Tue 17 Apr 2007
Commemorated Araw ng Kagitingan (April 9) a week early by driving up Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan and checking out the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) World War II Memorial. The mountain itself rises almost 2,000 feet (610 meters) above sea level at its peak. Here, the Memorial Cross makes this strategic vantage point even more commanding – or acrophobic:
The Memorial Cross is a towering structure of steel and reinforced concrete with an elevator and viewing gallery (arm of the cross). The height of the Cross is 92 meters (302 feet) from the base. The height of the arms is 74 meters (243 feet) from the base. The length of the arm is 30 meters (15 meters on each side). The viewing gallery is 18 by 90 foot with a 7-foot clearance.
The fact that my grandfather, who was a Captain in the engineering core of the “Fighting” 41st Division during the war, was among those who valiantly defended Bataan until it fell, then suffered the infamous Bataan Death March and the POW Camp O’Donnel in Capas, Tarlac (and survived!) will always be a personal source of pride and inspiration for bravery*, honor, duty, and the will to survive.
He defined their main activities in the engineering core as basically either, “building things or blowing them up.”
Photos of the Memorial Cross and War Museum after the jump.
* Courage is the ability to face danger willingly because you’re not afraid. Bravery is facing danger in spite of being afraid. Therein lies the difference.