A sons wish fulfilled: Army camp building named after war hero in CDO
CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 7 July) — After almost two decades, journalist Ed Montalvan finally got his wish of having at least one facility at Camp Edilberto Evangelista, headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division, named after his late father, Major Jose Manuel Montalvan.
The deceased Montalvan, a local war hero, began serving as the first commander of Camp Evangelista, then called Camp Bulua, on Jan. 1, 1940, almost two years before the Japanese invasion of the country during World War II.
Camp Bulua was the headquarters of the Philippine Auxiliary Tactical Air Group or PATAG, from which the barangay where it was located got its name.
“For 17 years this was my dream and I pursued it, talking to every Army general I’ve met,” Ed, a former president of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club, said.
He said he got his wish fulfilled when he met and talked to MGen Jose Maria Cuerpo, 4ID commander, in a hotel in downtown Cagayan de Oro.
He said Cuerpo agreed to rename the new Division Multi-Purpose Building as Montalvan Hall in honor of his father.
“In less than 30 minutes of talking, Cuerpo agreed to my request. In 30 minutes all that I have worked for in many years was granted by the good general,” he said.
On June 19, Cuerpo and a few members of the Montalvan family unveiled the marker renaming the building into Montalvan Hall.
“He was a hero and a veteran who served with the USAFFE in Mindanao against the Japanese Imperial Army in World War II,” the marker posted at the entrance to the building reads.
Ed said he held back his emotions as Army soldiers also pulled the drape off the marker to reveal a wood frame with the words “Montalvan Hall”.
“I had goose bumps. I did it all for my Papa and now the dream becomes a reality,” he said.
The elder Montalvan, born on March 17, 1903, was a native of Cagayan de Oro known before as Cagayan de Misamis, then the capital town of Misamis Segundo Distrito province.
Montalvan studied at the Philippine Dental College in Manila and graduated with honors with a degree of Doctor in Dental Surgery.
He pursued a military career and joined the U.S. Army Reserve and was commissioned as a first lieutenant. He later joined the newly formed Philippine Army and was again commissioned as a first lieutenant.
“My father succumbed to the lure of a full-time military career. He joined the newly formed Philippine Army,” Ed said.
During WWII the elder Montalvan was taken prisoner and detained at the campus of Xavier University, which was converted into a prison camp by the Japanese.
According to a narrative provided by Lt. Col. Arthur Eamiguel, commander of the 4ID Installation Management Battalion, Ed’s father escaped and joined the guerrillas under US Army Colonel Wendel Fertig.
Eamiguel said for his wartime services, Montalvan was awarded the Philippine Defense Medal, American Defense Medal, Asia-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Philippine Republic Unit Citation Badge, and the US distinguished Unit Badge.
Ed said his father died on September 11, 1978, forgotten by the new generation of military officers and residents.
“I pleaded to every general about my father’s case but all I got was empty promises,” he said.
Cuerpo said he knew about Ed’s predicament while he served as aide to Lt. General Cardozo Luna, then commander of the Army Joint Task Force Mindanao in 2005.
“I saw that Ed’s crusade for his father was deserving. Renaming the building for his father gives honor to a World War II hero and most all as the first camp commander who started it all in Camp Evangelista,” Cuerpo said. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
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