I obtained these two (2) photos which were shared by SGM Dan Sebby. They were originally posted on the California Military History Facebook page. In the first picture, these Filipino soldiers took a break after firing their water cooled .30 caliber machine guns on the range. These soldiers of the newly formed U.S. Armys 1st Filipino Battalion posed for a group photo. As you can see, there was an NBC correspondent at Camp San Luis Obispo, California covering the news of this new unit. To the left with the correspondent was a visiting general officer, the Battalion commander, Lt. Col. Robert Offley and numerous personnel in the rear. They made up the cadre of officers and NCOs of this unit. The second photo on the right featured a contingent of troopers led by Major Triso Fajardo. He was the ranking Filipino officer who was evacuated from Bataan on that fateful day in April 1942. The USS Mactan brought several wounded to the states via Australia. Fortunately, Major Fajardo was one of the lucky ones. He arrived at the Battalion to help organize the training of the incoming inductees. — at Camp San Luis Obispo, CA
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 08:02:59 +0000