Walter Howard Loving, February 1945

Colonel Walter Howard Loving is presumed to have been beheaded by the Japanese military at Rizal Park in Manila, Phillipines during the liberation of the city of Manila. His story is remarkable. Born to slave parents in December 1872, he became a talented musician who could play all wind instruments, joined the United States Army and Filipino Army, and lead a Constabulary band made up of Filipinos in Manila that received international acclaim. Fluent in two languages, and well respected as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army he struggled with "double consciousness" having written army intelligence reports on dealing with "Negroes". He later sought better treatment and success by moving his family overseas to the Phillipines and achieved a higher rank in the Filipino military as a Colonel and a bandleader of the Phillipines' Constabulary. He and his wife were later held hostage by the invading Japanese military in the liberation of Manila, but his wife was able to escape when Japanese soldiers tried to recapture fleeing hostages. Unfortunately, Walter H, Loving lost his life along with other prisoners in February 1945.