Rhonie Dela Cruz

RHONIE C. DELA CRUZ, an historian, is the Chairman of the Bamban Historical Society (an active organization in the preservation and promotion of history and heritage in Bamban, Tarlac) with particular interest in the military history and the Aetas. He is also the curator and owner the Bamban WWII Museum, the institution has been recognized as an important WWII educational site and a center for public history.

He is a recognized Historian by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), being a lecturer and guest speaker on national and international conferences on WWII History from 2017 to 2020. His research journals in WWII were published by the NHCP on its Journal of the Philippine Local History and Heritage. He is also a prominent speaker on various historical events with subjects mostly on WWII History and Museum.

Mr. Dela Cruz advocacy, passion and interest in WWII is in fact based on his family lineage, as he is a descendant of WWII veterans. Further, he had also written on the history of the Aetas on the Mag-Antsi and Aberling Tribes of Bamban and Capas, Tarlac; the former formed part of the Claim Book of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) Application.

As an historian, he is the key person in the pursuit of finding remains of the war dead left in the battlefields of the Bamban through the Operation Fireflies, and in exploring and opening of Japanese war tunnels with the Project Discovery War Tunnels. At present, he is also engaged in the production of various historical documentaries related to Bamban-Clark area in the social media, as You Tube vlogger, through the Investigating History Series.

HOLDING THE ROAD TO BATAAN: THE DEFENSE OF USAFFE D-5 LINE IN BAMBAN (TARLAC) – DECEMBER 31, 1941 TO JANUARY 1, 1942

My town has more thing to offer other than POGO. Its role in our Nation’s history is marked by heroism and our struggle for Independence. Eighty years ago, the town of Bamban, Tarlac marked its role in the defense of our Country during WWII as it celebrated New Year in those looming days of the …

HOLDING THE ROAD TO BATAAN: THE DEFENSE OF USAFFE D-5 LINE IN BAMBAN (TARLAC) – DECEMBER 31, 1941 TO JANUARY 1, 1942 Read More »

CLARK FIELD IN WWII AND THE AMERICAN FLAG RAISING – 太平洋戦争中のクラーク飛行場とアメリカ国旗

INVESTIGATING HISTORY:BATTLE FOR THE CAPTURE OF CLARK FIELD AND THE AMERICAN FLAG RAISING – 太平洋戦争中のクラーク飛行場とアメリカ国旗 THE JAPANESE DEFENSE OF CLARK FIELD – クラーク・フィールドの日本の守備。Clark Field and Fort Stotsenburg were abandoned in late December 1945, with the landing of the Japanese forces to the north, and the series of Japanese advance along the USAFFE Defense Lines from …

CLARK FIELD IN WWII AND THE AMERICAN FLAG RAISING – 太平洋戦争中のクラーク飛行場とアメリカ国旗 Read More »

THE LAST DAYS OF THE JAPANESE KEMBU COMPOSITE DIVISION IN ZAMBALES-PINATUBO AREA – 1945 1945年、バンバン山とサンバレス山で日本軍憲武軍師団を破ったこと。

INVESTIGATING HISTORY SERIES: September 3 and the End of WWII in the Philippines THE LAST DAYS OF THE JAPANESE KEMBU COMPOSITE DIVISION IN ZAMBALES-PINATUBO AREA – 1945 THE WAR ENDS September 3, 1945 marked an important milestone in the History of WWII, the official surrender of all Japanese forces in the Philippines with the outcome …

THE LAST DAYS OF THE JAPANESE KEMBU COMPOSITE DIVISION IN ZAMBALES-PINATUBO AREA – 1945 1945年、バンバン山とサンバレス山で日本軍憲武軍師団を破ったこと。 Read More »

BAMBAN WWII RE-ENACTMENT GROUP AT CAPAS TRAIN STATION EXHIBIT

The BAMBAN WWII MUSEUM and Bamban Historical Society had embarked on a new historical project; establishing the museum WWII Re-enactment Group. A very successful event hosted by Governor Susan Yap Office of the Provincial Government – Tarlac Provincial Tourism Office on the upcoming opening of the Capas Train Station Museum this October. Our very own …

BAMBAN WWII RE-ENACTMENT GROUP AT CAPAS TRAIN STATION EXHIBIT Read More »

THE LIBERATION OF CAPAS, JANUARY 1945

WWII 1945 IN TARLACThe people of Capas, many of whom are descendants of WWII veterans, may have forgotten an important event in WWII History, the Liberation in January 19, 1945 and the arrival of the US Army 40th Division. After Tarlac, Tarlac was liberated by the American division under General Douglas MacArthur’s 6th Army with …

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THE ORIGINAL CLARK HANGARS: THE END OF AN AVIATION HERITAGE STRUCTURES? クラーク飛行場の格納庫構造の端?

Investigating History:THE ORIGINAL CLARK HANGARS: THE END OF AN AVIATION HERITAGE STRUCTURES?クラーク飛行場の格納庫構造の端? From its beginning in 1919 as part of an extension of the U.S. Army’s Fort Stotsenburg for its Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, Clark Field had transformed into a major aerodrome of the Americans in the Pacific by the U.S. Army Air …

THE ORIGINAL CLARK HANGARS: THE END OF AN AVIATION HERITAGE STRUCTURES? クラーク飛行場の格納庫構造の端? Read More »

THE JAPANESE WWII TUNNELS OF BAMBAN HILLS – PANAISAN バンバン山の日本の戦争トンネル – 日本軍高山支隊のトンネル

INVESTIGATING HISTORY: THE JAPANESE WWII TUNNELS OF BAMBAN HILLS – PANAISANField Recon on the Japanese Takayama Detachment War Tunnels バンバン山の日本の戦争トンネル – 日本軍高山支隊のトンネル ************************** 日本陸軍高山支隊:星野・岡本大隊In the 1970s and 1980s, as a growing up kid, we used to check the numerous Japanese war tunnels located on the slopes of the Bamban Hills overlooking the diversion road in …

THE JAPANESE WWII TUNNELS OF BAMBAN HILLS – PANAISAN バンバン山の日本の戦争トンネル – 日本軍高山支隊のトンネル Read More »

THE TOYO MENKA COTTON COMPANY LIMITED IN BAMBAN, 1942-1944 東洋めんか: バンバンにある日本の綿花栽培会社、1942 年から 1944 年まで

INVESTIGATING HISTORY: THE TOYO MENKA COTTON COMPANY LIMITED IN BAMBAN, 1942-1944 In one of my research about our BHS Program “Voices of History Project”, I had encounter with WWII survivors who told about the cotton farms and production in Bamban and nearby Capas, Tarlac during the Occupation Period. Apung Saling Dacanay and Apung Simang Caguiat, …

THE TOYO MENKA COTTON COMPANY LIMITED IN BAMBAN, 1942-1944 東洋めんか: バンバンにある日本の綿花栽培会社、1942 年から 1944 年まで Read More »