4 August 2009
You can place a soldier under military detention, you can tie his hands and fetter his feet. You can cage his body but to earn from him a salute so willingly given, that will be impossible.
And Ariel Querubin is no ordinary soldier. He is after all, under military detention. And yes, he holds the Medal of Valor, the highest military decoration given by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This is an excerpt from Alecks Pabico's article on Col. Ariel Querubin from the PCIJ website;
Querubin is a recipient of the military’s highest honor in 2002 for the most exemplary heroism and sacrifice displayed in combat — the Medal of Valor. As a lieutenant colonel, he commanded a Marine battalion landing team that engaged an estimated 300-strong, fully armed band of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in a 24-hour gun battle in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte from March 18 to 19, 2000.Though outnumbered and facing heavy artillery fire, his forces succeeded in breaking the last line of defense of the rebel stronghold, resulting in the capture of Camp John Mack, the MILF’s most strategic staging area for operations.
In the citation, he was described as having inspired courage in his men with his daring maneuvers, unmindful of his own safety, moving positions and drawing fire towards himself with the end of pinpointing where the enemy fire was coming from.
Interestingly, Querubin’s wife was pregnant and about to give birth in a few weeks at the time. The colonel was said to have admitted that her wife’s situation didn’t occur to him for a while. “All I thought about was that my men depended on me,” he said.
A salute from Col. Ariel Querubin must mean a lot. And here, he gives a salute to respected, beloved Commander-in-Chief, Cory Aquino:
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