Testimony of Dionisio Paez of San Jose Batangas on Japanese Atrocities He Experienced in 1945
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The ruined Municipal Building in San Jose in 1945. Image credit: United States National Archives. |
[p. 29]
Q Please state your full name, age, address and nationality.
A Dionisio Paez, 64 years old, Poblacion, San Jose, Batangas Province, P.I., Filipino.
Q What is your occupation?
A Carpenter.
Q Do you intend to remain at your present address, and if not, how can your whereabouts in the future be ascertained?
A I intend to remain at my present address.
Q Did you suffer any mistreatment at the hands of the Japanese?
A Yes.
Q Please tell us in detail what happened.
A On February 22, 1945, Thursday, 7:30 A. M., my grandson, Victorino Paez, aged 20; my son, Jose Paez, aged 202; and I saw two Japanese north of our house. We hurriedly left our house and went southward, my son and grandson going first.
Hardly had I gone 15 meters when I saw that they were caught by six Japanese soldiers. One soldier aimed his rifle at me. I went to him and the six brought the three of us to a place where they kept four bags of unhusked rice, and one bag of soap, about 100 meters south of our house.
Here, two Japanese were left to guard us. I told my son and grandson to follow me if I tried to escape. Then, when the guards were not looking at us, I made signs to my son and grandson, and I dashed for freedom. I ran westward to the town, my son ran eastward. I did not see where my grandson went. I heard three rifle shots in my direction, and I saw four Japanese running after my son and shooting at him. However, I was not hit, and my son, I later learned, was not hit, either. That evening, I learned that the Japanese left town.
The next morning, at about 8 o’clock, I looked for the body of my grandson, presuming him to have been caught and killed since he had not joined us. I did not see him. At about 7:30 A. M., Saturday, February 24, 1945, I saw his body among those of 11 men, women and children on the bank of [the] Malaking Tubig River.
My grandson had a wound from a sharp instrument, perhaps a saber, on the left shoulder, and a big bayonet wound on the abdomen. Some of his intestines were protruding from the wound.
Among the bodies I recognized were: Sancho Atienza, aged about 50; Sixto Atienza, aged about 32; Eulogio Atienza, aged 18; Lucita Atienza, aged 27, who was pregnant; Leonardo Atienza, aged 14; and five children, mostly suckling babies, whose names I do not know.
[p. 30]
The next day, February 25, 1945, about 20 meters from the bank of the river where I saw the 11 men, women and children, I found the body of Agapita Hidalgo, aged 45. She, too, had been bayoneted.
Q Where were the bodies buried?
A My grandson was buried in the town cemetery. The ten other bodies were buried in the dugout of the Atienza family in Barrio Taysan.
Q Do you know the names of any of the Japanese who were responsible for the massacre of these 11 people?
A No.
Q Can you describe any of them?
A I cannot describe any of them, but [if] I meet the Japanese who captured my son, grandson, I think I can recognize them.
Q Can you describe the uniforms of these Japanese who captured you?
A They were moss-colored.
Q Can you describe their insignia?
A No. I did not notice them.
Q Do you know to what unit they belonged?
A No.
Q Have you anything else to add to your statement?
A No.
/t/ DIONISIO PAEZ
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES
PROVINCE OF BATANGAS
TOWN OF SAN JOSE
/T/ DIONISIO PAEZ
/T/ ALLEN H. PEOPLES, Capt. CAC
Investigating Officer, War Crimes
Investigating Detachment.
[p. 31]
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES
PROVINCE OF BATANGAS
TOWN OF SAN JOSE
/T/ ALFREDO CUEVAS
/T/ ALLEN H PEOPLES, Capt., CAC
Investigating Officer, War Crimes
Investigating Detachment.
Municipal Bldg., San Jose, Batangas Province, P.I. |
/s/ Allen H. Peoples /t/ ALLEN H. PEOPLES, Capt., CAC |
27 October 1945 |
/s/ Charles C. Thompson /t/ CHARLES C. THOMPSON, Capt., TC |
1 “Documents Pertaining to the Testimony of Dionisio Paez in U.S.A. v Tomoyuki Yamashita,” part of the U.S. Military Commission compilation of war crimes documentation, online at the Internet Archive.
2 That Paez’s son and grandson were both aged 20 is curious and possibly a typo.