A Complicated Legacy: The Battle of Battan in U.S. Cold War Propaganda

Abstract

On April 14, 1959, the United States Information Agency issued a patriotic poster in the Philippines commemorating the anniversary of the Battle of Bataan. “Seventeen years ago today,” it read, “Filipino and American soldiers... heroically fought side by side to preserve the common ideals of freedom and democracy.”1 This message was surrounded by imagery invoking a sense of brotherhood between the two nations – American and Filipino flags waving proudly side-by-side, photographs of marching troops clad in full regalia, and the decorated caskets of soldiers from both sides.2 With these mixed images of glory, loss, and camaraderie, the United States sought to remind Filipino citizens of the Battle of Bataan in order to “rekindle in our hearts the significance of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”3 In examining the historical context of this poster, its underlying message becomes clear: by commemorating a battle that, although technically a major loss, inspired collaboration with the U.S. and the defense of American values such as democracy and freedom, the United States hoped to preserve its increasingly strained relationship with the Philippines in the wake of communist threats, nationalist fervor, and social unrest that emerged in the late 1950s.