SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews / 17 February) – It is 1944 aboard HMAS Shropshire, and David Mattiske, a lad of only 19 years, is stationed in one of the turret shell rooms that deliver ammunition to the …
SURIGAO CITY – It is 1944 aboard HMAS Shropshire, and David Mattiske, a lad of only 19 years, is stationed in one of the turret shell rooms that deliver ammunition to the artillery above. He is still a newbie in his job, mostly just taking orders from his superiors. However, that afternoon, it was much different from the menial tasks he accomplishes on their vessel. They had been told to prepare for a battle to block the Japanese forces on their way to Leyte Gulf.
Seventy-two years later, David would visit our school, Surigao del Norte National High School, for the commemoration of the battle that night in Surigao Strait in 1944. He was 92 years old already, still tall with few wispy white hair on his head, holding a cane to support his balance but nonetheless had a cheerful disposition despite the memories of the war he never forgot.
That was because Australian delegates were also coming to take part in the remembrance of the historic event. I did not know that Australia had a significant part in assisting the Americans in turning the tide of the war. More than that, I was surprised that a veteran was visiting to pay tribute to the battle that he not only witnessed but also participated in. It was David Mattiske, accompanied by a petite old woman, Jan Warren, who was a daughter of a correspondent that covered the battle.
The museum was only about the size of a classroom but packed with dioramas, displays, relics, pictures, and information including the side of the Japanese who were annihilated in the battle. It is to pay respect to the valiant efforts of soldiers who fought in the war no matter what side they belonged to. David’s black and white military portrait including his cap during his service in HMAS Shropshire was also one of the displays. In the portrait, he was wearing his sailor uniform while smiling.
Unfortunately, the site suffered from natural calamity due to super typhoon Odette last December 2021. When I finally visited it in June last year, I was met by the dilapidated roof of the museum which was locked and empty. I did not know where the relics and displays were taken or if they were spared from the typhoon because there was no caretaker around whom I could ask.
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