The notorious Bilibid Prison, or Old Bilbid Prison Camp in Manilla, was located in the heart of Manila, not far and a short distance from Santo Tomas University. At Santa Tomas Allied civilians were interned during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. A nineteenth-century Spanish...

The men of the 5th Air Base were stationed at Del Monte Field. Their mission was called PLUM (Philippines, Luzon, Mindanao). Stationed on Mindanao, they were to build an airfield for the 7th Bomb Group. By the time these men capitulated to the Japanese on Mother’s Day, May 10, 1042,...

Camp Opened: 08/17/42 – Camp Closed: 06/6/43 – There is some discrepancy on the close date. 23° 58.9083′ N 121° 36.7083′ E    After the Japanese conquered all of the Asian colonies in late 1941 and the spring of 1942, they got the idea that they should separate the...

Japanese Attack on Manilla . . .   Pearl Harbor was not the only attack the Japanese conducted against the Americans on December 7, 1941. Across the International Date Line, the same day, December 8, 1941, the Japanese invaded Luzon, the largest island in the Philippine chain. Much of...

SHIRAKAWA POW CAMP Camp Opened: 06/06/43 – Camp Closed: 08/26/45 Shirakawa POW Camp was opened in June 1943 with the transfer of over 300 POWs from Karenko Camp. It was formerly a Japanese army training camp and barracks. The camp was near a wooded hillside occupying around 10,000 sq....

TAMAZATO POW CAMP Camp Opened: 04/02/43 – Camp Closed: 06/24/43 23° 20.4600′ N 121° 18.6867′ E In April 1943 it was decided to send 117 of the higher-ranking POWs and governors who were being held in Karenko Camp to another camp inland south of Karenko called Tamazato as the...