OCTOBER 25: A DAY FOR WORLD PEACE – 10月25日：世界平和の日
On this former grassy air strip of about 1,500 meter length, at about 7.25 a.m., Lt. Yukio Seki and his Shikishima Unit of the 1st Kamikaze Special Attack Force, made their final sortie for Leyte Gulf.
The Airfield in 1944 – 1944年の飛行場 East Airfield: Clark Satellite Airfield – マバラカット東飛行場：クラーク・サテライト飛行場
Mabalacat East Airfield was located north of the town with the same name; part of the massive Clark Air Center as satellite airstrip. From the air, the East Airfield, just like most of the other satellite airfields at the Bamban, Angeles, Porac and Floridablanca, were not even looked like airbases but just swathes of grasslands where the airfields are distinguished due to light coloring of the stretch of the airstrip used by the aircraft to sortie.
There were no hangars and buildings, the command posts were just tattered tents and large space for dispersals. The nearby villages that occupied by the airfields where patches of trees and bamboos along with native nipa huts were converted for taxiways and maintenance facilities. At the Mabalacat East Airfield in October 1944, it was the 52nd Airfield Company under Captain Inagaki, that handled airfield operations including maintenance of aircraft (in this case, the 2nd Independent Maintenance Unit), anti-aircraft and base guard. There were also other independent anti-aircraft units installed at the East Airfield, such as the Matsuyama Machine Gun Unit operating in October 1944.
An Imperial Japanese Navy Airfield – 大日本帝国海軍の飛行場
Since Mabalacat East Airfield was an Imperial Japanese Navy airfield, it had also navy units such as the Naval Air Defense Unit for anti-aircraft and the Northern Philippine Airfield Unit – Mabalacat Detachment, which might have the same anti-aircraft capability. Concrete bunkers and pillboxes were constructed near the runways, alongside the anti-aircraft batteries. Revetments made of compacted elevated grounds with opening for the aircraft were scattered in the dispersal areas.
Mabalacat East Airfield was located. Rhonie Dela Cruz photo.
The Shimpu Tokubetsu Kogekita Special Attack Force – 神風特別高下北特別攻撃隊
Four days ago, the Shimpu Tokubetsu Kogekitai (Kamikaze Special Attack) was organized at the nearby Santos House (now KFC fast food outlet premises) by Vice-Admiral Onishi Takijiro of the 1st Air Fleet along with Commander Tamai (EXO, 201st Ku) and Captain Inoguchi (flight officer and staff of 1st Air Fleet) with 24 flyers of the 201st, mostly graduate of 10th Yokaren Naval Preparatory Course, except Lieutenant Seki, who was a graduate of Naval Academy.
Out of the original 4 units (squadrons) of the 1st Kamikaze Special Attack Force founded, the Shikishima Unit was the one left at the Mabalacat while the Yamato, Asahi and Yamazakura were deployed at the Cebu and Davao Airfields for operations.
Lieutenant Yukio Seki and the Last Sortie of the Shikishima Special Attack Unit at Mabalacat – 関行男中尉と、マバラカットにおける敷島特別攻撃隊の最後の出撃
From October 20, the Shikishima Unit was already in active status but poor weather and unable to find targets did not enable the flyers to conduct successful attack in support of the Leyte Operations (Sho-Ichi-Go). On the early morning of October 25, 1944, Lt. Seki and his Shikishima Unit were ready for the Special Attack mission to Leyte. Captain Yamamoto (CO 201st Ku) was back in Mabalacat and had given his final briefing to the pilots of the Shikishima. Warrant Officer and naval ace pilot Hiriyoshi Nishizawa (203rd Ku) joined the Special Attack in Mabalacat as escorts.
At around 7.25 a.m., under the raising sun from the direction of Mt. Arayat, the 5 flyers of the Shikishima under Lt. Seki took-off on their final mission. The rest is history.
Visiting The Former Mabalacat East Airfield – 旧マバラカット東飛行場
From the Bamban Museum, we traveled to the former Mabalacat East Airfield for just 6 minutes. A memorial stands at the edge of the auxiliary airfield (aside from the main airfield) near the MacArthur Highway. At exactly 7.25 a.m., we stood on the grounds of the former airfield where the first successful Special Attack took off 82 years ago and gave our silent prayer dedicated to all who died in WWII.
Special Attack Corps that took off on the morning of October 25, 1944 at the
Mabalacat East Airfield for the last sortie.
特攻で亡くなられたすべての方々の御霊の安らかならんことを祈り
There’s still the patches of bamboos on the same Cacutud village that were used to hide the Kamikaze A6M aircraft and the same area now used as the concrete roads with the toll gates of the SCTEX was used as the auxiliary airstrip where the pilots of the Shikishima took-off. We stood at the site, remembering history as it happened at the Mabalacat East Airfield that made an impact in WWII.
May the souls of all who died in the Special Attack rest in eternal peace.
© 2026 Rhonie C. Dela Cruz
Bamban WWII Museum/Historical Society
Bamban Center for Pacific War Studies
