A Comrade's Farewell
BGen Guillermo A. Pecache
President, PMA Class 1951
July 18, 2001
Tonight, in this solemn and auspicious ceremony, we give honor to a fallen friend and comrade in arms, and I bring the message of profound grief and sympathy of the 48 surviving members and spouses of PMA Class 51. It is hard to reconcile ourselves to the fact that a dear classmate, Feliciano Fajardo Miravite, Eling or Mirabeau or Fel as we called him is gone. “Bells for him have rung and tomorrow his last ’taps’ will be sung”
A good man whom we have admired and liked, an oustanding cadet during our Academy days, and a fearless soldier in the Candaba swamps, in the Sierra Madre mountains, in Biak na Bato, San Miguel and in Baliwag, Bulacan where the dashing lieutenant in ‘fatigue uniform’ met his fair lady Marciana “Mercy” de Leon Santiago, now lies motionless before us. He was a courageous fighter against the Huks in Central Luzon and against the communists in the Korean War where he was uassigned as Executive Officer of the Heavy Weapons Company of the 14th Batallion Combat Team, PEFTOK. In 1953 we were in a battle position behind Christmas Eve near the 38th parallel when he was hit by a mortar sharpnel of the enemy in the spinal column. He was given medical treatment and care in the best US Army Hospitals in Korea and Tokyo, and at Clark Air base and V. Luna General Hospitals. No less than President Ramon Magsaysay sent him to the USA for recovery and recuperation. With determination and great courage, by the grace of God the almighty, he lifted himself through life’s adversities, helped by friends and benefactors, with love and tender care by his wife, Mercy. Eling, as we know him is truly an example of human spirit that triumped despite infirmity with magnificent fortitude and who forged ahead to reach the pinnacle of success in his second profession, actuarial science. The many awards and medals conferred on him by his peers, by the AFP, and the two Cavalier Awards he received from PMA attest to this.
I really do not know what to say to assuage the deep sorrow of the bereaved members of his family for their painful and irreparable loss. I humbly realize that words cannot cure pain, however well meaning. Only time and the common acceptance of our concept of life and death can do that.
Perhaps if we talk about memories, the grief will become a little bearable.
I met Mirabeau for the first time when the second batch of successful PMA examinees composed of seven young men and myself, boarded a Dangwa bus in Santa Cruz, Manila bound for Baguio City on 7tth May 1947 to report for duty at the Philippine Military Academy.
Since then the two of us of Batch ’51 composed initially of 72 cadets were together at the beast barracks in Polo Fields, at the academic halls, the parade ground and barracks of Camp Henry T. Allen in the heart of Baguio City, and later at the verdant mountains of Loakan now known as Fort del Pilar. There in our last semester, Fel of Company “Cee” staged his last rally to earn the title “Duke of Loakan” beating Bebs Regis, and Ben Goozy both of Company Bee who earned the titles of “king” and “prince” respectively. These three veritable comrades, were inseparable and had many things in common. In their nice touring hours, patiently and tirelessly walking back and forth in cadence with the beating of the drums at the parade ground, in full battel gear under the scorching heat of the Baguio sun. they had enough time “to prove the irony of faith and trust; the uselessness of staying bachelor, and the firmness of space that holds the universe in place. For one, Fel was a”miler”.
The cadets of Batch ’51 shared life with some joys and sorrows. Having passed the entrance examination, we were exuberant and dreamt and thought up fanciful ideas of life in PMA. We imagined bright days replete with glamor and romance, a life glittering with opulence of fame and high esttem but found out later to our dismay that all these during our plebe years were not as we wished them to be. Having endured a year of privations, of countless frustrations, of seemingly endless adjustments, a regimented life, recognition finally came. The hand shakes of our superiors presaged among other things, new privileges, but each with corresponding responsibilities. In our second year, as proud as yearlings or third class men, we went to spend our yearling summer in the “humble” town of Caba, La Union,. We spent the days in sports and play, long hikes, military maneuvers, and dances with the local beauties and few future kaydet girls. Academics, parades, inspections, hops, sports, ceremonies and spiritual upliftment on Sundays are some of the activities we underwent in our yearling year. We underwent the same activities with some modification in our second and first class years. Academics was not as tough when we were plebes or yearlings. We had more privileges, more relaxed but with more responsibilities.
In all these four difficult, hard and trying years of cadet life, through ceaseless, diligence and perseverance, 62 of us survived. Fourteen fell on the way side to be absorbed by the lower class or to venture into other pursuits. Many of them became successful professionals in law, engineering, business, etc. Eling was one of the 62 survivors who as a cadet shined in arts and letters, in the field of writing and debate, and in chess. He was the editor-in-chief of 3 major cadet publications, The CORPS, The PEEMAYER and The SWORD. He was President of the Debating Council as well as the Chess Club when he was firstclassman. Not known for being good in numbers in our cadet days, we were pleasantly surprised when we learned that he excelled in mathematics at the University of Michigan, USA where he obtained his MS in Actuarial Mathematics.
Dr Feliciano Fajardo Miravite was a highly principled leader. He practiced what he preached. He was dedicated to his profession. He was an officer and gentlemen who loved God, his country and people. He was a devoted husband and a loving father. In the lyrics of PMA. OH HAIL TO THEE, is written the line: “May the sons ever be Men of Integrity, Courage and Loyalty”. Cavaliers, fellow Korean veterans, friends and members of the family of Eling Miravite, let me tell you here and now. In peace and in war, Eling lived a life of COURAGE, LOYALTY and INTEGRITY.
We regret the passing of a classmate, a former comrade in arms and a friend but the time has come, when we must at last reach the parting ways. So we must now bid him a sad GOOD-BYE, as we will bid others good-bye someday. All of us will be separated from one another at our designated time but if we conduct our lives as Father God commands us “to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect” (Mat 5:48), we will find each other again in a better land than this we now occupy.
In Eling’s passing, we lost a good man. Let us grieve no more Mercy, Faye and all those whose lives he had touched. Let us be happy with the thought that because on earth he was a agood man, he merely transferred residence from Paraiso St ., Dasmarinas Village to a much bigger and more beautiful mansion with many rooms built for all good men in Paradise by Lord God. Congratulations, Eling! You are now up there in the company of all who loved God and their neighbor, and shared with them their time, talent and treasures while in this spaceship called EARTH.
To our beloved Eling, good-bye for now. Your memory will forever linger in our hearts and minds. May you rest in peace. God bless us all!
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