Irving Berlin arrived in Leyte in February 1945 to entertain American soldiers with his ‘This Is the Army’ show. It was the final leg of the world tour for his troupe. ‘In a span of 10 days in Leyte,’ according to a news report, ‘the company gave 36 performances before a total of 77,000 GIs.’
How Irving Berlin helped liberate the Philippines
And the song he wrote for the country
Mar 25, 2023 12:48 PM
At a glance
Featured image: LEYTE LANDING ANNIVERSARY At the capital city of Tacloban, Leyte, at the anniversary of the landing of American troops in the Philippines, during the parade held in the Capital City of Tacloban, a Filipino float passes in review
A few years ago, there was an FB post in a group page that talked about a piano American composer Irving Berlin used when he visited Tacloban in 1945.
I was so happy to see this post since, growing up, I heard the story of my dad’s older sister meeting Berlin. In the comment section of that FB group, I relayed the story of how one morning in Tacloban, Leyte, during General Douglas McArthur’s (1880-1964) morning walk, he heard a voice singing. He found that the voice was coming from my lolo’s house, located just across the general’s residence on Gran Capitan Street in Tacloban. In fact, my dad told me he would watch McArthur and Admiral Chester William Nimitz (1885-1966) smoke cigars on the general’s balcony at night. The house was that close. So, when McArthur found out the voice belonged to my aunt, the older sister of my dad was invited to meet Irvin Berlin a few days later.
Just to backtrack a little, the year my family met Irving Berlin was in 1945, a year after the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle of World War II. Over 23,000 American soldiers and close to 420,000 Japanese soldiers died in that battle. McArthur commanded the Leyte operations and Nimitz provided naval support. Their efforts conducting air, land, and sea operations weakened the Japanese Combined Fleet, paving the way for the Americans to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese and regain control of the Allies’ hold over the Pacific.
The story of my aunt meeting Berlin did not end with the introduction. My aunt was requested to sing a song for the American musician. She sang a song taught to her by her teacher, with lines like “God Bless the Philippines / Land that I love / Stand beside her and guide her / Through the night with the light from above.”
Hearing this, Berlin corrected my aunt. He was certain that my aunt had the lyrics wrong. After all, it was he who composed the song, whose title was “God Bless America.” Right there and then, Berlin started scribbling words on a piece of paper and told my aunt he had composed a song just for the Philippines. He promised my aunt that should she learn the song, she would sing it on stage in front of the crowd. The title of the just-composed song was “Heaven Watch the Philippines.”
Recently, my memory of this story had been refreshed, as I continued my work sorting old photographs found at the old home of my uncle and aunt in San Juan. Filing World War II era photographs and seeing soldiers in uniforms and well put-together young ladies, I wondered about what Irvin Berlin was doing in Leyte and whether or not my aunt even got to perform the song. I also had a black-and-white photograph of my 16-year-old aunt on a float bearing the banner “In Gratitude to the American Liberation. Oct. 20, 1944.”
I found out that Irving Berlin was indeed in the Philippines. He arrived in Leyte in February 1945 to entertain American soldiers with his “This Is the Army” show. It was the final leg of the world tour for his troupe of entertainers. A news article reported that this last stretch “sparked a remarkable burst of energy. In a span of 10 days on Leyte, in the Philippines, the company gave 36 performances before a total of 77,000 GIs.”
The newspapers also reported that as soon as he arrived in Leyte, Berlin started auditioning 200 children. He needed 50 to sing in his show. At his last performance in Tacloban, his new composition, “Heaven Watch the Philippines” was performed as the finale to his “This is the Army” show, to the delight of Americans and Filipinos alike. The song was dedicated to General Douglas McArthur in commemoration of his liberation of the Philippines.
On the matter of the photo showing my aunt on a float and commemorating the liberation of the Philippines a few months after Berlin left, Leyte celebrated the first anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. We know that photo dates to this event since the floats participating in the parade, which was 4.8 kilometers long, had the same banner of thanks.
While looking through the National Archives and Records Administration, I saw a photo with the caption: “A Filipino lady sings the Philippine national song in celebration of the anniversary of the landing of American troops in the Philippines 20 October 1944, held in Tacloban by the people of Leyte, P.I.” I was intrigued to find out what the “Philippine National Song” was then?
The national song saw many evolutions but a new version of the National Anthem was created in 1956 by the Institute of National Language. It was what we Filipinos sing today.