Claro L. Laureta | |
---|---|
Birth name | Claro Lopez Laureta |
Allegiance | United States of America Commonwealth of the Philippines |
Service | Philippine Army (1942 -1957) Philippine Constabulary(1934–1942) Philippine Scouts(1926–1932) |
Years of service | 1934–1957 |
Rank | Colonel |
Service number | 0-1407 |
Unit | 130th Infantry Regiment 2nd Davao PC Company 45th Infantry Regiment (PS) |
Commands | 107th Division (Guerilla), 10th Military District 130th Infantry Regiment (Guerilla Unit) 2nd Davao PC Company |
Battles / wars | Epic Battle of Tagum(November 10 – 14, 1944) Battle of Ising (May 3 – 10, 1945) |
Awards | US Distinguished Service Star Bronze Star Military Merit Medal |
Alma mater | Philippine Constabulary Academy (1934) |
Claro L. Laureta, a military officer of the Philippine Army who commanded guerilla units within Davao Region area during World War II. He enlisted as a Private in the Philippine Scouts in 1926 and assigned 45th US Infantry Regiment until 1929. He attended Philippine Constabulary Academy in Baguio and graduated in 1934. He was commissioned as 3rd Lieutenant and assigned to Davao province in 1936. He was commanded 2nd Davao PC Company based in Camp Victa in Kapalong, Davao(now Davao del Norte) in 1941 before the war. [1] He fought the Japanese until when it moved forward towards Monkayo.
When Visayas-Mindanao Force surrendered in May 1942, Captain Laureta refused to surrender and move inland and setup his guerilla force made up of his men in PC, stragglers of USAFFE units, and recruited to augment his unit now named as 130th Infantry Regiment. [1] He is known for securing the safety of POWs who escaped from Davao Penal Colony. [2] When Colonel Wendell Fertig merged all guerilla forces in Mindanao in 1943, Laureta rose as commander of guerilla units in Davao region which is now called 107th Infantry Division comprising with his now with 130th Infantry Regiment and 111th Provisional Infantry Battalion, Laureta was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and relinquished his command of 130th Infantry to Lieutenant Colonel Saturnino Silva, who came from Australia. [3]
During the liberation campaign in November 1944, 19th US Infantry Regiment of 24th US Infantry Division linked up with 107th Division. [4] and fought Japanese along with the 24th US Infantry Division in Battle of Tagum and later Battle of Ising in May 1945 [1]
After the war, he resumed his career as Army officer. He retired in 1957 with the rank of Colonel. [5] With his exploits during World War II he was awarded with various military medals Distinguished Services Star, Bronze Star, and Military Merit Medal. [6]
Laureta Elementary School and Laureta National High School in Tagum City, Davao Del Norte is named after him. A bill was passed by Congressmen Alan Dujali renaming Davao del Norte Provincial Police Office Camp in Tagum [7] after him is still pending for approval. [1]
United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) was a military formation of the United States Army active from 1941 to 1946. The new command's headquarters was created on 26 July 1941, at No. 1, Calle Victoria, Manila, Luzon, the Philippines, with General Douglas MacArthur as commander. The Chief of Staff was Brigadier General Richard K. Sutherland and the Deputy Chief of Staff was Lieutenant Colonel Richard J. Marshall. The core of this command was drawn from the Office of the Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines.
The Battle of Mindanao was fought by the Americans and allied Filipino guerrillas against the Japanese forces on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines as part of Operation VICTOR V. It was part of the campaign to liberate the Philippines during World War II. The battle was waged to complete the recapture of the southernmost portions of the archipelago from the Imperial Japanese Army.
The 81st Infantry Division was a reserve division of the Philippine Army under the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). It was established in the prewar period and fought 1941–1942. Its troops are from Cebu, Bohol, and Leyte but most of its troops are Americans and junior officers are Filipinos coming mostly from Luzon. The division served in defense of Mindanao but it never commanded the 4 of its maneuver regiments but was supplemented with 61st Infantry from Panay and 73rd Infantry from Negros. Also, 2nd Regular Regiment was transferred to its command in the early part of Japanese invasion of Mindanao.
The 101st Infantry Division was one the reserve divisions of the Philippine Army under the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE)'s 10th Military district mainly entire island of Mindanao.
The 91st Infantry Division was a division of the Philippine Army under the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).
Calixto Duque was a Filipino decorated military officer and a WW II veteran who served as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from 1951 to 1953 after his retirement. He also served as Vice Chief of Staff from 1949 to 1951 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 1946 to 1949.
Visayas-Mindanao Force was a military formation created in November 1941 to command all soldiers of the US Army, US Philippine Scouts, Philippine Army, and Philippine Constabulary in the southern islands of the Philippines. Colonel William F. Sharp was appointed as commanding general and was promoted to Brigadier General in November 1941 and later Major General. His executive officer was Major Howard Edmands. He was just starting to organize his command and train his soldiers into a fighting unit when the war started on December 7, 1941.
Mindanao Force was a corps size military unit defending the island of Mindanao, the second largest island of the Philippines, from March 17, 1942, to its surrender on May 9, 1942. The force was created when the Visayas-Mindanao Force was split into two in March 1942. It was initiated in February 1942 in the headquarters of the United States Army Forces in the Far East, but took effect when General Douglas MacArthur departed for Australia on March 17, 1942.
101st Infantry Regiment is military unit and formation activated by Philippine Army during the early days of World War II. It was composed of Filipinos who resided in Mindanao, few officers from Luzon, Moros, and American soldiers assigned to command and train the regiment. It is known for his action in Davao province during the early days of war. It is credited for holding Japanese forces from reaching Kabacan for December 1941 to April 1942. It held them beyond Digos sector for 4 Months, that it needed reinforcements in April to reach Kabacan.
81st Infantry Regiment is a military unit and formation of the Philippine Commonwealth Army
The Visayan Force was a short-lived US military organization formed during the Philippines Campaign (1941-1942) of World War II. It was created chiefly from elements of the Visayas-Mindanao Force that were located on the Visayan Islands in the central Philippines and was activated on March 17, 1942, when General Douglas MacArthur departed for Australia. Its mission was to resist Japanese landings on the islands and prepare for ongoing guerilla warfare, but it suffered from a shortage of rifles and ammunition and from a complete lack of artillery. The Japanese invaded Cebu, the location of the Force's headquarters, on April 16 to 19, 1942. The headquarters lost contact with the other islands and General Wainwright ordered the Mindanao Force to take command of them. Eventually all forces in the Visayas were ordered to surrender on May 11, 1942, though some units evaded surrender and carried on as guerrillas.
102nd Infantry Regiment is a military unit of the Philippine Commonwealth Army during World War II. I was activated in September 1941 and inducted to USAFFE on the same month. It fought under 101st Infantry Division
103rd Infantry Regiment is a unit activated by the Philippine Army during World War II. I was organized in Mindanao in November 1941 which was not yet ready to fight when the war broke out.
82nd Infantry Regiment is a unit activated by the Philippine Commonwealth Army for the defense of the Philippine during World War II. It defended the Cebu Island particularly in the southern part of Cebu during the Japanese landings in Cebu island on April 16, 1942. It surrendered on May 12, 1942, after it was ordered by Visayas-Mindanao Force commander General Sharp to surrender.
Negros Force was a WWII-era Philippine Army unit activated by the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) from September 1, 1941, to May 12, 1942. The force did not fight during the war but played a role in organizing units deployed to different sectors. The force also continued to fight as a guerilla force after the war. The two provinces on the island were never united during the conflict, due to the different affiliations of their commanders.
Japanese invasion of Cotabato is one of the three landings made by the Japanese Army during their siege of Mindanao.
Japanese invasion of Zamboanga took place in March 1942 as part of Mindanao siege during Japanese campaign to invade the Philippines in December 1941 to May 1942.
75th (Provisional) Infantry Regiment was a reserve unit of Philippine Commonwealth Army activated under Negros Force in January 1942. It saw no action as it was disbanded in May 1942 after it surrendered to Japanese during World War II. Most of its soldiers escaped and joined guerilla movement organized by Major Salvador Abcede.
104th Infantry Regiment, was a unit of Philippine Commonwealth Army activated and organized while the war progressed. It was organized with moros and local recruits within Cotabato-Davao Sector under 101st Infantry Division under Brigadier General Joseph Vachon in Mindanao Island during World War II.
John Hugh McGee, is a US Army officer who is known for his combat exploits in Mindanao and escape during World War II. His contribution in Korean War was also credited by his peers and superiors. He served with US Army for 30 years from 1931 to 1961.