Interesting Places and Events in Tarlac

Planning a trip? Those who love to travel know the essence of all travel is about you and your enjoyment. Travelers know that the destination is a major part of planning a trip, experiencing and delving deeper into unfamiliar places, people and culture are paramount.

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INTERESTING PLACES AND EVENTS

Tarlac has a long list of historical, religious, natural and man-made places and events that make it even more a very interesting place to visit!

Capas National Shrine

Photo from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lemon_glenn/4656149298

The Capas National Shrine in Barangay Navy Capas, Tarlac, The Philippines was built by the Philippine government as a memorial to the Filipino and American soldiers who died in Camp O’Donnell at the end of the Bataan Death March. This is an important site related to Veterans’ Day in the Philippines, every 9 April, the anniversary of the surrender of the combined US and Philippine forces to the Japanese in 1942.

The area around where the Bataan Death March ended was proclaimed by President Corazon Aquino to become Capas National Shrine on 7 December 1991. The shrine encompasses 54 hectares of parkland, 35 hectares of which have been planted with rows of trees to represent each of the deceased. On 9 April 2003, a new memorial wall and obelisk was unveiled. The 70-meter obelisk towers above the grounds of the former interment camp. The obelisk is surrounded by a black marble wall engraved with the names of the Filipinos and Americans known to have died at the location. On the three large wall segments that almost encircle the obelisk, there are statistics about the total numbers of prisoners and deaths, together with poems for peace.

Nearby is a small museum and a smaller monument built by an American group calling themselves the “Battling Bastards of Bataan”, honoring the American dead of the period. A few hundred meters from the Obelisk is a garden separated from the rest of the shrine by a creek, it is passable with the means of a hanging bridge. The relics of an old train and railings are also present in the Shrine. – Read More: Wikipedia.org

Capas Death March Monument

Photo from: kleynsphilippines.blogspot.com

Capas Death March Monument marks the infamous World War II concentration camp, which was built in in memory of the 30,000 Filipino and American soldiers that participated in the Death March that perished in 1942. The marker depicts the endurance and the heroism of the valiant soldiers, while a portion of it portrays the inhumane cruelty of the Japanese. It is noticeable because of its sky-high emblem. – Read More: Wikipedia.org

Sto. Domingo Death March

Sto. Domingo Death March was the “Disembarkation” point of the 60,000 Filipino soldiers cramped in closed boxcars were unloaded to start the second phase of Bataan Death March. Around 30,000 of these defenders perished from the unbearable treatment that they have had during the trip from Abucay and Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga. At that point the survivors started their journey to Camp O’Donnell.