In the afternoon of December 13, 1941, the same day President Quezon visited Camp Balara, a quick turn of events was about to happen. The boost they got earlier that day due to the visit was put to the test as their forward observers raised the alarm. The enemy was spotted. Across the horizon were planes with the red sun marking “Zero-sen” escorting bigger, twin-engine bombers, flying towards their direction from the north.
Surprised but ready, the members of Class ’42, along with other cadets, occupied their defensive positions as they prepared for their first battle. The Japanese planes flew right above and past them towards either Nichols Field – the home of the Philippine Department Air Force or Camp Murphy, a military camp located near Camp Balara. A few moments later, they spied two fighter planes flying in low altitude from the south of the camp. Alerted, the cadets immediately started shooting at the planes. Unperturbed, the planes continued to fly towards the direction of Nichols Field and Camp Murphy, unleashing death blows, leaving the camp and field in flames.
After raining fire on Nichols Field and Camp Murphy, the fighter planes flew back towards Camp Balara and furiously strafed the camp from west to east, severely damaging it. The disciplined troops in Camp Balara returned fire, aiming their rifles and browning machine guns at the enemy planes. Though at a disadvantage, the courage of PMA class of 1942 cannot be measured. Fighting alongside other cadets, officers and enlisted personnel, they managed to shoot down a Japanese Zero. That immediately stopped the enemy from the strafing run, but leaving the camp destroyed and battered. Miraculously, none of the members of Class 1942 and other cadets were killed in action nor injured in their Baptism of Fire.
