Ann Hodges of Dallas, Texas married University of Texas football player William Doniphan (“Mogul”) Robinson around 1910. They subsequently emigrated to the Philippines, where they operated a copra plantation on Basilan island, across the Basilan Strait from the town of Zamboanga on Mindanao. In early 1942 the Robinsons abandoned their plantation as the Imperial Japanese Navy conquered the Philippine islands. From 1942 until early 1945 they lived in hiding from the Japanese occupation, changing their location several times between the settlements of Tungawan and Payat, in the forested hills of the Zamboanga peninsula. During this time, Ann Robinson began writing the story of their experiences on the unused blank parts of plantation records. In 1945 they reoccupied their plantation as American forces liberated the islands. Ann Robinson later returned to her family in Dallas, where she produced the typescript of her reminiscences.
From the guide to the Ann (Hodges) Robinson Reminiscences 85-274., 1941-1945, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
