WW2: The Moro Warriors

Warfare

History Hit

History

4.5 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 3 October 2022

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The resistance fighters of the Moro, an indigenous Muslim population of the Philippines, have been described as most the most successful and least-known guerrillas of World War II's Pacific Theatre.

The Moro mounted an armed opposition so vigorous that the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army found themselves outfought time and again by their far less well-armed adversaries. When the soldiers of the Empire of Japan invaded their homeland, the Moros, sometimes with swords as their only weapons, bravely fought on alone after the rapid American surrender of the Philippines.

In this episode James is joined by Thomas McKenna, the author of a new book on the Moro warriors, to learn more about arguably the most successful and unlikely resistance movements of the entire Second World War.

Tom's book Moro Warrior: The Untold Story of the Most Remarkable Resistance Fighters of World War II in the Pacific is available here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	When we discuss the Pacific Theater during the Second World War, the Philippines rarely
0:06.0	get to mention. That's perhaps because Japan's conquest of the Philippines is often considered
0:11.3	one of the worst military defeats in US history.
0:14.0	However, there was one part of the Philippines that remained in defiant resistance against the Japanese.
0:20.0	These were the Morrow Warriors, resistance fighters who conducted a costly insurgency
0:26.6	against the conquering armies of Imperial Japan between 1942 and 45.
0:32.1	I'm your host James Rogers, this is the warfare. between 1942 and 45.
0:32.7	I'm your host James Rogers.
0:34.0	This is the warfare podcast.
0:35.8	And to take us through this history, we welcome Thomas McKenna onto the pod.
0:39.7	Thomas is an anthropologist who lived and worked in Morrow communities in the Philippines and he tells the
0:45.6	untold story of some of the most remarkable resistance fighters of the Second World War,
0:50.5	the most remarkable that I've ever heard.
0:52.8	Now if you're enjoying the podcast, if you enjoy this episode,
0:55.6	then don't worry about leaving us a review, not this week anyway,
0:58.6	and we don't want your money.
1:00.2	Just share us with your friends and your family, or rave about us online or social media.
1:05.0	It really helps us to get out there to everyone who loves history all around the world.
1:10.0	But now here is Thomas McKenna on the Morrow Warriors and their incredible resistance against the Japanese. Enjoy. Hi Tom, welcome to the Warfare Podcast. How you doing?
1:35.2	Very good James, I'm very happy to be here.
1:37.2	Well I'm excited to have you on because you're going to be explained to us a period of history
1:42.4	that perhaps we think we know everything about.
	...

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