Araw ng Kagitingan
The Day of Valor, officially known as Araw ng Kagitingan, is a national observance in the Philippines which commemorates the fall of Bataan to Japanese troops during World War II. It falls every April 9, although in 2009, its celebration was moved to April 6 to avoid it from coinciding with Maundy Thursday. Officials in command of Bataan—where Filipino and American forces maintained the main resistance in the war against the Japanese—formally surrendered. Through the Voice of Freedom radio broadcast, Third Lieutenant Normando Ildefonso Reyes—reading a message prepared by Captain Salvador P. Lopez—informed the Philippines and the world from Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor: “Bataan has fallen.”
The Philippine-American troops on this war-ravaged and bloodstained peninsula have laid down their arms. With heads bloody but unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers of the enemy. The siege and defense of Bataan lasted 93 days—or just four months after the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE: later renamed USFIP) retreated to Bataan.
On the other hand, designated April 5 to 11 of every year as Philippine Veterans Week in order to “promote, preserve and memorialize the principles, ideals and deeds of the Filipino war veteran as a means to enhance patriotism and love of country, especially among the youth of the land.
The week-long observance is an occasion to honor not only the Filipino war veterans who died or served the country but also to remember those who rendered honorable military service in defending the country in times of war or peace. This is to gratefully acknowledge their contributions in preserving our sovereignty and defending our national security.
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