ARAW NG KAGITINGAN This day used to be known as The Fall of Bataan. It commemorates the surrender of the Filipino-American forces that held out for several months in the foothills of Bataan against the invading Japanese forces. It was changed to Araw ng Kagitingan to remove that negative connotation in celebrating defeat. It wasnt really defeat that we honored on this day, but the gallantry and bravery displayed by the USAFFE in the face of a superior enemy, under the most disadvantageous of situations. The retreat to Bataan was a brilliant military maneuver to spare Manila and other parts of the country from the destructive effects of an invasion. With the artillery in Corregidor, Bataan was supposed to give the USAFFE time and space to keep the Japanese at bay until reinforcements from the U.S. mainland arrived. The brilliancy in the retreat was negated by the fact that no reinforcements were forthcoming, not in the next three years. What Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright and his forces didnt know at the time was that the American fleet in Pearl Harbor was wiped out in that sneak attack on December 7, 1941. American was maimed. It lost its military power momentarily. Despite the fact that they were cornered, the USAFFE didnt yield an inch. They repulsed attack after attack of the Japanese. They endured countless hours of intense artillery shelling. Indeed, those USAFFE soldiers displayed courage under fire never before seen. That is what we are celebrating. In the end, the dwindling supplies of food, water and ammunition forced Wainwright to surrender. He could no longer bear to watch his soldiers die not only of battle wounds, but hunger and sickness. There was no dishonor in his surrender.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 00:53:51 +0000
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