Roberto Lim
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2025) |
Roberto Hidalgo Lim | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lt. Roberto Lim with the 1st Filipino Regiment at Camp San Luis Obispo, California | |
| Nickname(s) | Bob, Bobby |
| Born | February 5, 1920 Manila, Insular Government of the Philippine Islands |
| Died | April 24, 2010 (aged 90) |
| Allegiance |  Philippines United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Force |
| Years of service | 1937–1946 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | |
| Commands | 1st Troop Carrier Squadron, Philippine Army Air Corps[1] |
| Battles / wars | |
| Alma mater | United States Naval Academy |
| Spouse(s) |
Gloria Moya Mapua (died 1987) |
| Relations | Vicente Podico Lim (father) Pilar Lardizabal Hidalgo (mother) |
Roberto Hidalgo Lim (February 5, 1920 – April 24, 2010) was a Filipino aviator, airline executive and educator, who was the only Filipino who became a crew commander of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress during World War II.
Early life
[edit]Roberto Hildalgo Lim was born on February 5, 1920 in Manila to then Lt. Vicente P. Lim and Pilar Hidalgo-Lim. His early education was at the De La Salle College in Manila, where he became good friends with another Filipino aviator hero Jesus Villamor. He took up Engineering at the University of the Philippines during his freshman year, and passed the entrance exams of the Philippine Military Academy in 1937 joining the Class of 1941. As he was the top of his class, he gained a spot at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
World War II
[edit]On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet conducted a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II. The USNA Class of 1942 was graduated early on February 7, 1942, with Lim at 32nd of his class with Philippine Resident Commissioner Joaquin Miguel Elizalde in attendance.
As the Battle of Bataan was raging, with Lim's father commanding the 41st Division of the Philippine Army, the younger Lim wanted to return to the Philippines and join the fight. His request was rejected and was instead assigned to form the nucleus of 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment at Camp San Luis Obispo, California.[2]
By 1943, Lim was accepted to the US Army Air Corps flight school, and would later qualify for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress command.
Lim was assigned to the 315th Bomb Wing, XXI Bomber Command, in Peterson Field, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The unit would later transfer to Northwest Field, Guam on April 1944. Gen. Curtis LeMay would assign the 315th Bomb Wing the task of hitting the Japanese oil industry sites.[3][4]
From June to August 1945, the 315th Bomb Wing struck oil refineries, depots, and railyards in the Japanese mainland with minimal losses. This was a duplication of the strategy implemented against Nazi Germany, which ground their military operations to a halt.[5]
Upon Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945 on board the USS Missouri, the 315th Bomb Wing along with other bombers of the XXI Bomb Group flew over Tokyo Bay. Gen. Carl Spaatz and Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold wanted a show of force over the Japanese capital. The 315th was also assigned to mercy missions, air dropping relief goods for POWs in camps in Japan and China.[5]
Post-World War 2
[edit]By September 1945 Capt. Roberto Lim returned to Manila, and reunited with his family. He joined in the search of his father who was executed by the Japanese authorities in December 1944. Unfortunately, Gen. Vicente Lim's body was never recovered.
Capt. Lim was assigned to the 1st Troop Carrier Squadron of the reconstituted Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC), at the Lipa Airfield in Batangas. His mission was to help rebuild the air arm of the Philippine Army and the airfield itself, with reinstated members of the PAAC receiving initial flight training and certification from Lim. His efforts was able to bring 22 units of Douglas C-47 Skytrains for the PAAC, and the establishment of the PAAC flight school.[6]
On March 1946, Capt. Lim resigned from his US Army Air Corps commission. He would marry Gloria Mapua, the daughter of Tomas Mapua, the founder of the Mapua University.
Capt. Lim would join the Philippine Airlines (PAL) 1946, taking on flight duty, and later managing operations. He would rise the ranks of PAL, and would retire after becoming its Executive Vice President. Tragically, Lim would lose his wife Gloria in PAL Flight 206 on June 26, 1987.
He would join the faculty of the Asian Institute of Management, and would later be appointed as its President.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Farolan, Ramon (October 20, 2013). "Feeling Old, Feeling Great". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ "Filipino Regiments of WW2". The National Museum of the Pacific War. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ "The Pacific Theater". 315th Bomb Wing. 315th Bomb Wing. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ "315th War Time Roster" (PDF). 315th Bomb Wing. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ a b Swann, Ralph. "History of the 315th Bomb Wing" (PDF). Air Command & Staff College. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ The War Against Japan (PDF). Washington DC: Center of Military History. 2001.