A Filipino reportedly unearthed the tombstone of a soldier who served during the First World War.
The Facebook group “Philippine Old Photos Collection” shared photos of the tombstone on Tuesday, January 21. The post stated that the discovery was made by someone’s father on their property.
“Isang lumang lapida po ang nahukay ng tatay ko dito po sa bahay namin,” the post quoted an individual named Ed Evangelista as saying.
Evangelista said the tombstone bore the following text:
MARCELO N SALONGA
PHILIPPINES
PVT CO I 3 INFANTRY
WORLD WAR I
The date “January 13, 1945” was also inscribed on it.
The post intrigued members of the Facebook group, amassing 3,700 likes and wow reactions, 249 shares, and over 640 comments so far.
Speculations and historical context
Some commenters speculated that the soldier may have died on January 13, 1945, despite having served during the First World War from 1914 to 1918.
Others noted that 1945 marked the final year of the Second World War, which began in 1939.
“Sundalo po ‘yan sa WW1. Pero nagwakas ang buhay niya suguro during WW2,” a Facebook user commented.
“Namatay ‘yan during World War 2, [pero] sundalo ‘yan during World War 1,” another user wrote.
The photos were initially shared with the group in August 2024, when it also garnered 1,600 likes and reactions.
Another account shared a picture of a birth certificate allegedly belonging to Marcelo N. Salonga, the war veteran.
According to the document, Salonga resided in San Juan Baño, Arayat, Pampanga. He was active in the Army from 1917 to 1918.
He was born in Arayat, Pampanga in 1900. He later held the military rank of Private, the lowest grade of enlisted personnel.
Philippines’ role in World War I
Historical accounts suggest that the Philippines’ participation in the First World War was “relatively minor compared with other Asian countries.”
At that time, the Philippines was a colony of the United States.
The Philippine National Guard was formed and offered, but it was said that the US acted too late.
Other Filipinos who worked in the US enlisted in the US armed forces and fought.
The US entered the First World War in 1917, the same year that Salonga first became active in the army, based on the document.
Manuel L. Quezon, who was then senate president, said that US President Woodrow Wilson‘s April 1917 speech about America fighting “for the rights of nations, great and small” had “struck a responsive chord in the hearts of the Filipino people.”
Quezon was said to have received messages from Filipinos supportive of the US and had expressed willingness to fight alongside America.
But before the Philippine National Guard could be federalized, the First World War had ended.
Despite this, it was said that many Filipinos had enlisted in the US armed forces during the war.
There were those who fought in France under the US Army, while others served on ships manned by the US Navy and British merchant marine.
