Capas National Shrine


The Capas National Shrine in Barangay Aranguren, Capas, Tarlac, Philippines was built by the Philippine government as a memorial to Allied soldiers who died at Camp O'Donnell at the end of the Bataan Death March during the Second World War.
The site, which was the former concentration camp, is a focus for commemorations on Araw ng Kagitingan, an annual observance held on 9 April—the anniversary of the surrender of US and Philippine forces to the Imperial Japan in 1942. There is also a memorial to the Czechs and some Slovaks who died fighting alongside the Filipinos and US soldiers.

Description

The area where the Bataan Death March ended was proclaimed as "Capas National Shrine" by President Corazon Aquino on 7 December 1991. The shrine encompasses of parkland, of which have been planted with rows of trees to represent each of the dead.
On 9 April 2003, a obelisk symbolizing peace and new memorial wall were unveiled on the grounds of the former internment camp. The obelisk is surrounded by a three-segmented, black marble wall engraved with the names of the Filipinos known to have died during the Death March. There are also statistics about the total numbers of prisoners and deaths, together with poems for peace.
Nearby, there are three smaller memorials to the countries whose nationals died at the camp: the Philippines, the United States, and the Czech Republic. A small museum and monument is also on the site, built by an American group called the "Battling Bastards of Bataan".
A few hundred meters from the Obelisk is a garden separated from the rest of the shrine by a creek that can be crossed via a hanging bridge. The relics of an old train and railings are also located in the shrine complex.
The Shrine will be a part of the New Clark City, according to the master plan.

Gallery