The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-03

picked up by war Department mOn- itors in the fall of 1942. What that message said can still not be re- vealed but the contents of that message, relayed to General Douglas Macarthur, were to set in motion the first real aid that was to come to a people who had all but been abandond in their fight of lib- erty.
 Month after month before that first clandestine radio message from the guerrilla leader, Colonel Macario Peralta came through to General MacArthur, little group of leaders on Panay had labored to put together their radio trans hitter from stolen and improviSed parts. The generator was operat- ed by chain drive geared to bi- cycle pedals. Hour after hour, volunteers would pedal away, generating enough electricity to charge the batteries for their feeble message. They had to move and hide from Jap patrols but what was more discouraging than that, they got no answer, no sign that their message had been heard.
 SPARK OF HOPE
 But the spark of radio was the spark of hope. Recognizing 1t for just that, General Macarthur carefully picked small group of U. s. and Filipino officers to go into the islands. Their names cannot yet be revealed. But land- ing from a submarine, they did their job.
 They took in few arms on their first trip, but that was not im- portant. What they really brought was evidence that the Filipinos had not been forgotten. One naval commander who had lived in the Islands and knew them well was assigned to this laison work, netting the guerrilla leaders.
 I cannot disclose his name at this time, but he travelled about the islands extensively, totally un- armed, led from one hideout to another, his passport being qui- nine, aspirin and chewing gum That was the evidence of remem- brance.
 In time, as the supply stream grew, the possession of stick of chewing gum found on a Filipino by the Japanese was considered sufficient cause for a death sem tence, for possession of the gum ,,oc ooVActdara<J yNrOaf khat fha Fil- ipino who had 1t was in league with the underground.
 Over the entire guerrilla move ment General MacAurthur placed an American colonel with years of experience in the Philippines. Again I must withhold the name This colonel call him Colonel x never went into the islands him. self, before the invasion. But so secret were his operations and movements that he was ordered to report to and take instructions from only General Macarthur or his Chief of Staff, Major General Richard K. Sutherland.
 HAND-PICKED OFFICERS
 After the first contact party returned from the islands, Colonel x received their reports in Austra- lia, then flew to California where two regiments of Filipinos were in training. From these regiments Col onel x hand-picked 8 group of of- ficers and non-c commissioned off, cers for a years intensive training in weathr observation and report ing in radio, in commando tactics, intelligence work and sabotage. This was to be the nucleus of leadership and liaison for the guerrillas. After their year of training they were landed by submarine, all over the Islands.
 Let no one get the wrong im- pression that everything went smoothly with these guerrillas bands in the hills. They were factions and intense hatreds all over the islands Leaders were suspicious of each other and so were their followers. There were often bitter feuds. The job for General MacArthur was to have them united, disciplined and obedient to his orders for military operations.