Maj. Gen. Rapp Brush commanding the 40th Inf Division until Jul 1945, he was in command when the 40th Infantry Division invaded Panay Island, Philippines on March 18, 1945.

When Major General Rapp Brush led the veteran 40th Infantry Division into the Philippine liberation campaign, he began retracing the steps of his youth.

On the day the 40th liberated the city of Lingayen, General Brush rode through its shell-pocked streets. “This doesn’t look like much of a playground for a boy,” he remarked.

As a boy in Lingayen, where his father was Military District Commander in 1901, the leader of the “Sunburst” Division had taught Filipino youngsters to play baseball.

When General Brush had led his Doughboys in a lightning, 10-day liberation of the island of Panay, he established his headquarters in Iloilo, where his father once served as commanding general.

The thorough knowledge of the country owned by General Brush, plus the blazing combat spirit of his men, made the 40th a terror to the Japanese.

From Fighting Divisions, Kahn & McLemore, Infantry Journal Press, 1945-1946.

https://www.sonsoflibertymuseum.org/40th-infantry-division-ww2.cfm