LINGAYEN, Pangasinan?Sixty-four years after the Battle of Lingayen Gulf during World War II, some Australian and Filipino veterans on Friday met for the first time at the Lingayen Gulf where the Allied Forces landed on Jan. 9, 1945.

The contribution of the Australian soldiers who fought side by side with Filipinos and Americans against the Japanese Imperial Army was recognized with the unveiling of the Australian commemorative plaque at the Veterans War Memorial by the Australian Embassy and the provincial government.

Australian veterans of the historic Gulf landing headed by Les Kennedy, president of the Australian Naval Commemoration Committee of Victoria, Australia, came for the commemorative program held at the back of the capitol and at the Dagupan City beach.

The participation of the Australians in the war against the Japanese was a surprise even to Filipino veterans who were present during the commemorative program.

The Filipinos and Australians shook hands and everyone said, ?I?m glad to meet you.?

?I did not know that there were Australians in the Allied Forces. They all looked the same. It is only now we knew there were Australians,? said war veteran, Alberto Marquez, 84, of Alcala town.

Another veteran, Onofre Pablizo, 88, said he heard about the presence of Australians during the Lingayen Gulf landings ?but we never met them.?

?It?s only now that we met them. I?m very glad to see them personally,? Pablizo said.

Australian veteran, Ken Baldwin, 95, said every time he got a chance, he would tell of the ?courage of the Filipino soldiers who [restrained] the Japanese Army long enough to enable the American soldiers to go to Australia. That spared us from the [cruelty] of the Japanese.?

?I think it?s my responsibility to tell that to everyone. We Australians were very grateful to the Filipinos for what they did,? he said.

Asked why it was only now that the contribution of Australia during the war had been recognized, Baldwin said, ?The US is a very powerful country and has pretty much the monopoly of publicity.?

He said there were about 7,000 members of the Australian Navy who fought in the Philippines with the Allied Forces.

?We were about 600 soldiers in the ship where I was,? he said.

Another veteran, George Rappall, said the ship he was in was ?hit five times? by the Japanese Army. ?We got hurt the most. They did not like us,? he said.

Lt. Col. Gary Barnes, assistant defense attaché of the Australian Embassy, congratulated the Australian veterans who came for the commemoration program. Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon