Calamba has Five National Heroes

Calamba was home to five of the Philippine’s National Heroes, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Rizal’s mother Teordora Alonzo, Rizal’s brother Paciano Rizal, Second World War Hero Brigadier General Vicente Lim, and Phlippine Aviation Great Lt. Geronimo Aclan.

While

much had been heard about the Rizals and General Lim, Lt. Geronimo Aclan is less known. Geroonimo Aclan is from Calamba, Laguna, a former Aviation/Flying Cadet of PAFACES/PAACFS Class of 1940 B), and is one of the most prominent Filipino fighter pilots of the Second World War.

.In a reconnaissance mission during the war, Lieutenant Aclan came upon Japanese soldiers pushing trolleys along the railroad tracks between Naga and Legaspi. He strafed them several times... “I must have killed hundreds of them,” he said... “I felt no emotion as I made my passes. I was killing people who were killing mine.” He also nearly strafed an American submarine off Puerto Galera, Mindoro.

On 24 December as the Japanese approached Manila, the Commonwealth government was evacuated to Corregidor... During that time the gallant men of the PAAC were ordered to destroy its last planes and join the retreat to Bataan... The Filipino Airmen protested, but the American commanders insisted.

After the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, Aclan escaped the Capas Death March to Mindanao and later went back to his hometown at Calamba, Laguna... He became a guerilla and soon worked as an intelligence operative and was almost captured by Japanese. He gathered intelligence data by acting as a "kutsero" of a kalesa. When MacArthur landed at Leyte in 1944, he immediately went back to military control and was sent to the United States for a refresher course in flying...

The years after World War 2, Jesus Villamor now made Director of the Bureau of Aeronautics (Later ATO/CAAP) took Aclan to become the administrator of the construction of the Cebu Airport in the late 1940s... In the 1950s he joined and flew with Philippine Airlines, in 1984 the great Filipino Fighter Pilot died of cancer...

(REFERENCE: THE PAF STORY BY NEMENZO & MOLINA and thanks to UNCLE RENATO ACLAN the proud son of "Lolo" GERONIMO ACLAN and to my lola FELISA "Isay" ALICPALA ELAZEGUI, cousin of ACLAN for telling me lolo NIMO-GIMO's unforgettable exploits in World War 2 when I was a very young boy)... From a Facebook page of the Aviation Society of the Philippines.