This week's hero is...
Jose Calugas!
Jose Calugas was born on December 29, 1907 in the Philippine Islands. He grew up as a farmer in the Filipino province of Iloilo. On March 15, 1930, Jose enlisted in the Philippine Scouts. The Scouts were a branch of the United States Army that was stationed in the Philippines (the nation had been occupied by American forces since 1904). The Scouts mostly consisted of young Filipino men serving under the command of American officers. For the next ten years Jose served and trained with the Scouts. He eventually rose to the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to the 88th Field Artillery Regiment. In the year 1941, Sgt. Calugas's training and courage would be put to the ultimate test.
On December 7th, 1941, the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese Navy. Much of the American Navy was either sunk or severely damaged in the attack. Just days after, the Japanese Army launched a full scale invasion of the Philippines. The American and Filipino forces under General Douglas MacArthur were quickly overwhelmed. By January of 1942, they had pulled back to the Bataan peninsula. There they began a fighting retreat.
On January 16, 1942, Sgt. Calugas was stationed with a small unit near the village of Culis. His job at the time was to prepare the day's meals for the men along the front line. It was called KP (kitchen patrol). However, just after noon, the American and Filipino soldiers came under heavy fire from the Japanese. Calugas quickly organized his unit and began to return fire with their few artillery guns at the Japanese. For the next hour men of the 88th held their ground against the attackers. However just after 2 PM, one of the guns went silent. Fearing the worst, Calugas himself went over to the gun and found that its crew had all been killed by a bomb hit (the gun itself was knocked over but could still fire).
Sgt. Calugas quickly organized a small group of men to pull the gun up. With his small group of men, Calugas began to personally load, aim, and fire the artillery piece. For the next few hours, Calugas fired the artillery gun at the Japanese and inflicted numerous casualties at them. At one point during the battle, he spotted a small group of Japanese soldiers attempting to cross a footbridge over a creek. He quickly aimed his gun at the bridge and fired. His shot completely obliterated the bridge along with dozens of enemy soldiers. The effect caused the Japanese to momentarily halt their attack on the main line of defense. They then redirected their attack on Sgt. Calugas's position. Calugas quickly ordered his remaining men to pull back while he continued to fire at the Japanese, inflicting even more casualties. It was only when he ran out of ammunition that Sgt. Calugas finally vacated his position and fell back. By sheer luck, he came upon an empty truck which he used to load his gun (and his field kitchen). He eventually reached his unit later that evening.
Despite the heroism of Jose Calugas, the Japanese Army eventually broke through the American and Filipino lines. For the next two months fierce fighting continued on the Bataan peninsula until it became clear the Americans and Filipinos could no longer hold out. General Douglas MacArthur was ordered to escape from the Philippines to Australia by President Roosevelt. MacArthur reluctantly did so, but upon his arrival he vowed to return to the Philippines. The replacement general of the American and Filipino forces (Gen. Edward King) surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. As a result more than 60,000 American and Filipino soldiers became prisoners of war.
It was then that they began to endure brutal captivity by the victorious Japanese. Calugas along with his fellow prisoners were taken on a long and very brutal march that is now called, the Bataan Death March. As many 18,000 prisoners (mostly Filipinos) were murdered on the road. Calugas and the rest of the POWs eventually arrived at Camp O'Donnell where he would remain for the next year and a half. Calugas was repeatedly beaten while he was being held the prison camp. He also contracted both malaria and dysentery. Despite this, Jose Calugas never gave up. In October 1943, he escaped from the camp and joined a Filipino guerrilla unit. He continued to fight with them until the Liberation of the Philippines by General MacArthur (who fulfilled his promise to return).
About a month after he had left the Philippines, MacArthur had heard of Calugas's heroism during the battle of Bataan and recommended him for the Medal of Honor on February 24, 1942. Sergeant Jose Calugas officially received the medal from General Richard Marshall on April 30, 1945. Calugas would serve in the American Army for another twelve years and became an American citizen. Jose retired from the military in 1957 and moved with his family to Tacoma, Washington where he became a businessman. He lived in the United States for the rest of his life until his death on January 19, 1998. He was 90 years old.
Ever since the United States came to be thousands of brave men and women have served in the military. And many of them were not born in the United States nor were they citizens. And yet they risked their lives to fight for the country they chose to be part of. These are people who represent the best of humanity. Jose Calugas was one of those people. He was undoubtedly one of the bravest men to ever serve in the American military during WWII. He was not a citizen and yet he fought with great courage and intrepidity above and beyond the all of duty. I believe that he should be regarded as a great hero.
http://www.historylink.org/File/10939
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/the-first-filipino-medal-of-honor-cpt-jose-cabalfin-calugas-u-s-army-1907-1998/
https://www.army.mil/article/39797/the_us_armys_philippine_scouts
http://www.us-japandialogueonpows.org/Calugas.htm
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