I was based and trained in Cabatuan, Iloilo and was placed as part of 61st Infantry Division activated on November 1, 1941, in preparation for Japanese invasion of the Philippines.

Lieutenant Colonel Allen Thayer arrived in Panay island along with other commanders in late November 1941 just days before the hostilities started.

[1] In March 1942 after General MacArthur's stopover in Mindanao a new division was organized to command all forces in the Cagayan sector as part of a reorganization of USAFFE.

[2] Colonel Thayer's men was not able to stop the Japanese landing in their area and after few hours they were forced to withdraw towards Puerto and Tankulan to cover the retreat of 61st Field Artillery and 103rd Infantry and setup the new line of defense in Bukidnon.

[3] On orders from General Sharp 62nd, 93rd Infantry Regiment, and Artillery Detachment established their new line of defense along Mangima Canyon, a natural barrier that Sayre Highway to the south and then east.

[2] Sector and 102nd Division commander Colonel Morse ordered Thayer to setup defensive position farther south in Dalirig.