Savage Sniper

Although the priest was not armed, he was not alone. The gap in the brush widened as several men pushed the branches aside. Deke counted a dozen Filipino guerrillas. They were a hard-looking bunch, wearing tattered civilian clothes rather than uniforms and broad-brimmed hats as protection against the tropical sun and whatever creepy crawlies might be inclined to drop down the back of one’s neck from the vegetation above. Deke understood, considering that he had long since abandoned his steel helmet in favor of the Aussie-style outback hat with the brim pinned up on his shooting side.

However, there was no mistaking the deadly intent of these guerrillas. Most carried captured Japanese rifles, although some had recently upgraded to American M-1 rifles. In some cases, a length of rope served as a rifle sling. Deke noted with approval that the battered rifles looked clean and well oiled. The damp tropical environment was not kind to weaponry.

Even more menacing than their rifles, many of the Filipinos wore their customary bolo knives hanging at their sides like small swords or even slung across their backs. The bolo knife was essentially a machete, honed razor sharp to hack through jungle vegetation — a useful tool on Leyte. In some cases bolo knives were passed down from father to son, one of the more treasured possessions of a family that did not own many material things.

In the hands of Filipino guerrillas who had an especial hatred for the Japanese occupiers, it also made a terrifying weapon.

Danilo stepped forward and greeted the other guerrillas. It was one of the rare times that a genuinely warm smile crossed his normally expressionless face. Usually he bore the hardships of war like a true jungle stoic.

No wonder he was smiling for a change. Patrol Easy had just found its reinforcements.

* * *

They were acquainted with Father Francisco and his band of guerrillas from their earlier mission to take out the massive artillery battery on Hill 522 outside Palo, ahead of the initial beach landing on Leyte. The removal of the gun had been critical to success, because with its twenty-mile range and devastating shells, the invasion fleet might have suffered heavy losses. The gun had been manufactured for the huge Japanese battleship Yamato and its twin, the Musashi, sunk in the sea battle of Leyte Gulf. Considering that the battleships already had their full complement of weapons, the guns had not been needed on the ships. Rather than let the impressive guns gather rust, the Japanese had installed them in shore defenses.

Technically Patrol Easy had undertaken a mission behind enemy lines — although that line was actually an island in this case. The only reason they had been successful was because of Father Francisco and his guerrillas, who had provided the support and local knowledge to make the mission possible.

The guerrillas had paid a heavy price. As part of a diversionary tactic, some of those guerrillas had attacked Hill 522 and been captured. Deke and the others had watched in horror as the captured Filipinos were beheaded. The brutality of the enemy was difficult to believe, even when witnessed firsthand.

By turns kind and fierce, Father Francisco might have made a good stand-in for Friar Tuck. Growing up, Deke’s encounters with religion had mainly been of preachers of the fire-and-brimstone variety, whose God seemed to resemble a mean old county sheriff intent on punishing humans for every transgression. Father Francisco spread the word with a quiet kindness and his own example. Deke found the priest’s presence reassuring.

The priest had the appearance of being mostly of Spanish descent, being taller and broader than any of the guerrillas. If he hadn’t been garbed as a priest, he would have resembled a bouncer at an off-base dive bar. Even with actual Spanish heritage, his Filipino roots would have limited his career as a priest just a few years before. The Jesuit priests who tightly controlled the church had all been trained and educated in Spain, of which the Philippines was a colony. The Spanish had preserved a system in which the ruling class did not include actual Filipinos.

The capture of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War had brought changes in that the new US government had ordered all the Spanish priests to be sent home. These priests were seen as representing the old Spanish empire, and the church was closely aligned with the Spanish government.

There had been little animosity toward Spain or the Spanish compared to what would come with American feelings toward Germany and even German immigrants in WWI. In fact, popular books of the day published positive accounts of Spanish life and culture, with Spain typically portrayed as a “quaint” European “old country” whose glory days were behind it. The war had certainly resulted in bloodshed, but ultimately it was more of a passing of the torch from an old, tired empire to the up-and-coming American empire.