23 October 2014 - The American Legion War Memorial Commission celebrated at the Philippine Center in San Francisco “A-Day, 70th Anniversary Commemoration of American and Allied Forces Landing in Leyte, Philippines” on October 20.
Philippine Consul General Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. was invited to give the welcome remarks to commemorate the Leyte Gulf Landing at Red Beach, Palo, Leyte, the largest amphibious operation in the Pacific, headed by Gen. Douglas McArthur, which turned the tide of World War II in favor of the Allied Forces.
The event was attended by six Filipino World War II veterans who were part of the operations during the Leyte Landing, other Filipino-American military officials, and various community leaders. Consul General Bensurto thanked them for putting their lives on the line for the cause of freedom and democracy, lauding their “service, courage, sacrifice, bravery, selflessness, struggles and victories, and legacy to the Filipino and American people and to the rest of the world,” and added that the shared history between the Philippines and America serves as “a foundation for the strong and robust alliance that currently exists between the two countries and which both governments continue to broaden and deepen, particularly in the context of the US rebalance toward Asia.”
Consul General Bensurto noted the continued enhancement of the defense and security cooperation between the Philippines and the US, and the partnership in economic and social development, particularly in the areas of poverty alleviation, good governance, infrastructure development and rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda and other natural disasters.
The program included keynote speaker Col. Marion Matundan of the US Army, who is of Filipino descent, and who noted that there should be more events commemorating the significant contribution of the Filipinos during World War II.
The event culminated in cake-cutting and a wreath-laying by the Consul General Bensurto, assisted by Col. Matundan and the war veterans. END