January 2 in diaries
In focus: January 1942: WW2PH 80 Years After
In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in the Philippines, we have compiled the diary entries for the second month of the war, along with other interesting material, in the hope that this will help interested readers to get a sense of the of that conflict.
Each date contains the relevant entries as well as materials culled from different sources of information:
Battling Bastards. A Diary-Type Account of the First Days of World War II in the Philippines, by J.G. Doll (The Merriam Press, 1989), which provides the American military perspective on events. These entries are in italics. These provide a fair summary of the American point of view.
The World War II Timeline prepared by the Official Gazette; these entries are in bold. these give an indication of the Filipino point of view.
Various documents and photographs from the Quezon Family Collection.
See what came before in the 80 Years Later Series: December 1941. See also these special features: The cavalry and their last charge, December 1941-January 1942 and The debate on taking the Philippines out of the war: January 28 to February 12, 1942.
Diarist in focus: José Rizal (1861-1986)
Rizal kept many diaries. If you’d like to learn more, you can read About José Rizal and his diaries.
Today’s entry is from his Madrid Diary, 1882. (in the original Spanish and in English translation):
2 de Enero 1884
Hoy ha habido reunión en casa de los Paternos; se reunieron los mismos que en el café de Madrid menos Iriarte, Villanueva y Vidal. Se trató de reconstituir el Círculo; se nombró una comisión para ir a hablar a los antiguos socios y al Sr. Atayde; la comisión se compuso de los Sres. Paterno, Lopez, Laserna, Esquivel J. y Aguirre. Mi proposición acerca del libro fue aceptada por unanimidad; pero después se me ofrecieron dificultades y obstáculos que me parecieron un poco singulares, levantándose acto continuo varios señores sin querer hablar más de ello. En vista de esto decidí no volver a proponerlo ya, mas considerando imposible contar con .el apoyo de la generalidad, y solo después en unión con los Sres. Lete y Figueroa hemos tratado de seguir adelante. Para esto se le escribirá al Sr. Luna, Resurrección y Regidor.
Today there was a meeting at the house of the Paternos. The same ones who were at the Cafe de Madrid, except Iriarte, Villanueva, and Vidal, met there. They took up the revival of the Circulo. They named a committee to speak with the old members and Mr. Atayde. The committee was composed of Messrs. Paterno, Lopez, Laserna, J. Esquivel, and Aguirre. My proposal concerning the book was unanimously accepted; but afterwards they offered me difficulties and obstacles that seemed to me somewhat singular following which several gentlemen rose up without wishing to talk any more about it. In view of this, I decided not to propose it again, considering it impossible to count on the support of the majority, and only later, together with Messrs. Lete and Figueroa did we decide to go ahead. For this purpose, we shall write Messrs. Luna, Resurreccion, and Regidor.
Today in history:
Same day, different years for Ferdinand E. Marcos (in 1970, then 1971 and 1972)
1945: Gen. Basilio Valdes, chief of staff, Philippine Army; Tomas Confesor, resistance leader; Leon Ma. Guerrero, Filipino diplomat in Tokyo; American civilians interned in UST: Raymond Leyerly, Carl E. Rice.
1943: Natalie Crouter, American civilian interned in Baguio; Thomas Hayes, American P.O.W. in Bilibid.
1938: Gen. Fidel Segundo, assistant chief of staff of the Philippine Army.
1936: Francis Burton Harrison, former governor-general, adviser to Pres. Quezon.
1932: Marcial Lichauco, member, OsRox Mission.
1900: Ernest Dieball, American soldier.
1899: Alfred Welch, John Asendorf, American soldiers; John E.T. Milsaps, Salvation Army missionary.