Battle of Bataan - Historical Commemoration

Historical Commemoration

• Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valour. The day Bataan fell into Japanese hands, April 9th, was declared a national holiday in the Philippines. Previously called Bataan Day, the day is now known as Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valour, commemorating both the Fall of Bataan (April 9, 1942) and the Fall of Corregidor (May 6, 1942).

• Dambana ng Kagitingan or Shrine of Valor is a memorial shrine erected on top of Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan in the Philippines. The war memorial grounds feature a colonnade that houses an altar, esplanade, and a museum. On the peak of the mountain is the Memorial Cross standing about 311 ft (95 m) high.
• USS Bataan (LHD-5), commissioned on September 20, 1997, the United States Navy Wasp class amphibious assault ship commemorates those who served and sacrificed in the Philippines in the name of freedom in the Pacific.
• USS Bataan (CVL-29), commissioned on November 17, 1943, the United States Navy Independence class aircraft carrier commemorated those who served and sacrificed in the Philippines in the name of freedom in the Pacific until her decommissioning on April 9, 1954.
• Bataan Death March Memorial Monument, erected in April, 2001, is the only monument funded by the US Federal Government dedicated to the victims of the Bataan Death March during World War II. The Memorial was designed and sculpted by Las Cruces artist Kelley Hester and is located in Veterans Park along Roadrunner Parkway in New Mexico.
• Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Bridge is a bascule bridge on State Street in Chicago, Illinois where it crosses the Chicago River. It was built in 1949 and rededicated on April 9, 1998 commemorating not only the Day of Valour but also the centennial of the Declaration of Philippine Independence from Spain in 1898.