Do you know that 71 years ago, right around this time, Valeriano Ibañez Abello and his two

Boy Scout
pals stood on a beach in Leyte and saved hundreds of lives?

According to sources, Valeriano Ibañez Abello was 31 years old when Allied warships came to Leyte.
From the beach where he was standing, he spied two men on different ships signaling furiously.

Luckily, Abello was a former Boy Scout and understood semaphore. He was able to figure out that there
were going to be bombings prior to the forces making their landing.

Abello promptly made his family evacuate but rather than running away himself, Abello stayed despite
his neighbors' warnings. Abello used flag semaphore to attempt to communicate with US Warship 467
from the the hilltops of BarangayTelegrafo in Tolosa.

Using two white sheets on sticks, he signaled, "Don't bomb the beaches, there are civilians. If possible let
me direct the shelling."

Joined by two other Boy Scout friends, Antero Junia and Vicente Tiston, Abello got on a banca to get
near the warship. It was only 1 kilometer but the distance seemed greater as the Japanese shelled and
capsized their little boat until they were finally hoisted up by US soldiers.

Also a forestry personnel, Abello was cognizant with map reading and he was able to pinpoint Japanese
installations for the US troops. His assistance helped divert the bombings away from the populated areas
of Tolosa.

Abello was awarded the Philippine Legion of Honor by President Magsaysay. However, Abello was not
awarded veteran status after the war, a lapse of history said PDI columnist Belinda Olivares-Cunanan. He
was also not allowed to be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Please SHARE this story of our lesser-known heroes.

From: "Heroes" as featured in "Political Tidbits" column of Belinda Olivares-Cunanan, Philippine Daily
Inquirer; and Ugnayan website
*This post dedicated to Shan who made a request. :)

During the United States Navy's assault on Leyte on 18 October 1944,

three former Boy Scouts, Valeriano Ibañez Abello, Antero Junia, and
Vicente Tistón, mobilised and took action due to the extreme danger to
the civilian populations posed by the naval bombardment. Acting as
sender, receiver, and paddler respectively, Abello, Junia, and Tistón
established communication with ship 467 using signalling (learned in
youth as Scouts of Troop 11), identified themselves "Boy Scouts of
America," pushed out by bangkâ (outrigger canoe), got capsised by
Japanese fire, swam to the ship, and were taken aboard. They provided
information pinpointing Japanese installations and diverting shelling
away from populated areas of Tolosa, Leyte.[1] Their intrepid actions
made good copy for war correspondents on board ship. For their
heroism, Abello was conferred the Philippine Legion of Honor by Pres.
Ramón Magsaysáy in 1956,[2] a statue representing Abello was erected
in Telegrafó, and Signal Day would be observed annually on 18 October.
An attempt by relatives to have Abello buried at the Libingan ng mga
Bayani / Heroes' Cemetery failed.
According to historical accounts, amidst Japanese artillery shelling, Abello,
along with his friends Vicente Tiston and Antero Zunia, navigated to the Allied
naval ship nearest to them and with the use of white cloth diapers, locally
known as lampin, Abello signaled the words “Don’t bomb beaches. There are
civilians. If possible let me direct shelling”.
The Valeriano Abello monument in Tolosa, Leyte.
Because of his brave act, the locals of Tolosa were saved from being hit by
the Allied troops and the defenses of the enemy were weakened. The coastal
barangay Telegrafo bears the monument marking the site where Abello and
his friends launched his boat and went on to earn a spot in war history.