Exhibit, confab on WWII in PH set for San Francisco Main Library

Archival photo, WWII Battle of Manila.

SAN FRANCISCO – A four-month exhibition that includes a conference in this city’s Main Library will recall the story of World War II in the Philippines and the country’s occupation by the Imperial Japanese Army on December 8, 1941, just hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Bataan Legacy Historical Society, Memorare Manila 1945, the San Francisco Public Library and the Philippine Consulate General present World War II in the Philippines are holding the exhibition conference on Saturday, September 12 this year at 10:30 a.m. through January 9, 2016 on the Third Floor of the San Francisco Main Public Library located at 100 Larkin Street.

The conference will take place on Saturday, October 24, starting at 10 a.m. at the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Main Public Library. The event is open to the public. Admission is free but registration through Eventbrite (Bataan Legacy) is recommended for the Conference.

The exhibit will describe the sacrifices of the Filipino and American soldiers on the Bataan peninsula and the ensuing surrender on April 9, 1942 leading to the horrific Bataan Death March where approximately 10,000 Filipino and 750 American soldiers died. Once inside the prison at Camp O’Donnell, another 20,000 soldiers died.

The exhibition will include the heroic efforts of guerrilla movements, from the Fall of Bataan until the liberation of the Philippines starting in October 1944. It will include the massacre of civilians in the culminating Battle of Manila where 100,000 civilians died in a month’s time. By the end of the war, Manila became the second most devastated city after Warsaw and approximately 1,000,000 civilians had perished in the Philippines. The exhibit will conclude with the legacy of WWII and efforts to include these events in the social sciences curriculum for Grades 7-12 in California.

The conference on October 24 will feature speakers representing different points of view. WWII veterans like Chief Johnny Johnson of the USS San Francisco, the most decorated carrier during WWII, will speak about the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the landing at Lingayen Gulf.

Maj. General Richard Keith of the 511^th Parachute Infantry will speak about the 11^th Airborne Division’s efforts to capture Manila.

From the civilian perspective, Sascha Jensen, a former civilian prisoner of war and Roderick Hall, a young boy during WWII in Manila, will speak about their experiences.   Mrs. Raquel Ramsey, widow of the famous 26^th Cavalry veteran and guerrilla Edwin Ramsey will speak about her husband’s experiences. Veterans and survivors of the war will also act as panelists.

For further information, please visit our website at www.bataanlegacy.org.

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