CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) rendered military honors to World War II Veteran and Centenarian Juan Aquino Jacob, who passed away less than a month shy of his 102nd birthday.
Private Jacob, who died on March 27, 2022, was given final tribute and honors befitting a hero at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani in Taguig City on April 2, 2022.
War veteran Jacob was among the oldest living Filipino World War II veterans who served under the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE).
He was part of the thousands of Filipino youth who, at 20 years old, were called to military training to defend the country from Japanese invaders. He was enlisted as part of the Alpha Company, 52nd Engineer Battalion, 51st Infantry Division of the USAFFE.
Private Jacob was among the survivors of the Bataan Death March on April 9, 1942, having survived inhumane conditions at the concentration camp. He eventually escaped to become a guerrilla fighter until the Allied Forces liberated the Philippines in 1945.
His name was among the heroes engraved on the Shrine of Valor in Mount Samat, built to honor and remember the gallantry of Filipino and American soldiers who fought and lost their lives in the Battle of Bataan.
The military funeral honors rendered to Private Jacob is part of the benefits and privileges accorded to Filipino war veterans. They fought to protect the ideals of democracy and equality, bequeathing to the present generation the freedom, peace, and democracy it now enjoys./// (Photos from the family of War Veteran Juan A. Jacob)
