WW2 POW’s medal finds way home in Benguet
>> Friday, February 25, 2022
POW MEDAL FOUND ITS WAY HOME. Emerita Bolislis-Ebes (left), daughter of the late WWII veteran Julio
A. Bolislis, proudly shows off the United States-awarded WWII medal for
honorable service of her father turned over by local historian Muller H. Bato,
who in turn receives a certificate of appreciation from the hero’s family. –Mac
Malanes
More than a
decade after acquiring this from a medal collector in Manila, local historian
and Ambuclao NHS teacher Muller H. Bato turned over to the immediate family
last Tuesday a US-issued medal awarded to the late Julio A. Bolislis "for
honorable service while a Prisoner of War (POW)" during World War II
particularly as one of the survivors of the Death March from Bataan to San
Fernando, Pampanga.
Without any condition whatsoever, Bato wholeheartedly turned over this historic medal to the awardee's eldest daughter Emerita Bolislis-Ebes after he was able to contact Atty. Jurgenson Lagdao and two other members of the Bolislis Clan whom he searched and get acquainted through Facebook.
"It's been more than a decade that this medal is in my possession which I acquired from a medal collector in Manila I knew years ago.
How the medal came into him was unknown. I heard the person died four years ago. So no other information available," narrated Bato, who is also grandson of a WW II guerilla.
"I became interested to purchase it since the family name seems to be familiar. My maternal roots traced back in Kapangan too. I am a grandson of a WW II guerilla, I understand the feeling of losing very important family memorabilia," he said.
As simple gesture, the Bolislis family in turn gave a certificate of appreciation to Bato saying "his commendable acts will be best remembered with lifetime gratitude."
According to documented account, Bolislis from Kibungan and Kapangan, Benguet was a first sergeant of the 11th Division, Philippine Army, Usaffe (United States Armed Forces in the Far East) that bravely took part in the defense of Bataan in 1942.
After surviving the Death March, Bolislis rejoined the guerilla movement in Benguet against the Japanese invaders.
His family recalled that he often narrated his war exploits as "he wanted to put forward the age-old lesson that people should sweat hard for peace rather than shed blood in war."
Without any condition whatsoever, Bato wholeheartedly turned over this historic medal to the awardee's eldest daughter Emerita Bolislis-Ebes after he was able to contact Atty. Jurgenson Lagdao and two other members of the Bolislis Clan whom he searched and get acquainted through Facebook.
"It's been more than a decade that this medal is in my possession which I acquired from a medal collector in Manila I knew years ago.
How the medal came into him was unknown. I heard the person died four years ago. So no other information available," narrated Bato, who is also grandson of a WW II guerilla.
"I became interested to purchase it since the family name seems to be familiar. My maternal roots traced back in Kapangan too. I am a grandson of a WW II guerilla, I understand the feeling of losing very important family memorabilia," he said.
As simple gesture, the Bolislis family in turn gave a certificate of appreciation to Bato saying "his commendable acts will be best remembered with lifetime gratitude."
According to documented account, Bolislis from Kibungan and Kapangan, Benguet was a first sergeant of the 11th Division, Philippine Army, Usaffe (United States Armed Forces in the Far East) that bravely took part in the defense of Bataan in 1942.
After surviving the Death March, Bolislis rejoined the guerilla movement in Benguet against the Japanese invaders.
His family recalled that he often narrated his war exploits as "he wanted to put forward the age-old lesson that people should sweat hard for peace rather than shed blood in war."
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