It kept "Freedom's Flame" burning brightly throughout
the Philippines and gave the Filipinos the necessary strength and
courage to resist-and finally to defeat the invaders. Col. Nakar's
"Brief and pathetic message from the Cagayan Valley" gave MacArthur
the reassurance he needed:
To plan his aggressive warfare;
To fulfill his pledge to the Filipino people: "I shall return!"
and
To know he had a friendly base from which to attack Japan.
MacArthur's First Guerrilla Regiment (later the 14th Inf.) had
produced a much needed diversion for the hard-pressed forces on Bataan
and Corregidor. Thirty months later, these same guerrillas of the 14th
Inf. played an important part under the brilliant leadership of Col.
Russell Volckmann in assisting MacArthur's invasion of Luzon at
Lingayen Gulf on January 9th, 1945.
MacArthur stated, "The guerrillas had been busy ever since receiving
my orders 'to open up!' They cut telephone wires and otherwise
disrupted Japanese communications. They blew up bridges and mined
roads; they blocked supplies to the front lines; they smashed patrols
and burned ammunition dumps.
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