Capas National Shrine

February 24, 2013

Obelisk at Capas National Shrine

     Ryan and I both love history, so we made a side trip to Capas National Shrine after our trip to Mt. Pinatubo.  We even convinced my friends to follow us there.  As what they said “Humi-history na naman kami.” :D

     The Capas National Shrine is located in Brgy. O’ Donnell, Capas, Tarlac.  This is the area where the Bataan Death March ended.  An obelisk was built here as a reminder of the Filipino and American soldiers who perished in Death March during the World War II.  A black wall surrounding the obelisk shows the engraved names of the Filipinos and Americans who died in this location, the statistics of the total number of prisoners and deaths, and the poems for peace. 

     You can also see the box car that used to transport Filipino and American prisoners.  About fifty to sixty men were forced into this car by Japanese soldiers during the intense summer heat of April.  There was no enough ventilation that causes the men to get suffocated.  While those who suffer from dysentery, could not control their bowel movement, urine and vomit.  Many died while in transport.  And I can’t imagine the horror of dying slowly in this car.  I was heart-broken while touching the woods inside, feeling their sufferings and how they cried for help. 

     Not far from the obelisk is the museum where you can read the history of World War II and a small monument built by American group calling themselves the “Battling Bastards of Bataan.”

     Not done yet with Death March tour, we headed to Bataan that same day to relax in a beautiful resort and to visit another World War II monument.



Box Car at Capas National Shrine
Box Car


Black Wall at Capas National Shrine
The black walls


Capas National Shrine



Capas National Shrine



Capas National Shrine








Location: MacArthur Hwy, Capas, Tarlac, Philippines

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