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Source: Wikipedia
Honolulu, Hawaii
The Sacrifices of the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor are commemorated at the National Memorial
Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, Honolulu, Hawaii every year. On April 9,
2009, Philippines Secretary of National Defense, Hon. Gilberto C. Teodoro gave the "Araw ng Kagitingan Address"
(Day of Valor Address) and led in a wreath laying ceremony, attended by US Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, Filipino
WWII veterans, Hawaii government officials, members of the Consular Corps, the U.S. Pacific Command and the Filipino-American
community in Honolulu. The Philippine Consul General in Honolulu, Hon. Ariel Y. Abadilla, organized the ceremony
Source: Wikipedia
The Sacrifices of the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor are commemorated at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
at Punchbowl, Honolulu, Hawaii every year. In 2008, Philippines Ambassador to
the U.S., the honorable Willy Gaa and RP Senator Richard J. Gordon will be joined by Hawaii's Governor Linda Lingle in a wreath
laying ceremony. The Philippine consulate in Honolulu host a Thanksgivings Mass and ceremony to honor the event. The Knights
of Rizal of Hawaii and the Filipino Veterans of WWII - Hawaii chapter will participate in the ceremony
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Excerpt:
JO2 Corwin Colbert
Domingo Los Banos, a member of the U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, salutes the
submariners and 17 Filipino commandos lost during World War II onboard USS Seawolf during Memorial Day ceremony at the Naval Submarine Memorial on Naval Station Pearl Harbor.
Current and former submariners, joined by veterans and families, took time during
a Memorial Day Service on board Naval Station Pearl Harbor May 30 to honor submariners who were lost while serving during
World War II.
The Sailors reflected on the role the submariners played and how it continues to inspire present day
submariners as they develop new methods of inserting special operations forces onto hostile beaches.
Submarines secretly
inserted commandos behind enemy lines during World War II, particularly in the Philippines, where 19 submarines completed
a total of 41 secret missions to quietly insert an elite group of Filipino-American commandos.
"We couldn't get to
the Philippines without submarines," said
Los Banos, who represents the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment veterans group. "Submarines brought the ammunition, troops and
supplies that we needed to carry out (Gen. Douglas) MacArthur's orders."
All told, U.S. submarines delivered 331 people, evacuated 472 individuals, and delivered
some 1,325 tons of ammunition and military equipment to the Filipino guerrillas
"They brought not only supplies, but hope, to a growing Filipino resistance,"
said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cassias, commander of Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. "That resistance would prove vital in ultimately
defeating the Japanese in the Philippines."
Cassias
said that the success of these early commando delivery missions set the stage for the development of this technique in modern-day
submarine operations, particularly with the recent development of the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) and with the conversion
of four former Trident ballistic-missile submarines to guided-missile submarines, capable of embarking large numbers of special
operations forces.
"The success of these World War II operations in the Philippines continues to inspire us today as
we design and implement new ways to insert special operations forces ashore," said Cassias.
"But what inspires us even
more," said Cassias, "is the dedication and tenacity of submariners who came before us."
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