Jose Gozar

The accomplishments of Capt. Villamor and the 6th Pursuit Squadron was used by the USAFFE to bolster the morale of the ground troops. On December 15 Capt. Villamor, Lt. Gozar, and Capt. Colin Kelly (posthumously) were personally awarded by Gen. Douglas MacArthur the Distinguished Service Cross for their defense of the airspace above Manila. Lt. Gozar's wingmate, Lt. Godofredo Juliano on the other hand received two Gold Crosses

The 6th Pursuit Squadron returned to Nichols Airfield on December 13 with four remaining P-26s. The following day another Japanese bombing raid came, and only one aircraft from the 6th Pursuit Squadron was able to scramble, with Lt. Gozar as pilot. Lt. Gozar was able to survive the encounter against three Japanese Zeros with one unconfirmed kill, and land his damaged aircraft.

The following day, the 6th Pursuit Squadron moved to Batangas Airfield, while Lt. Gozar was left behind with some of the men in Nichols Airfield. On December 12, a force of 27 bombers and 17 fighters targeted Batangas Airfield, and in this aerial battle the PAAC received its first casualty, Lt. Cesar Basa.

At 11:30 am on December 10, while the officers and men of the 6th Pursuit Squadron was having lunch, general quarters was sounded. Capt. Jesus Villamor, along with Lieutenants Godofredo Juliano, Geronimo Aclan, Alberto Aranzaso, and Jose Gozar met another wave of Mitsubishi G3M bombers and Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters over the skies of Zablan Airfield and Pasig with their Boeing P-26 Peashooters.

Lt. Gozar and his companions left Mindoro and crossed to Panay, and from there crossed to Negros Island where they were initially suspected by the local guerillas as spies. They continued in their attempt to reach Mindanao, but weather conditions at the Tanon Strait turned unfavorable. Their small banca became swamped, and thus Lt. Gozar and Lt. Encarnacion, who was a former varsity member of the swimming team of the De La Salle University, attempted to swim back to shore, leaving Lt. Acedera. Lt. Acedera was able to survive by hanging on to the banca, and return to shore and report their status. In the next days, it was assumed Lt. Gozar and Encarnacion were both lost at sea, as no trace except for the latter's jacket was found. By late 1945 Lt. Gozar and Lt. Encarnacion were declared dead.

By April 9, 1942, the forces under Gen. Edward P. King in Bataan, which included some the men of the PAAC, surrendered to the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army. Lt. Gozar and his unit joined the Bataan Death March, and was incarcerated in the prisoner-of-war camp in Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac.

In August 1942, Filipino POWs were released by the Japanese, and Lt. Gozar returned to Calapan and regrouped with fellow officers of the PAAC from Mindoro, Lt. Encarnacion and Lt. Acedera. With instructions from Capt. Villamor, Lt. Gozar and his group made an attempt to escape to Australia and report to the South West Pacific Area.

On December 8, 1941, despite receiving the news on the attack on Pearl Harbor early in the morning, the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and its air component, Far East Air Force (FAEF), were caught by surprise by bombers and fighters of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy from Takao Airfield in Formosa. By the end of the day, the FAEF's aircraft inventory was reduced by half, with only a few squadrons surviving the initial raid, including the PAAC 6th Pursuit Squadron.

For his actions on December 10, 1941, Gozar received the Distinguished Service Cross. Lt. Gozar's citation stated:

Jose Protacio Cangco Gozar (April 8, 1918 – 1942) was a Filipino military aviator and a flight officer of the Philippine Army Air Corps, who was awarded at the outbreak of World War II the Distinguished Service Cross.

Jose Gozar was born on April 8, 1918 in Bgy. Ilaya, Calapan, Mindoro to Juan Gozar and Calixta Cangco. His primary and secondary education were completed in his hometown, and after graduating as batch salutatorian from the Mindoro High School in March 1936, he entered the University of the Philippines' College of Liberal Arts as a scholar. Upon his graduation he joined the Philippine Army Air Corps and completed his flight qualifications at the Philippine Army Aviation School at Zablan Airfield in Camp Murphy in the class of 1940 and commissioned as a 3rd lieutenant. Lt. Gozar was then assigned with the Philippine Army Aviation School as an instructor pilot, training the last batch of airmen before the outbreak of World War II.