Veterans Day celebration
Rare photos of Lingayen Gulf landing on display
LINGAYEN–The 66th anniversary celebration of the Lingayen Gulf Landing and Pangasinan Veterans Day here on January 10 will be highlighted by an exhibit of rare photographs taken by a then 19-year old American sailor.
The photographs, taken by Charles DeMay who is now 85 years old, were sent by his son, Charles DeMay Jr., to the province for posterity.
Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan said DeMay’s photographs, which will be exhibited at the Pangasinan Veterans Park, may hold the key as to exactly where General Douglas MacArthur first landed in Pangasinan during the liberation of Luzon.
Baraan, however, downplayed the importance of the exact location of MacArthur’s landing in Luzon, which has been an issue of contention among historians, since all the places being cited are within Pangasinan.
What is important, he said, is that the expeditionary force led by MacArthur that landed in Pangasinan paved the way for the liberation not just of the Philippines but also the entire Pacific Area seized by the Japanese during World War II.
In addition to the photographs, former Pangasinan Governor Conrado Estrella, now 93 years old, has been invited to give a testimony about MacArthur’s landing.
Estrella was governor of Pangasinan when MacArthur and his wife Jane made a sentimental visit to Pangasinan in the early 1960s.
Estrella, also former Agrarian Reform Minister during the Marcos years, hosted the MacArthurs at the Urduja House and had a rare chance to talk to the general about where he first landed in Pangasinan during the arrival of the liberation forces.
LINGAYEN IMAGES
Meanwhile, Baraan also said that the photographs will provide good images of how the provincial capital looked like 66 years ago.
“The photographs are really amazing,” said Baraan.
The ambassadors of the United States, Australia and Japan have been invited to grace the occasion, which will honor the heroism of veterans of World War II from Pangasinan.
All the living World War II veterans of Pangasinan, including their relatives, will be fetched from their respective towns by provincial government buses and brought to the Lingayen capitol for the commemoration event.
A medical mission for the veterans is also slated after the programs and those needing immediate medical help will be referred to the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City.
DeMay was also earlier invited by the provincial government but he could not make it due to full flight bookings.
Baraan said they will again invite De May for the 2012 commemoration.—LM
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