Professor Greg Jackson

These include British Malaya, Hong Kong, and Singapore, as well as several American territories.

By 5.45 in the morning on December 10th, the Japanese force US troops on Guam to surrender.

On Wake Island, 422 Marines and 58 enlisted men initially hold off continual air raids, but they too surrender to Japan later that month.

The Japanese have also launched air raids on Midway.

And as all of this goes on, General Douglas MacArthur is doing all he can in the ongoing fight for the Philippines.

Ah, the Philippines.

It's been a while since we first acquainted ourselves with this group of almost 7,100 islands and islets that extends 1,150 miles from north to south back in episode 107's coverage of the Philippine-American War.

Let's get you up to speed before we get too deep.

First, I trust you recall that the Philippine-American War ended in 1902 with an American victory.

Well, mostly ended.

Some fought on, but 1902 is our official end date.

Yes, that was a brutal war.

Nonetheless, relations between the Philippines and the United States have strengthened significantly since then.

In fact, independence is now in sight.

Particularly ever since 1934, when Filipino representative and advocate Manuel Quezon succeeded in convincing Congress to pass the Tidings-McDuffie Act.

This made his country an all-but-autonomous commonwealth under congressional oversight on a 10-year path to full independence as a sovereign nation and republic.

One year later, in 1935, General Douglas MacArthur became the Commonwealth government's military advisor.

In brief, this seasoned World War I vet, whose own father once fought on these islands in the Philippine-American War, was to help modernize the Philippine military and get it into shape before the nation went fully independent.

Doug continued to serve in this advisory role even after his retirement from the U.S.

Army in 1937.