Monday, January 11, 2016

DND, veterans commemorate 71st anniversary of Lingayen Gulf landings

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 11): DND, veterans commemorate 71st anniversary of Lingayen Gulf landings

Ranking Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) officials with their defense and provincial government counterparts commemorated the 71st anniversary of American forces landings in Lingayen Gulf, Pangasinan on Saturday.

The event was held at the War Memorial Park, Lingayen, Pangasinan. Serving as guest-of-honor was PVAO administrator Ernesto G. Carolina.

The Lingayen Gulf Landings took place on Jan. 9, 1945 when the US 6th Army led by Gen. Douglas Macarthur landed in a 32-kilometer beachhead between the town of Lingayen and San Fabian.

This paved the way for the entire liberation of Luzon, was considered as one of the significant events in World War II.

Other officials present were Department of National Defense undersecretary for veterans affairs Jesus Millan; 702nd Infantry Battalion commander Col. David B. Diciano; Lt. Col. Bruce Murray, Defense Attache, Australian Embassy to the Philippines; Atty. James Curtis-Smith, President of the Returned and Service League of Australia; and several officials of local government of Pangasinan headed by Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and Vice Gov. Ferdinand Z. Calimlim Jr.

“This place where we stand right now was a witness to the gallantry of our forebears who offered their lives to regain the freedom we now enjoy. The priest even told them, 'Freedom was brought to the world by the Lord and nobody can take away the freedom from us'. The freedom from the Almighty that the Japanese had taken away from us was restored by our veterans,” Carolina said in Filipino.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=845256

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