Kagitingan day in Chicago

CHICAGO, Illinois -- The Philippine Consulate General in Chicago, in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office, Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Veterans’ Affairs, the Filipino - American community and Filipino WWII veterans, would like to invite the Filipino community, Filipino American veterans and the public to participate in the Araw ng Kagitingan- 66th Commemoration of Bataan Day, which will be held at the Bataan- Corregidor Memorial Bridge on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 9:30 a.m., at the corner of State St. and Wacker Drive. A short program will precede the wreath laying ceremony. A press statement from the Philippine Consulate said the event, which will be participated in by World War II veterans and survivors of the infamous Bataan “Death March," will pay tribute to thousands of Filipino and American soldiers who, despite overwhelming odds, displayed extraordinary gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in defending Bataan and Corregidor against the invading Imperial Japanese forces in 1942. “Bataan has fallen, but the spirit that made it stand- a beacon to all the liberty-loving peoples of the world, CANNOT FALL!" (Radio broadcast, Voice of Freedom, Malinta Tunnel, Corregidor, April 9, 1942). - Joseph G. Lariosa, GMANews.TV