After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines on Dec 8, 1941. The Philippines were a US possession since 1898 after it was ceded by Spain following the Spanish-American War. The Philippines were defended by the United States Army Forces in the Far East or USAFFE commanded by Douglas MacArthur. The US forces valiantly defended the Philippine islands as they got pushed further and further until the final stand of Corregidor Island. On May 6, 1942 the remaining Americans and Filipino defenders surrendered. Over 100,000 soldiers were captured including 18 generals where they faced horrible treatment as POWs, especially during the infamous Bataan Death March. Douglas MacArthur escaped the Philippines and promised to one day return after this defeat. Americans finally returned to liberate the Philippines with their own invasion in 1944.
This Riflemen Squad will be based on the 31st Infantry Regiment, the only all American unit serving in the Philippines. The 31st held back Japanese forces for 4 months allowing allied forces to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. Most of the 31st were captured and suffered brutally under the Japanese. Before surrending soldiers of the 31st buried their flags and prized Shanghai Bowl, a silver punch bowl made by a Shanghai silver smith in 1932 made from 1,600 silver US trade dollars commissioned by the unit’s officers. Following America’s liberation of the Philippines the very soldier that buried them recovered it.
This squad will have a unique appearance, a blue denim uniform. During the early to mid 1900s US armed forces had a blue denim uniform for fatigue work. In 1941 this was replaced by Herringbone Twill or HBT in olive drab. Despite being replaced not every single unit received the new HBT uniforms and denim fatigues remained in use especially in the Pacific where many US personnel were stationed. During the sudden Japanese invasion of US Pacific possessions US forces were caught completely off guard and found themselves fighting with whatever they had on hand. Some of these units found themselves forced to fight in their old denim work uniforms. There are some historical photos of US forces in the Philippines wearing denim uniforms. They can also wear a matching denim “Daisy Mae” fatigue hat as well.
The squad’s unique weapon will be the Springfield M1898 Rifle, or the Krag-Jorgensen Rifle. The Krag-Jorgensen was a Norwegian bolt-action rifle developed in the 1880s. The US was looking for a new standard issue rifle and tested many designs until they adopted the Krag in 1892. About 500,000 Krags were produced by the Springfield Armory. It was produced in many different rifle and carbine variants until 1904 when it was replaced by the Springfield M1903. The American Krag served in the Boxer Rebellion, Spanish-American War, and Philippine-American War. After being replaced some American Krags still saw use in WW1 and even WW2
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