Last November 2, 2014, another Cavalier perished in
the continuing war against terror- against the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group. 2Lt.
Jun Corpuz, 22, died very young- too early even for us who have been prepared
and continuously told that soldiers do get killed in the battlefield. He just
graduated from the PMA last March placing 13th among the 222-strong Class of
2014.
Although I am a soldier, I am still shocked and
saddened whenever I read or receive news of soldiers being killed in combat.
They say it’s “all in a day’s work” but I think I would never really get used
to it. Death is even more painful if it comes to someone whom you know, you
care about or love. I did not personally know Lieutenant Corpuz. I have never
met him but his life’s story is basically the story of many members of the Long
Gray Line.
Basilan's hero: Fresh PMA grad dies in Abu Sayyaf
hands
(By
Carmela Fonbuena; Published 9:28 PM, Nov 03, 2014; Updated 9:38 PM,
Nov 04, 2014 http://www.rappler.com/nation/73900-fresh-pma-grad-dies)
MANILA, Philippines – It was
only in March when 222 members of Philippine Military Academy "Siklab
Diwa" Class of 2014 were throwing their graduation caps
to celebrate the completion of their 4-year military courses. It was a moment
when the class seemed oblivious to the controversy that gripped the nation back
then – the dismissal of their classmate Cadet Jeff Cudia.
Seven
months later, the class suffered its first loss. Second Lieutenant Jun Corpuz,
22, died on Sunday, November 2, in a clash with Abu Sayyaf in war-weary
Sumisip, Basilan. (READ: Junior officer, 5 soldiers, killed in Basilan clash)
Soldiers
die in battle all the time. But Corpuz was too young. He won't make it to his
first alumni homecoming in February 2015. He's never even had a girlfriend,
according to his mother Elizabeth.
“I
thought I poured out all my tears yesterday. He was a good boy. He was never a
headache. I will not forget him,” an emotional Elizabeth told Rappler in
Ilocano on Monday, November 3.Jun was very close to his parents, who live in
Bacnotan town in La Union. He spoke with them several times a day, thanks to
the unlimited call promos by the networks. It was the birthday of his father
Crecensio just last week, October 27, and Jun sent him a cash gift of P2, 000.
He
always told his parents not to worry about him. "Mas tahimik sa Basilan
kaysa sa Sulu (It's more peaceful in Basilan than in Sulu)," Elizabeth
recalled Jun telling them.
He
also spoke with them an hour before the 7:30 am attack on Sunday. It was a typical
call. She was having her coffee and she was making sure that Jun had breakfast.
She would learn about her son's death early in the afternoon.
Jun
was a platoon leader of Alpha Company, 64th Infantry Battalion, 1st Infantry
Division. It was his first assignment. And 5 of his men also died:
·
Sergeant Tranquilino Germo of Aleosan, Cotabato
·
Private First Class Rolando Entera Jr of Aleosan,
Cotabato
·
Private First Class Freddie Pandoy of Aleosan,
Cotabato
·
Private First Class Raffy Canuto of Lebak, Sultan
Kudarat
·
Private First Class Mark Anthony Singson of
Pigkawan, North Cotabato
Lieutenant
Corpuz’s death reminds me of another Jun who fell in the Basilan-Sulu
battlefield. In my previous articles (Last Taps: Remembering the Mandala Heroes),
I wrote about my very own classmate 1Lt. Dhel Jun Evangelista who perished on August
12, 2009 in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan after a gallant stand against extremist rebels.
The most recent (and I certainly hope the last) casualty the Class 2006 had was
Cpt. Mark Gamboa who heroically died last September (See For Mark G.) in
Lantawan, Basilan. Dulan Cordero, Roldan Samera, Eugene Pinera and Ermin
Soloren also sacrificed their own lives for this cause. Other classes have had
their own ‘share’ in the continuing conflict in that part of the country but I
think the Mandalans have given the most number of young men there. Six Killed
In Action. Some were lucky enough to have cheated death but were left with
lasting marks on their bodies. Some were even luckier to have escaped
unscathed. And some are still out there slugging it out with the bandits. While
some of us are already doing desk jobs and pushing papers, some are still
leading at the forefronts and pressing it on. They belong to those whom we
really look up to. They know who they are.
The
Army's history is replete with these kinds of stories. I was also a 2nd
Lieutenant in 2008 when I almost became just another ‘lesson learned’. A
wayward bullet pierced my left arm and exited through the left side of my body
narrowly missing my rib cage. A six-month confinement in the hospital
temporarily took me out of the field but it didn’t bring back my original arm.
The injury was so severe it cut both my ulnar and median nerves. Even the best
nerve doctor was not able to put it back to its old form. Among many other
things, I guess I will never be able to do pull-ups and rope-climb again. Lucky
me, I am not a leftie.
I’ve
seen worse. I’ve seen and heard soldiers crying in pain that’s why I have never
felt sorry for myself. I have never felt any anger towards whoever fired the
lucky shot that almost killed me. Curiously, I’ve never even hated the rebels.
I guess we were just on the different sides of the fence, fighting against each
other in the name of our respective causes. We were both willing to die for our
cause only that the guy who got me was quicker. Was I at the wrong place and at
the wrong time during that instant?
My only lamentation was that we were both brown-skinned. I am sure both of us also spoke Filipino or Tagalog. We were both Filipinos for God’s sake. We both live (or lived, if he's dead) in the Philippines. But I think that’s just how it is. They broke the law of the land. Break the law and its long arms will go after you, at all cost.
I wish though that their bravery would be put into good use- in some other ways, in some other arenas. But certainly not against fellow Filipinos.
The
scars that soldiers take back home with them from the battlefield are not only
physical. Some of us suffer wounds not even the best doctors can heal- wounds
invisible to the naked eye but not to a perceptive heart. Some have both
physical and psychological wounds. Some are eventually healed but some are just
too deep to reach, to severe to cure.
It
is not only soldiers who suffer these wounds. Their families are sometimes left
with greater pain and anguish. There is no sadder picture than a mother
clutching a photo of his fallen son or daughter, or a father hugging the
flag-draped coffin, a wife sobbing with her innocent children, a brother or
sister who’s lost a sibling, a child who’s lost a father.
When
a wounded soldier lies on a hospital bed, nobody can give the best of care to
him but his family. Not even the best nurses can give the most comforting touch
a mother, a wife or a daughter can give. No amount of therapy can ever equal
the words of a father telling his son “don’t give up, kaya mo yan”.
Jun’s
family lost him too soon. He wanted to fulfill his dreams for them. He wanted
to be the fulfillment of their dreams. But he already was. He already is. He
has made his family prouder with his heroic death. Amidst the chaotic world
that we live in, amidst the controversies our country is presently embroiled
with, Jun and his soldiers proved that we can all be heroes in our own small or
big ways, that we can all do our part in making this country peaceful and free.
Indeed,
they have done their part. And they did it the best way they can.
