WW2 vets to mark Fall of Balete Pass

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Hundreds of World War II Filipino and American veterans are expected to gather this Saturday at Dalton Pass, formerly known as Balete Pass, in the mountain town of Santa Fe to commemorate the heroics of the Filipino-American forces against the Japanese Army there 61 years ago.

Ben Moses Ebreo, manager of the Philippine Information Agency-Nueva Vizcaya Information Center, said the yearly event honors the Filipino and American soldiers who fought fiercely against the Japanese forces at Balete Pass, one of the remaining strongholds in Luzon of the Japanese Imperial Army during the liberation period in 1945.

The Dalton Pass was named in honor of US Col. James Dalton, who was killed by a sniper’s bullet while leading thousands of Filipino and American soldiers in pursuing the fatigue-weary Japanese troopers, who were retreating toward northeast Luzon.

Historians said the fall of Balete Pass further weakened the Japanese forces, paving the way for the surrender of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander of the Japanese Imperial Army, in Kiangan, Ifugao, and the eventual liberation of the country from Japanese occupation in 1945.

Dalton Pass, which lies atop the Sierra Madre Mountain, is the threshold to Cagayan Valley.

The provincial government led by Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma, the Department of Tourism and other government and private groups are now transforming Dalton Pass into a multimillion-peso complex to preserve its cultural and historical significance and tourism potential. —  Charlie Lagasca