US ARMY LANDING IN ‘BLUE BEACH’

AFTER the webinar conducted by the provincial government with an official of the Philippine Veterans Bank and an American archivist of the MacArthur Memorial, Mayor Belen Fernandez is set to issue an executive order that will form a commission to prepare a bigger activity for the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the landing of General MacArthur and his troops in Bonuan on January 9, 2025.

The webinar participated in by Miguel Angelo Villa-Real, Vice President for Corporate Marketing and Communications of the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) and James Zobel, archivist/historian of MacArthur memorial in Norfolk Virginia, who showed rare World War II photos proving that MacArthur landed in Bonuan, Dagupan together with the U.S. Army’s 6th Division.

At the beach, General MacArthur boarded a military jeep to bring him to downtown Dagupan but the vehicle was stalled as there was no bridge that spanned the Dawel River.  Nevertheless, after a pontoon was built, he was able to cross the river and reached downtown Dagupan, then went to establish his command headquarters at the Home Economics buildings of the West Central Elementary School as his first command post on Luzon.

This was corroborated by Villa-Real who said the beaches of Pangasinan were color coded for beach landing of allied liberation forces: blue in Dagupan, white in San Fabian and orange in Lingayen.

MacArthur and the 6th Division landed on the Blue Beach.

Mayor Fernandez said among the proofs that MacArthur landed in Bonuan were photos of that landing taken by Carl Mydans, MacArthur’s official photographer, that showed MacArthur and his general staff walking on the sand dunes of Bonuan teeming with cantaromas plants.

In the book “Story of Dagupan” authored by the late Restituto Basa he wrote that during the war years, it was only in the sand dunes of Bonuan in Dagupan—in the entire Lingayen Gulf beach—where cantoromas grew abundantly.

Fernandez said she will name Rex Catubig as head of the commission that will prepare the activities of the 80th anniversary of MacArthur landing with former Councilor Luis Samson Jr., whose late father was a World War II veteran, as co-chair and the City Tourism Office, Department of Education and Sangguniang Kabataan as members.

Fernandez also vowed to cause the renovation of the new MacArthur Memorial at the Tondaligan Park to really give accent to the landing of the American troops led by MacArthur on that fateful spot in Bonuan on November 9 (?), 1945. (Leonardo Micua)

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