Reynaldo Mendoza
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Reynaldo Mendoza (Brig. Gen.)
Reynaldo Arce Mendoza (24 March 1917 - 4 June 2001) was a Philippine Army Brig. Gen. officer. He was a member of the pioneer Class of 1940, the author of the alma mater song "PMA, Oh Hail to Thee," and former Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). He was also the former Chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) and President of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP). During his military service he had received several awards and decorations including three Distinguished Service Stars and Presidential Unit Citations from the Philippines, the United States, and the Republic of Korea. He was also recipient of the Ulchi Distinguished Military Service Medal and the Korean War Hero Medal for his command of the 2nd Battalion Combat Team (BCT) of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK).
Reynaldo Arce Mendoza Brigadier General | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 24, 1917 Aparri, Cagayan Valley, Philippines |
| Died | June 4, 2001 |
| Resting place | Himlayang Pilipino Memorial Park |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Other names | Rey Mendoza |
| Alma mater | Philippine Military Academy
United States Army Armor School University of Santo Tomas University of the Philippines Command and General Staff College Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy |
| Organization(s) | PMA, ISAFP, SEATO, NDCP, NICA, AFP |
| Known for | PMA, Oh Hail to Thee (lyrics) 2nd Battalion Combat Team, PEFTOK (commander) |
| Notable work | Leadership for Filipinos (co-author), 1956 |
| Honours | Korean War Hero Medal
Distinguished Service Stars Military Merit Medals Presidential Unit Citations (US, RP, ROK) Ulchi Distinguished Military Service Medal |
Military Career
Philippine Military Academy (Class of 1940)
Reynaldo Mendoza is a member of the PMA Class '40, which was the first batch to complete four years of training as cadets in the academy.[1] Out of 120 cadets who were admitted in the academy in 1936, only 79 graduated in 1940.[2] A year after their graduation, they would be called upon to serve in the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) who fought against the Japanese invasion.[3]
Not only was this batch the authors of the Honor Code, they have lived according the academy's motto of courage, integrity and loyalty. "They had an unblemished record - no scandals, no corruption, and no coups."[4][5]
PMA, Oh Hail to Thee
The PMA alma mater song, "PMA, Oh Hail to Thee" was composed by Class '40 batchmates, Quirico Evangelista (music) and Reynaldo Mendoza (lyrics).[2][6][7]
The words of the anthem profess the persistent safeguard of personal honor as the absolute duty of each cadet.[8] All cadets and cavaliers of the academy have to memorize the lyrics and sing the song correctly.[9] Several symphonic and lyric versions of this song can be found online.
| Oh, proud and bold you stand!
Bright beacon of the land Let loyal sons proclaim Thy glorious name
Wherever we may be O'er land or deep blue sea We'll raise a song to Thee Academy, Oh, Hail to Thee!
At every end of day We hope and fervent pray The honor you instill Doth guide our will!
|
May Thy sons ever be
Men of INTEGRITY, COURAGE and LOYALTY, PMA, Oh, Hail to Thee!
When bells for us are rung And our last "taps" is sung Let generations see Our country free
Oh, lead to righteous way Those solid ranks of gray Thy virtues to display Academy, Oh, Hail to Thee! |
World War II Veteran
When World War II broke out, Reynaldo Mendoza was an intelligence officer of the 1st Coast Artillery Battalion.[10] During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, he was a prisoner of war from 1943-1944 in Camp O'Donnell, arriving there via the Bataan Death March.
Throughout the campaign to liberate the country from Imperial Japanese forces from 1944-1945, he served in the United States Army Forces in the Philippines – Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL) Guerilla Unit as a staff officer.[11][12]
Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK)
The Philippines was the third UN member country (after the USA and the UK), and the first Asian nation, to send combat troops to war in 1950.[13]
PEFTOK's mission was to defend South Korea against communist conquest. From 1950 to 1955, five BCTs served in Korea. Reynaldo Mendoza led the 2nd BCT.[14] This battalion was one of the most combat-experienced in the anti-Huk campaign. It arrived in Korea in April 1954 and trained in new weapons and combat techniques. It extended peacekeeping and reconstruction work while providing humanitarian aid to South Koreans. Mendoza who was then a colonel succeeded commander Col. Antonio de Veyra.[15]
"Known as the "Black Lion," this unit is the most experienced combat force the country has had. Formed just after Philippine independence in July 1946, this unit served in the anti-guerilla campaigns against the Hukbalahap of Central and Southern Luzon. With its vast tactical experience in this type of asymmetric warfare, the 2nd BCT were trained in Marikina in preparation for its deployment in Korea. It was at the height of the war where advanced elements were sent. From December 1953 to April 1954, the men under Col. Antonio de Veyra and Col. Reynaldo Mendoza performed exemplary service under tremendous obstacles."
— JP Canonigo, We Were Soldiers: Filipinos Who Fought In The Korean War
In Intelligence Agencies and Educational Institutions
After his service in the Korean War, Reynaldo Mendoza would proceed to assume several public service positions such as Chief of Intelligence (G-2) and Commanding Officer in the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP),[16] [17] Assistant Commandant[10] and then Superintendent of the PMA,[18] and 4th President of the National Defense College of the Philippines.[19] [20]
On September 11, 1966, Reynaldo Mendoza was promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General.[21]
Awards and Decorations
Throughout his military career, Reynaldo Mendoza had received three Distinguished Service Stars, four Military Merit Medals, two Philippine Presidential Unit Citations, two US Presidential Unit Citations, a Korean Republic Presidential Unit Citation, two Long Service Medals, several Campaign Medals from the Philippines and the USA, and the Ulchi Distinguished Military Service Medal (second highest decoration awarded by the Republic of Korea for military merit) for his service as Commander of the 2nd BCT during the Korean War.[12]
The names of all the Filipinos who served in Korea from 1950 to 1955 are printed on floor panels displayed at the PEFTOK Korean War Memorial Hall, which was inaugurated on March 29, 2012.[22][23] At a special ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War in 2010, Mendoza was one of the 14 Filipinos honored with the Korean War Hero Medal, presented by the Republic of Korea for their contributions in the Korean War. Other awardees include former president Fidel Ramos, the late Senator Ninoy Aquino Jr., and Captain Conrado Yap.[24]
Retirement
On August 15, 1967, President Marcos retired the services of Reynaldo Mendoza, together with seven other generals who were holding key commands in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) but were serving past the compulsory retirement period, as part of a major revamp of the armed forces.[25]
In 1985, President Marcos signed the Administrative Order 501 to create a board of generals and colonels that will study the reorganization of the AFP. The Board included Reynaldo Mendoza, Fidel Ramos, Fabian Ver, Ernesto Mata, etc., and they acted as an advisory body to Marcos on policy matters affecting the organization and management of military resources.[26]
When President Aquino came to power in 1986, several coup attempts were plotted against her during the first four years of her presidency. Though PMA graduates such as Gregorio Honasan (Class '71) and Danilo Lim (Class '78) led some of these coups, Reynaldo Mendoza's PMA Class '40 denounced these.[27]
The idea of involving their class in a coup is nothing new. Three decades before, when Ramon Magsaysay was Defense Secretary, he revamped the army, promoted exemplary officers and punished inefficient or corrupt ones. Reynaldo Mendoza and other graduates of the Class '40 led more than half (17 out of 26) Battalion Combat Teams that defeated the Hukbalahap rebellion.[28] [29] With half of the nation's arsenal under the control of Class '40 (and fears that the incumbent Elpidio Quirino will resort to fraud in the upcoming 1953 presidential elections), partisans of Magsaysay approached Reynaldo Mendoza with the idea of plotting a coup in the event Magsaysay lost in a fraud. Reynaldo replied, "If you start anything like that I'm going to fight you....That's no way to fix our country."[30]
add later: [19] bong
Personal Life
Reynaldo Mendoza was born in Aparri, Cagayan Valley, Philippines. He is the son of Martin Sanidad Mendoza and Esperanza Arce.[31] He has 5 children (Myrna, Roberto, Ramon, Marie, and Mercy) with his wife Lilia Moran. After his death on June 2001, he was entitled to be buried in the Philippine Heroes' Cemetery, but he preferred to be buried next to his kin at the Himlayang Pilipino Memorial Park.[19]
- ^ "PMA Quick Facts". Philippine Military Academy. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- ^ a b Pazzibugan, Donna (February 21, 2011). "Amid Scandal, 92-year-old PMA grad inspires cadets". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ The Philippine Army : Keeping its Covenant with the Nation. Army Troopers Newsmagazine, March 2012, 7-8.
- ^ Interview with General Reynaldo Mendoza (ret.), Camp Aguinaldo, 13 August 1996 ; Major Rogelio S. Lumabas, Wither the MAP, The Cavalier 7, no. 1 (November – December 1967), 5-6, qtd. in Alfred McCoy, Closer than Brothers : Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy (Yale University Press, 1999), 3, note 1.
- ^ "PMA Pioneer Class of 1940". Angkang Pilipino. 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ Theorex (August 31, 2011). "THE PMA CADET: PMA, Oh Hail To Thee". The PMA Cadet.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Romero, Alexis (February 21, 2011). "PMA pioneering class grad says no to abolition". The Philippine Star.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Karsten, Peter (1998). The training and socializing of military personnel. New York : Garland Pub. ISBN 978-0-8153-2976-3.
- ^ Ralph (2011-07-20). "Philippine Military Academy Alma Mater Song | Trunk Locker". Philippine Military Academy Alma Mater Song | Trunk Locker. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
- ^ a b McCoy, Alfred (1999). Closer than Brothers: Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy. Yale University Press. pp. 85, 199. ISBN 978-0-300-19550-7.
- ^ McCoy, Alfred (August 1955). "Same Banana: Hazing and Honor at the Philippine Military Academy". Journal of Asian Studies. 54, no. 3: 709 – via JSTOR.
- ^ a b Registry Committee, AGFO (1977). General and flag officers of the Philippines (1896 - 1977). Quezon City: Association of general and flag officers. p. 184.
- ^ "Appreciating the context of President du30's visit to South Korea". Manila Bulletin News. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
- ^ Cal, Ben. "FVR recalls sterling feat of PH combat forces in Korean War". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Villasanta, Art (2009-12-12). "The Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK): 1950-1955: 2nd BATTALION COMBAT TEAM". The Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK). Retrieved 2020-03-25.
- ^ Greitens, Sheena Chestnut (2016). Dictators and their Secret Police. Cambridge University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-1316505311.
- ^ "G.R. No. L-16975". lawphil.net. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ Malinis, Rolando C. (2015). Brothers: The Untold Story of the Philippine Military Academy Matatag Class of 1971. Independent Publisher. p. 5. ISBN 9781495138621.
- ^ a b c Mendoza, Amado Jr. (June 11, 2001). "Bytes, Business & Governance (22)". Think Centre.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ “Strengthening Korea-Philippines Partnership Relations”, a paper presented by Dr. Amado Mendoza Jr., Professor, Department of Political Science University of the Philippines-Diliman, at the 2017 Korea-Philippines/ Korea-Asean partnership forum, Manila, Philippines. [1]
- ^ "Official Week in Review: September 1 – September 15, 1966 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ Villasanta, Art. "PEFTOK Korean War Memorial Hall". peftokmuseumph. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Nepomuceno, Priam. "PA inaugurates memorial for Filipino veterans of 1950-53 Korean War". bayanihan.org. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Ninoy Aquino, FVR get Korea war hero medal". Philippine Daily Inquirer. December 21, 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Official Week in Review: August 6 – August 14, 1967 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ "Administrative Order No. 501, s. 1985 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ Mendoza, Golden Book, 125, qtd. in Alfred McCoy, Closer than Brothers : Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy (Yale University Press, 1999), 340, note 3.
- ^ "In the Philippines, the CIA Has Found a Second Home". Los Angeles Times. 1989-05-07. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ McCoy, Alfred (1999). Closer than Brothers: Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy. Yale University Press. pp. 107–109. ISBN 978-0-300-19550-7.
- ^ Interview with Reynaldo Mendoza, in Closer than Brothers : Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy (Yale University Press, 1999), 108, note 19.
- ^ "General Reynaldo Arce Mendoza". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 2020-03-24.