FEBRUARY 3: REMEMBERING THE DESTRUCTION OF MANILA

The Tiger and the Rape of Manila

by Denis Warner, Melbourne
International Herald Tribune

Late in the afternoon of Feb. 3, 1945, the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division was closing in on Manila. Hopes were high that the city would fall to General Douglas MacArthur's forces without bloodshed or damage.

In the evening, an American tank crashed through the gates of Santo Tomas University. The university, established by the Spanish in the early 1600s on the north bank of the Pasig River, had been turned into a concentration camp.

The internees were jubilant at their release. As U.S. forces pressed on toward the center of the city it seemed that the recapture might be painless. Yet a month later, the Philippine capital was in ruins.

Read the rest of the article here.