Wall of Heroes: Remembering the Death March

CAMP O’DONNELL, Capas, Tarlac — The more than 32,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war (POWs), who died in this former Japanese concentration camp during World War II, and veterans who have already passed away will be honored tomorrow with the unveiling of the colossal "Wall of Heroes" by President Arroyo.

Joining the President are Vice President Teofisto Guingona, members of her Cabinet, officials of the Armed Forces and local executives led by Tarlac Gov. Jose Yap Sr., Vice Gov. Marcelino Aganon Jr., Reps. Gilbert Teodoro Jr., Benigno Aquino III and Jesli Lapus, and Capas Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan.

The Wall of Heroes is made of black granite. Inscribed on it in silver are the names, in alphabetical order, of the more than 32,000 Filipino and American POWs who died while in Japanese captivity in this former camp, as well as war veterans who had passed away after the war.

The Wall’s mid-section bears an inscription dedicated to the late former President Manuel Roxas, who was the last president of the Philippine Commonwealth and the country’s first president after World War II.

The Wall encloses a 100-foot, needle-like tower that marks what is believed to be the center of this former concentration camp, which former President Corazon Aquino, through a presidential proclamation, renamed as the Capas National Shrine on Dec. 7, 1991.

The tower has three sections, which represent the peoples of the Philippines, the United States and Japan, "who have learned the lessons of war from the past."

Yap described the Wall of Heroes as "a concrete testament to our love for freedom and peace, that soldiers need not fade away, and that tyrannical wars should be a thing of the past."

The entire memorial shrine covers about 50 hectares.

Before the Japanese Imperial Army transformed Camp O’Donnell into a concentration camp in 1942, the area was a military training center and headquarters of the Philippine Army’s 71st Division and the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).

Tomorrow’s ceremonies here mark the country’s celebration of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) which, 61 years ago, was the so-called "Fall of Bataan" and the commencement of the Death March.