The Fighting Filipinos

In 1944, during WWII, the Philippines were under Japanese occupation. They'd been waiting for General Douglas MacArthur's return for two years, and despite the odds, over 200,000 guerrillas were still fighting on.

To lift the spirits of the weakening Filipinos, the Philippine Commonwealth government, exiled in the United States, turned to Manuel Rey Isip, a talented Filipino immigrant living in New York City, to create a powerful propaganda poster. Isip, famously known for his art in newspapers and movie posters for major studios, created a legendary poster.

This poster, called "The Fighting Filipinos," measures 27 by 41 inches and features a wounded Filipino soldier poised to throw a grenade. In his raised left hand, he clutches the Philippine flag—worn and torn, but still standing, with the red field representing the nation's wartime status.

No doubt about it, this poster was pure propaganda. Its design was carefully tailored to stir up a sense of nationalism and to inspire the Filipino population. The combination of a heroic figure, a battered yet resilient flag, and the title writing in bold lettering, "The Fighting Filipinos," all served as clear propaganda elements to rally support for the cause of liberation and independence. Around 15,000 copies of this poster were secretly smuggled into the Philippines and quickly embraced, especially by the guerrilla groups who saw it as a symbol of their struggle for freedom. 

Roosevelt promised the Filipino people that they would become the Republic of the Philippines the moment the power of the Japanese enemies was destroyed. That promise was fulfilled on the Fourth of July in 1946 when Filipinos celebrated their own independence day as the American flag was lowered and replaced by the flag of the newly independent Philippines. Those who fought alongside the United States were granted full American citizenship, while Manuel Rey Isip's art left a lasting mark on Filipino resistance history.

Poster owned by UGA Special Collections Library