Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. As the only major action in the larger battle where the Americans were largely unprepared against the opposing forces, it has been cited by historians as one of the greatest military mismatches in naval history.<br/><br/> In the combined Battle of Leyte Gulf, 10,000 Japanese sailors and 3,000 Americans died. Although the battleship Yamato and the remaining force returned to Japan, the battles marked the final defeat of the Japanese Navy, as the ships remained in port for most of the rest of the war and ceased to be an effective naval force.
Body tattooing was an important rite of passage for men in the Visayas and was often related to head-hunting or heroism. At festivals, wrestlers wore loincloths to expose their tattoos making them appear more fierce and entreating protection from the spirit world. The first Europeans in the Philippines refered to the Visayans as ‘Los Pintados’, meaning ‘The Painted Ones’.<br/><br/> The name ‘Visayan’ refers to any of several ethnic groups, including Austronesian and Negroid peoples, that inhabit the regions of the Visayas and some parts of Mindanao in the Philippines.
The name ‘Visayan’ refers to any of several ethnic groups, including Austronesian and Negroid peoples, that inhabit the regions of the Visayas and some parts of Mindanao in the Philippines.