In the Know: Balangiga during the Philippine-American War
MANILA, Philippines—Armed with sharp bolos, Filipino guerillas on Sept. 28, 1901, attacked a US garrison in the town of Balangiga on the island of Samar, killing about 50 American soldiers.
The American soldiers quickly retaliated. They were ordered to murder all Samareños aged 10 and older, torch houses, seize crops and shoot working animals, turning the entire fishing village into a “howling wilderness.”
After the massacre, the Americans took with them church bells as war trophies.
Based on historical accounts, the ringing of the bells of Balangiga’s church was the cue for the Filipino revolutionaries’ offensive.
Two Balangiga bells are now at F. E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB) in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Dated 1863 and 1889, they each bear an emblem of the Franciscan religious order.
The circa-1863, the larger of the two bells in Wyoming, has a mouth diameter of 31 and 1/4 inches and a height of 30 inches, while the circa-1889 bell has a mouth diameter of 27 and 3/4 inches and a height of 27 and 1/2 inches.
The 9th US Infantry Regiment found a third Balangiga bell in the late 1990s at its base in South Korea.
The Philippines has been seeking the return of the bells that are seen as important religious artifacts by the Diocese of Borongan, which includes Balangiga town.
In June last year, Vice President Jejomar Binay, in a statement, urged the United States to return the bells of Balangiga, saying these held a special meaning to Filipinos.
A month before Binay’s appeal, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead wrote US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta a letter, stating his opposition to the return of the bells to the Philippines.
In 1998, 46 of the 60 members of the House of Representatives and 18 of 30 senators in the Wyoming State Legislature inked an informal joint resolution recommending a plan to replicate the two relics at Warren AFB so that both Balangiga and Wyoming could have one authentic and one replica bell each.
But the resolution did not move forward due to the strong opposition from Wyoming veterans.—Inquirer Research
Sources: Inquirer Archives, CBCP Online, www.nhi.gov.ph
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