20th Infantry, 6th Army andCaptain Chase of the 26thCalvary, Fort Stotsenburg.Gonzales knew Captain Chasefrom Stotsenburg and had somecredibility with him. The infor-mation was re-evaluated result-ing in a major successful assaultagainst the Japanese.

During the day, part ofGonzales guerilla activityinvolved integrating into civilianlife. He worked as a farmer withhis younger brother, Celestino,in Munoz near Manila. TheJapanese were always near, buthe was always friendly andapproached them first. Therewas one area where the terrainwas always flooding. At thatlocation, Gonzales helped pushand free Japanese military truckconvoys stuck in mud. Alongwith his fellowguerillas, he would discreetlycheck to see what kind ofweapons and supplies werebeing transported. Later thatevening, Gonzales’ group fol-lowed and attacked the trucksfor weapons and supplies.

The American troops were nowin the Philippines in force andthe Japanese were being defeat-ed. On February 25, 1945,Gonzales received orders toreport to San FernandoPampanga 12th ReplacementBattalion. On March 4, 1945,he officially became a memberof the regular U.S. Army at therank of Staff Sergeant, assignedto an artillery unit.Gonzales continued to aggres-

sively pursue the Japanese pastthe official surrender inSeptember 1945. Japanesetroops were still conductingorganized attacks, unaware ofthe surrender. For his actionsduring combat, Gonzalesreceived the Bronze Star.

After the WarGonzales, now a Master

Sergeant, was commissioned aSecond Lieutenant on August22, 1947. On June 21, 1948, hewas promoted to FirstLieutenant. Between October1948 and February 1950, he wasstationed in Vienna, Austria, as ageneral’s aide. In November1951, Gonzales was stationed atFort Hood, Texas, assigned tothe 27th Armor Field Artillery.Gonzales again went into com-bat. He was deployed to Koreaduring the Korean Conflict andassigned to the 24th ArtilleryDivision. He received his sec-ond Bronze Star for actions dur-

Profile: Pablo E. Gonzales, Filipino freedomfighter and Bataan Death March survivor

Pablo E. Gonzales

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