I was touched by the Dec. 8 front-page Inquirer story on Pfc. Jessie Ponce. His was not only a moving story, it was inspiring as well, made more admirable because he had lost a brother, a sister, nephews, nieces and other relatives when Supertyphoon “Yolanda” laid to waste Tacloban City last Nov. 8. He knew they were gone and though grieving, he nevertheless helped in the relief and rescue operations. Things, perhaps, were made more difficult for him by the fact that his wife was about to give birth but he could not be by her side, as his priority was his duty, and the survivors needed every able hand and body for help.
Ponce was a “striker,” a sort of an all-around boy in a military camp, before he got enlisted. This young man has proven that he has imbibed the qualities and discipline of a true, professional soldier who always answers and responds “when duty calls.”
Soldiers like him who are doing an excellent job in Leyte and the rest of the typhoon-ravaged Visayas, helping silently and without fanfare the Yolanda survivors get back on their feet, give honor and pride to the profession of soldiery.
—AMIR B. LOPEZ,
amirlopez429@yahoo.com