Project History (August 8)

0 55
Avatar for Koyang
Written by
3 years ago
Topics: History

THE SOVIET UNION DECLARED WAR AGAINST JAPAN

August 8, 1945

Image from The Moscow Times

Two days after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the strength of Japanese forces remains unshakable. But on this day in 1945, the Soviet Union also entered the war against Imperial Japan.

At midnight on August 8, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov sent a message to Japan's Foreign Affairs office, informing them that the two countries were in a state of war. This was not the first time Japan and the Soviet Union had faced war when they first fought for territory at Khalkhin Gol in Mongolia in 1939. But by the time the Soviet Union entered the war, Japan was in a precarious position, gradually- their forces and fighting force were gradually crippled, even though almost all of its citizens were determined to fight to the death. They were even more unprepared for the Soviet Union’s next action the morning, the 9th of August.

Its more than a million soldiers began to mobilize on the border of Japan’s puppet state of Manchuria, and the Soviet army launched Operation August Storm, the most recent battle to occur during World War II, which surrounded and simultaneously stormed almost all of Manchuria. The Soviet forces defeated the Japanese forces and their Chinese allies with all their might. Clashes continued in Manchuria, even though the Japanese government had already declared surrender to the war on 15 August, and Soviet forces had already reached the Korean border.

April 1941 when the Soviet Union and Japan signed an agreement, that they would not go to war while they were at war with their enemy countries. But in the Agreement between the Allies forces in Yalta in February 1945, Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union promised that they would enter the war against Japan if they had defeated the Nazis in Europe.

The entry of the Soviets into the war against them was a great blow to Japan, complacent that the Soviets would not attack them until 1946. On this occasion, it was Emperor Hirohito of Japan who asked the Supreme War Council of Japan to consider accepting Japan on the conditions of their surrender.

THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS WAS ESTABLISHED

August 8, 1967

Image from Time Toast

This day once again celebrates the strong organization, unity, and cooperation of the countries of Southeast Asia --- the 54th year of the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN.

This regional organization, which replaced SEATO or Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, was born in 1967, with the foreign ministers of the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore signing the ASEAN Declaration, in Bangkok, Thailand.

According to this Declaration, the objectives of ASEAN are to unite the countries belonging to the Southeast Asian region and to maintain good and good relations between the member countries, through mutual aid, cooperation, and cooperation with each other. one, for the general welfare of member countries. To achieve these, member countries will be accompanied and provided with appropriate assistance to accelerate economic and social development, maintain prosperity, peace, and order in every country in the region, fight terrorism, and develop. and preserve the cultural identity of each member country. This is by conducting training and research for the improvement of the industrial and commercial sectors of the economy, agriculture, education, health. ASEAN also seeks to maintain good ASEAN relations with countries outside Southeast Asia.

The Philippines is one of the first five-member countries of ASEAN and has further increased the membership of ASEAN, with the participation of Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam. It also has 27 member countries in the ASEAN Regional Forum.

THE PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY WAS ESTABLISHED

August 8, 1901

Image from Wikiwand

Exactly 120 years ago, formed by Act No. 175 of the Second Philippine Commission is considered the ancestor of the current Philippine National Police, the Philippine Constabulary (PC). This institution was established under the guidance of Governor-General William Howard Taft, and under Act no. 175, the PC aims to maintain peace and order in our country. The Philippine Constabulary, in turn, replaced the fears of the Guardia Civil during the Spanish period. And with the existence of civil government, there was still a need to have a public force that would promote peace and security in the country without the need for military force.

With the development of the PC during the American era, it was first used against Filipinos who opposed the American civil government, or the so-called irreconcilables. The PCs are the ones who are being used in the pursuit of guerrillas hiding in the forests to suppress their activities, in particular, they are pursuing the likes of General Simeon Ola of Albay, Miguel Malvar of Batangas, and Macario Sakay in southern Luzon.

The senior PC officers were all American officers, who were from those with high military ranks, specifically the considered “Father of the Philippine Constabulary” Captain Henry T. Allen, a U.S. officer. 6th Cavalry and graduated from the prestigious West Point military academy. Some Filipinos were also placed in positions on the PC, and most of its members were Filipinos, especially Colonel Felix Llorente of Manila and Major Jose Velasquez of Nueva Ecija. By 1917, there was the first Filipino chief of the PC, in the person of Rafael Crame, who served as head of this institution for 10 years.

Those who wanted to enter the PC also had their academy, when it was established in Intramuros in February 1905, and later moved to Baguio city. The current Philippine Military Academy was formerly named the Philippine Constabulary Academy, and until 1991, it trained those who wished to become members of the PC.

The PC was once merged with the newly established Philippine Army under the National Defense Act of 1935, but the regular role of the PC was restored under Commonwealth Act no. 343 signed by President Manuel Luis Quezon in 1938. The PC was also active in fighting Japanese forces during World War II, but the Japanese also used their Constabulary, also made up of former Commonwealth government PCs who surrendered to Japanese opponents.

At the end of the war, the PCs were mobilized to suppress the Huk rebellion, communist guerrillas who had previously fought against the Japanese who had also become a threat to the government and were again integrated into the national military, but the power of the PC to promote peace and security within our country and to become a national police officer by Executive Order 389.

With the advent of President Ferdinand Marcos, especially with the implementation of Martial Law nationwide in September 1972, the PC took the lead in suppressing the activity of demonstrators and was always confronted by demonstrators in the streets. In 1975, the PC was merged with the police, fire, and jail wardens of towns and cities, and with the formation of the Integrated National Police it was merged with the PC which became the PC-INP, adopted by Presidential Decree no. 765 signed by President Marcos on August 8, 1974.

Over the years, the PC has become notorious for violent and cruel reputations, especially as they become instruments of corrupt and abusive government officials.

By 1991, the number of PC members would reach 90,000, but to renounce its complicated past, its uniforms were changed and the PC-INP was renamed the current Philippine National Police (PNP). . But in 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte revived the proposal to restore the Philippine Constabulary.

TEOFILO YLDEFONSO WINS FIRST OLYMPIC MEDAL FOR THE PHILIPPINES

August 8, 1928

Image from Manila Bulletin

Teofilo E. Yldefonso, then 25-year-old swimmer from Piddig, Ilocos Norte, made history in the field of sports in the Philippines at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

On this day in 1928, Yldefonso won the bronze medal for the Philippines in the said Olympic Games for the breaststroke swimming event. She faces Japan’s Yoshiyuki Tsuruta and Germany’s Erich Rademacher for the 200-meter breaststroke swimming in that contest. He was the first Filipino athlete to win a medal in the said Olympic Games. He was the only one to win a medal among four Philippine athletes at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam.

Teofilo E. Yldefonso was part of the 57th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Scouts at the age of 18, and it was here that his swimming skills were developed. He has been participating in regional swimming games since 1923, and has won gold medals at Far Eastern University. By 1937, Yldefonso had won 144 medals in the field of breaststroke swimming, including another bronze medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. He was the first Filipino athlete to win multiple Olympic medals.

Yldefonso fought as a Lieutenant of the Philippine Scouts during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and joined the march of Filipino and American prisoners in Bataan. At the age of 38, he was not fortunate enough to survive when he arrived at the prison camp in Capas, Tarlac in June 1942.

In 2021 or 93 years since Yldefonso won our first Olympic medal, Hidilyn Diaz made history when she won the first Olympic gold medal for our country after winning the women's weightlifting-55 kg category in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where he also set two Olympic records. Diaz, who was also a silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is the second Filipino athlete to win multiple Olympic medals, after Yldefonso. Aside from Diaz, Nesthy Petecio (silver medalist, women's featherweight boxing), Carlo Paalam (silver medalist, men's flyweight boxing), and Eumir Felix Marcial (men's middleweight boxing) also won medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. These are the most Olympic medals won by the Philippines in almost a century of our country's participation in the Olympics.

References:

2
$ 0.00
Avatar for Koyang
Written by
3 years ago
Topics: History

Comments

About us Rules What is Bitcoin Cash? Affiliate program Get sponsored Self-host