Balangiga Bells

[dunmore1774]

Just saw the news about the Philipines wanting the return of the Balangiga Bells

 

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/159024/us-vows-work-ph-resolve-feud-balangiga-bells

[EricJK]

"US troops retaliated by shelling the town, killing all men above 10 years old and turning Samar island into 'a howling wilderness.'"

 

That's a dubious claim. Samar is one of those controversial topics that has been treated inconsistently by historians. Considering the overall lack of understanding of the Philippine American War (as reflected by the above quote from the article) I don't necessarily buy the claim that those bells hold "deep significance" for the American people any longer.

[m1ashooter]

I say keep them

[dunmore1774]

They've been returned. https://www.foxnews.com/world/balangiga-bells-return-to-philippines-more-than-century-later

 

It's a shame they became symbols of politics and historical ignorance. My thoughts are with the the soldiers who lost their lives when these bells rang on Sept. 28, 1901

[trenchbuff]

There is an excellent book, "the Philippine War" by Brian McAllister Linn, that gives an excellent perspective on the war and backs it up with facts and historical research instead of emotions and ignorance.

[EricJK]

It's a good thing for the relations of both countries that the bells have been returned where they belong.

 

Linn's works, in my opinion, are good for an analysis of US military policy but are weak with regard to the moral ramifications of those policies. His works are a bit right-of-center in this respect.

 

Arnold, James R. The Moro War: How America Battled a Muslim Insurgency in the Philippine Jungle, 1902-1913. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2011.

Bain, David Haward. Sitting in Darkness: Americans in the Philippines. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984.

Gates, John M. Schoolbooks and Krags: The United States Army in the Philippines, 1898-1902. Westport: Connecticut, 1973.

Linn, Brian McAllister. The US Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 1899-1902. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

Linn, Brian McAllister. The Philippine War, 1899-1902. Lawrence, Kansas: The University Press of Kansas, 2000.

May, Glenn Anthony. Battle For Batangas: A Philippine Province At War. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.

Miller, Stuart Creighton. Benevolent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1900-1903. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.

Mojares, Resil B. The War Against the Americans: Resistance and Collaboration in Cebu, 1899-1906. Manila: Ateneo De Manila Press.

Ochosa, Orlino A. The Tinio Brigade: Anti-American Resistance in the Ilocos Provinces, 1899-1901. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1989.

Scott, William Henry. Ilocano Responses to American Aggression, 1900-1901. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1986.

Westfall, The Devil's Causeway: The True Story of America's First Prisoner's of War in a Foreign Land, and the Heroic Expedition Sent to Their Rescue. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press, 2012.

Wolff, Leon. Little Brown Brother: How the United States Purchased and Pacified the Philippines at the Century's Turn. New York: History Book Club, 1960.

 

 

[trenchbuff]

In my opinion he presents both sides fairly, but just my opinion only. I'm also happy to see the bells returned.

[ottodog8]

Now if we can only get Mexico to return the Alamo flag to us.....

 

Steve

[trenchbuff]

Now if we can only get Mexico to return the Alamo flag to us.....

 

Steve

 

Seems fair. And the USS Pueblo.

 

[FWhite]

 

Seems fair. And the USS Pueblo.

 

I was told by my dad that my grandfather did the communications of the USS Pueblo in Subic Naval Base (Philippines). My grandfather was a civil service civilian employee working for the Electronics dep't from 1945 - 1964 in Subic Naval base. Just thought I'd share this.