Blake Hall
(Photo Credit: Jon Melegrito)
A church bell removed as a ‘souvenir’ during the Philippine-American War is finally returning to its former belfry after more than a century in American hands.
The historic San Pedro Bell was unbolted from its spot at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on April 29 and shipped back home to the Philippines. Its departure was marked by a public ceremony attended by more than 100 West Point cadets, church goers and Philippine Embassy officials.
From the Inquirer:
Speaking on behalf of Philippine Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., New York Consul General Mario L. De Leon, Jr. conveyed the Filipino people’s gratitude and thanks. “Today’s hand-over ceremony carries special significance as we commemorate this year the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Philippines,” he noted. “And our activity this morning allows us to gaze at our past, while securing our future and giving importance to what strengthens us as a country.”
Since 1959, students at West Point walked by the San Pedro Bell installed outside a campus Catholic chapel. The massive bell, made from silver and copper, weighs a whopping 883 pounds. It was never rung. As the bell gradually became a permanent fixture in the community, its rich history was lost and forgotten. The only clue to its past was a vague inscription: “Symbol of peace that even the ravages of war could not destroy.”
Unbeknownst to students and professors, the San Pedro Bell was among the spoils of war brought home by West Point graduates in the early twentieth century.
During the Philippine-American War (1899-1902), it was common for American troops to bring home bells they acquired on the battlefield. Sometimes the bells were taken as retribution for American casualties. Other times, troops stole the bells in order to keep the enemy from melting them down.
The San Pedro Bell was removed from a Catholic parish in the Philippines in 1901, gifted to the academy in 1915 and languished in storage until 1959. Only then was it installed out in the open for students to see.
USMA Chief of Staff Colonel Wayne A. Green announced at the ceremony that returning the bell is the “right and honorable thing to do. And so we’re here today, in the spirit of friendship and cooperation with our friends from the Philippines, to say farewell to the San Pedro Bell, which has been part of the West Point community for many years, and return it to its rightful place.”