Remembering the Battle of Sibuyan Sea

In our special presentation on Straight from the Sky tonight, we bring you a no-holds barred discussion on the mining industry. The mining industry isn’t foreign to us in Cebu, after all, Toledo City is host to what was then the 3rd largest copper mine in the world and Asia’s biggest copper mine. When the Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. (ACMDC) shut down more than a decade ago, the City of Toledo resembled a ghost town. This is how important mining is for our people and our country.

 But many environmentalists are opposed to mining, including the New People’s Army (NPA), simply because when we have responsible mine operations like Atlas Mines, people would have jobs and no one would listen to the empty promises of Communism. To give us a bird’s eye picture of the mining industry, we have with us Eng. Armand Malicse, OIC, Mining Environment and Safety Division of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Region 7. So watch this very interesting show on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00am tonight. 

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 By this time, I should be back in Paris, the City of Lights after a short trip to Lourdes for a familiarization tour and pilgrimage courtesy of Korean Airlines and facilitated by Fortune Travel. As I expected to be on the go and I cannot be certain that I would have some internet access, I’ll be doing columns on my favorite topic, history, and the month of October is quite timely as it is the anniversary of the Leyte Landings and the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

 Exactly 67 years ago today is the famous Battle of Sibuyan Sea. This battle was part of the famous Battle of Leyte Gulf, which the Japanese Imperial Navy commenced after the US Forces invaded the Island of Leyte on Oct. 20, 1944. The Battle of Leyte Gulf is known worldwide as the greatest naval battle ever held. This battle included four major naval battles, the Battle of Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño and the Battle of Samar.

 History will also reveal that on Oct.19, 1944, a new type of terror tactic was unleashed by the Japanese Imperial Navy when Admiral Takijiro Onishi formed the special attack now called the famous Kamikaze attacks against the United States Naval Forces. Kamikaze is translated “Divine Wind” or in Nippongo, Tokubetsu K?gekitai. It was on that fateful early dawn on Oct. 19, 1944 when 24 pilots flying Japanese Zero airplanes ladend with 250-pound bombs were divided into four squadrons and flew from the airfield in Mabalacat on its suicide mission against the US Navy vessels anchored off the Leyte Gulf. This was Japan’s final act of desperation, as they knew that the only way the Americans could be defeated was if all its aircraft could be sent as piloted bombs themselves and crash into the deck of aircraft carriers and other Navy ships.

 The Japanese Bushido Code teaches the Japanese people to base their lives on obedience to the Emperor and Japan, hence it is a great honor for one to die for the Emperor and for Japan, rather than face the humiliation of defeat. The Bushido also cherishes the cherry blossoms, which they used to imbue a spirit of nationalism on the Japanese people and the military. Hence, like the cherry blossoms, which fall into the ground when it is at its fullest bloom, soldiers who died at a young age were depicted in poetry akin to the cherry blossoms falling for the sake of Japan. This is why many Kamikaze pilots painted a cherry blossom on the sides of their aircraft to signify that they were ready to die for the fatherland.

 If I’m interested in the Battle of Sibuyan, it is due to the fact that the famous super battleships, the Yamato, which carries 18-inch guns, (the USS Iowa Class Battleships like the USS New Jersey only has 16-inch guns) the biggest guns in Naval history the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, while its sister ship Musashi was the flagship of Admiral Mineichi Koga who was lost somewhere in the Philippines, a story we already wrote about.

 67 years ago, the two super battleships were part of the Task Force Kurita and the US Navy flyers pounced on them when they entered the Philippine archipelago. Photos of the Yamato being hit by a bomb can be seen in history books. But somehow she was able to escape to the San Bernardino Strait and took part in the sinking of the Jeep Carrier St. Lo and a US Destroyer before American submarines chased her out.

 The Mushashi wasn’t so lucky, as she took 17 bombs and 19 torpedo hits from US Avenger torpedo bombers and sank off Romblon with the loss of 1,023 men out of her 2,399 crew. She’s in the bottom of Sibuyan Sea together with the other famous Philippine maritime disasters Doña Paz and Doña Marilyn. Last I heard was that, certain officials from Romblon asked a Japanese group to raise the Mushashi in order to make it a tourist spot.

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