Never Forget

Deadly red-flashes of gunfires relentlessly occupied the battle zone leaving no chance for the accumulated dust and smoke to settle down. But while everything seemed in disarray and loud, golden yellow skies quietly, and as if with utter disregard of the ongoing mayhem, enveloped the horizon. Dusk begun to set in, and darkness steadily engulfed the area. Slowly, but eerily, the exchange of gunfires came to a temporary stop. It, however, lasted for about an hour. The troops established a defensive position to hold for the night.

Cpt "E", anticipating a brutal fight, made sure that his troops understood the movement plan. He instructed 2Lt "J" to lead the platoon with Ranger "S". Their tactical movement was synchronized with 1SRC.

Ranger "S" would later reveal that being in Marawi really took its toll on him. He recalled, “Tanong ko araw-araw sa Panginoon, ‘Lord, kailan ba matatapos itong giyera sa Marawi?’ Ang dami nang namatay na sundalo at nasugatan. Sa araw- araw na putukan may nalalagas talaga na tropa. Higit sa lahat ay kawawa ang mga residente ng Marawi lalo na ang mga bata at matatanda, at lalong-lalo na yung mga may kapansanan at mga may karamdaman sa katawan.” [“I asked God every day, ‘Lord when will this war in Marawi end?’ A lot of soldiers had been killed and wounded. In our day-to-day operations, troops die. Worse, the local residents of Marawi were greatly affected, especially the young and old, the disabled, and the sick.”]

At about 5:30 p.m., the movement was halted due to very limited visibility. Troop movement under such condition is highly risky. In any case, it had already turned out to be a bad day for the troops. It was the kind of day that would drive people with less resolve to give up. Yet, the Rangers had to soldier on. Now, they didn’t even have any idea when their Marawi stint would end. 

--NO MAN LEFT BEHIND (2018)