This original hand-drawn sketch is dated December 27th, 1944 and was hand sketched by the US Marine Corps soldiers fighting in the Pacific Theater. Sketches and drawings like this were not uncommon for soldiers to do as drawing and writing letters became a way to occupy their minds and pass time in between the fighting. This original sketch is signed by the USMC soldier in the bottom right with the title of, 'Philippines'. What also makes this original artwork so unique is that it appears to been done on Japanese rice paper. Japanese rice paper such as the one that this images drawn on is very delicate and hard to handle. Other then the original tape to that likely help this image down in a soldier sketchbook the image and paper are in amazing condition.

Philippines campaign (1944–1945):

The Philippines campaign, the Battle of the Philippines or the Liberation of the Philippines (Filipino: Kampanya sa Pilipinas, Labanan sa Pilipinas & Liberasyon ng Pilipinas), (Operation Musketeer I, II, and III) (Filipino: Operasyon Mosketero I, II, at III), was the American and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines during World War II. The Japanese Army overran all of the Philippines during the first half of 1942. The liberation of the Philippines commenced with amphibious landings on the eastern Philippine island of Leyte on October 20, 1944. United States and Philippine Commonwealth military forces were progressing in liberating territory and islands when the Japanese forces in the Philippines were ordered to surrender by Tokyo on August 15, 1945, after the dropping of the atomic bombs on mainland Japan and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.