‘TOL VIEWS
Bataan Day 2023 is coincidentally this year’s Easter Sunday celebration. Both occasions remind us of bloodshed and lives offered for freedom and redemption. The fallen soldiers in Bataan, like our Lord Jesus Christ, made the greatest sacrifice to liberate future generations and allow them to grow and thrive unchained by fear and op-pression.
The series of events that culminated in the gruesome Bataan Death March began as early as Dec. 8, 1941 when Japanese troops bombed Clark and Iba Air bases shortly after they staged their attack on Pearl Harbor on the night of Dec. 7. These bombings were followed by aggressive assaults of Japanese forces on Philippine naval facilities and airfields including Sangley Point in Cavite. The siege of the City of Manila sometime in January of 1942 further strengthened the Japanese Imperial Army’s hold. Their triumphant attacks against American forces in Mount Samat in Pilar, Bataan led to the flight of General MacArthur to Australia and the surrender of Major General Edward King and thousands of American and Filipino soldiers who marched to their abominable end, dying either of disease, starvation or brutal murder.
Bloody and cruel as it may be, the Bataan Death March is an affirmation of the Filipino strength amid adver-sity, our courage and heroism even in the face of death. This significant piece of our history and our long jour-ney to claim freedom and independence is indeed one chapter from which, even today, we continue to draw val-uable lessons and inspiration to continue building resilience, to move forward in solidarity and to become modern-day heroes even in the most humble of ways. Our deeds need not be as grand as the offering made by the fallen soldiers of Bataan. Our acts need only to be sincere and out of our genuine desire to help and serve others.
Our annual commemoration of Bataan Day or Araw ng Kagitingan and its historical significance should re-mind every Filipino that then and now, we are all being called upon to be men and women of valor, to be heroes and patriots of our modern times, to offer ourselves and our lives to create meaningful impact not only for those who live in this age but more so for unborn generations of Filipinos. The battles that preoccupy us today are not those needing guns or any destructive weapons in order to succeed. The challenges we confront these days against poverty, social division and corruption, among others, call for a rekindling of the patriotic spirit in every Filipino. Bataan Day is remembered not only to honor the memories of those who fearlessly walked to the valley of death eight decades ago. It is a reverberating plea for present day Filipinos to march in solidarity, with all courage and hope, to keep this country free, peaceful, prosperous and progressive.