Oldest Pinoy war vet gets posthumous award

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has awarded a posthumous Philippine Legion of Honor to Fernando Perez Javier Sr., the oldest Filipino war veteran who died last month.

Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) administrator Ernesto Carolina presented the award to Fernando Javier Jr., son of the late veteran, in a necrological ceremony last July 23 at the Libingan ng mga Bayani mortuary in Fort Bonifacio.

The Philippine Legion of Honor is the oldest of the three Senior Honors of the Philippines. It is the highest honor that the President may grant an individual without the concurrence of Congress.

Javier Sr. was feted “for showing true heroism when called to the colors as a third lieutenant of the Philippine Army and serving in the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).”

He was also honored “for being the oldest living veteran and being a symbol of the resilience of a great generation that went through unimaginable hardship for the fight for freedom.”

Javier Sr. was likewise cited for his professional career before and after the war and for his contributions to public works as an engineer.

The war veteran died of pneumonia last June 29 in Baguio City. He was 107.

Javier was one of the soldiers who survived the infamous 70-mile “Death March” from Mariveles, Bataan to Capas, Tarlac. He became a prisoner-of-war with his brother Jose at the former Camp O'Donnell, a US Army base in Capas that was transformed into one of the largest Japanese concentration camps.

After the war, he was promoted to captain and was honorably discharged in 1946.

During the necrological rites, Javier Sr.’s immediate family members delivered eulogies in honor of the late war veteran.

Officers and members of the University of the Philippines Beta Epsilon also bid farewell to their brother. Javier Sr. joined the fraternity in 1932 during his junior year in the UP College of Engineering.

“The family expressed their overwhelming gratitude to President Aquino for valuing the contributions of Captain Javier and all Filipino veterans whose valor and supreme sacrifice paved the way for the country’s freedom, peace and democracy,” Carolina said.

There are more than 11,000 surviving World War II veterans entitled to receive P5,000 monthly as old age pension and P1,700 as total administrative disability pension.