In commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the first day of the Battle for Manila, Mr. Roderick Hall, whose family had been interned at the University of Santo Tomas during the Second World War, officially turned over a donation of books and other war memorabilia to the Filipinas Heritage Library.
Hall was born in the Philippines in 1932 to Alaistair Hall and Consuelo McMicking. Alaistair Hall was among the foreigners interned by the Japanese military at the University of Santo Tomas during World War II. Meanwhile, Consuelo McMicking was the sister of Lt. Col. Joseph McMicking, who helped plan the transformation of Makati City into one of the most successful residential, business, and commercial centers in Asia. Joseph and his wife Mercedes Zobel McMicking were also the original founders of Ayala Foundation (originally Filipinas Foundation).
The Roderick Hall Collection includes almost 700 books and manuscripts on Manila and the Philippines during World War II. Compiled by Mr. Hall himself, the collection has a significant number of books that contain stories of civilians and military men during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, particularly from December 1941 to March 1945. These include first-hand accounts of the Death March, the Battle of Bataan and Corregidor, the Battle for Manila, guerrilla warfare, and US military activities. Also available are memoirs of their resistance and collaboration, propaganda and torture, captivity and liberation, and survival.
The turnover ceremony was graced by members of the Memorare-Manila Foundation 1945, a private nonprofit organization founded by civilian survivors and noncombatant victims of the Battle for the Liberation of Manila in February 1945. Ambassador Juan Jose P. Rocha, president of Memorare and the C. F. Sharp Group delivered the introduction of Mr. Hall and a message recounting his own experiences during the war. The deed of gift was officially signed by Mr. Hall and Mrs. Maritoni Ortigas, FHL director. Dr. Benito J. Legarda Jr. of Memorare was the master of ceremonies.
Mr. Hall continues to expand the collection, which he has donated in honor of members of his family—Angelina Rico de McMicking, Consuelo McMicking Hall, Alfred McMicking, and Helen McMicking – who were arrested in Manila and executed in January 1945 by the Japanese Imperial Army. He wanted to make the collection “available for future scholars who want to hear first-hand the many stories that make up the horror of the war years in the Philippines.” Though the collection recounts painful and devastating memories of the war, it also commemorates and honors the bravery and endurance of the Filipinos who suffered and fought for their liberation.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
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