Miscellaneous Documents Submitted by Tambauan for US Army Recognition - Batangas History, Culture and Folklore Miscellaneous Documents Submitted by Tambauan for US Army Recognition - Batangas History, Culture and Folklore

Miscellaneous Documents Submitted by Tambauan for US Army Recognition

The Suicide Battalion was purportedly a guerrilla outfit organized in the barrio of Santor in Tanauan by one Crispulo Tambauan, who would himself become its commander, and later set up its headquarters in Wawa, same municipality. This guerrilla outfit failed to obtain official recognition as an element of the Philippine Army in the service of the United States Armed Forces, with some notable guerrilla figures stating that they had never heard of either Tambauan or his alleged guerrilla outfit. The documents about this unit are nonetheless included for posterity and for the benefit of researchers about World War II in Batangas. In this page1 are several miscellaneous documents submitted by Tambauan along with his alleged guerrilla outfit’s application for official recognition by the United States Army.

Guerrilla Files

[p. 1]

HQ 1ST BATTALION REDOR’S UNIT
(FAIT)

27 February 1946
SUBJECT
TO
: Certification
: All Concerned

1. This is to certify that Captain Crispolo Tambauan had joined my organization and participated in the resistance movement against the enemy from the period of September 1943 to October 1943.

2. During the stay of the said captain, he had rendered excellent services to this organization.

[Sgd.] PONCIANO C. REDOR
Lt. Col. Inf. Redor’s Unit
Commanding Officer

[p. 2]

A F F I D A V I T

I, Matias M. Mercado, of legal age, married and residing in the barrio of Santor, Municipality of Tanauan, Province of Batangas, after having duly sworn to, depose and say:

1. That on July 22, 1943, I was inducted by Captain Crispulo D. Tambauan, commanding officer of the Fil-American Guerrilla Unit, 3rd Regiment, Infantry, Suicide Battalion, organized in the barrio of Santor, Municipality of Tanauan, Province of Batangas on July 12, 1943;

2. That after my induction into the said organization as First Lieutenant, I inducted into the said organization all the officers and enlisted men;

3. That since our induction into the said guerrilla unit, all the men under my command were actively engaged in spying and sabotage activities against the Japanese forces stationed in Tanauan, Batangas, and in other neighboring municipalities;

4. That when the Japanese troops established their headquarters in the barrio of Santor, the members of this guerrilla unit actively did the acts of espionage and sabotage and that these members secured military secrets of the Japanese forces;

5. That after the Japanese troops abandoned their headquarters in the locality of Santor, the men under my command cut all wire communications and destroyed all other war materials left by the Japanese troops;

6. That in February, 1945, upon the arrival of the American paratroopers in Tagaytay, my men proceeded thereto and secured arms, ammunition and food from the American forces and brought them to Tanauan, Batangas;

7. That upon the arrival of the members of the 11th Airborne Division, U. S. Army, in Talisay, they were joined by the members of the Fil-American unit of Santor, Tanauan, Batangas, and fought side by side with them against the Japanese forces;

8. That after the Japanese forces were wiped out in the Natatas Hill, Santor, Tanauan, Batangas, all my men joined the 8th Cavalry Division of the United States Army and fought side by side with them in the Poblacion of Tanauan, Malvar, Lipa and finally in the barrio of Sta. Clara, Sto. Tomas, Batangas;

9. That after the Japanese forces were annihilated in those localities, all my men were disbanded by the United States Army; and

10. That during the battle between the Japanese forces on one hand and the American forces together with the men under my command on the other, two of my men met death, namely, Simplicio Salcedo, died in action in February, 1945 in Darasa, Tanauan, Batangas, and Leon de Chavez, died in action in Sta. Clara, Sto. Tomas, Batangas in March 1945.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 6th day of March, 1946, in the City of Manila, Philippines.

[Sgd.] MATIAS M. MERCADO
Affiant

[p. 3]

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES
CITY OF MANILA

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of March, 1946, in the City of Manila, Philippines. Affiant exhibited to me his Residence Certificate No. A 727095, issued on February 8, 1946, in the city of Manila, Philippines.
[Sgd.] UBALDO TABING
Notary Public
My commission expires on December 31, 1947

Doc. No. 153
Page No. 33
Book No. I
Series of 1946.

[p. 4]

AFFIDAVIT AND MEMORANDUM REPORT

I, Temoteo Mercado, of legal age, single and residing at the Barrio of Santor, Municipality of Tanauan, Province of Batangas, after having been duly sworn to, depose and say;

1. That on August 20, 1943, I was inducted by 2nd Lieutenant Primitivo Mailon, 1st Platoon Leader of the Fil-American Guerrilla Unit, 3rd Regiment, Infantry, Suicide Battalion, organized in the Barrio of Santor, Tanauan, Batangas on August 20, 1943;

2. That on August 20, 1943, I was inducted by 2nd Lieutenant Primitivo Mailon, 1st Platoon Leader of the Fil-American Guerrilla Unit, 3rd Regiment, Infantry, Suicide Battalion, organized in the Barrio of Santor, Tanauan, Batangas on August 20, 1943;

3. That after my induction into the said organization as Staff Sergeant, I inducted into the said organization all the enlisted;

4. That when the Japanese troops established their headquarters in the Barrio of Santor, the members of this guerrilla unit did the acts of espionage and sabotage and that these members secured military secrets of the Japanese forces;

5. That after the Japanese troops abandoned their Headquarters in the locality of Santor, the men under my command cut all wire communications and destroyed all other war materials left by the Japanese troops;

6. That in February, 1945, upon the arrival of the American paratroopers in Tagaytay, the men under my charge proceeded thereat and secured arms, ammunition, and food from the American forces which they, in turn, brought to Tanauan, Batangas;

7. That upon the arrival of the 11th Airborne Division, U. S. Army, in Talisay, they were joined by the members of the Fil-American Guerrilla Unit of Santor, Tanauan, Batangas, and fought side by side with them against the Japanese forces;

8. That after the Japanese forces were wiped out, we joined the 11th Airborne of the United States Army and fought side by side with them in the Poblacions of Tanauan, Malvar, and finally in the Makulot Mountain Batangas; and

9. That after the Japanese forces were annihilated in those localities, we were disbanded by the United States Army.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this _____ day of March, 1946, in the city of Manila, Philippines.

[Sgd.] TEMOTEO MERCADO
Affiant

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES
CITY OF MANILA

Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____ day of March, 1946, in the City of Manila, Philippines, Affiant exhibited to me his Residence Certificate No. __________, issued at __________ on __________.
[Sgd.] VALENTIN VILLAVICENCIO
Lt. Col. Infantry (PA)
A. C. [illegible, blurred]

[p. 5]

AFFIDAVIT AND MEMORANDUM REPORT

I, Juan Punzalan, of legal age, married and residing in the Barrio of Santor, Municipality of Tanauan, Province of Batangas, after having been duly sworn to, depose and say:

1. That on July 15, 1943, I was inducted by Capt. Crispulo D. Tambauan, commanding officer of the Fil-American Guerrilla Unit, 3rd Regiment, Infantry Suicide Co., organized in the barrio of Santor, Municipality of Tanauan, province of Batangas;

2. That after my induction into the said organization as Supply Sergeant under Matias Mercado, I and my men actively engaged in our duty to secure firearms and ammunition that were hidden by the people of our neighboring barrios;

3. That after we had secured firearms and ammunition, we secured foods and other things needed in our base, we collected money from the people for the support of our organization;

4. That after we had collected the money, we turned over the same to our officer to buy things for use by our members and the rest to our intelligence organizations to be spent in making the location of the Japanese forces; and

5. That in February, 1945, upon the arrival of the American paratroopers in Tagaytay, we proceeded there to secure arms, ammunition, and food from the American forces and brought them to our base.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this _____ day of March, 1946, in the Municipality of Tanauan, Province of Batangas, Philippines.

[Sgd.] JUAN PUNZALAN
Affiant

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES
PROVINCE OF ___________________

Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____ day of _____ 1946, in _________. Affiant exhibited to me his Residence Certificate No. A 65007, issued on __________, at ___________________.

[p. 6]

A F F I D A V I T

I, Matias M. Mercado of legal age, married and residing in the barrio of Santor, Municipality of Tanauan, Province of Batangas, after having duly sworn to, depose and say:

1. That on July 12, 1943, I was appointed by the then Captain Crispulo D. Tambauan, Company Commander of Folsom’s Fil-American Guerrilla Unit, 2nd Regiment, Infantry, Suicide Battalion, organized at Santor, Tanauan, Batangas;

2. That on January 4, 1944, I was promoted from First Lieutenant to Captain of the same organization;

3. That after I had been inducted into this organization as First Lieutenant, and all the men had been assigned to their respective squads and units, I issued orders regarding the activities to be accomplished by all men under each squad and unit;

4. That sometime in the early part of January 1944, all the men under my command were actively busy in spying the activities of the Japanese Forces of the said locality and as a result of which, many communication lines of the Japanese Forces were cut, intercepted and destroyed;

5. That when the Japanese troops transferred their headquarters to Santor, Tanauan, Batangas, sometime in October 1944, all men under my command actively busied themselves in watching all the movements of the Japanese forces, so that necessary reports could be made to my superior officer;

6. That when the Japanese troops evacuated our place, the men under my command busied themselves in destroying the foxholes and other war materials left by the Japanese troops in our locality;

7. That sometime in February, 1945, when American paratroopers landed in Tagaytay, some of the men under this unit proceeded thereto and secured arms, ammunition and food from the American forces which landed;

8. That when the 11th Airborne of the American forces arrived in Santor, Tanauan, Batangas, some of my men joined this unit. After the forces left Santor, some of my men joined the 8th Cavalry Division;

9. That members of my organization fought with the American forces in mopping up the Japanese forces which occupied the Natatas Hill, Santor, Tanauan, Batangas;

10. That after the occupation of the poblacion of Tanauan, Batangas, some of the men under my command joined the 8th Cavalry Division and proceeded to Malvar and Lipa and later to Sta. Clara, Sto. Tomas, Batangas; and

11. That when the American forces had already cleared Malvar, Lipa and Sto. Tomas of the Japanese soldiers, some of my men were ordered disbanded for their services were no longer needed by the American forces.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 8th day of February, 1946, in the City of Manila, Philippines.

[Sgd.] MATIAS M. MERCADO

[p. 7]

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES
CITY OF MANILA

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 8th day of February, 1946, in the City of Manila, Philippines. Affiant exhibited to me his residence certificate No. A 727095 issued on February 8, 1946, in the City of Manila, Philippines.
[Sgd.] UBALDO TABING
Notary Public
My commission expires on December 31, 1947

Doc. No. 78
Page No. 17
Book No. I
Series of 1946.

Notes and references:
1 “Suicide Bn., 3rd Inf Regt, FAG,” File No. 134, online at the United States National Archives.
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