FilVetREP Mourns Passing of Filipino World War II Veteran Ciriaco Ladines

Ciriaco Ladines, one of three living Filipino World War II veterans in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, died on January 22. He was 95 years old and passed peacefully surrounded by family and friends in his home in Bowie, Maryland.

“We are deeply saddened that a brave soldier and hero has died,” says FilVetREP Chairman Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret). “The Filipino American community and the American people are immensely grateful to Mr. Ladines for his loyal service during the war. We will continue to honor him, along with his comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice in defending the Philippines and the United States.”

Remigio Cabacar of Ft. Washington, MD. and Rudy Panaglima of Washington, D.C. are the only two surviving veterans residing in the DMV region. They are both in their mid 90s.

“He was a joyful man of diligence and perseverance,” recalls Mr. Cabacar of his friend and comrade. “I was thrilled to see him show up last year at the Bataan Memorial Death March ceremony in Alexandria, VA. His presence was a source of inspiration to the march participants and community supporters who memorialized the infamous death march.”

A native of Mauban, Quezon, Mr. Ladines was born on June 18, 1927. He joined the guerrilla movement when he was just 15 years old. He served with the US Armed Forces of the Far East (USAFFE) as a Sergeant from July 24, 1943 to September 16, 1945.

Mr. Ladines received the Congressional Gold Medal in October 2017 – the highest civilian award given by Congress to the 270,000 Filipino and American soldiers who fought under the American flag. The medals provided them a long-awaited recognition after Congress passed the 1946 Rescission Acts, which denied these soldiers promised benefits for their service and sacrifice.

Mr. Ladines is featured in “Duty to Country,” an interactive, online education program produced by the Filipino Veterans Recognition & Education Project (FilVetREP). His compelling first-hand story as a courier for the guerrillas is included in the oral history section of the website. As a courier, he provided intelligence to guerrilla leaders, risking his life behind enemy lines while delivering important messages and letters to command headquarters.

Mr. Ladines is preceded in death by a son, who died in 2012, and his wife, Florencia, who died in May 2020. He is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

There will be a public viewing on Saturday, February 4, 2023, 9:30 – 11:00am (EST) at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 14720 Annapolis Rd, Bowie, MD 20715. Funeral services will follow at 11:00am.

Interment services will be held on Monday, February 6, 2023, starting at 1:45pm (Eastern time), Maryland Veterans Cemetery-Crownsville, 1122 Sunrise Beach Rd, Crownsville, MD 21032.

OBITUARY

Ciriaco Luvije Ladines
June 18, 1927 — January 22, 2023

Ciriaco Luvije Ladines—affectionately called “Tatay” by his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and his children’s friends—passed peacefully on Sunday, January 22, 2023 at age 95, surrounded by family and friends.

Ciriaco was born on June 18, 1927 in Mauban, Quezon Province in the Philippines to his parents, Cayetano Ladines and Cornelia Luvije. Part of a large extended family, he was the fifth of 12 siblings and was adopted and raised by his paternal uncle. He attended school in Mauban and aspired to study medicine but WWII shuttered his educational plans. In his duty to country, and barely 16, he joined the Philippine Guerilla Forces in 1943 under the command of American Colonel Bernard Anderson. He fought until the end of Japanese occupation in 1945, at which time he was honorably discharged as a sergeant. He would later relish regaling his grandchildren with his war stories, attesting to his bravery and compassion as a young soldier.

After the war, Ciriaco took over the family farm in Mauban from his adoptive parents. He was a tireless, diligent farmer. He cared about and deeply respected the farmhands, and paid more than the equitable share of the farm’s revenue.

In 1952, Ciriaco married Florencia Aman, also from Mauban. Together, they had three daughters and three sons. They remained married and dedicated to their family and friends for the next 68 years, until Florencia’s death in 2020. As a father, Ciriaco was a stern disciplinarian, yet deeply loving and generous. He passionately believed in the value of education and worked long days on the farm in order to send his children to school. With modest resources, he did not hold back, spending everything he could for his children’s education so they could eventually establish successful professional careers.

In 1989, Ciriaco immigrated to the United States to join his three daughters, and became a U.S. citizen in 1992 on account of his WWII service. Together with his wife, they spent the remainder of their lives in Maryland and Florida. Later, two of their sons and their families also came to the U.S. to settle in Maryland, bringing them great joy to have their family closer together. As their children worked long hours to build their careers, Ciriaco and Florencia often became the primary caretakers of their grandchildren, who came to love his cooking, especially pandesal, and his playful humor. And just as he supported his children’s education, he also took great pride in his grandchildren’s accomplishments, attending every graduation from grade school to graduate school.

At heart, Ciriaco was a devoted follower of the Catholic faith in which he was raised and raised his family. His belief in the good of people and their salvation in the next life was the foundation of his many brilliant qualities: his generosity, his compassion, his sense of justice and duty, his boundless curiosity and joyful wonder. Yet perhaps his greatest quality was his sheer, profound love and devotion to his loved ones.

In 2017, thanks to the advocacy of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, he and other Filipino WWII veterans received the Congressional Gold Medal for their service, which he carried proudly with him until the end of his life.

Ciriaco was preceded in death by his biological and adoptive parents; his 11 siblings; his son Danilo; and his wife Florencia. He is survived by his five children and children-in-law (Juliet Duran, Blesilda and Joseph Lim, Medel and Esperanza Ladines, Melanie Pangilinan Ladines, Cecilia Ladines and Wayne Atzrodt, and Alejandro and Lani Ladines); 14 grandchildren (Jacqueline Duran, Joahnna Fournier, Joseph Ladines-Lim, Julius del Rosario, Andrew Ladines, Justin Ladines, Julian Ladines, Meilin Ladines-Lim, Julia Ladines, Sofia Atzrodt, Jian Ladines, Cassandra Atzrodt, Jio Ladines, and Joshua Ladines); and six great-grandchildren (Andrei Ladines, Juvia Ladines, Clara Fournier, Joaquin Natacio, Asa Fournier, and Nolan del Rosario).

He will forever be achingly missed, cherished, and loved.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Filipino Veterans Recognition & Education Project (FilVetREP), www.filvetrep.org/ways-to-support

###

The Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP), is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, community-based, all-volunteer national initiative whose mission is to obtain national recognition of Filipino and American WW11 soldiers across the United States and the Philippines for their wartime service to the U.S. and the Philippines from July 26, 1941 to December 31, 1946. For more information about Filipino WWII veterans and how to get involved, visit our website at www.filvetrep.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter.