Young and brave, two words that will describe the PMA Class of 1942. They were scheduled to graduate in the summer of 1942 when the war came upon them. Although they were unprepared for their early taste of war, they showed courage and heroism fighting against the enemy. They gave it all their strength, blood, sweat and their tears. For other members, their lives.
Class 42 members, 3rd Lieutenants Alberto Muriel, Rafael O Chan and Bernardo Aquino were captured in Bataan, forced to endure the Death March and were imprisoned in Camp O’Donell Concentration Camp where they met their fate. Other members including 3rd Lieutenants Virgilio M Danao, Manuel T. Nery, Oscar Nava, Dioclesio Perez and Pedro M. Quezon joined guerilla units in different parts of the country where they were killed in action. On the other hand, 3rd Lieutenant Restituto F. Joson was carrying out a special mission deep inside enemy lines together with a handful of his men; none of them returned. Captain Nicolas Carbonel, a member of Class 42, who was not commissioned in UST due to some technicality, enlisted himself as Private. His performance later on in combat gained recognition and was eventually commissioned at the peak of the war. He died in active duty as his aircraft failed in a power dive sortie. 2nd Lieutenant Telesforo Palaruan and 3rd Lieutenant Honorio S. Quines were both beheaded when they refused to give out crucial information to their captors. 3rd Lieutenant Santo E. Alcantara, after being captured, was stabbed and killed with a bayonet after he refused to part with his class bull ring. Valor and heroism truly embark in the blood of these young former cadets.
All of the members of Class 42 showed their heroism and love for the country. Along with the other comrade-in-arms who fought and gave their lives during those hard times, we owe to them the freedom we now have and enjoy today. They were the fallen but will never be forgotten.
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