Puerto Princesa Airfield-- Part 2: The 'Palawan Massacre'

On December 14, 1944, Japanese soldiers herded the remaining 150 U.S. POWs who had constructed the airstrip on Palawan Island into air raid trenches, doused them with gasoline, set them on fire and then machine-gunned and bayoneted survivors.

Among them was Army Captain Fred Bruni, the Palawan POW senior officer who was from Janesville, Wisconsin.  Before capture when the Philippines fell, he had been with the 192nd Tank Battalion.

Only eleven of the POWs escaped in what became known as the "Palawan Massacre."  They were rescued by guerillas.

The story of this ordeal persuaded General Douglas MacArthur that the rumored order of retreating Japanese soldiers to "kill all" prisoners was being implemented, thus speeding up his plans for the liberation of the Philippines.

When U.S. forces took over, the U.S. Army and Navy Engineers  of the 1897th Engineer Aviation Battalion immediately rehabilitated the facility and it was in use by March 18, 1945.  They further expanded the airfield by laying steel Marston Mats and concrete and added  air control facilities and tanks to store  oil and aviation fuel.

--GreGen

Puerto Princesa Airfield, Palawan Island, Philippines-- Part 1: Built By American POWs With Crushed Corals for Illuminating Night Landings

From Wikipedia.

Puerto Princesa International Airport, the field on which Dan Crowley worked on as a prisoner of the Japanese is still there  and in operation.  It also serves as the main gateway to the Puerto Princesa Underground River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Nature.

The airport was built by American POWs during World War II from August 1942 to September 1944.  It was used to accommodate large Japanese transport aircraft in addition to the large grass airstrip south of  it.

The airstrip was constructed by hand by the POWs using crushed corals that also illuminated night landings.  The finished airfield had an area of 7,200 feet by 675 feet with two runways.

--GreGen