THE PHILIPPINES: American Day

Aug. 13, under American rule, used to be known as Occupation Day in the Philippines. It celebrated the day U.S. armed forces wrested control of the islands from the Spaniards. When Filipinos got their independence in 1946, they abruptly ceased observing Aug. 13.

Last week President Ramon Magsaysay reinstated Occupation Day under a new and happier name: Philippine-American Day. Among those conspicuously observing it together: Admiral Raymond Spruance, the U.S. Ambassador, and the aging rebel chieftain Aguinaldo, who gave U.S. forces such trouble half a century ago.

In an age so marked...

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