April 7, 2004

U.S. HIGHLIGHTS PRESENT-DAY ALLIANCE WITH RP AND JAPAN
IN BATAAN RITES HONORING WWII SOLDIERS

United States Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Joseph Mussomeli, in remarks delivered at the Bataan Day ceremonies this morning, April 7, described the Philippines, Japan and the United States as “three nations – no longer enemies, but closest of friends…and the strongest of allies.”

Alluding to the global fight against terrorism, Charge Mussomeli also thanked the Philippines and Japan on behalf of the Unites States “for continuing to stand with us to preserve freedom in the world and to work with us to make a better, more tolerant world for everyone.”

“Mutual respect, tolerance, and justice are not benefits of peace, but prerequisites for peace,” the Chargé said.

In the ceremony yesterday, Chargé Mussomeli and Japanese Embassy Chargé Akio Egawa joined President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in laying the wreath at Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine on Valor) atop Mt. Samat in Bataan.

Following is the text of Chargé d’Affaires Mussomeli’s remarks, as prepared for delivery.

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President Arroyo, Secretary Ermita, Chargé Egawa, Governor Roman, Monsignor Dumaual, honored veterans and soldiers of the Philippine and American armed forces, ladies and gentlemen.
Sixty-two years ago, Filipino and American soldiers surrendered here at Bataan. Even today, more than 6 decades later, that reality seems almost impossible to comprehend. Quite frankly, we thought ourselves invincible, we thought ourselves beyond the reach of our enemies. We were wrong. And it is a lesson we must re-learn every generation.

And we made a second mistake. We thought the vast oceans kept us safe, we thought our technology and weapons protected us, we thought our wealth, our alliances, and our history would shield us. And it took us sometime to learn the hard lesson that our strength was not in technology, nor in weaponry, nor in the distances that separated us from the enemy. We discovered, we Americans and Filipinos, that our strength lay only in ourselves.

But there were also lessons to be learned by our enemies. That a battle is not a war. That a wounded adversary is more dangerous than a weak one. That the defeat on Bataan carried in it the seeds of final victory. That in many ways that defeat was an essential, if painful, prerequisite for winning the war. These are lessons that current enemies would do well to heed.

Just days before the battle, surprise attacks shattered American naval and air power. The war in the Pacific rested in large part on the shoulders of some 75,000 men. Many of the American soldiers came from non-combatant units; most of their Filipino comrades had never fired a weapon before the war.
These heroes had no rest, no reinforcements, no extra supplies. They battled not just a well equipped and well-trained adversary, but disease, hunger, and hopelessness. As soldiers and prisoners, they watched their comrades fall. Yet they never surrendered their dedication to duty and devotion to family and country.

Together, we lost on Bataan, and together we won the war. The Imperial armies then, just as new enemies today, did not understand that each defeat brought us closer to victory. That each life lost made us more determined to ensure that the dying was not in vain. That the loss of Bataan sealed our enemy’s defeat.

But there is an even greater lesson from the war for all of us, everywhere. And this is it: that life holds greater promise than the prospect of more and more pain and violence. That even enemies can become allies. We need to remind ourselves that there is no enduring peace without genuine justice. That there is no true faith without tolerance for other beliefs. That there cannot be mutual prosperity without also mutual respect for one another. Mutual respect, tolerance, and justice are not benefits of peace, but prerequisites for peace.

Today, we enjoy the fruits of liberty that our countrymen fought so hard to ensure. As we look around us we see friendship, peace, and prosperity that our forefathers never thought imaginable. Three nations – no longer enemies, but closest of friends -- stand together as sovereign nations and the strongest of allies.

And because of our memories of Bataan, we cannot walk away from our shared commitment to people everywhere who seek freedom and justice. On behalf of the United States, let me take this fitting occasion to thank our two allies, the Philippines and Japan, for continuing to stand with us to help preserve freedom in the world and to work with us to make a better, more tolerant world for everyone.

We learned from the dark days of Bataan that the human spirit transcends the unspeakable cruelty of war; that justice defeats tyranny; and hope ultimately is justified even in the most desperate of situations -- provided we, like the Defenders of Bataan, are willing to accept the sacrifices necessary to defend liberty.

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