By Rex Catubig

 

WHILE the hotly debated issue of where Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed along the Lingayen Gulf’s color-coded beaches may never be resolved, the one incontrovertible fact that we Dagupenos are rightly proud of and no one else can lay claim to, is upon his return, when he landed ashore, he set up his headquarters and lived in Dagupan.

The young lass Juling Vallejos from Careenan (who later became a long-term Kapitana of her barangay), fondly recalled how she would, along with others, gleefully flash the V sign and shout Victory Joe to the band of Liberators, who had taken shelter at the West Central Elementary School Gabaldon Building. She vividly remembered her up close and personal encounter with the General who appeared to her as god-like and larger than life, yet totally human.

Regularly, she would run up the flight of stairs leading to the second floor, go to the General’s room and collect his dirty clothes. Then she would run back to their house, a stone’s throw away from West Central, and dutifully washed the General’s laundry.

For some historic moments, Gen MacArthur was our next door neighbor Joe, who while plotting the liberation of Luzon, lived the simple life among village folk.

And while his military leadership and personal integrity had also been called into question, his role in the liberation of the Philippines and the end of WWII is beyond dispute. In fact, he accepted the surrender of the Japanese Imperial Forces in his capacity as the Commander in the Southwest Pacific and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.

It can also be deduced that the General’s sojourn in Dagupan was the crucible that fired up the aspiration of the municipal leaders, and after the war was won and freedom was regained, emboldened them to take up the task of transforming the bustling town into a city. Which they eventually boldly took to the national level by urging the sponsorship by then Speaker Eugenio Perez of the enactment of its City Charter.

Two years after Gen MacArthur landed, lived in Dagupan, and liberated the country in 1945, Dagupan was subsequently granted its City Charter in 1947–which is now being celebrated on its 75th Diamond Jubilee.

General Douglas MacArthur came, left, and returned.

As we commemorate his Landing and pay tribute to the memory of the historic past, we return the magnanimity of the valiant General that paved the way to our city’s progress, by dedicating a beach memorial in his honor and the many local veterans who fought valiantly by his side.

May his heroic memory live on. Because old soldiers never die. And because Dagupan shall always be beholden to him.

Victory Joe!

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