Political Quotes

“in 1898, when the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War, we found ourselves suddenly becoming a colonial power. In opposition was the Philippines. Until the end of the war, World War II, we exercised jurisdiction over the Philippines like a colonial power. However, in July of 1941, when we noted the presence of war clouds over the Pacific and Asia, we called upon the Filipinos to consider volunteering to serve the United States under American command. Thirteen days after December 7, we issued a command order inviting Filipinos to volunteer--it was a crucial time--and 470,000 Filipinos volunteered. From that number, we developed the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines--200,000. We set aside 200,000 of them to serve as guerrilla fighters and about 50,000 to serve as guards and patrols on the shore and along the borders. History now shows us the Japanese attack, and as a result we had two tragic battles, Corregidor and Bataan. Before these battles were determined and ended, General MacArthur, the commander, was ordered to leave the Philippines, and he left with his staff and arrived in Australia. The Filipinos were left to do their part without proper armament, proper medicine, and with inadequate food. But they fought. I think all of us remember the Bataan Death March when 75,000 were ordered to march 65 miles without food, medicine, or water. Along that trip, only 54,000 survived--the rest died.…”