An Untold Triumph
A Documentary on the All-Filipino Battalion of World War II.

By Ramon Gil for AIA, June 2004

Members of the All-Filipino First Infantry Regiment receive training in radio communications.

"I had no idea!" were the words spoken by the Philippine ambassador according to Noel "Sonny" Izon, director of "An Untold Triumph: Filipino American Soldiers of World War II." This was a sentiment shared by even the most avid Philippine history buffs after screening the 84 minute film.

While it was common knowledge that many Filipinos fought along side US forces in the Philippines, what was not known was that among those Filipino fighters were many American born Filipinos who belonged to a special unit of the US Army called the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment.

At the outbreak of WWII, Filipinos living in the United States were barred from acquiring US citizenship, buying property and serving in the military by the 1934 Tydings-McDuffie act. But after word broke of the attack on the Philippines by the Japanese, thousands of "Pinoys" were itching to do their part, and were especially keen to go back to the islands to help liberate the land of their parents.

After an extensive campaign to change the draft status of Filipinos, Secretary of War Henry Stimson approved the creation of a special all-Filipino battalion. Filipino Americans enlisted by the thousands eventually making it necessary to expand the unit to a "regiment" and later on - two regiments. By the time they were ready to be shipped out to the Philippines, the two regiments were 8,000 strong.

The new recruits were sent to Salinas, California where they received basic training along with some not-so-basic training. The documentary shows the soldiers wielding traditional Filipino swords called "Itaks" or "Bolos" while being taught how to use them in the Philippine martial arts styles. They were also trained in radio communications, coding, demolitions, and reconnosance.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commanding the Allied forces in the Pacific from Australia, drew upon these eager fighters and sent them to the philippines by submarine to pose as local villagers and covertly gather intelligence and radio them back to Australia. These volunteer agents, who came to be known as "Mission men", set-up over 150 allied communications stations throughout the Philippine archipelago. They were in constant danger from the Japanese and their sympathizers. Those who were captured were immediately executed. To this day, the exact number of Mission men lost is not known due to the nature of their work.

Parachute training.

When the Americans were ready to retake the Philippines, the Filipino operatives were given the task of helping coordinate all underground forces in a synchronized attack on Japanese military targets all over the islands. By the time MacArthur fulfilled his "I shall return." promise, most of the fighting had already been done. The Filipino agents received their mission patches and it was only then that the regular GIs recognized their smaller counterparts as the commissioned officers and seasoned fighters that they were.

The rest of the all Filipino regiment, were brought in for mop-up operations hunting down any remaining Japanese soldiers and to provide assistance and much needed supplies to the Filipino people. Many of these young men, having finally earned US citizenship, returned to the United States with the first Filipino "war brides." Laying the foundation for today's Filipino American community.

The documentary is rich in anectodal accounts from aging veterans. Some funny, some heart-breaking - but in all cases, moving. One Veteran claimed he volunteered for the Filipino regiment because he heard that they got to eat rice everyday. "If I only had bread, I didn't have enough stamina."

The project was the brain child of regiment member Domingo Los Banos, who started working on the project in the early 90s. But when it became apparent that a professional was needed to head the project, filmmaker Sonny Izon received a call.

"After I read through the material, I knew I had to do it", said Izon. Born in the Philippines, Sonny Izon came to America in 1967 and earned a degree in English Literature. But a job providing background music to filmstrips got him interested in filmmaking and he's been doing that ever since. He formed his own production company in 1979 and has produced work for National Geographic and PBS. His father is also a World War II veteran.

At a screening organized by New York University's Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute, an audience member asked what their biggest obstacle was in making the film. "Money, money, money" Izon responded. The film cost half a million dollars and "the biggest single donation we received was for $50,000. The rest were for a hundred dollars here, twenty dollars there."

Members of the All-Filipino First Infantry Regiment receive training in radio communications.

But the more formidable obstacle they faced was time. Most of the veterans were in their 80s and didn't have much of it left. One of them was 92 and a few of them had passed away shortly their interviews. It was especially urgent for Izon because he wanted to finish the project in time for Los Banos, who had just had a heart-by-pass operation. Fortunately, Los Banos did get to see the finished film at last year's Hawaii International Film Festival where it won "Best Documentary."

In fact, it took 8 years to complete the film. "But this was a good thing" defended Izon. "We didn't fall in love with the material." This gave them a chance to contemplate issues like how much of the controversial figure of General MacArthur to include. And whether or not to incorporate the struggles of the native Filipino fighters in the story (they did.)

What was amazing about this documentary is the amount of archival footage of the Filipino soldiers both on the field and in training. "Most of this material wasn't declassified until the 70s so even those who knew about it couldn't talk about it." Izon added. Most of the footage came from the National Archives and some material was from the MacArthur Memorial Library in Virginia as well as from personal collections.

An Untold Triumph will be screened at the
10th Biennial Conference of the Filipino American National Historical Society on Friday, July 23, 2004. For more information, please visit the FANHS website at http://www.geocities.com/fanhs_stkn/calendar.html or the film's website at http://members.aol.com/untoldtriumph/untoldtriumph.