Courtesy Photo | U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Malia Sparks, a native of Colorado and a combat videographer...... read more read more
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BATAN ISLAND, Philippines – Cpl. Malia Sparks, a Marine with 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, united with her family members on Batan Island, Philippines, during the Maritime Key Terrain Security Operation as a part of Exercise Balikatan 25, April 27, 2025. This event symbolized the decades-long partnership between the U.S. and Philippines, contributing to Balikatan 25’s mission of bolstering the ironclad alliance established by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
Balikatan 25 is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military that took place from April 21 to May 9 across the Philippine archipelago. The MKTSO is a dynamic event that tested U.S. Marines with 3d Littoral Combat Team and Philippine Marines with Marine Battalion Landing Team 10’s ability to maneuver to, secure, and defend key maritime terrain.
At the tail-end of the MKTSO event, Sparks, a native of Colorado and a combat videographer with 3d MLR, met six family members for the first time. She had previously deployed two times to the Philippines with 3d MLR with no knowledge of the fact that her family resided in the islands up north. It wasn't until last year when her Lola, Tagalog for Grandmother, saw photos of her on a mission to Itbayat, another island in the Batanes, when it was pieced together.
“I always thought we were just from Manila,” said Sparks. “My grandma said that if I ever go back and I'm on the island of Batan, her mother and father's family live in Basco and Mahatao.”
When Sparks was assigned as the combat videographer for this year’s iteration of the MKTSO event, she was thrilled by the opportunity to go to her family’s home of origin, Batan.
Armed with a camera and tasked with gathering visual information of 3d LCT and MBLT-10’s training, Sparks set out on a week-long field exercise.
During several community relations events, Sparks told some of the local people that her great-grandmother is from Basco and her great-grandfather is from Mahatao. She gave the locals their last names – Nunez and Agrezor. Surprisingly, the locals recognized the surnames, and told Sparks that they could unite her with her family. Sparks thanked the locals and continued with her mission of documenting the operations.
All the while, Sparks was teeming with anticipation at the possibility of finding her family. She didn’t want to get her hopes up on the off chance that they wouldn’t be found. After all, she didn't know the first names of her individual family members and was unable to travel independently around the island in search of them.
A few days had passed, and as she was getting ready to leave the island, a young man approached Sparks at the Basco airport. He asked if her name was Malia, introducing himself as Anthony. Suddenly, five other people appeared and approached her, claiming to be members of the Nunez family. They had heard by word of mouth that she was there with 3d LCT.
Against all odds, Sparks’ request to the locals of Batan to help locate and unite her with her family created history within the Sparks-Nunez household.
“Meeting my family was a surreal experience,” said Sparks “Every year that I come back to the Philippines with 3d MLR during their summer exercise series, I'm able to connect more with this side of my heritage. Having this opportunity through the Marine Corps to travel to a foreign country where I was able to unite with family members I had never met, and learn about a culture I didn't know was mine until last year, has been life changing. I'm filled with a lot of gratitude that my time in the Marine Corps and with 3d MLR made this a possibility for me.”
She had met the direct family of her great-grandmother. She was able to meet her great-grandmother’s brother, his wife, children, and grandchildren.
“They were so kind, welcoming and hospitable to me,” said Sparks. “The fact that even in their old age they were determined to see me was heart-warming.
Eventually after time well spent bonding and getting to know each other at the dinner table, the time had come to say goodbye. Sparks felt extremely grateful that she was given this opportunity through being a U.S. Marine. She felt that small encounters like this were symbolic of the longstanding partnership between the U.S. and the Philippines.
Sparks looks forward to coming back to the Philippines in future years to reunite with her family from Basco and, hopefully, find her family from Mahatao.
3d Marine Littoral Regiment is a dedicated U.S. Marine Corps unit specializing in amphibious and littoral warfare operations. Stationed on Oahu, Hawaii, and deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, 3d MLR is committed to promoting regional security and stability through strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts with Allies and partner nations.
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.20.2025 21:26 |
| Story ID: | 498535 |
| Location: | PH |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Balikatan 25 | 3d MLR Marine United with Family on Batan, by Cpl Iyer Ramakrishna, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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