Today we commemorate the valor of the Filipino soldiers in fighting the Japanese during World War II.
This date is actually the date when Bataan fell to the Japanese, and majority of the American and Filipino soldiers were forced to do the so called Death March.
This day we should remember the sacrifices that our war veterans did to liberate the country.
May the government get its act together to take the plight of our war veterans and retired soldiers seriously.
May the US government see the light and justly compensate the efforts given by Filipino war veterans.
May the Filipino people realize that there are aspirations greater than getting rich or living the life that they wanted.
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My paternal grandfather was a war veteran, but he was not able to set foot on the US. He died when I was still young, so I never got to ask him war stories. His brother fared better; he now lives in the Bay Area of California, and drops by the Philippines from time to time. The last time I saw him was when my paternal grandmother (his sister-in-law) died. Never got to ask him war stories then. Hopefully it is not too late.
Do you know someone who is a war veteran? Do you have war stories to share? Post them in the comments or post about it.
As told to me by my Dad. He would duck inside buildings while American planes bombed Manila. Towards the last days of the Japanese occupation, conscripts from Formosa and Korea bayoneted anyone they saw. Babies were thrown in the air and caught with bayonets. Men were summarily shot on sight. The rearguards of the Japanese took what they can before heading north for a protracted defense against the Americans.