D. Clarke Evans Photographer

Dominator Soriano

Captain, Armed Forces of the Philippines, 1938–1941
2nd Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 1941–1946

Lt. Dominator Soriano
Manila, Philippines, 1939

In the course of war operations, a spy squealed on me. I was captured, imprisoned, and tortured.

I was born May 4, 1916 in Guimba, Philippines. My high school years were a smooth sailing adventure and I graduated salutatorian. As we were very poor college was out of the question.

At the suggestion of my high school director, I went to Manila, in 1936, to see the President of the University of Manila. I got a job as a janitor with free tuition, free lodging, and a small monthly allowance. When I turned 20 years old, I was drafted into the required military service for 5 ½ months.

I left law school and attended the Philippine Army School of Reserve Commission. After 6 months of training I was commissioned Probationary 3rd Lieutenant and assigned my first duty as instructor of recruits. After 6 months I became a full fledge 3rd Lieutenant.

To thwart the ambition of Japan in the Philippines, the U.S. Army Forces Far East offered Philippine Army officers the opportunity to become U. S. Army officers. I was inducted as a 2nd Lieutenant on September 1, 1941. I became commander of E Company, 83rd Infantry Regiment. I was sent to an outpost on the of Cebu Island. I would send in reports of the location of Japanese warships near the islands of Cebu and Negros.

Then came the sad news, Bataan has fallen. General Wainwright ordered all Philippine troops to surrender to the nearest Japanese Army Camp. I told my men to go home and not to surrender. I went home to Luzon and organized a guerrilla organization, the Blue Force. Life became hard for soldiers, especially guerrilla forces, for lack of funds and armaments. I took command of the skeleton battalion Blue Force fighting in the mountains of La Union in north west Luzon.

In the course of war operations, a spy squealed on me. I was captured, imprisoned, and tortured, being hit with a 2-inch pipe over almost all of my body. I did not reveal underground operations and denied I was a guerilla. A Doctor friend talked to the Mayor and he wrote a note freeing me from the prison and further torture. I was sent home promising to never leave the house.

Once the Americas invaded the Philippines, operations began to change. The Blue Force guerrillas joined Uncle Sam’s forces in the north. I furnished the Americas troops patrols and guides as they inched their way in the mountains of northern Luzon. My service with the U.S. Army ended after the war. As I was eligible for the U. S. G. I. Bill of rights, I received monies to continue my law education and received my diploma from the Philippine Law School in April 1949. I soon passed the bar exam and became a lawyer. I specialized in labor and industrial relations law. I became the Founder, and Publisher and Editor of the Labor Forum, newsletter-magazine which circulated among the labor unions in the country.

I moved to San Antonio in 1976. I was married to my beloved Pat for 66 years. She passed away in 2007 and is buried at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX. {09-11-2015 • San antonio, TX)