World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army liberate Baguio as they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.

Baguio, officially the City of Baguio, is a highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", owing to the city's cool climate relative to the lowlands. With an approximate elevation of 1,500 meters above mean sea level, Baguio belongs to the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion; the climate is conducive for the growth of mossy plants, orchids and pine trees, to which it attributes its other moniker as the "City of Pines".

Tomoyuki Yamashita was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore. His conquest of Malaya and Singapore in 70 days earned him the sobriquet "The Tiger of Malaya". He was assigned to defend the Philippines from the advancing Allies later in the war. Although he was unable to prevent the superior Allied forces from advancing, despite dwindling supplies and Allied guerrilla action, he was able to hold on to part of Luzon until after the formal surrender of Japan in August 1945.