Over the centuries there have been countless acts of heroism by Filipinos defending their nation against Spanish, American and Japanese conquest. The most famous is José Rizal with a public holiday held on December 30 every year in commemoration of his death. His heroics were performed mainly with the pen while many others not celebrated put their own lives at risk for the good of their country and fellow man. Three of these brave men were to be awarded the “Congressional Medal of Honor” and should also be honored by Filipinos.
José Rizal who was born into a wealthy farming Filipino family in Calamba, Laguna on June 19, 1861 is considered one of the great Filipino national heroes.
He was a true child prodigy displaying precocious intelligence at an early age. He could read and write by the age of five and was already showing immense talent as an artist and in clay modeling. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree at 16 and by the age of 17 had degrees in Surveying and Assessing.
After travelling to Spain he obtained further degrees of Licentiate in Medicine (leading not only to an academic degree but also a professional qualification) and Philosophy by the age of twenty four.
He continued to travel expansively through Europe becoming fluent in twenty two languages, and becoming touted as a versatile genius. He wrote extensively with many articles tending towards Filipino nationalism and revolution.
He published a book in 1887 describing the proud Filipino history before the Spanish colonization and the conceit and tyranny of the Spanish ministry, followed by another with much deeper revolutionary connotations exposing Spanish abuses in socio-political and religious aspects. His writings were thought to have encouraged passive activists and revolutionists in the Philippines.
When he returned to Manila in 1892 he had already been affirmed as an enemy of the state by Spanish Hierarchy because of his publications. He instituted “La Liga Filipina”, an association promoting temperate social reforms but it was quashed by the Spanish government.
At the onset of the Philippines revolution of 1896 he was falsely implicated and arrested in Spain while on route to Cuba where he had volunteered his services to an outbreak of yellow fever. He was convicted of rebellion, sedition and forming an illegal association and sentenced to death. While awaiting his sentence to be administered he composed the poem that later was to be known as “Ultimo Adios”, describing his great love of his country and its people. He also delivered a statement renouncing the revolution and asserting that “the Dr. Jose Rizal education of Filipinos and their achievement of a national identity were prerequisites to freedom.”
He was put to death in 1896 by a Filipino firing squad of the Spanish Army who was held at gunpoint themselves by the Spanish army in the event that they refused to carry out the execution.
José Rizal who was born into a wealthy farming Filipino family in Calamba, Laguna on June 19, 1861 is considered one of the great Filipino national heroes.
He was a true child prodigy displaying precocious intelligence at an early age. He could read and write by the age of five and was already showing immense talent as an artist and in clay modeling. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree at 16 and by the age of 17 had degrees in Surveying and Assessing.
After travelling to Spain he obtained further degrees of Licentiate in Medicine (leading not only to an academic degree but also a professional qualification) and Philosophy by the age of twenty four.
He continued to travel expansively through Europe becoming fluent in twenty two languages, and becoming touted as a versatile genius. He wrote extensively with many articles tending towards Filipino nationalism and revolution.
He published a book in 1887 describing the proud Filipino history before the Spanish colonization and the conceit and tyranny of the Spanish ministry, followed by another with much deeper revolutionary connotations exposing Spanish abuses in socio-political and religious aspects. His writings were thought to have encouraged passive activists and revolutionists in the Philippines.
When he returned to Manila in 1892 he had already been affirmed as an enemy of the state by Spanish Hierarchy because of his publications. He instituted “La Liga Filipina”, an association promoting temperate social reforms but it was quashed by the Spanish government.
At the onset of the Philippines revolution of 1896 he was falsely implicated and arrested in Spain while on route to Cuba where he had volunteered his services to an outbreak of yellow fever. He was convicted of rebellion, sedition and forming an illegal association and sentenced to death. While awaiting his sentence to be administered he composed the poem that later was to be known as “Ultimo Adios”, describing his great love of his country and its people. He also delivered a statement renouncing the revolution and asserting that “the Dr. Jose Rizal education of Filipinos and their achievement of a national identity were prerequisites to freedom.”
He was put to death in 1896 by a Filipino firing squad of the Spanish Army who was held at gunpoint themselves by the Spanish army in the event that they refused to carry out the execution.
There have been many more Filipinos who can claim the integrity of a true Filipino hero, some even with credentials above that of José Rizal.
There is no higher honor bestowed by U.S. military than the Congressional Medal of Honor which is awarded for “Bravery in Combat, Above and Beyond the Call of Duty”. Only 3,440 soldiers have been granted this military prestige for valor since its inception during the American Civil War of 1862 and 842 throughout the entire U.S. World War II campaign.
On the 4th February, 1899, when war was declared on the United States, by the First Philippines Republic, the Philippines first ”Medal of Honor” recipient immerged. The war raged from 1899-1902 and produced some 220,000 Filipino casualties. The First Philippines Republic or Malolos Republic was a short lived revolutionary government formed to secure independence from the Americans. José Baliton Nisperos who was born in San Fernando, Philippines in 1887 was a member of the “Philippine Scouts” when his actions during this war on the 24th of September, 1911, led to him being bestowed the “Congressional Medal of Honor”. He became the first Asian to receive this, the greatest of military honors. Nisperos‟ unit, the U.S. Army‟s 34th unit of the Philippines Scouts, had been directed to Basilan, Mindanao to mollify revolutionary forces that were resisting the U.S. takeover of Mindanao. His unit was ambushed by a large squad of rebels armed with bolos (type of machete) and spears.
His unit had incurred some casualties and Nisperos was badly injured, with a broken left arm, badly lacerated left hand and several spear wounds. He continued to fire his rifle with one hand until the rebels retreated to the hills, sparing his unit from annihilation and mutilation of their bodies as the resistance was known for. Due to the severity of his injuries, José Baliton Nisperos was medically discharged from the army, receiving a pension of $55 a month and was awarded his Medal of Honor on November 12, 1912. He passed away ten years later at the age of thirty four following a lengthy illness.
Fireman 2nd class Teleforo Trinidad from Capiz in the Philippines became the only sailor of Asian descent and second Filipino to be awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in peace time aboard the U.S.S San Diego in Mexican waters near La Paz, 1915.
A boiler explosion occurred while Trinidad was working in fire room 2. He was forced out by flames but returned to rescue injured compatriot, fireman 2nd class R. E. Daly. While exiting fire room 4 with Daly he was struck by another explosion in fire room 3 where he received severe burns to the face. Without considering his own injuries or safety he passed Daly out to other sailors and returned to fire room 3 to rescue another seaman.
Trinidad was born in Cavite in 1890, passing away in 1968. He was awarded his Medal of Honor in 1915.
In the December of 1941, 23 year old, Captain Jose Cabalfin Calugas, through his heroic actions on the Bataan battle fields of World War II, became the third Filipino to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Born on the 29th December, 1907 in Barangay, Leon, Iloilo, Philippines, he joined the Philippine Scouts, a crack military unit made up of native Filipinos formed by the U.S in 1901 until the end of World War II and led by U.S. Officers, after hearing about it from friends in his Barangay. The Philippines Department‟s General had, in the same year, sanctioned the conscription of Filipinos to join the unit, with 5000 men being recruited to fill 50 companies. Calugas was drafted into Company “C” 24th Artillery at Fort Stotsenburg in 1930, where he became an expert marksman and soldier.
Following Japanese successes in China and their prosperous incursions into Indo-China in 1940, a request was made to the U.S. War Department for re-enforcements of troops and supplies with the Philippines Scouts numbers growing to12000 by 1941.
Part of Japanese strategy was to take control of the Philippines as part of their plan for a “Greater East Asia War” and on December 8, 1941 “The Battle of Bataan”, the most intense of all Japanese battles to take the Philippines, lasting four months, began.
Although the Japanese were greatly outnumbered they possessed a far greater fire power and for the most part, trained personnel and the “Battle for Bataan” was becoming a forlorn exercise for the allies. Calugas‟s division had been placed in cover of the withdrawing 26th Calvary Regiment of the Philippines Scouts and the U.S. 31st Infantry Regiment, behind the Culo River that had been held by the 26th Calvary.
There is no higher honor bestowed by U.S. military than the Congressional Medal of Honor which is awarded for “Bravery in Combat, Above and Beyond the Call of Duty”. Only 3,440 soldiers have been granted this military prestige for valor since its inception during the American Civil War of 1862 and 842 throughout the entire U.S. World War II campaign.
On the 4th February, 1899, when war was declared on the United States, by the First Philippines Republic, the Philippines first ”Medal of Honor” recipient immerged. The war raged from 1899-1902 and produced some 220,000 Filipino casualties. The First Philippines Republic or Malolos Republic was a short lived revolutionary government formed to secure independence from the Americans. José Baliton Nisperos who was born in San Fernando, Philippines in 1887 was a member of the “Philippine Scouts” when his actions during this war on the 24th of September, 1911, led to him being bestowed the “Congressional Medal of Honor”. He became the first Asian to receive this, the greatest of military honors. Nisperos‟ unit, the U.S. Army‟s 34th unit of the Philippines Scouts, had been directed to Basilan, Mindanao to mollify revolutionary forces that were resisting the U.S. takeover of Mindanao. His unit was ambushed by a large squad of rebels armed with bolos (type of machete) and spears.
His unit had incurred some casualties and Nisperos was badly injured, with a broken left arm, badly lacerated left hand and several spear wounds. He continued to fire his rifle with one hand until the rebels retreated to the hills, sparing his unit from annihilation and mutilation of their bodies as the resistance was known for. Due to the severity of his injuries, José Baliton Nisperos was medically discharged from the army, receiving a pension of $55 a month and was awarded his Medal of Honor on November 12, 1912. He passed away ten years later at the age of thirty four following a lengthy illness.
Fireman 2nd class Teleforo Trinidad from Capiz in the Philippines became the only sailor of Asian descent and second Filipino to be awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in peace time aboard the U.S.S San Diego in Mexican waters near La Paz, 1915.
A boiler explosion occurred while Trinidad was working in fire room 2. He was forced out by flames but returned to rescue injured compatriot, fireman 2nd class R. E. Daly. While exiting fire room 4 with Daly he was struck by another explosion in fire room 3 where he received severe burns to the face. Without considering his own injuries or safety he passed Daly out to other sailors and returned to fire room 3 to rescue another seaman.
Trinidad was born in Cavite in 1890, passing away in 1968. He was awarded his Medal of Honor in 1915.
In the December of 1941, 23 year old, Captain Jose Cabalfin Calugas, through his heroic actions on the Bataan battle fields of World War II, became the third Filipino to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Born on the 29th December, 1907 in Barangay, Leon, Iloilo, Philippines, he joined the Philippine Scouts, a crack military unit made up of native Filipinos formed by the U.S in 1901 until the end of World War II and led by U.S. Officers, after hearing about it from friends in his Barangay. The Philippines Department‟s General had, in the same year, sanctioned the conscription of Filipinos to join the unit, with 5000 men being recruited to fill 50 companies. Calugas was drafted into Company “C” 24th Artillery at Fort Stotsenburg in 1930, where he became an expert marksman and soldier.
Following Japanese successes in China and their prosperous incursions into Indo-China in 1940, a request was made to the U.S. War Department for re-enforcements of troops and supplies with the Philippines Scouts numbers growing to12000 by 1941.
Part of Japanese strategy was to take control of the Philippines as part of their plan for a “Greater East Asia War” and on December 8, 1941 “The Battle of Bataan”, the most intense of all Japanese battles to take the Philippines, lasting four months, began.
Although the Japanese were greatly outnumbered they possessed a far greater fire power and for the most part, trained personnel and the “Battle for Bataan” was becoming a forlorn exercise for the allies. Calugas‟s division had been placed in cover of the withdrawing 26th Calvary Regiment of the Philippines Scouts and the U.S. 31st Infantry Regiment, behind the Culo River that had been held by the 26th Calvary.
On January 6th, 1942, Calugas was on KP (Kitchen Police) duty, organizing some of his men as Mess Sergeant, preparing for the days meals when he observed that one of his division‟s guns had become dormant and its crew killed by enemy fire.
Sargent Jose Calugas raced 1000 yards through heavy, Japanese artillery fire to the decommissioned gun position, organizing a troop of volunteers who returned fire for most of the afternoon. Sargent Calugas manned the 75mm cannon alone, terminating some 60 advancing Japanese vehicles and many enemy soldiers. This enabled ally soldiers to reinforce their position, after which he returned to the kitchen and KP Duty. It was for this brave action that Jose Cabalfin Calugas was later awarded “The Congressional Medal of Honor”
By the 8th of April, 1942, the allied position in Bataan had become hopeless and on the following day, U.S. Commander on Bataan, Major General Edward King surrendered some 76000 Filipino and U.S. troops to 54000 Japanese soldiers. Nowhere in U.S. military history has a surrender of this magnitude ever been affected.
April 9, 1942, saw Sargent Calugas join 78000 Filipino and U.S. surrendered soldiers in what was to become known as the “Death March” through 65 miles of dust and heat from San Fernando to Camp O‟Donnell prison camp in Tarlac. Marching without food and water, and enduring appalling beatings, 21000 men and women perished during the march. Calugas himself was savagely beaten about the head after being caught drinking water. He managed to survive the march by outsmarting his captors by feigning the seriousness of his condition to avoid further beatings.
During his stay at Camp O‟Donnell he suffered severe attacks of malaria, dysentery and beriberi, but Calugas never gave up and fought on bravely. He was to regain his strength and fitness during 1943 when he was transferred from the prison camp to a Japanese rice mill where he began spying for a local guerrilla group based in Luzon. Later that year he became a second Lieutenant of a squadron of that unit following his escape from the rice mill.
During January and February 1945, they joined a successful raid on a Japanese stronghold in Karanggalan. Calugas and his platoon successfully aided allied forces in attacks on the Japanese in Muoz, Bongabong, Rizal and Dingalan Beach which led to the liberation of the Philippines.
Following the liberation of the Philippines in 1945, Calugas was presented with his “Medal of Honor” and was offered a commission in the American Army and assigned to the 44th Infantry which overseered the occupancy of Okinawa, Japan. It was while stationed there that he gained United States citizenship. In 1947 he was transferred to a post in Ryukyu Islands, South China Sea until 1953 when he was assigned to Fort Lewis, Texas.
Jose Calugas earned a number of other military honors following the Medal of Honor. He was also awarded the Presidential Citation, Prisoner of War Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Philippine Defense Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, Philippine Independence Medal and United Nations Korea Medal.
After his retirement from the army in 1957 he earned a degree in Business Administration and took up a position with the Boeing Corporation.
Jose Cabalfin Calugas passed away at the age of 90 in 1998
Sargent Jose Calugas raced 1000 yards through heavy, Japanese artillery fire to the decommissioned gun position, organizing a troop of volunteers who returned fire for most of the afternoon. Sargent Calugas manned the 75mm cannon alone, terminating some 60 advancing Japanese vehicles and many enemy soldiers. This enabled ally soldiers to reinforce their position, after which he returned to the kitchen and KP Duty. It was for this brave action that Jose Cabalfin Calugas was later awarded “The Congressional Medal of Honor”
By the 8th of April, 1942, the allied position in Bataan had become hopeless and on the following day, U.S. Commander on Bataan, Major General Edward King surrendered some 76000 Filipino and U.S. troops to 54000 Japanese soldiers. Nowhere in U.S. military history has a surrender of this magnitude ever been affected.
April 9, 1942, saw Sargent Calugas join 78000 Filipino and U.S. surrendered soldiers in what was to become known as the “Death March” through 65 miles of dust and heat from San Fernando to Camp O‟Donnell prison camp in Tarlac. Marching without food and water, and enduring appalling beatings, 21000 men and women perished during the march. Calugas himself was savagely beaten about the head after being caught drinking water. He managed to survive the march by outsmarting his captors by feigning the seriousness of his condition to avoid further beatings.
During his stay at Camp O‟Donnell he suffered severe attacks of malaria, dysentery and beriberi, but Calugas never gave up and fought on bravely. He was to regain his strength and fitness during 1943 when he was transferred from the prison camp to a Japanese rice mill where he began spying for a local guerrilla group based in Luzon. Later that year he became a second Lieutenant of a squadron of that unit following his escape from the rice mill.
During January and February 1945, they joined a successful raid on a Japanese stronghold in Karanggalan. Calugas and his platoon successfully aided allied forces in attacks on the Japanese in Muoz, Bongabong, Rizal and Dingalan Beach which led to the liberation of the Philippines.
Following the liberation of the Philippines in 1945, Calugas was presented with his “Medal of Honor” and was offered a commission in the American Army and assigned to the 44th Infantry which overseered the occupancy of Okinawa, Japan. It was while stationed there that he gained United States citizenship. In 1947 he was transferred to a post in Ryukyu Islands, South China Sea until 1953 when he was assigned to Fort Lewis, Texas.
Jose Calugas earned a number of other military honors following the Medal of Honor. He was also awarded the Presidential Citation, Prisoner of War Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Philippine Defense Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, Philippine Independence Medal and United Nations Korea Medal.
After his retirement from the army in 1957 he earned a degree in Business Administration and took up a position with the Boeing Corporation.
Jose Cabalfin Calugas passed away at the age of 90 in 1998