The Latest from Cagayan de Oro and Surrounding Areas
This quaint vignette from World War II may not qualify for inclusion in many of our history books, but it’s an interesting footnote in history from a time many prefer to forget, but Boy Scouts from around the world may long want to remember.
That’s because it involves a Boy Scout from Cagayan in 1942 and a global icon who is probably the most famous and most familiar with history buffs of the Pacific Theatre.… Continue reading... “The Boy Scout who met MacArthur at Macabalan”
Victorina Mesina Magbag was born on February 25, 1921, the eldest daughter of Sebastian Guzman Magbag and Salome Suarez Mesina who both were from San Fernando, Pampanga. She is fondly called by her nickname Nanang. She has 4 brothers and 5 sisters namely, Alejandro, Jose, Leonardo , Emmanuel, Juanita, Cristanita, Salome, Nicena and Rita.… Continue reading... “Paras Clan celebrates Tia Nanang’s 100th”
Most of the younger generation of Kagay-anons pass through Tiano Brothers street which runs parallel to the main artery of Apolinar Velez street without any idea whom it was named after.
However, thanks to the dedication of some residents who are working hard to revive and restore the city’s history during the Second World War and a growing number of online posts dedicated to local heroes, many have become aware of the stories of the three brothers who fought Imperial Japan and the two others who tended to the sick and wounded in one of the guerrilla hospitals in Misamis Oriental.… Continue reading... “The History and Legacy of the Fighting Moreno Brothers : Guerrillas of Balingasag, Misamis Oriental”
The country witnessed another historic moment as its second cube satellite (CubeSat) Maya-2 was successfully launched to the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 1:36 A.M. (PHT) aboard the S.S. Katherine Johnson Cynus spacecraft.
Sending the satellite into the ISS is the final step before the satellite reaches its targeted altitude in Low Earth Orbit, when the space station deploys it at a date to be determined later.… Continue reading... “Filipino space engineers make history with Maya-2 CubeSat launch”
The 10th of January 2021 will be the 122nd Anniversary of the first raising of the Filipino flag at the Casa Real when the five-man Concejo Provincial of the revolutionary government assumed office.
While doing further research on “FS ships” for an article I previously posted online and was updating with new in information (The Macajalar Bay Landing and the Liberation of Mindanao), I came across a very interesting post “ The Passenger-Cargo ex-“FS” Ships of the Philippines” posted on August 13, 2016 by The Philippine Ship Spotters’ Society (PSSS).… Continue reading... “Freight & Supply Ships at the 1945 Macajalar Bay Landing”
From September 9, 1944 to March 10, 1945, US Army Air Force, Navy and Marine aircraft bombed Cagayan de Misamis in Misamis Oriental and its immediate areas no less than sixteen times in a span of eight months.
Why the apparent rural backwater that Cagayan was during the Second World War merited such attention from the rampaging US air forces prior to the imminent liberation of the Philippines is not immediately apparent.… Continue reading... “Sixteen Air Raids in Eight Months”
The month of January is named after Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions in Roman mythology, who presided over passages, doors, gates and endings, as well as in transitional periods such as from war to peace. He was usually depicted as having two faces looking at opposite ways, one towards the past and the other towards the future.… Continue reading... “Oro Chamber 2020-2021 Looking Back, Looking Forward”
It’s ironic how some seven going on eight decades down the road, many Kagay-anons remain unaware that it was their own compatriots who liberated Cagayan, Misamis from the Japanese on 12 May 1945 and not the Americans.
So while we still enjoy a modicum of attention following the recent 75thAnniversary of Cagayan’s Liberation (albeit a muted one at that) let’s take a look back at how things were unfolding at that time and how come guerrillas, rather than American soldiers, liberated the town from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA).… Continue reading... “The Macajalar Bay Landing and the Liberation of Mindanao”
Probably one of the most intriguing tales to come out of Bukidnon during World War II were the two battles fought in Mangima Canyon in 1942 and 1945.
In the first instance, the Mindanao Force of the United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) under Lt.… Continue reading... “Two Battles for Purple Heart Canyon (1942 & 1945)”
