September 9, 2000
As the time draws near for the anniversary of the "Balangiga
Encounter," also known as the "Balangiga Massacre," we on both
sides of the world are preparing to pay tribute to our brave men who fought and
died on September 28, 1901, on the island of Samar, village of Balangiga, PI,
during the Philippine-American War.
I write this to you, a daughter of a survivor, who had the opportunity to
follow in her Father's footsteps to Balangiga, and in some small way, for I
could never truly walk in his shoes, experience the hardships, pain and
emotion, he experienced in dealing with the violent attack on his Company “C”,
9th. Infantry, US Army.
I shall always remember the friendship and hospitality shown me by the Filipino
people while a guest in your country and so gratified to learn of the interest
in this incident that took place so many long years ago. I have shared,
and will want to continue to share with you, in all things pertinent to our
joint interest concerning this historical event that affected so many
lives.
Not too many years ago, very few among us, on both sides of the conflict
between the Americans and the Philippines in the early 20th century, were even
remotely aware of the small engagement between the natives of Balangiga and the
company of American soldiers. Little was written in our history books
concerning the possible reason for the brutal attack on this company of
American soldiers, or the bloody aftermath that followed in retribution to the
people of Samar. Today, because of the
interest by the Philippine government and leaders to have returned to the place
of origin, two church bells, that signaled the natives to attack the American
company, many people, in many parts of the world have read the story and have
become interested to learn more about the events surrounding this incident.
Although these "bells" have never been authentically identified as
those that hung in the church belfry that signaled the attack on the Americans
soldiers, they now serve as a Memorial dedicated to those brave men who fought
and died during that encounter. This Memorial is located at Warren Air
Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA. To the time of this writing, the
Philippine Government has not been successful through repeated efforts to have
this Memorial dismantled and returned to its point of origin, meeting with
strong objections from the American veterans and public.
Pride should be taken in your dedication, patience and perseverance, in the
quest to restore at least one of the "bells" to Balangiga, bringing
to fruition, yes, I can say world-wide, attention to this incident and bringing
about on both sides, in memoriam to their ancestors who fought and died there,
September 28th as a day to pay tribute to their heroism.
To each side the relevance of this occasion has a different
meaning. In all instances of victory for one and defeat for another, there
remain two different versions to tell depending on which favors your own
personal predilection for favored side. It is still difficult for us in
the 21st century to be able to set these aside and look at the prevailing
information and separate our loyalty and emotions with total objectivity. But great strides have been made between us
in the sharing of information in order to pass on to the next generation the
best information regarding the incident that is available today.
My personal involvement with Balangiga, due to happenstance of birth, has been
the greatest of lifetime experiences, one that I hope will lead to the goal of
better understanding and continued friendship between our people. I
particularly treasure those individual friendships that I have made throughout
the past few years with those in the Philippines who so diligently have been
working to achieve their goals of bringing to the forefront of history the
truthful events surrounding this one singular event that also encompasses my
energies at this period of my life.
I will be with you in mind and spirit on September 28th, when the wreath will
be placed at the foot of the Abanador Memorial statue, remembering each and
every foot of the way I traveled in Balangiga, as well as with the American
veterans placing a wreath from my family in honor of my Father and his comrades
at the foot of the Bell Memorial in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We have come a
long way to get to this point and continued dedication will keep the memory
alive for our people on both sides. It should serve as a reminder to the
generations that follow that brave men believing faithfully in their cause and
country shall not be forgotten.
(daughter of Adolph Gamlin, survivor of the Balangiga Massacre, a sentry on duty when the signal was given by the bells to attack the American company and the first soldier to be attacked by the native forces.)