A small crowd of fifty gathered on May 12, 2023 to commemorate the 78th Anniversary of the Liberation of Cagayan de Oro during World War II at the Xavier University Museo de Oro with the opening program for The Road to Victory Exhibit and Lecture Series.
Although the organizers invited local officials from the local governments and barangay councils of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, not a single government official joined the opening rites except for some employees of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) and post officials of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines Region 10.
“On this day 78 years ago, Cagayan de Oro was liberated by Kagay-anons after a battle that lasted four days. We commemorate the valor and honor the guerillas displayed in our month-long celebration entitled The Road to Victory,” said Fr Mars P. Tan, SJ, Xavier Ateneo President in his welcome remarks. “Their stories, while sadly not often remembered, are important in both our history and culture, and I thank the organizers of this event for the opportunity to celebrate and rediscover our very own heroes.”
“Throughout the month, XU Museo de Oro will host a remarkable exhibit featuring authentic relics, photographs, and artifacts used by both civilians and combatants during the war. The exhibit is particularly significant to Xavier University because our school, in its 90 years of history, has been closely interwoven into the lives and stories of the Kagay-anons and the city. We are proud to say that several of our alumni and priests were actively involved in working hard to defend our land from foreign aggressors,” he added.
The Road to Victory Exhibit at the Fr Francisco Demetrio SJ Gallery, 2nd floor, XU Museo de Oro runs until June 15, Cagayan de Oro’s Charter Day. However, a lecture series on the various operations which led to the liberation of Cagayan on May 12, 1945 has been cut short due to the dismal response of the invited guests and general public to the first two of the planned eight part series.
“For the young people who are here today, I hope you take this chance to look to them not just as names and faces but as living inspirations to be courageous in loving our city and country. Xavier University is proud of its alumni and priests like Fr Edward Haggerty, Fr Isaias Edralin, Fr John Pollock, and other American and Filipino Jesuits who were part of the guerilla movement fighting for the liberation of Cagayan de Oro from the Japanese forces. I am sure there many others, your fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers who took fought for our independence,” Fr. Tan said.
During the same program, Guest of Honor and Speaker (GOHAS) Antonio Kiyosaki Hernando Fortich related how he was inspired by his late great grandfather retired Philippine Army Colonel Leonardo V. Hernando of the 4th Infantry Division, who served in WW2 with the 102nd Division, United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) defending Cagayan from the Imperial Japanese Army’s Kawamura Detachment in May 2-9, 1942, and later joined the guerrillas of the 109th Infantry Regiment which liberated Cagayan on May 12, 1945.
“It was because of him that I took up the honor and privilege of standing before you today to deliver my message with great value and understanding towards the sacrifices made by those who fought for our individual freedoms from Imperial Japanese aggression not only here in the City of Cagayan de Oro, but across the Philippine archipelago. All love and memories to him,” the young speaker said.
Kiyo in an incoming Grade 11 student at Oro Christian Grace School where he was also recently elected Grade 11 representative for the OCGC Student Council for 2023-2024. He spoke how his great grandfather inspired his interest in the World War II history and how he hopes to continue his Great Grand Lolo’s legacy.
“At a young age, I was exposed to a vast world filled with historical significances by the books I read at home and in school as well as a variety of influences from the internet. I was not an average child who thought only about time’s arrow marching forward along the trends our generation’s youth take influence from.”
“My interests in military history, especially around the Second World War, would not be motivated by what I have simply garnered from physical and online sources alone. Rather, those fascinations took great inspiration from my great grandfather’s career in the military during and after the war.”
“It brings me great pride to have known that he was involved in something greater than himself and has before contributed to the events that led to the liberation of this city, and the archipelago in its entirety, throughout the course of the war,” he added.
Col. Leonardo Vasquez Hernando (ret.) (ASN O-2462), first mobilized into the USAFFE in Zamboanga as a company commander in the 1st Battalion, 103rd Infantry Regiment. He fought in defense of Northern Mindanao with the 102nd Division, Philippine Army against the Kawamura Detachment on May 3-9, 1942 and later joined the guerrillas as S-2 of the 109th Infantry Regiment, one of the units which liberated Cagayan on May 12, 1945.
He served for 30 years in military service from 1 July 1937 to 22 January 1970, becoming one of the few veterans who had the distinction of serving with the USAFFE; Philippine Commonwealth Army; as a guerrilla with the 10th Military District, US Forces in the Philippines (USFIP); the Philippine Constabulary (PC), as an observer/OJT Battle Group Operations and Training Officer with the 7th Cavalry, 8th US Army in Korea, and various other command and staff duties, eventually retiring with the rank of Colonel as the Chief of Staff, IV Military Area, Philippine Army, in his last posting.
“Before the conflict had broken out in the Philippines, he was studying with the ambitions to become an architect in the near future. However, when the war has finally reached Philippine soil, my great grandfather abandoned those ambitions and his personal life behind to willingly take the fight to the Imperial Japanese despite being granted many opportunities to stay away from the fighting,” Kiyo related.
“His portrayal of selflessness and love for his people and country humbled and motivated me to delve further into his history and his life soldiering through the conflict. It surprises me to see that my great grandfather even managed to smile in the photos he was in despite knowing that, at any given moment, he could lose his life to the horrors of warfare. My grandfather was right about him: he was not afraid of what every man in this world feared, which is death,” he further stressed.
The veteran’s scion noted how his great grandfather’s exploits imparted a different perception of about history in that major battles and personalities alone don’t define history.
“Rather, it is composed of the minute individual firsthand accounts of those who share an equal level of prominence, like our forefathers who bore arms against imperialistic ideals before us. It is certainly invigorating to be the youngest active participant in these commemorative affairs,” he shared.
The young GOHAS further noted how not many of his generation share his interests and the willingness to really dedicate themselves to taking knowledge over these significant moments in history.
“As a member of the youth, I encourage my seniors to involve their younger ones more in these adjacent matters,” he exhorted.
“In this day of age, our youth steers over to a path of privilege, often taking what they have for granted without understanding the roots of their liberty and enjoyment. It is fundamental that our youth come to an understanding that what they are currently experiencing right now cost the blood, toil, tears, and sweat of those who contributed to our country’s great leap for independence and did not appear solely out of nowhere.”
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