Metro Cebu

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H-Hour

On the morning of March 26, 1945, the flotilla bearing the troops of the Americal arrived off the shores of Cebu. The transport ships were protected by cruisers, destroyers, and other supporting craft. A deafening salvo of naval gunfire and rockets hammered the shores of the island. In the photo at right, tracked landing vehicles (LVT) swarm in towards the shore. The larger ships are infantry landing craft (LCI). Smoke masks the landing beach, and an explosion can be seen at the waterline towards the right edge of the photo.

Some of the WW II emergency notes from Cebu, Negros, Leyte, Bohol and even Masbate on display at the War Memorial Gallery of Museo Sugbo, the Cebu Provincial Museum. These are bundled exactly as they were in 1945 when these notes were redeemed by the U.S. government at P2:$1.

Surrender Orders

After Gen. Kataoka surrendered his samurai to Gen. William H. Arnold, he barked orders to the Japanese troops in Ilihan who then stacked their weapons, mortars, grenades and ammunition in one big pile. The Japanese troops were immediately boarded on six-by-six trucks for the 50-mile journey from Ilihan to the port of Cebu City.

In the next two days, an additional 7,200 Japanese troops surrendered in Ilihan, bringing the total number of Japanese troops who surrendered to the Americal Division in Cebu to 9,867. They were all transported back to Cebu City and loaded into waiting troopships for the trip back to Japan. American intelligence reports said there were only 12,000 Japanese troops in Cebu. But the Cebuano guerrilla force led by Col. James Cushing reportedly killed some 8,000 Japanese in the entire war.

Japanese Surrender

Some of the WW II emergency notes from Cebu, Negros, Leyte, Bohol and even Masbate on display at the War Memorial Gallery of Museo Sugbo, the Cebu Provincial Museum. These are bundled exactly as they were in 1945 when these notes were redeemed by the U.S. government at P2:$1.