Located at the southern tip of Zamboanga along Basilan Strait.
 Zamboanga
Lat 6° 54' 37N Long 122° 4' 26E Located at the south-west tip
of Mindanao Island.
This was the first part of the island liberated
by American forces. Assaulted
by the US Army, during operation Victor IV, by the 41st Infantry
Division's 162nd and 163rd Infantry, landing four miles NW of the
city on March 10, 1945 against light opposition. The city was liberated
by the 163rd on March 11, 1945. Filipino Guerrillas had operated
in the area through the war, commanded by Col. Wendell Fertig, a
US
Army reservist who had not surrendered.
American Liberation
31st Infantry Division landed on
April 22, 1945, moving up the Sayre Highway and down the Kibawe-Talomo
Trail,
fighting
in
knee-deep mud and rains, but forced the Japanese to withdraw into
the interior, and blocked off others in the Davao area.
San
Roque
Located inland and to the north-west of Zamboanga, it was liberated
on March 11, 1945.
San Roque Airfield (Moret Field)
Occupied by the Japanese, liberated March 11, 1945 by Americans
| Wolfe
Field (Zamboanga Airfield) |
Location
Lat 6° 56' 0" Long 122° 5' 0" Located near San Roque.
Wartime History
Liberated
by the 162nd Infantry on March
10,
1945.
L2D2 Tabby
Captured at Zamboanga (licence built C-47) on May 3, 1945, missing
left propeller. Flown back to Clark Field by ATIU, it was fitted
with the proper propeller and tested. Assigned tail code S15 and
painted with American markings.
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Mount Caspisan & Pulungbata
Main
Japanese defensive position, after the fall of Zamboanga town,
about 2 miles north of San Roque was Caspisan, and Pulungbata 5
miles inland. Occupied by about, 9,000 troops of the Japanese independent
mixed Brigade, commanded by Lt. General Tokichi Hojo. Organized
resistance was over on Caspisan by late March.
Recodo
Lat 6° 57' 7N Long 121° 57' 49E Located to the west of Zamboanga, Caldera Point and Caldera Bay
Caldara Seaplane Base
Japanese seaplane base to the west of Zamboanga
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