Balangiga Massacre and the Bells of Balangiga Church

 

...greedy Roman emperors and senators wanted to expand their empire and because of this, Rome was always involved with endless wars and also have to police their colonies. Roman centurions in order to implement Rome's objective, committed atrocities and war crimes. Same thing what the U.S. is doing for centuries, imposing "God and Democracy" to "liberate" other countries from the faith they believed in for many years, life style that they are used to, food and culture that have been past on from generations, in order to introduce them to the capitalist commercialism of fast food like; McDonald's and Coca-Cola and Hollywood life style American dream.

U.S. armed forces have committed crimes in various wars; Wounded Knee, Balangiga Massacre estimated the figure more than 2,500 Filipinos killed, air raids on civilian population (Manila, Germany, Japan, Korea and Vietnam), Canicatti massacre killing of Italian civilians, No Gun Ri Massacre mass killing of South Korean refugees, My Lai Massacre murder of 504 helpless, unarmed Vietnamese, Agent Orange during the Vietnam War which was a violation of laws in the use of chemical weapons, Abu Ghraib Prison's violation of human rights, all these crimes goes on as the U.S. continue to use "God and Democracy" as an excuse to expand their empire.

General Vicente Lukban had an alliance with the leaders of "Dios-Dios" a religious sect, "second wave revolutionaries" remnants of the old Katipunan. The cult group as the Americans in Balangiga said were "dressed in red" had been founded by a self-styled messiah. Papa Faustino Ablen of the "Pulajanes" ("those wearing red") was part of a spiritual movement known as Dios Dios, a spiritual sect of holy men, proclaimed healers and deliverers of their people. Preaching throughout the land of Filipino unity and the evil of the occupying forces, "Anting Antings" were magical, spiritual amulets, medallions and writings that Papa Ablen provided his people before battle and for healing. Papa Faustino was not only known as a healer but also as a fierce warrior. His army of Pulajan warriors indigenous fighting techniques such as eskrima were also utilized in the elite and ferocious combat style. They practiced a form indigenous martial arts called "Derobio Eskrima" and they specialize using a heavy, razor sharp crescent-shaped bolos with which they could decapitate a man with a single blow and their warrior spirit. The fiercest of warriors of the time matched only by the Moro's of Mindanao, the Pulajanes brought fear to the soldiers with the battle cries of "Tad-Tad" which means "Chop to pieces" as they rushed the regiment lines fearless of the guns knowing of only one thing, drawing blood.

General Lukban employed the Pulajanes as spies and encouraged their cruelties against pro-American real or imagined traitors. In August 11, 1901 Company C, 9th U.S. Infantry (called "Manchus") Regiment, 74 American officers and men arrived in Balangiga, south of Samar heavily armed with Krag-Jorgensens and the most powerful hand gun during that time, the Colt 45 the only handgun capable in stopping a fanatic attacking "Moro Juramentado." The company established a garrison at the request of Mayor Pedro Abayan of Balangiga, whose plea for protection against "pirates" unaware that Mayor Abayan had earlier advised Gen. Lukban of his deceptive plan to lure the U.S. troops to the town and an opportunity launch an attack against them. The mastermind of attack was Valeriano Abanador, a Colegio de San Juan Letran dropout and the local chief of police; he was assisted by five locals and two guerrilla officers under the command of Gen. Lukban.

Captain Thomas Connell, a devout catholic believed that the Filipinos esteemed him because of their common faith. But they actually regarded him with a mixture of indifference and contempt. They could not fathom his disdain for cockfighting, nor did they appreciate his prudish attempt to make their girls exchange their seductive sarongs for more seemly dress. Mayor Abayan however pretended submission, he obeyed Capt. Connell's orders like to clean up garbage, excrement and dead animals that littered the town. Mayor Abayan offered to bring laborers in nearby countryside to do the job and of course they were guerrillas in disguise.

26th of September, Americans learned about the news of Pres. McKinley's assassination and Capt. Connell ordered a mass to be held at the church on Sunday. As the bells of the Balangiga church rang (as a signal to the guerrillas), hundreds of native women, were actually men dressed in women's clothes attended the mass bearing coffins which they claimed contained the bodies of children who died of cholera epidemic, which actually filled with bolos and the priest was in league with Gen. Lukban. About 500 men in seven attack units would take part, represented virtually all families of Balangiga and nearby villages then included the present towns of Lawaan, Giporlos & Quinapundan towns served by the priest in Balangiga. Only 3 American sentries were on duty that Sunday, unaware most of them were preparing for breakfast when the Filipinos attacked and hacked them with their sharp bolos. The only weapons Americans were able to used were baseball bats and rocks, 3 US officers killed and soldiers as well. Sergent Frank Betron took command, while some wounded were able to escape by sea, finally reached safely at Leyte asked for help at U.S. garrison at Basey. When the fresh U.S. detachments arrived in Balangiga, the attacked was over and saw most of their comrade's dead bodies mutilated. Of the original 74 man contingent, 48 died and 26 survived, 22 of them severely wounded. The guerrillas also took 100 rifles with 25,000 rounds of ammunition; 28 Filipinos died and 22 were wounded.

After the Balangiga massacre, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Smith (was dubbed "Hell Roaring Jake" Smith, "The Monster" and "Howling Jake") asked for Marine Corps help to overpower the resistance on the island of Samar. Major Littleton "Tony" Waller and his Marine Battalion were sent. Before this happened, Jacob Smith instructed Major Tony Waller... "I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States" Since it was a popular belief among the Americans serving in the Philippines that native males were born with bolos in their hands, Major Tony Waller asked... "I would like to know the limit of age to respect, sir." Smith said... "Ten years." Major Tony Waller questioned... "Persons of ten years and older are those designated as being capable of bearing arms?" and "Yes." Smith confirmed his instructions. Smith tasked his men to reduce Samar into a "howling wilderness," to kill anyone 10 years old and above capable of bearing arms. Waller largely ignored these illegal orders. Waller and his battalion of 315 Marines departed Cavite on 22 of October 1901 and landed at Catbalogan, Samar, on 24 October.

Continues widespread massacre of Filipino civilians followed. Food and trade to Samar were cut off, intended to starve the revolutionaries into submission. Native houses burned, livestock killed, even carabaos, rice fields and fruit trees were set on fire and poisoned the soil. Search and destroy, strategic hamlet program, body count, guerrilla sympathizers terrorized & tortured, all these counter guerrilla strategies were implemented in Samar even before the Vietnam War. The exact number of civilians massacred by U.S. troops will never be known, but exhaustive research made by a sympathetic British writer in the 1990s put the figure at about 2,500; Filipino historians believe it was around 50,000. After a long march, growing more desperate for food, Marine Lt. A.S. Williams accused the porters of mutinous behavior, hiding food and supplies and keeping themselves nourished from the jungle while the Marines starved. Waller ordered the execution of the porters. Ten were shot in groups of three, while one was gunned down in the water attempting to escape. The bodies were left in the square of Lanang (now Llorente) as an example, until one evening, under cover of darkness, some townspeople carried them off for a Christian burial. General Adna Chaffee decided to investigate these executions, Waller was tried for murder in ordering the execution of the eleven Filipino porters. A court martial began on March 17, 1902 in Manila. The court-martial board consisted of 7 Army officers and 6 Marine Corps officers, led by U.S. Army General William H. Bisbee. Waller confessed to having approved the execution of the Filipinos, but based his defense on the Civil War order that decreed stiff penalties to civilian suspects.

Outcry in America over the brutal nature of the Samar campaign cost Waller his chance as Commandant of the US Marine Corps. Liberal newspapers took to addressing him as "The Butcher Of Samar." Waller was born in York County, Virginia on Sept. 26, 1856. He was appointed as a second lieutenant of Marines on June 24, 1880. He rose to Major General, retired in June 1920 and died on July 13, 1926. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1942, the destroyer USS Waller was named in his honor, while Jacob Smith commanded the Sixth Separate Brigade, was court martial and found him guilty for which he was admonished and retired from the service. He denied his guilt, blamed Tony Waller for Filipino massacre. Gen. Jacob Smith died in San Diego, California on March 1, 1918.

U.S. retaliation as always is the cause of atrocities, massacre of civilians and war crimes. The three Balangiga church bells, used to signal guerrillas to attack U.S. soldiers were taken by the United States Army from the town church of Balangiga, Eastern Samar as war trophies. Deteriorating and exposed to natural elements, one church bell is with the 9th Infantry Regiment at Camp Red Cloud, their base in South Korea. The other two bells are at the former base of the 11th Infantry Regiment at F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The people of Balangiga are still fighting to this day, but this time to get these three church bells back where they belong, their church of Balangiga.

...inscription was visible on the back of both bells, reading:
"USED BY PHILIPPINOS TO SOUND SIGNAL FOR MASSACRE OF COMPANY "C" NINTH INFANTRY AT BALANGIGA P.l. 28TH SEPTEMBER 1901"

- ka tony
- the 26th of September, '10