San Antonio Plaque Ceremony
September 26-27, 2003
Twin plaques honoring the Philippine Scouts and the three Scout Medal of Honor recipients were dedicated on Friday, September 26, 2003 at the Admiral Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas and on Saturday, September 27, 2003 at the Fort Sam Houston Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
Among the fifty people attending the San Antonio plaque presentation on September 27, 2003 were former Philippine Scouts (from left to right) Alfredo Quijano, General Ralph Haines, John Olson, Ben Austria, and Larry Pangan. (Click images for larger view).
The inscription of the first plaque:
THE PHILIPPINE SCOUTS
In grateful memory of the more than 12,000 gallant officers and men of the U.S. Army's Philippine Scouts, half of whom died in combat or during the Bataan Death March or in Japanese prison camps.
Scouts were awarded
3 Congressional Medals of Honor,
34 Distinguished Service Crosses,
134 Silver Stars and 31 Bronze Stars
for combat bravery from December 1941 to May 1942.
Philippine Scouts Heritage Society 7/4/2003
The inscription of the second plaque:
Philippine Scout Medal of Honor Recipients
Bataan, Philippines—World War II
First Lieutenant Willibald C. Bianchi
Sergeant Jose Calugas, Sr.
Second Lieutenant Alexander Ramsey Nininger, Jr.
"All the men in every nameless fight
Since man first strove with man to prove his worth
Shall greet the tired Scouts as is their right—
No finer soldiers ever walked the earth."
(Stanza from poem by 1st Lt. Henry Lee, PS)
Dedicated July 4, 2003