HEROISM | A visitor views photographs and memorabilia from World War II presented by the Philippine Veterans Bank in the traveling exhibit, “War of Our Fathers: A Brotherhood of Heroes,” marking the 78th anniversary of the Lingayen Gulf Landings and the 16th Pangasinan Veterans Day Celebration in Lingayen, Pangasinan. At right is 106-year-old Valentin Untalan, who is among the seven surviving war veterans honored during the commemoration on Monday. (Photos by WILLIE LOMIBAO / Inquirer Northern Luzon)
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines — At the age of 106, World War II veteran Valentin Untalan could hardly speak, but he said his memories of how he survived in the jungle during the war remained vivid.
Untalan joined the Philippine Scouts and was inducted into the United States Army Forces in the Far East on Feb. 26, 1941, with the rank of private first class.
At the outbreak of World War II that year, he was assigned to the “L” Company, 57th Infantry, Philippine Scouts. His unit cared for the wounded soldiers of the 11th Infantry and nearby Allied units defending the Pangasinan D-2 line. They also provided medical care to wounded and sick soldiers during the Battle of Bataan and engaged the Japanese forces in the “Battle of the Pockets.”
“I searched for guavas and papayas in the jungle. I could not climb the papaya, but I cut it down with my machete and I ate as many as I could. When the sun was setting, I filled my haversack with papaya, and then I looked for a place to sleep. I saw a foxhole, and I went inside,” Untalan said in a videotaped interview that was shown during the ceremony.
He was among the seven surviving war veterans who attended the 78th commemoration of the Lingayen Gulf Landings of American General Douglas MacArthur and the Allied Forces to fulfill his promise to return to the Philippines and fight the Japanese.
‘Freedom fighters’
Untalan was the oldest of the veterans that received service awards from the Pangasinan provincial government led by Gov. Ramon Guico III, Defense Undersecretary Reynaldo Mapagu and Philippine Veterans Bank president Renato Claravall.
The war veterans were cited for “inspiring the youth” and “fighting for peace and freedom at all costs.”
According to the Philippine Veterans’ Affairs Office, there are 49 surviving war veterans in the province as of December last year, and most of them are already bedridden.
One of them, Private Juan DG Cristobal, 98, of the 12th Infantry of the Fil-American Irregular Troops, died only on Jan. 2. Cristobal’s granddaughter represented him during Monday’s annual ceremony, which started in 2008.
Also recognized were Private First Class Ricardo Manzano, 97; Private Pedro Hiteroza, 97; Corporal Victorina Urmaza, 99; Private First Class Hospicio Mallari, 101; Corporal Adriano Salomon, 102; and Private First Class Marcelo Tapiador.
The presence of the veterans and their family members lent solemnity to the commemoration of MacArthur’s landing, which was meant to free Luzon from the Japanese Imperial Army.
During the ceremony, the veterans were given 21 gun salutes and taps to honor them. Wreaths were also laid at the foot of war memorabilia and photos of veterans in the park.
No statue or shrine of MacArthur was built at the park, but around it are Sherman war tanks, troop carriers and warplanes used during World War II.MacArthur and his troops were aboard warships when they arrived on Jan. 9, 1945, at the Lingayen Gulf, but the exact location where he landed has not been pinpointed. Dagupan City and the towns of San Fabian and Lingayen are all claiming that the general first set foot on their shores.
“But one thing is for sure — he landed in the Lingayen Gulf,” Guico said, referring to the body of water spanning Santiago Island in Bolinao, Pangasinan, to San Fernando City in La Union.