Showing how trivial the role of Filipino guerrillas in the rescue of 512 prisoners of war (P.O.W.) at the Cabanatuan Camp during World War II in 1945 triggered one of those Filipinos who participated in the war to come out and talk.
"Miramax revised the actual events of the war and changed the movie title from its original ‘An Untold Triumph.’ ‘The Great Raid’ did not put everything that really happened in the war," lamented one of WWII’s Filipino veterans, 82-year-old Jose Juachon, during his recent visit to the Manila Bulletin to share what, according to him, really transpired in the rescue operation in Cabanatuan.
Sgt. Juachon has been residing in the US since the ’70s but came home to the Philippines recently to share what really happened in the Cabanatuan P.O.W barracks. Apart from sharing his ordeal in the war, he also handed over a DVD copy of "Bataan Rescue" during the interview stressing that this would give a clear depiction of what really took place during the war, something which "The Great Raid" failed to do.
"‘Bataan Rescue’ is the real thing. Miramax could not get the permit to let the public see it because it will degrade the prestige of the United States government," added Sgt. Juachon.
"Bataan Rescue" turned out to be a documentary film that features actual footages of WWII and interviews with Filipino and American war veterans. Miramax’s "The Great Raid," on the other hand, is clearly exhibited as a motion picture which was based on the books "The Great Raid on Cabanatuan" by William Breuer and "Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides.
Although both "Bataan Rescue" and "The Great Raid" had only one goal in producing such visual materials — that is to make the younger generation aware of the bravery of Filipino and American soldiers during WWII — the very thing about "The Great Raid" that really disheartened Filipino veterans such as Sgt. Juachon is the little significance that this movie gave to the role of Filipinos during the war.
"The Filipino soldiers did more than just guide the Alamo Scouts to the P.O.W. camp. There were around 283 Filipino soldiers there, I happen to be one of the rescuers," he expressed.
"As a matter of fact I met one of the American soldiers that I rescued but he just passed away eight months ago. His name is John Cook and he wrote a book which he dedicated to all American and Filipino war veterans. When we met in the States, he even cried and said he’s sorry that he wasn’t able to thank me and the other Filipino soldiers who helped him get out of the prison camp. But in his book, he was able to do that. John wrote there: ‘It is a shame our government has not really shown their thanks for their accomplishments, and neither have the government officials in charge ever said anything of the group called ‘Battling Bastards of Bataan.’ So this is my way of saying thanks for the job well done and I include all of the 512 prisoners of war liberated for a job well done for all humanity.’"
To prove his point some more, Juachon showed the comment of American author Forrest Johnson of the book "The Hour of Redemption" on "The Great Raid," which was printed in the US magazine Via Times Newsmagazine last August.
Johnson’s letter to the magazine’s publisher and editor, Veronica Leighton, contained the following: "‘The Great Raid’ made a small effort at showing some of the Filipinos’ sacrifices, it lacks credibility and depth…. ‘The Hour of Redemption’ (published in 1978) was written to give much deserved credit to the Filipino guerrillas and civilians who assisted American soldiers in the liberation of Allied P.O.W. from the Japanese at the Cabanatuan Camp…. I believe a new movie should be produced showing the truth, that is, without the help of the Filipinos the successful raid at the P.O.W. Camp Cabanatuan in January 1945, would have been impossible… I have all the data to support my claim if someone is interested in such a production."
Not only in "The Great Raid" were Filipino veterans neglected because they are still very much unrecognized in the US, revealed Sgt. Juachon.
"In 1949, many Filipinos went to the States but are not recognized. Did you know that before Pajota died in 1980 in the States he was not able to get his US citizenship in spite of the fact that he’s done so much during the war? He was only able to get his citizenship after he passed away," disclosed the old sergeant, who himself and other Filipino veterans in the US, are still struggling for recognition in the country whose men they once helped.
The Bulletin tried to get the comment of Pioneer Films, the distributor of Miramax Films in the Philippines, regarding the issue of Filipino veterans on "The Great Raid." However, as of this writing, no word has been heard from the local film distributor yet.
