Mike Guardia (15 page)

Elements of the 122nd Field Artillery Battalion provide suppressing fire while USAFIP-NL engineers construct a hasty bridge.

The Volckmann Family Collection.

This map, although crudely titled, shows the activity of Volckmann’s regiments as they fought within their respective districts against the Japanese. Visible on the map is the Sixth Army front created by General Kruger as a diversion for the southern forces of Yamashita’s defense perimeter.

The Russell W. Volckmann Papers, U.S. Army Military History Institute.

Volckmann stands with Major General Basilio Valdes, the Philippine Army Chief of Staff, 1945.

The Volckmann Family Collection.

Volckmann examining the blade of the sword owned by General Osaki, commander of the 19th Tora Division.

The Volckmann Family Collection.

Volckmann (seated on the far right) sits at the table with General MacArthur and other flag officers to formally accept Yamashita’s surrender.

The Volckmann Family Collection.

Tamicpao, leader of the Antipolo tribe.

The Donald D. Blackburn Collection.

Undated portrait of Volckmann.

U.S. Army Center for Military History.

After his return from the Philippines, Volckmann was highly celebrated by his hometown newspapers, though his contributions were largely forgotten by subsequent historians of the war.

Don Blackburn on V-J Day, 1945.

The Donald D. Blackburn Collection.