WWII vets to observe ‘Battle of Besang Pass’

By Freddie Lazaro

VIGAN CITY – Hundreds of surviving World War II veterans from the provinces in the Ilocos, Cordillera and Cagayan Valley regions will remember Monday the 65th anniversary of the victory at the Battle of Besang Pass to be held at the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL) Memorial Monument and Shrine in Barangay Darigayos, Luna, La Union.

Highlighting the celebration includes the conduct of a short program for the floral offering at the veterans’ memorial shrine, a medical and dental outreach program dubbed “Oplan: Pagkalinga,” presentation of a diorama exhibit showcasing the event leading to the victory at the “Battle of Besang Pass,” and the launching of a book that chronicles the Filipino and American WWII veterans’ victory at the “Battle of Besang Pass.”

Philippine Veterans Affairs Office Region 1 head Maria Juanita Rivera disclosed that at least 250 pensioners, most of whom are real-life heroes of the historical battle during World War II, are expected to attend the significant event.

“Launched in 2005, the Oplan: Pagkalinga will now be on its fifth year and will be open exclusively to the pensioners of PVAO from 9 a.m. until 12 noon in which it will offer free medical and dental consultations including free Digital Rectal Examination and electrocardiogram screening for patients,” she said.

The medical and dental mission is jointly sponsored by the PVAO Medical and Dental Unit, the La Union Provincial Health Office and the Abbott International drug company.

“PVAO administrator Undersecretary Ernesto G. Carolina, re-elected La Union Governor Manuel C. Ortega and Brigadier General Arnulfo Banez, the USAFIP-NL president are among the national dignitaries to be expected to grace the significant event,” she said.

For the content of the book that chronicles the victory at the “Battle of Besang Pass,” Rivera disclosed the featuring of the testimonies, achievements and memories of the surviving heroes/veterans who courageously fought leading to the victory at the Besang Pass.

“Some of those heroes/veterans featured in the book are the late Dr. Godofredo S. Reyes, Colonel Gregorio Ufano and among others,” she said.

“The battle at the Bessang Pass is one of the world’s ferocious battles in the history of war that was predominantly spearheaded by the Filipino soldiers, guerrilas and bolomen with the farmers and haulers,” she noted.

According to Rivera, the USAFIP-NL Memorial Monument and Shrine in Barangay Darigayos, Luna, La Union, which is the venue of this year celebration, was the former Camp Spencer, which is the base hospital for the wounded members of the USAFIP-NL during the “Battle of Besang Pass.”

Besang Pass was the last stronghold of the Japanese imperial forces under Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, known as the “Tiger of Malaya” and conqueror of Singapore.

It was part of the triangular defense of General Yamashita in the north, namely the Balete Pass, Villaverde Trail and Besang Pass, guarding the Ifugao-Benguet-Vizcaya borders.

Its fall on the hands of the USAFIP-NL on June 14, 1945 paved the way to the entrapment of Yamashita’s forces in the Cordillera until the general’s surrender in September 1945.