
BELLS OF BALANGIGA. War-trophy bells seized by U.S. troops
more than a century ago received a send-off back to the
Philippines by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, who called
the controversial decision to repatriate them an important
gesture of friendship between the two countries. U.S. Army
soldiers took the bells after an attack killed 48 American
troops in 1901 during the U.S. occupation of the Philippines.
Two of the bells are pictured at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in
Cheyenne, Wyoming. The third is with the U.S. Army in South
Korea. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)
From The Asian Reporter, V28, #22 (November 19, 2018),
page 7.
War-trophy bells returning to help U.S.,
Philippine ties
By Mead Gruver
The Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — War-trophy bells seized by U.S. troops more
than a century ago received a send-off back to the Philippines
by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, who called the
controversial decision to repatriate them an important gesture
of friendship between the two countries.
Some veterans and officials in the U.S. oppose returning the
Bells of Balangiga, calling them memorials to American war dead.
But Filipinos revere the bells as symbols of national pride.
U.S. Army soldiers took the bells after an attack killed 48
American troops in 1901 during the U.S. occupation of the
Philippines. Two of the Bells of Balangiga are at F.E. Warren
Air Force Base in Cheyenne, and the third is with the U.S. Army
in South Korea.
Philippine presidents including current President Rodrigo
Duterte have repeatedly called for the bells’ return. Now,
President Donald Trump’s administration has agreed that
bolstering the U.S. relationship with a key international ally
outweighs concerns at home, even among Republican political
allies.
Mattis marked the start of a several-week process to return
the bells to a church in the Philippines with a visit to the two
bells at F.E. Warren. With him was the Philippine ambassador to
the U.S., H.E. Jose Manuel G. Romualdez.
"History reminds us that all wars end. In returning the Bells
of Balangiga to our ally and our friend, the Philippines, we
pick up our generation’s responsibility to deepen the respect
between our peoples," Mattis said in a ceremony at the base.
Soldiers from the Philippines fought alongside U.S. troops in
World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, and in the recent
struggle against international terrorism, Mattis pointed out.
"To those who fear that we lose something by returning the
bells, please hear me when I say that the bells mark time, but
courage is timeless," Mattis said.
Those opposed to returning the bells include Wyoming governor
Matt Mead, a Republican. Mead took part in the ceremony even as
he sides with U.S. veterans who worry that returning the bells
could lead to the repatriation of any number of items serving as
memorials to American war dead.
"We know you and the president have looked at this, and the
highest priority of the military of course is national
security," Mead told Mattis at the gathering of a couple hundred
Air Force officers, personnel, and family members. "We
absolutely need to build those friendships."
Wyoming’s all-Republican congressional delegation also
opposes the return of the bells, saying in a joint statement
released by senator Mike Enzi spokesman Max D’Onofrio that
repatriation would set a dangerous precedent for other veterans’
memorials in the U.S.
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