Philippines (Japanese Occupation) First Anniversary of the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor - 1943

PHILIPPINES (UNDER IMPERIAL JAPAN OCCUPATION) on 7 May 1943 issued two stamps to commemorate the first anniversary of the fall of Bataan and Corregidor to the Japanese. It was cancelled with a special blue-green circular dated postmark originating from Pagsuko, where Allied forces capitulated. Military police censorship rubber stamped it, both in Japanese and English. Printed cachet on the left refers to the surrender. 

The cancellation postmark and military police censor's stamp looks real enough, but they are actually  'fake', otherwise the cachet and stamps are genuine. Firstly, the postmark and censor's stamp appear to be very similar to those found on Henry  Kraemer FDCs  from this period, who was a one-time stamp dealer in the Philippines with a reputation for 'stamping' legitimate Japanese Occupation stamps. Lastly, "MR. G. A. ROENSCH 903 DAITOA AVENUE, MANILA, PHILIPPINES" appears on many FDCs, both as the sender and receiver, much like the Henry Kraemer FDCs. That said, oddly enough, they are collectible.

The cachet and stamps are genuine. The stamps depict a Japanese soldier and battleships around a map of Bataan-Corregidor. Interestingly, a few years later, the US Post Office would issue a purple Corregidor stamp.

On 8 December 1941 when, just ten hours after the attack at Pearl Harbor, Japan launched an invasion on the Philippines. Beginning at Manila, the Japanese quickly overwhelmed the troops on the island under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. American aircraft were destroyed while still on the ground, forcing the U.S. naval fleet, lacking air support, to retreat to Java. The American /Filipino ground troops withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor in Manila Bay. With much of the American Pacific Fleet destroyed in Hawaii, aid would not be forthcoming. On 2 January 1942, Manila was declared an “open city” to prevent its destruction and the Japanese marched into the city.

The remaining US/Philippine troops fought until their surrender on the Bataan Peninsula in April 1942 and on Corregidor in May. Over 80,000 prisoners of war were captured by the Japanese at Bataan and were forced to walk to a prison camp more than 100 kilometres to the north in what would be known as the “Bataan Death March”. It is estimated that as many as 10,000 men, weakened by disease and malnutrition, died before reaching their destination.