ABSTRACT

Title of Dissertation: WAR AND RESISTANCE: THE PHILIPPINES, 1942-1944

                                                         James Kelly Morningstar, Doctor of History, 2018

Dissertation directed by: Professor Jon T. Sumida, History Department

 What happened in the Philippine Islands between the surrender of Allied forces in May 1942 and MacArthur’s return in October 1944?  Existing historiography is fragmentary and incomplete. Memoirs suffer from limited points of view and personal biases. No academic study has examined the Filipino resistance with a critical and interdisciplinary approach. No comprehensive narrative has yet captured the fighting by 260,000 guerrillas in 277 units across the archipelago. 

 This dissertation begins with the political, economic, social and cultural history of Philippine guerrilla warfare. The diverse Islands connected only through kinship networks. The Americans reluctantly held the Islands against rising Japanese imperial interests and Filipino desires for independence and social justice.

World War II revealed the inadequacy of MacArthur’s plans to defend the Islands. The General tepidly prepared for guerrilla operations while Filipinos spontaneously rose in armed resistance. After his departure, the chaotic mix of guerrilla groups were left on their own to battle the Japanese and each other.

 While guerrilla leaders vied for local power, several obtained radios to contact MacArthur and his headquarters sent submarine-delivered agents with supplies and radios that tie these groups into a united framework. MacArthur’s promise to return kept the resistance alive and dependent on the United States. The repercussions for social revolution would be fatal but the Filipinos’ shared sacrifice revitalized national consciousness and created a sense of deserved nationhood. 

 The guerrillas played a key role in enabling MacArthur’s return. Their legacy shaped Philippine national identity and the political contest between exiled officials, collaborationists, and the members of resistance. 

The research presented in this dissertation crosses military, cultural, social, political, economic and diplomatic fields.  It gives voice to the Filipino, Japanese, and American actors and shows how their actions and stories are not only interrelated but interdependent. In this way it hopes to reach several audiences at once. For the military student, this case study reveals the multiple and particular roots of guerrilla warfare.  For others, it reveals the fundamental role of military action in important social and cultural developments.  Finally, and most essentially, it tells a fascinating story that has been long ignored.