Alaska (><) Philippines connection 4

Bonding Thru Struggle

Then: Japanese celebrate win at WWII Battle of Manila. Now: Alaska's strategic Pacific position in the modern world benefits Philippines. Then: By Unknown author - https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2113828. Now: Graphic courtesy of North American Aerospace Defense Command [NORAD]

Japanese Invasion of Philippines created the Second Philippine Republic, sponsored by the Japanese as a conquering force of WWII. This war broke out one month after re-election of Second Philippine President Manuel Luis Quezon, whose government-in exile was formed in Corregidor, with U.S. military advisor General Douglas MacArthur. Together they witnessed the heroic yet doomed stand made by the combined Filipino-American forces against invading Japanese. Ultimately President Quezon and his family would be moved to Washington, D.C. USA.

Japan fully captured the Philippines on May 6, 1942, after the Battle of Corregidor. General  Masaharu Homma decreed the dissolution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and established the Philippine Executive Commission, a caretaker government with Jorge B. Vargas as its first chairman, in January 1942.

While in exile from Philippines, Quezon gave speeches before the U.S. Congress and elsewhere reminding the American people of the Philippine people’s plight, their loyalty to the United States, and advocating for their early liberty. Quezon‘s second term as president was supposed to expire in mid-November 1943, but he desperately wanted to stay on, perhaps until the time he could see through the country’s liberation from the clutches of the Japanese. Upon his insistence, the US Congress passed Joint Resolution No. 25 extending his and the vice president’s terms of office indefinitely until constitutional process and normal functions of government have been restored in Philippines. President Quezon died in August 1944, less than three months before MacArthur’s dramatic return to Philippine soil.

[1]Stewards of the Nation,

Previously the USA had approved a ten-year transition plan in 1934 and drafted a new constitution in 1935. This constitution featured a political system virtually identical to the American one calling for a President to be elected at large for a 4-year term (subject to one re-election), a bicameral Congress, and an independent Judiciary. Philippine independence was eventually achieved on July 4, 1946.

From Constitutionnet.org:

From the moment of independence, Filipino politics have been plagued by the twin demons of corruption and scandal. Notwithstanding, Presidents Ramon Magsaysay (1953-57), Carlos Garcia (1957-61), and Diosdado Macapagal (1961-65) managed to stabilize the country, implement domestic reforms, diversify the economy, and build Philippine ties not only to the United States, but also to its Asian neighbours.

[2]Constitional history of the Phiippines, Constitutionnet.org:

5,000+ Miles Away The ALCAN Highway Proposed to Provide Wartime Support

Caterpillar tractor with dozer widens the roadway of the Alaska Highway, 1942

On February 6, 1942, construction of the Alaska-Canada (Alcan) Highway was approved by the United States Army.The project received authorization from the U.S. Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proceed five days later. Always fair-weather friends, Canada agreed to allow construction as long as the United States bore the full cost, and the road and other facilities in Canada be turned over to Canadian authority after the war ended.

[3]Construction of the Alcan Highway in 1942

Thus began a massive construction project, the official start of which took place on March 9, 1942, after hundreds of pieces of construction equipment were moved on priority trains by the Northern Alberta Railways to the northeastern part of British Columbia near Mile 0 at Dawson Creek.

When completed in 1942, the Alcan was about 2,700 kilometers (1,700 mi) long. This amazing wartime effort was completed in eight month 12 days, on November 21, but was not usable by general vehicles until 1943. Despite building this initial rough road, most supplies to Alaska during the war were sent by sea from San Francisco, Seattle, and Prince Rupert.