"The Philippine theater of operations is the locus of victory or defeat." Thus, General Douglas MacArthur
established the Philippine islands as the key strategic point on the map from which ultimate victory against
the Japanese would arise during World War II.
Luzon is the largest and most dominant island in the Philippine chain. Before US forces could launch the
attack on Luzon, a base of operations needed to be established close by. Airbases were needed in order to
provide attacking troops with air support. Troops captured the island of Mindoro, which put two airbases
under the ultimate control of the U.S. From there the attack on Luzon was scheduled to be launched in
January of 1945. With the capture of Mindoro, U.S. forces were positioned south of Luzon. MacArthur, on
the other hand wanted to land his forces in the north. There his troops would be in a better position to
march on Manila, the main objective.
U.S. aircraft constantly made reconnaissance and bombing flights over southern Luzon, intending to
deceive the Japanese forces into believing that the attack would emanate from the south. Many deceptive
tactics were used, which ultimately had the desired effect – convincing the Japanese forces that the
assault force would land from the south. The Japanese commanders, expecting the landings to take place
around Manila bay, were taken by surprise when US forces started from much further north. Thanks to
these timely and genius acts of deception, the U.S. and her allies were able to ultimately recapture the
Philippines, thus sealing the fate of the Japanese army in that theater of the war.
Part of the strategy of the campaign was to enlist the aid of what is often referred to as the “fifth column” –
native peoples on the island of Luzon, without which the victory could never have been effected. Had it
not been for the heroic and courageous efforts of the brave citizens of the Philippines, there is no doubt
that victory over the mighty Japanese empire may never have been achieved. Thus, getting out the
message – informing the citizenry of the purpose at hand became the ultimate challenge. MacArthur had
effected a miraculous escape from behind enemy lines, and he had made a promise to the Philippine
people. Regarding his escape and intention to make good, MacArthur had uttered those famous words: "I
came through and I shall return."
Now MacArthur had returned, and he wanted the citizens to know about it. So when he landed he made a
speech on the beach, declaring his arrival and sending a message to the people of the Philippines as well
as the Japanese that he had indeed returned, and that with the help of the Philippine people he would
defeat the Japanese.
Unbeknownst to MacArthur, however, was the fact that the main cable leading from the beach to the
primary tower, which broadcast the signal had been severed in all the bombing and strafing that had taken
place during the invasion. Most of the cable had been repaired, but there was this one section of cable,
about 70 feet in length, which remained in disrepair. Unless that 70 feet of cable could be repaired in time,
MacArthur’s speech would go unheard.
There was much fighting still going on, and repairing the section of cable would not be easy, for you see,
the cable stretched through a culvert than ran underneath a runway on one of the local airfields. Due to
constant strafing and bombing, troops were unable to expose themselves, so they were having a difficult
time getting to the cable. Worse, it appeared that if the cable could not be repaired, not only would
MacArthur’s speech not be heard, our own air cover could not be summoned to combat enemy planes in
the area. If the cable could not be repaired the entire operation might have to be scratched. That would
have put a serious dent in MacArthur’s plans to retake the island chain.
So there we have it. The entire course and outcome of the war comes down to a single moment in history –
a single place, which can be pinpointed on a map. The outcome of the war in the Pacific may very well turn
on whether or not a mere 70 feet of telegraph cable gets repaired. However, it appears to be virtually an
impossible task. The damaged part of the cable lay somewhere within the culvert that ran underneath the
runway of an airfield, and no one could get to it because of the constant strafing from enemy planes above.
It was determined that the best way to repair the cable would be to pull a new length of cable through the
culvert, beginning at one end and ending at the other end. Someone would have to crawl the 70 feet of
possibly mine-infested culvert, with enemy aircraft strafing the field over head and pull a string attached to
one end of the cable all the way through the culvert so that the cable could then be pulled through.
Now we come to one of those moments in history for which heroes are made. From out of obscurity
stepped a heretofore unassuming corporal who volunteered to go into the culvert and pull the string
through the tunnel. Going into that culvert was so fraught with danger that the odds of survival were
minimal, but the corporal volunteered.
With one group of soldiers at either end of the culvert the corporal entered. Strafing continued from above
causing the ground to shake constantly, dirt being thrown into the air and especially inside the culvert. At
times the culvert became so full of dust and debris it seemed impossible that anyone could survive inside
it. Nevertheless, the corporal persevered until he ultimately showed himself at the other end, string intact.
Thus the day was saved, and we have our hero. MacArthur’s message was received; communications to the
island were restored; the campaign was won, and from the Philippines the Allies were able to launch the
final assault on Japan, which ended ultimately in victory for the allied cause.
Who was this corporal of whom before today we were so ignorant? For one thing the corporal was a
refugee. That’s right. The corporal had begun the war as an island refugee. Furthermore the refugee had
eventually joined up with the American forces on one of the many South Pacific Islands, and had
accompanied them on their island-hopping campaign prior to the invasion of the Philippines, eventually
being "promoted" to the rank of corporal. What a feat of courage for a mere refugee! But there was
something very different about this refugee. For one thing, the refugee was not native. No, the eventual
army corporal, although in fact an island refugee, was not an island native. The corporal was in fact English!
There were a few other very interesting facts about this corporal. The corporal was a “she.” And as for the
culvert through which the corporal crawled, it was a mere …, well, it was only eight inches in diameter!
Fortunately, the corporal was only seven inches tall.
So another heroine among heroes is added to historic lore. Diminutive in size but gigantic of heart, our
little island native heroine who had so bravely accompanied the allied forces on their island hopping
campaign had stepped up and performed when none other could be found, and to her we sing our praise of
gratitude.
Her name was Smoky, and because of the wide-spread reporting of her act of bravery and heroism and
steely performance against tremendous odds, we have come to learn of one little Yorkshire Terrier who
saved the day.
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