MOUNT SAMAT, PHILIPPINES – U.S. service members participating in Exercise Balikatan 2019 took time out of their normal duty day to learn more about the historical Philippines-U.S. alliance by visiting Mount Samat National Shrine March 24.
This shrine is a historic site that memorializes the Philippine and U.S. service members who fought together in defense of the Philippines against the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.
“It’s amazing to actually be able to see some of the historical sites, the equipment that was there, and see things from the points of view of Filipino and U.S. service members who served during the war,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Trevor McNally, a medic with the 561st Engineer Construction Company, 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade.
The shrine occupies a large area on and around the summit of Mount Samat in the Bataan province of the Philippines. It features a colonnade in honor of World War II battles and participants, a museum of the Philippines campaign, and a 300-foot-high cross near the summit of the mountain. The cross depicts dozens of scenes significant to the history of the Philippines in concrete reliefs.
“This is very significant because during World War II, this perimeter was the last stand of U.S. and Filipino forces against the Japanese,” said 1st Lt. Oscarito Tobias, an infantry officer in the Philippine Army assigned to Exercise Balikatan as a liaison between Philippine and U.S. military units.
Exercise Balikatan is a military training exercise hosted by the Philippines between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military, along with participants from the Australian Defence Force. As treaty allies, the U.S. and the Philippines have a longstanding military history that has served as a cornerstone for stability in the Indo-Pacific region for decades. The Mount Samat National Shrine is a symbol of just how strong that alliance is, according to Tobias.
In 1942, U.S. service members fought alongside members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a three-month struggle in the Bataan region. From the beginning of January to the beginning of April, the U.S.-Filipino allied forces defended against a Japanese force making a full push to take the entire archipelago.
Suffering from starvation, malaria, and a lack of ammunition, U.S. and Filipino forces were pushed farther and farther south before finally being overtaken at Mount Samat and forced to surrender.
McNally said this visit is significant for his participation in Exercise Balikatan because the shared sacrifices in World War II strengthened the bond between the Philippines and the U.S., a bond that remains unbroken to this day.
“It’s cool that we continue working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said.
“As a service member in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, this gives me strong motivation to serve,” said Tobias. “You can see here the hardships and courage displayed by Filipino and U.S. soldiers who fought to the last breath. It gives me a boost in courage to do better and lead by example and follow in their footsteps.”
The Mount Samat National Shrine was commissioned in 1966 for the 25th anniversary of World War II.
| Date Taken: |
03.24.2019 |
| Date Posted: |
03.31.2019 03:48 |
| Story ID: |
315778 |
| Location: |
PH |
| Web Views: |
65 |
| Downloads: |
1 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Hiking to history: Service members visit historic memorial in the Philippines, by SFC Cahugh Giles, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
