 The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present the Pacific story. In the mounting fury of world conflict, events in the Pacific are taking on ever greater importance. Here is the story of the Pacific and the millions of people who live around this greatest sea. The drama of the people's whose destiny is the snake in the Pacific war. Here, as another public service, is the tale of the war in the Pacific and its meaning to us and to the generations to come. I shall get this letter through the Japanese guards and out of the Philippines to you. I have been a prisoner here in Manila nearly three years now. It is a strange experience to be a prisoner in a city where you've lived more than 40 years. Yet, now looking back over the years as I write this, I am suddenly aware of the many changes I have seen here. The Spanish influence, the American influence, and now the Japanese influence. Mr. Ainsworth. Yes? Open the door. Yes, sir. I slipped the letter under the mat on the chair. Open up. Just a moment. What was the delay, Mr. Ainsworth? I was sort of dozing. You know, these warm Manila days? The major wishes to speak with you. Right now? Immediately. Come along. He took me to the major's office. The major set writing. He paid no attention to me as I was brought in. I stood before him for two minutes before he put his pen down and looked up. Mr. Ainsworth. You know anything about what is happening outside of Manila here? Well, I know that the Americans are operating in Mindanao. How do you know? Just what we learned from your Japanese accounts. Could it be that you have any other source of information? How could we have? Answer. I am a prisoner. Who could give it to me? It would be dangerous to have any contact with the outside, Mr. Ainsworth. That is all. All right, Mr. Ainsworth. Come along. The Japanese in Manila are becoming more apprehensive. They are alike to the meaning of everything happening around them. Downtown, where they have built barracks in the parks and fields, there is an air of tenseness. Recently, when I was out with the work party of prisoners, I saw how they have taken everything. Schools, the hospitals, many of the buildings of the religious orders. I remember the city as it looked in 1941, before the Japanese came. A beautiful country here. Beautiful. You want to stop here, Tupper? Yes, let's. Right. Just like stopping on Riverside Drive. Yes. A duet boulevard here runs for 13 miles along the waterfront. Right out there is where Duet fought the battle of Manila Bay. Look at that moon over the water. It's one of the most beautiful harbors in the world out there. It's a beautiful crescent in shape. How big is it? Well, they say it has an area of 770 square miles. Big enough to accommodate a fleet. Yeah, and then some. Almost any time you go down to the harbor, you see ships from every part of the world. American ships, Japanese, Swedish, Greek, German, Turkish. You know, Innsworth, that's the kind of stuff that gives me the wanderlust. Well, I had it too until I came here at the time of the Spanish trouble. So I stayed. There were a lot of other people who came here before me who had the same reaction. And they stayed. Portuguese, Arabs, Spaniards. That's why Manila has a character it has today. You mean they influenced the character of the city? They made the city, Tupper. That was Roger Solomon, who ruled the Mohammedan community here back in the late 1500s. Roger Solomon, a courier brings a message from Carite. Deal with it, as you see fit. You are my minister. But it's a message of high importance. Where is the courier? I will bring him in. Courier, can I have your message? Yes. Give it to me. I will read it. I was ordered by Martin de Guite to read it to his highness, myself. Read the message, then. Yes, your highness. To his highness, Roger Solomon, ruler of Intramoros. As emissary of his majesty's general, Miguel Lopez de Ligaspé, and in the name of Philip II, King of Spain, I extend the hand of friendship to you, Roger Solomon. Who sends this message? Martin de Guite, emissary of Miguel Lopez de Ligaspé. And he is at Cavite? Yes, your highness. Go on. We come as friends and beg your friendship. We offer you the benefits of the protection of the crown of Spain, and ask that you and your people submit to the authority of King Philip II. Humbly, we await your answer, signed Martin de Guite. Do I understand that this man asked that I submit my people and my own person to his rule? The man who sends this message has a force of men and ships at Cavite. Martin de Guite's force at Cavite is strong. Friendship we will offer them, Hutt. Submit to their rule, never. This is my answer, carry it back to Martin de Guite. Yes, your highness. We have offered Roger Solomon friendship. This he has refused. We attack now in the name of our king and our country. Let every man do his part for the flag of Spain. Forward! City, your highness. The infidel dog. You must go now before they close in on all sides of the city and capture us. We go, but we shall come back. Well, Tepper, de Guite took Intramurus, which was what they call the community that was here at that time. He left the company here and then went to Panay. Solomon came back and took the city again. For the next year, de Gaspe himself led an expedition to retake the city. Put the torch to the city, destroy everything. Burn the city, set fire to everything. Nothing shall be left to the infidel. Put the torch to every building. We believe nothing but ashes. Your highness. Where are you? Take that torch and help set fire to everything you see. The enemy is coming in. The soldiers are advancing. We must go at once. This time we will not go until the city is destroyed. You must come with me, now. Oh! Oh! Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Roger Solomon. Oh, you are wounded. Roger Solomon. Well, Solomon died and the Spaniards took over. Then one day they Chinese Limahong, with 62 Chinese warships loaded with warriors, turned up in the bay. They stormed the city. The Spaniards defeated them and captured a good many of the warriors. These Chinese came in very handy some years later when the Spaniards built a great wall around the city. The wall they built then in 1590 is the same wall around the old city today. It's solid stone. Yes, it looks like a medieval wall, the kind you see in Europe. And that's what it is. And the Spaniards needed it. Behind that wall they fought for the city against all comers. They fought the morows who came in swarms of warbolts, the Portuguese and the Dutch who came in fleets, and even the British. Well, I'd say the British, too, eh? In fact, it is the British-occupied Manila in 1762 and held it for two years. Then that wall has been here for, um, 350 years. Yes. Let's drive over and look at it. Good. Well, we drove down to a boulevard and over within the walled city. Hmm. What's that into it? The wall's broken down there. Yes. Earthquake. Notice that there are cracks in it, too. Seen a lot of things that wall has, hasn't it? More than we can imagine. Then this was the original city within these walls. Yes. All the developments outside are more recent. Oh, uh, here's something I want you to see. This is Fort Santiago, eh? Yes. It stands almost exactly on the spot Solomon's fort stood when Martin de Guite attacked. This fort was built by the Spaniards. Oh, yes, yes, I remember. This is the place that has the cells and dungeons that I've heard about. That's right. In one of those cells, either in the fort here or in the walls, it used to stand to the east of it. There was a tragedy along about 1896. Something like the Black Hole of Calcutta. Right here? Yes. That was the time of the insurrection against the Spanish authorities. Sixty Filipinos who were suspected of having something to do with the uprising were arrested and crowded into the cell. Fifty-six of them died. Good heavens. Now, Fort Santiago here is headquarters of the United States Army in the Philippines. Like most people who visit the Philippines for the first time, Tupper slowly began to understand the color, the drama, and the enchantment of Manila. I remember that Monday very well. We drove down to the harbor. Williamsworth, standing here, looking eastward, a man's imagination does wonderful things. Yes. Think of the Pot Manila here. It's played in the events of the China Sea. It's played an important role. I'm beginning to see why they call Manila the pearl of the audience. Many say that it's the most beautiful and most interesting city on the China Sea. Well, I guess it is. Well, today Manila is the cleanest city in the Orient. But it's changed city from the time I first saw it. The night we arrived, we disembarked in the moonlight. So this is Manila, eh? I'm certainly glad to get on land. Me too. That's the longest boat ride I ever had. I didn't think I was ever going to see land again. I feel as if I've just got out of a can of sardines. Hey. Hey, look at that. What? Right over there on the dock. And on those bags. Rats. Yeah. They're big ones. Gosh, look at that. There's another one. There's a whole flock of them. You ever see anything like that? Yeah, there's a thousand men, a couple of thousand on this dock. And those rats pay no attention to us. They're too busy eating. Look at those rats. Well, they're big enough to... Hey, come on. Hey, come on. Hey, come on. Hey, come on. Amen. We've landed on foreign soil. We're in a land different from ours. Great danger is not so much from the enemy as the conditions we find around us. Before you leave this dock and go to your new camp, there are a few things you must know for your own protection. Listen to Dr. Monroe. Addies. You've come a long way. Now you must plan to adjust yourself with this new environment. Some steps have already been taken to clean up sanitation conditions here, but more must be taken. First, remember that you can drink only boiled water. If the water has not been boiled, do not drink it. Another thing, there are rats around. You'll find many of them around your camp, perhaps so many that you'll have some in your own tent and maybe some in your own bed. The danger from rats is that they carry the fleas that spread bubonic plague. How many of you know what bubonic plague is? It's deadly. We've organized rat-killing gangs, and it'll be your duty to cooperate in every way, not only for your own life, but for the lives of your comrades. Your liberty will be closely supervised. For around us, there's a great deal of disease, and leprosy. Watch what you eat. Watch it touch where you go. Remember, the best way to deal with disease is not to get it. That's all. I thought it was worse than we expected. Malaria was rampant. Nearly everyone got dysentery. There were rats everywhere. The boldest, most dangerous rats I've ever seen. But the toughest part was getting used to the food. Don't we ever get anything but this smelly chow? You ain't home, you know. What do you want? Shot at roo? Ah, fish and rice. Rice and fish. Back where I come from, that's what they feed the ducks. Throw another fish. Filipinos had no chance to have a part in the handling of their own affairs. They'd been under the Spanish crown for more than 300 years. Everything had to be done. American doctors, engineers, builders, teachers, and businessmen started to come in. They got down to brass tacks right away. The doctors went after the sanitary conditions. The teachers went to work teaching the youngsters, making them proud of their Filipino heritage. And the engineers started building. Their first big project was right here on the farm. That's the main wharf they're working on out there. Mm-hmm. You ought to be a big one, is it? Big enough to permit the largest vessels to unload directly on the wharf. Excellent. Manila, with its strategic location, should have the finest possible harbor. And there's another factor, too. Manila must have a harbor that is safe during the monsoon season. Mm-hmm. What do you suppose the Spanish government depended its work here on the harbor? Well, there were probably several reasons. Probably the most important one was labor. We've had trouble ourselves. You can't get labor? Well, first we used Negroes, but they couldn't stand the climate. You think that Negroes could stand this heat? And then we tried Chinese Cooley labor, and they couldn't stand the climate. Well, they're right out there in the blazing sun. So now we have Japanese labor. Are they working out all right? Not especially. And now come along over here, now. Yes. Mr. Wharton. Mr. Wharton. Yes? We've got to do something about our health. We're not making any progress. And what's the matter? Well, about half the Japanese have quit. The others are doing almost nothing. Mm-hmm. That's what I've been afraid of. Have you tried Filipino labor? That's what I was going to suggest, Mr. Wharton. I've been thinking about that, and that might be an idea. We'll try Filipinos. Filipinos did a remarkable job, Tupper. They built the harbor that you see out there now. And the years since, they built those other piers and wares. And that stone breakwater wall out there. They've got plans for even greater developments. Now that I look back, it seems that I've seen all these things develop as if by magic. Tupper and I sat there in silence for a few minutes, looking out over the harbor, westward, out over the China Sea. Then we started back. How big is Manila today, in Zwift? Well, I should say something over 600,000. Probably as much as 625,000. It's growing far out beyond the old city. Most of it is outside. We drove over one of the big bridges across the Palsig River. Now remember that while we were crossing, I turned on the radio on my car. Ladies and gentlemen, a special bulletin has just come in. December 8, 1941. Pearl Harbor has been bombed by Japanese planes. No reports have been received on the extent of the damage. It is believed... We couldn't believe our ears. What did he say? He said that Pearl Harbor's been bombed by Japanese planes. God, heavens! By the time we got back, the streets were buzzing with excitement. The escalator was tense with grim-faced people. Well, that means we can expect them here at any time. Yeah. Pearl Harbor is set to hit here. Not only hit here, they'll be here. Yeah. Well, when you had wouldn't be long, but then a few hours, they came. We're getting reports of the Japanese landings. They were driving on Manila. It was too late for us to get out. We looked out over the bay, out to Corregidor. Do you suppose Corregidor can hold? I don't know, Tupper. It's a strong fort. Like a small Gibraltar. It's heavily armed and heavily fortified, isn't it? Yes. Some pretty big guns out there. Down under it, tunneled in the rock, they've got supplies to last them a good while. Well, I've read that it's one of the anchors of the defense line from Hong Kong to Singapore to kill. Well, yes, I guess it is. With Corregidor falls, it seems to me the positions of Hong Kong and Singapore will be weakened. Well, maybe Corregidor won't fall. It doesn't look good. That was the last time Tupper and I ever talked. Manila had been declared an open city. But the bombers came back. I went to look for Tupper. After that, I knew that it was only a matter of time until I was a prisoner. I wandered around alone. I'd been here for more than 40 years. I'd seen the city change from a cesspool of disease to a bright gleaming modern city. A pole hung over the city. The escalator and Rizal Avenue were tense. The picture houses were closed. Most of the shops were closed. I walked down to the Ayuntamiento. I stood there alone, looking up at the old building. I remember the first time it had been shown to me. This is the Ayuntamiento. It was built in 1735, more than 40 years before the American Revolution, which was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1863. It now houses the Supreme Court in the Department of the Interior. It's almost as if those words echoed. I'd heard them so many, many years before. Where are you going? We're clearly out of the city. Come on along. You can't get away. You might as well save yourself the trouble. I went to the Malacanyan Palace hundreds of times, but it never really stuck to look at it. Now I stood there alone, looking up at it. Soon the Japanese will be here. An old Filipino walked up and talked to me. The Spanish governors lived here, and the American governors lived here. At last, President Quezon lived here. Now soon the Japanese will live here. I quaked at the thought of the Japanese there. The Filipinos had so recently moved in. From this building, the Spanish governors ruled like despots. The Filipinos had endured all this, and at last had themselves taken over the building and established their own president there. The Japanese cannot stay here. You better not stay here. This is one of the first places the Japanese will come. I will wait for them. I saw interesting things that I'd scarcely noticed before. People, streets, buildings, signs. I knew the Japanese would soon be in the city. I walked out toward the La Neta. Here, in this beautiful park, I had heard the constabular band play so many, many evenings. This evening now, I could hear the music long since past, singing in my older statue of Jose Rizal. Jose Rizal was the brilliant young Filipino patriot who gave his life for the freedom of the Philippines. He was a quiet young man, a writer, artist, linguist, statesman and poet, a doctor of medicine and an eye specialist. At this spot in 1896, the Spaniard shot him to death. I looked up at his face. This young man had given his life for the freedom of his people. Now, in a matter of hours, this freedom would be lost to the Japanese. The Japanese were coming. Soon I would be in their hands or dead. They marched into the city column after column. With them came their tanks and armored trucks. Filipinos stood along the line of march and faces impassive. We were the vanquished. These thousands with their weapons were the victors. At the lunata, a young Filipino named Gregorio Rias can die. That is General Huma in the middle, up there. Yes, Gregorio. Look at the officers around him. He's tough. They have to be our rollers now. Yes. We must expect no consideration from them. They will take us at any time now. They shall not take me, Mr. Insworth, but I shall keep in touch with you. Goodbye. Almost at once, the Japanese proclamation started to come out. Proclamation. It is ordered that all residents of the Philippines will immediately hold themselves responsible to the Japanese military government. Proclamation. The penalty of death is prescribed for the following offenses against the military government of the Imperial Proclamation. Proclamation. It is ordered that all schools will be closed until such time as the Japanese military... Proclamation. Effective at once, the Japanese military currency will be adopted as legal tender. And old friends... As it took me to the prison camp, I had one last look at the Escolta and the Pasig River and all the old familiar places that I'd come to know and love so well. But within the prison camp, I found that I could keep in close at touch with what was happening in Manila and in many parts of the Philippines. Then before the Japanese came, they're looting the city and all the islands, taking everything of value that they can move and shipping it back to Japan. It took machinery, chemicals, automobiles, tractors, even furniture and personal property. They tried to win over the Philippine people, but they don't know how to deal with them. In the face of punishment and death, most Filipinos clung to the principles of freedom, taught them by the Americans. Lots of food and everything was on sky high. The Filipinos' standard of living dropped lower and lower. As it fell, the Japanese tried to win the Filipinos over to their side with promises of a better living. The Filipinos could not be fooled. We have resisted the oppressors and fought for our freedom for more than 300 years. In a free world, a slave has a chance to be free. But in a slave world, a slave can be nothing more than a slave. Information has come into us bit by bit. The Japanese have not been able to stop it. And piece by piece, we have fitted together what is happening in Manila and throughout most of the Philippines. Gregorio was right. He has kept in touch with me. The island approaches to Mindanao are under attack by the forces of the United States. My heart beat faster when I learned that. The big port of Davao and several other places in Mindanao have been bombed by the United States. That meant that the United States was on its way back to the Philippines. And now for days, again and again, we've looked up and seen American planes over Manila. Oh, just a moment. A major wishes to speak with you. All right. The major at last put down his pen and looked up at me. You know the Filipino Gregorio Reyes. Who is he? You need not try to deceive us, Mr. Ainsworth. Gregorio Reyes has been arrested. Henceforth, it will be useless for anyone to try to make contact through him or the outside. God, take it away. Come along. This way. The Japanese guard took me back. Now, I must try to get this letter through the Japanese and out to you. If Gregorio has been arrested, you will never receive it. The Pacific story presented by the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliators, independent stations as a public service to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable the cross-currents of life in the Pacific basin. For a reprint of this Pacific story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. We repeat, for a reprint of this Pacific story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California. It was written and directed by Arnold Marquess. The original musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Palusso. The principal voice was that of Jack Edward Sr. This program came to you from Hollywood. This is the National Broadcasting Company.