Soldiers fight for justice, freedom, democracy

I read with interest Ramon J. Farolan’s Nov. 17 column (“The Soldier”). Farolan cited soldiers who perished in defense of the State, and asked readers to keep in mind their important role in society.

I was particularly touched by the poem written by Charles Michael Province, founder and president of the George S. Patton Jr. Historical Society, by these lines, most expecially: “It is the Soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag.”

The news that a young lieutenant belonging to PMA (Philippine Military Academy) Class 2014 was killed by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan deeply saddened me. This, three years after 19 Army Special Forces members were massacred by Moro Islamic Liberation Front/Abu Sayyaf elements also in Basilan.

The past few weeks have seen five soldiers killed and 28 others wounded in skirmishes with Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

Even then, soldiers continue to fight so that justice, freedom and democracy may reign.
We have a lot to thank our soldiers for. They risk their lives, ready to pay the ultimate price without question, whether inside or outside the battlefields—for us.

—SONIA HASSAN,
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