76th Leyte Gulf Landings anniversary turns virtual

LEYTE. Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, along with Palo Mayor Ann Petilla and other government officials, leads the wreath-laying ceremony at the MacArthur Leyte Landing Memorial National Park on October 20, 2020. (Photo from Tourism Director Karen Tiopes)
LEYTE. Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, along with Palo Mayor Ann Petilla and other government officials, leads the wreath-laying ceremony at the MacArthur Leyte Landing Memorial National Park on October 20, 2020. (Photo from Tourism Director Karen Tiopes)

THE coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) turned this year’s 76th Leyte Gulf Landings commemorative program into a virtual event on Tuesday, October 20.

“This year’s commemoration of the 76th Leyte Gulf Landings may be different and a little simpler, but it is not less meaningful nor unimportant,” said Palo Mayor Ann Petilla.

“Our celebration then was festive and remarkable. It just felt like yesterday. But so much has changed because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, along with Mayor Petilla and other government officials, led the wreath-laying ceremony at the MacArthur Leyte Landing Memorial National Park in Palo.

“We cannot replicate what our heroes and veterans did, but we can take inspiration from them especially in the time of crisis and uncertainties,” said Mayor Petilla in her speech.

Despite the health crisis that prevented the presence of war veterans, foreign dignitaries, and a bigger crowd at the shrine, the official urged the public “to continue to honor the sacrifices and contributions of our forefathers and war heroes,” following this year’s theme on “Fulfilling the promise to remember the heroism of all who fought for the Motherland.”

In his prayer, Palo Archdiocese Monsignor Ramon Aguilos said it is God’s will that the commemorative event was done virtually “to prevent us to be infected by this worldwide virus.”

“As we remember the thousands of soldiers who died for the cause of freedom in our lands, the citizens who were prisoners of war, and all those who were declared missing in action, we also ask you to preserve our own present lives,” Aguilos added.

Meanwhile, Karen Tiopes, regional tourism director, said "remembering our heroes doesn’t happen every 20th of October only."

“We think about them in every memorial shrine built in their honor. We remember them in every marker...We relive their sacrifices, joys and pride to serve the country and fellowmen with every story told about them,” Tiopes said.

Government officials and foreign dignitaries, who delivered their solidarity messages online, also extolled the heroism of the war veterans.

“The great battle in the Pacific serves as a reminder that the success of the military coalition operations ultimately rests on shared values and friendship,” said Australian Ambassador Steven James Robinson.

Some 4,000 Australians were involved during the Battle of Leyte, with 92 killed.

While Robinson expressed regret of not being able to physically attend the ceremony this year, he said his absence will not diminish the gratitude and honor that his country had for the combatants.

“There is a special friendship known as bayanihan that ties Australians and Filipinos together based on history, geography and a shared vision of what this region can and what it should be,” the Australian ambassador said.

Captain Noel Corpus, naval attaché of the US embassy, said the partnership between America and the Philippines “is the most enduring in Southeast Asia.”

According to Alastair Totty, deputy head of Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the “great collaboration” between the Filipinos and Allied forces “made the difference” during World War II.

While Minister Yasushi Yamamoto, deputy chief of mission of the Embassy of Japan, expressed his “sincerest condolences” to those who died during the war, he also reiterated on the importance of unity in battling the coronavirus pandemic.

In another video message, retired justice Manuel Pamaran, president of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, asked the Filipinos “to celebrate this momentous event no matter what the condition we are facing.”

“Let us unite. And let us all bounce back even stronger than before,” added Ernesto Carolina, administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office.

Carolina said this amid the rising cases of Covid-19 in the country, which has already breached 356,000, the second-highest number of cases in Southeast Asia.

On October 20 to December 31, 1944, the Battle of Leyte, known as the largest naval battle in history, became “a watershed moment in the Pacific war theatre.”

It led to the decisive victory of the Allied campaign against the Japanese Imperial Forces who occupied the Philippines for almost three years.

The Leyte Gulf Landings on October 20, 1944 also fulfilled the promise of US General Douglas MacArthur to return to the country and liberate it alongside Filipino soldiers and guerrillas.

However, the US suffered heavy casualties of 16,043 soldiers and 7,270 sailors. (SunStar Philippines)

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