The Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) on Friday
announced that President Benigno S. Aquino III has posthumously conferred the
Philippine Legion of Honor with the Rank of Officer on World War II veteran
Fernando Perez Javier Sr., who held the distinction of being the oldest
Filipino veteran prior his death last June 29.
At the time of his death, he was 107 years old.
PVAO administrator Ernesto G. Carolina presented the award
to Engineer Fernando Javier Sr., son of the late veteran, during a necrological
ceremony held at the Mortuary of Libingan ng Mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio,
Taguig City last July 23.
Military honors were also accorded by the Philippine Army.
The Philippine Legion of Honor is the oldest of the three
Senior Honors of the Republic of the Philippines
It is the highest honor that the President of the Philippines
The award was posthumously given to Javier “for showing true
heroism when called to the colors as a third lieutenant of the Philippine Army
and serving in the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), fighting
in the Battle of Bataan and enduring the Bataan Death March and imprisonment in
Tarlac alongside thousands of Filipino and American soldiers.”
According to the citation, the President conferred the award
on Javier “for being the oldest living veteran and being a symbol of the
resilience of a great generation that went through unimaginable hardship for
the fight for freedom; for his professional career before and after the war
including contributions to public works as an engineer, building roads in
Palawan, working as a project engineer in South Korea and civil engineer in
Japan, and for receiving recognition for his sanitary works as an environmental
engineer in Guam, and, for his lifetime of service as soldier, veteran, and
distinguished alumnus of the University of the Philippines including being a
Centennial Man, earning him distinction and affection among his peers and
younger generation of veterans, thereby constituting life achievements of
commendable merit deserving of recognition from the President of the
Philippines.”
Javier became a prisoner-of-war (POW) together with his
brother Jose, a military doctor at Camp
O'Donnell
After the war, he was promoted to the rank of captain and
was honorably discharged in 1946 after having served the 9th Battalion
Constabulary Corps.
During the necrological rites, the veteran’s immediate
family members offered their personal tribute to Javier.
Among those gave eulogy were Jun Javier, Deanna Javier
Quilalang, granddaughter; and Engineer Antonio Tan.
Officers and members of the UP Beta Epsilon also joined the
rites to say their goodbye to their "brod".
Javier joined the fraternity in 1932 during his junior year
in the College of Engineering of the University of the Philippines which was then located in Manila
Engineers Ojie Alzona and Joe Arvisu presented photo
souvenirs as well as copies of the Ingenium 2008 coffee table book to the
family.
The family expressed their overwhelming gratitude to
President Aquino for valuing the contributions of Capt. Javier and all Filipino
veterans whose valor and supreme sacrifice paved the way for the country’s
freedom, peace and democracy.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=785991
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