SF confab to mark 75th anniversary of start of WWII in PH

SAN FRANCISCO – A second national conference will mark 75^th anniversary of the December 8, 1941 Japanese invasion of the Philippines, on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the San Francisco Main Library.

World War II in the Philippines – The Legacy of Two Nations, the Second Annual Conference, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Main Public Library at 100 Larkin St.    Admission is Free but Registration through Eventbrite (WWII in the Philippines/Bataan Legacy) is recommended.

Bataan Legacy Historical Society, Memorare Manila 1945, the San Francisco Public Library and the Philippine Consulate General are hosting the one-day gathering.

Meanwhile, an exhibition, “WWII in the Philippines – The Legacy of Two Nations and the Role of San Francisco During the War” will open on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. at the Trophy Room of the San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building located at 401 Van Ness Ave.

The exhibition is sponsored by the American Legion War Memorial Commission and the American Legion Eighth District Council, Department of California, in collaboration with Memorare Manila 1945, the National Park Service, the National Japanese American Historical Society, Hamilton Field History Museum and the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society.  Lt. Col. John Stevens, a hero of WWII (Midway, Palmyra, Okinawa) and Korean War, will open the exhibition.

The Oct. 29 conference will feature speakers from the Philippines and across the United States who will give different perspectives on the war.  Survivors of WWII in the Philippines will speak about their experiences on two panels: Life during the Japanese Occupation and Children of the War.

Descendants of Philippine Scouts, Philippine Commonwealth, Filipino guerrillas and nurses will speak about the experiences of their loved ones during the war.  Many of these stories have not yet been published.  Opening remarks will be made by two retired U.S. Army generals of Filipino descent:  Maj. General (Ret.) Antonio Taguba and Maj. General (Ret.) Eldon Regua.

The California State Board of Education recently approved the inclusion of WWII in the Philippines in the history curriculum framework forGrade 11 U.S. History (Chapter 16).  The Bataan Legacy Historical Society worked closely with the California Department of Education to make this possible and has started the process of creating a sample curriculum template that schools can use to implement the new history framework.