On April 9, 2000, there will be a celebration on top of Mt. Samat for the Defenders of Bataan.  This event will be hosted by the Philippine government.  Attending will be the President of the Philippines, the US Ambassador, various Filipino local and national dignitaries.  This event will also be filmed by the BBC.

All interested parties are welcome to join us.  The specific details of the trip have not yet been finalized, but in order to give you early information, we have chosen to announce our trip.

Below is what we know of the trip:

1.  The trip will be approximately 12 days.
2.  We will be staying in the following Hotels:
    A.  The Manila Hotel
    B.   Subic International
    C.  Clark Holiday Inn
3.  The stay at the historic Manila Hotel will include optional side trips to sites of historical importance, such as Santo Tomas, Intramurros, Ft. Bonifacio, Las Pinas, Tagaytay, and Batangas.
4.  The stay at Subic Hilton International will include the Mt. Samat Celebration, for Bataan Day, or the "Day of Valor", and optional trips to Abucay Hacienda, Lamao, and other historic sites on Bataan.
5.  The stay at Clark Hilton will include the Memorial Dedication, at Camp O'Donnell, an optional trip to Cabanatuan, and the various other sites of historical importance, in the old Clark Field area.
6.  The trip will be inexpensive, secure, and very comfortable.

We will be flying Philippine Airlines, meeting in San Francisco International Airport for the departure flight to the Philippines.

If you wish to join us, please contact Sascha Jansen.

You may also contact Fred Baldassarre.

In the following week, we will know all the details of the trip and will forward the information to you.  Again, we have released this information prior to ironing out all the details, in order to give you ample time to decide whether you wish to join us.  I can not overstate the historical significance of such a trip.  
 

Below is an excerpt from an article published, last year, the day after Bataan Day, in the Philippine Inquirer.

YESTERDAY we observed  the Fall of Bataan, but why did we do that? That was a day of infamy in our nation's history, but we celebrated it just the same. True,
we called it Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valor. But it marked the day when the
USAFFE troops surrendered to the superior forces of the Japanese invader in 1942.

There is no question that the valiant Filipino and American soldiers in the
beleaguered peninsula of Bataan fought with uncommon courage to maintain
MacArthur's ''holding action'' that was so vital to the eventual defeat of Japan in
the Pacific War. We recognize and admire the sacrifices they endured during that
time of testing  when even the determined foe was amazed at the tenacity with
which our soldiers stood their ground.

But it is no less undeniable that our forces were humbled on that day 57 years ago before the arrogance of the new ruler. Their pride was stripped bare under the
shadow of the Japanese guns. The Philippine and American flags were hauled
down, to be replaced by the victorious banners of the Rising Sun. Our soldiers
laid down our arms in token of surrender, and with them a way of life that
respected human rights and individual liberty.

The unhappy news crackled over the radio like the voice of doom. ''Bataan has
fallen,'' announced Norman Reyes with a despair too deep for words. The
Filipino nation sighed in resignation, and fear as well of what loomed in the
coming days. That melancholy day of April 9 was to begin the long, long period
of repression and privation when the only hope that would sustain us was
MacArthur's promise to return.

The remnants of the USAFFE were forced to trek the Death March, from Bataan to distant Capas in Tarlac, where they were to be interned. Hundreds fell by the
wayside, to die from sheer loss of energy or by the captor's summary execution.
Many more perished from starvation or disease or the enemy's barbaric treatment.  A few were fortunate enough to escape, but the greater number had to suffer the further strictures of confinement.

The men and women who gave up their lives in Bataan in defense of our country
deserve the gratitude of every Filipino. We are equally grateful to their
comrades-in-arms who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with them to resist the
common enemy and, luckily, survived. All of them are remembered for the
bravery they displayed against the overwhelming numbers of the invader who
inevitably subdued them, but only in a physical sense.

Bataan itself may have fallen on that historic day, but not the spirit of liberty that
remained invincible in the hearts of its defenders. It is that indomitable spirit that
we celebrated yesterday as a salute to their valor.
  
April 10, 1999, The Philippine Inquirer