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Philly exhibit honors troops' sacrifice in Philippine-American War

A not-so-talked-about past between the Philippines and America is  on full display aboard an iconic battleship in Philadelphia.

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Don Tagala

TFC News

<div id="isPasted" style="border:0px;line-height:inherit;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(36, 36, 36);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nEXr0xdKs4Y?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>A new exhibit that shines a spotlight on an often-overlooked history of the Philippine-American War has opened its doors in Philadelphia in time for Filipino American History Month this October.The Philippine-American War exhibit aboard the U.S.S. Olympia tells the story of a three-year conflict between the U.S. and Filipino revolutionaries after Washington annexed Manila following the end of the Spanish-American War.The U.S. did not recognize the legitimacy of the first Philippine republic proclaimed by Filipino revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo from Spain on June 12, 1898.Philippine Consul General Senen Mangalile said the war was &quot;a direct result of this denial of our nation&#x27;s right to self-rule.&quot;&quot;This was not only a military conflict but [also] the struggle for the soul of a nation,&quot; he said. &quot;The Filipinos fought bravely for their independence, but the consequences were devastating.&quot;About 200,000 Filipinos lost their lives during the war, mostly civilians and primarily from famine and diseases. More than 4,000 U.S. soldiers were also killed.&quot;The conflict left deep scars on both nations and marked the beginning of a complicated and often painful chapter in our shared history,&quot; Mangalile said. &quot;This exhibit offers the opportunity to confront these difficult truths - the realities of colonialism, the consequences of war, and the legacies that continue to influence our relations today.&quot;The history of the war is being told in an exhibit aboard the U.S.S. Olympia - the oldest American steel warship that served as Admiral George Dewey’s flagship at the Battle of Manila in 1898.Michael Madeja of the Independence Seaport Museum said the battleship has been a &quot;major symbol of power and empire.&quot;&quot;[It] has served as both this mixed symbol of empire for the United States and a presence for a pathway to freedom for the Philippines,&quot; he said, &quot;also being a space to celebrate independence from Spain for the Philippines.&quot;The Philippine-American War exhibit was spearheaded by the Independence Seaport Museum and the Filipino Executive Council of Greater Philadelphia (FECGP).The council&#x27;s president Roman Ventura said the exhibit also aims to correct the mislabeling of Filipino revolutionaries then as insurrectionists.&quot;It wasn&#x27;t Filipino insurgents because that is the American side of looking at it,&quot; he said. &quot;For us, they were the revolutionaries, the people fighting for our country. That&#x27;s something that we want to make sure is expressed.&quot;Fil-Am Randy Duque of Philadelphia&#x27;s Commission on Human Relations emphasized the current lack of interest in history among people.&quot;The exhibit points to that; not knowing our history is not knowing ourselves,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#x27;s important that our young and next generation get to see exhibits and get exposed to other aspects of the Philippines besides our cultural foods and dances.&quot;The Philippine American War exhibit will run until Dec. 2025 aboard the U.S.S. Olympia at the Independence Seaport Museum in the City of Brotherly Love. </div>

A not-so-talked-about past between the Philippines and America is on full display aboard an iconic battleship in Philadelphia.

A not-so-talked-about past between the Philippines and America is on full display aboard an iconic battleship in Philadelphia.