Heroism has taken on numerous definitions, and a lot of faces have been assigned to the word “heroes”. So much that, in my opinion, most of us have lost sight of what it truly means. Worse, most of us have ceased to care about what it really meant, and just throw the word “hero” around lightly. But there is a little bit of relief to be had in knowing that there are still some places – albeit too few already – that serve as reminders of the “heroism” that served as one of the main catalysts of building the national identity that we have today. One of those places that endure to this day is the Dambana ng Kagitingan situated at the Mt. Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan.
After spending the morning going around the island of Corregidor, we thought it’d be truly fitting to continue the “history lesson” by moving on to Pilar, Bataan. From the port in Mariveles to Mount Samat in Pilar, the drive took roughly one hour and 45 minutes.
The Mt. Samat National Shrine is located in the summit of Mount Samat itself, and it can be reached via a winding road, which can take you directly to where the huge Memorial Cross is located.
The Memorial Cross is the highlight of the historic shrine, and it is called the “Dambana ng Kagitingan”, which literally translates to “Shrine of Valor”.
The commemorative plate on the foot of the cross reads:
“On this historic place on Mt. Samat, located in the town of Pilar in the Province of Bataan, was buried the cornerstone for the construction of the Shrine of Valor, during the leadership of President Ferdinand E. Marcos.”
So there is the towering War Memorial Cross of the Shrine of Valor.
It somehow reminded me of Mt. Tapyas in Coron, Palawan, with a steel cross on the summit, overlooking the seaside town. But this one is definitely taller, more imposing, and certainly feels like it holds more “weight” from the history behind it.
It was only after reading later on that I found out that Mt. Samat is a parasitic cone formed from the eruptions of a volcano, although there have been no records of it having erupted before. It has, however, a wide crater, and this huge cross of the national shrine is situated near the rim of said crater.
This national shrine was built and dedicated to the Filipino and American soldiers who lost their lives during World War II, specifically on April 9, 1942 when 78,000 soldiers – all exhausted, starving, and either sick or injured after fighting continuously for 4 months – surrendered to the Japanese forces. This event later became known as the “Fall of Bataan”.
The War Memorial Cross of Mt. Samat National Shrine is currently the second tallest cross in the world (the first is the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen in Spain). It is situated at the highest point of Mt. Samat, which puts it at 555 MASL, and the cross itself is 95 meters tall, with its two arms measuring 30 meters in total.
The exterior of the cross is finished with granolithic marble, but what draws the ice are the slabs and relief sculpted on the base.
These sculptures depict important events and figures in the Philippines’ history, such as Lapu-Lapu and Jose Rizal. They were sculpted by National Artist Napoleon Abueva, and aptly named “Nabiag na Bato” or “living stone”, loosely translated.
At the back of the War Memorial Cross is a door that leads to an elevator that will take visitors up to the viewing gallery, located on the arms of the cross.
We were there a bit early, so we had to wait several minutes for the viewing during the afternoon, which starts at 1:30 if I’m not mistaken.
The viewing gallery or observation deck, whichever you’d like to call it, affords a view of the scenery on all sides.
And you gotta appreciate the seats provided, although the windows could have been taller or had more clearance, but I suppose they were made that way primarily for safety reasons.
And those geometric lines on the ceiling made the place look wider when it only had a 2.1 meter clearance in reality.
You can just imagine how long we took taking photos by these round windows. There were more than 10 of us, after all. So the other groups that came after us had to wait a while before they could take their turn against this round window.
I suppose people with fear of heights are going to have trouble looking down from the window to check out the view.
That is, if they are even comfortable about riding the elevator to get up here.
From here you can see the other parts of the National Shrine.
After getting down from the War Memorial Cross, we made that short trek down the front of the cross, a winding trail that leads down to the Colonnade.
This is another way to visit the War Memorial Cross. Get off the parking lot in front of the Colonnade, explore the structure, then make that climb up to the War Memorial Cross. We did it the other way around, as the others preferred going down over having to climb.
It’s a zig-zagging path, and we didn’t really count, but apparently there are 14 flights of it, and those stones on the paved pathway were from the island of Corregidor.
That’s the back of the Colonnade, surrounded by an esplanade and marble parapets. From up here, it looks so regal.
And all that green surrounding it made it stand out even more.
Both end walls of the Colonnade had these lengthy inscriptions containing a narrative of the Battle of Bataan. It’s quite a long read, if I may say so myself.
At the back of the Colonnade are these three stained glass murals with religious depictions. There are central figures on each stained glass panel if you look closely, although I could not really identify who they are.
These stained glass murals were designed by a Cenon Rivera, and it was made in Rome, Italy.
This is what the stained glass murals look like from the front, and they serve as backdrop of the altar.
And apparently, those chandeliers, all four of them, are made of bronze material.
Right in front of the Colonnade is the flagpole proudly bearing the Philippine Flag, waving and dancing against the wind. Those two pedestals on the side hold bronze urns said to symbolize “eternal flame”, which I deduce to be flames of “freedom”.
Shrines love stairs, I think. So these are the stairs you’d have to climb from the parking lot to the Colonnade. There are three flights, so you can start to do some hiking from down here, if this is the route you decide to take instead of going up the road up to the War Memorial Cross.
Once in a while, it is good to be reminded that heroism truly existed, in its purer form, at one time or another in the past. Sure, heroes may have different forms and faces today, but the essence remains the same, although it has gotten more and more difficult to identify them.
I hope places like these remain and last for a long time into the future, so that those that will come after us will still have these reminders. Because, in this day and age, we all need to be reminded.
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