Remarks on the 60th Anniversary
of the Lingayen Landing
President Ramos, Secretary Romulo, Senator Gordon,
our gracious hosts, Governor and Mrs. Agbayani, General Tolentino
and your men, honored veterans, Ambassador Yamazaki, Mayor Lim,
colleagues of the diplomatic corps, distinguished guests, and most
of all, honored veterans of the liberation of the Philippines:
Sixty years ago a vast armada of allied ships lay
off these shores as the US 6th Army prepared to free Luzon with
Philippine resistors
from a cruel foreign occupation. In a landing that began at 9:30
a.m. on that Tuesday morning, many of the troops were ashore by
11 a.m., and Filipinos began appearing ready to aid the allied
forces.
The Filipino-American partnership has stood the
test of time and will continue to endure because of such strong
historic ties as
those we forged together that morning, 60 years ago, here on Lingayen’s
shores. Our friendship endures also because of the shared values
that bind us together. Values like the love of freedom, democracy,
and the hatred of tyranny and oppression.
Despite the allied victories so many years ago,
and the transformation of former enemies into strong democratic
allies, some peoples of
the world remain victims of tyranny. We must remain firm today
against the scourge of terrorism and the propagation of ignorance
and hate which sustain terrorism. We must remain firm against corruption
and those who seek the subversion of the rule of law. And we must
work together to unleash the talents and energies and ambitions
of all people through opening economic opportunity, most especially
higher education.
Today as 60 years ago, the United States stands
as a committed partner with the Philippines in all these missions – the
cause of freedom.
We have nurtured that Philippine-American teamwork
that liberated this country 60 years ago through a constant stream
of joint exercises,
such as Balikatan and Talon Vision. Today, Americans, Filipinos,
and our allies of 60 years ago and our former enemies all together
are hard at work helping victims of the tragic tsunami that devastated
so much of South and Southeast Asia on December 26.
To our fathers and grandfathers, we honor their
sacrifices, and the veterans still with us by using the freedoms
they passed
on to us to join together in building our countries and to
provide a better future for our people. One fine example of our
economic
cooperation can be seen right here in Lingayen in Pangasinan,
the
ancestral home of President Ramos. Thanks to his vision and
foresight in opening the Philippines to foreign investment in the
power
sector, a few kilometers away from us stands a major American
private investment
in the prosperity of this country, the Sual power plant, built
by Mirant, Philippines, where Gov. Agbayani and I met in 2003.
Let me close by reading to you a special message
from one of the most distinguished leaders of the U.S. Congress,
Congressman
Henry
Hyde, a veteran of the landing
here at Lingayen 60 years ago:
Remarks of
The Honorable Henry J. Hyde
Chairman, Committee on International Relations
U.S. House of Representatives
60th Anniversary of Lingayen Gulf Landing
January 9, 2005
Sixty years ago today, I was a young Lieutenant in the United
States Navy, piloting the LCT 1148, a small landing craft, into
Lingayen Gulf, in the northwest Philippines. This landing craft
had twelve enlisted men and one officer – myself in charge.
Because of massive bombardments beforehand and the apparent withdrawal
of Japanese forces toward the interior, I recall that the heavy
surf presented greater obstacles that day than did enemy soldiers.
But during the successive landing waves on “S-Day,” we
put almost 70,000 troops ashore, a number that grew to nearly 200,000
in the days that followed.
Far from home in Chicago, Illinois, a
mere three months after I first put to sea, I was fulfilling
my appointed
role in the massive
landing force that heralded the beginning of the liberation of
Luzon. I remain proud to have played that small part in the historic
events that marked a significant turning point in the war in
the Pacific.
On this day of remembrance, I regret that I cannot
be there to commemorate those events in person. But I thank Ambassador
Ricciardone
for providing me this opportunity to salute my fellow veterans,
both Filipino and American, and to recall with reverence and
gratitude the supreme sacrifice made by so many of our brothers
in arms during
the costly struggle to re-take Luzon in the months that followed.
Their bravery and determination remain a shining testament
to the highest capacities of the human spirit, even more than a
half-century
later. We can all take pride in the legacy of liberty that
we worked
to secure for the generations that have followed.
Since the days
of our shared struggle, the Philippines has consolidated its
independence and deepened its democratic institutions.
Thus,
the abiding bond between the United States and the Republic
of the Philippines is rooted not just in shared history, but also
in a shared commitment to basic ideals of freedom and democracy.
For these reasons, the friendship between our peoples and our
nations remains strong during these dawning years of a new millennium.
Ambassador Ricciardone: I would add for the people
of Pangasinan that the Congressman was kind enough to present his
personal photo album, which I will be presenting to the Governor
later today, and which will be available on our website late today
or tomorrow. Finally, as a salute to veterans here, we thank you
once again for passing on to us a safer and more secure world than
you inherited. We will keep the faith with you by doing the same
for our children.
Mabuhay!
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