Roll Out the Barrel… The Tanks Are Coming:
The Liberation of the Santo Tomas Internment Camp
by Ralph DioGuardi
A Merriam Press Original Publication
Military Monograph MM20
The author was a member of the 44th Tank Battalion, which participated in the liberation in February 1945 of Allied civilians from this Manila university campus which had been turned into an internment camp by the Japanese in early 1942.
The author tells the story of the internees’ life at Santo Tomas, aided by interviews with some of the survivors, as well as the camp’s liberation.
Has been highly praised by internees who were there.
Contents
Specifications
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Third edition (May 2006)
- 38 – 8.5 × 11 inch pages
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Paperback – $10.95
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Hardcover – $29.95
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PDF file – $6.95
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28 photos
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plan of camp layout
The Author
Ralph DioGuardi was a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers, a proofreader with Doubleday and Company, Newsday, Garden City, New York, and a substitute junior/senior high school teacher in Smithtown (Long Island), New York, schools. He was a graduate of Long Island University. He is now deceased.
He was a member of the armored unit, the 44th Tank Battalion, which participated in the liberation of internees at Santo Tomas’ infamous prison camp in Manila in February 1945. Originally the 44th was part of the 12th Armored Division. After extensive maneuvers they were detached from the division at the request of General MacArthur, and joined the 1st Cavalry Division for the spearheading assault on Manila.
The 44th participated in action in New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, the invasion of Leyte at Tacloban, action in Luzon and sped its way entirely alone through that island and into combat through the city of Manila.
The 44th had the unique distinction of being the first unit to occupy Japan. For thirty days the 44th was located outside of Yokohama and finally rotated home.
After more than thirty-five years, veterans of the 44th Tank Battalion received the Philippine Liberation Medal along with the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Badge for having participated in various campaigns and battles for the liberation of the Philippines.
The story of this eight hundred-strong group of men who have remained anonymous over the years is filled with drama, pathos, courage and valor. How well they remember the shouts of joy of the internees as their clanking coffins rumbled into the courtyard of Santo Tomas… it was an experience that all who participated in will never forget.
For those of their comrades who fell in those faraway islands DioGuardi felt dedicated to tell the story.