GMA pays tribute to WWII heroes

President Arroyo paid tribute yesterday to the 32,285 Filipino and American soldiers — including seven of her uncles — who perished during the Death March from Bataan to a concentration camp in Capas, Tarlac in 1942.

Describing the soldiers as "pillars of courage and heroism," Mrs. Arroyo unveiled a "Wall of Heroes" at the Capas National Shrine where names of the fallen were inscribed in gold paint.

"The soldiers who fought in World War II, most of whom are no longer around, are pillars of courage and heroism. We’re forever indebted to them. This memorial that we unveil today is a tribute to them," the President said.

Mrs. Arroyo recalled that her uncle Juan Macapagal survived the Death March by simply slipping out of the marching column without his Japanese escorts noticing.

"He did not go back to the Death March and he survived, but seven of my other uncles did not survive. And I am proud that my family, the Macapagal family was part of the Death March and part of Capas and part of Bataan," she said.

Aside from her eight uncles, the President also noted that the deceased Maj. Benito Soliven, father of Philippine STAR publisher Maximo Soliven who was present at the rites, also marched with his battalion during the Death March.

The Soliven patriarch, a pre-World War II legislator who enlisted at the outbreak of war in 1941, was interred as a prisoner of war at Camp O’Donnel for eight months immediately before he died of malaria contracted during his detention.

"Max Soliven’s father, Maj. Benito Soliven, who commanded 1,000 men, has his name inscribed in that wall. Seven of my uncles have their names inscribed in that wall," the President noted.

The Wall of Heroes surrounds the 73-meter high obelisk at the center of the 50-hectare Capas National Shrine in Barangay Aranguren, marking the site of Camp O’Donnel which was turned into a concentration camp after the Fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942.

Some 76,000 Filipino and American soldiers were forced to march 104 kilometers from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga after American Maj. Gen. Edward King Jr. surrendered to Japanese troops who had invaded four months earlier.

About 10,000 soldiers died on the march while 22,000 others died during the first two weeks of captivity at Camp O’Donnel.

Yesterday’s unveiling rites were a departure from the usual Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) commemoration which is traditionally held at the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Altar of Valor) atop Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan.

The President was accompanied by US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, the Japanese consul general representing Ambassador Kojiro Takano, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and newly installed Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya.