First Lieutenant Basilio Bontoyan Bordalba, First Sergeant Apolonio Bontoyan Bordalba and Private Euligio Narbuada were valiant Filipino soldiers of the USAAFFE honored by the folks of Talamban as shown by the landmark above placed at the town central. Basilio completed a degree in agriculture at the University of the Philippines Los Baños just barely two years before the war broke out. The Commonwealth government then had recruited all able young Filipino men to serve in the United States of America Armed Forces in the Far East (USAAFFE). Thousands of recruits were trained spuriously in order to augment for the dwindling American forces. Basilio and Apolonio were the younger siblings of my grandmother, Cerelina Bordalba Narboada and Eulogio was a cousin of my grandfather Francisco Narboada. Basilio, Apolonio and Celerina were three of the ten children of Prudencio Bordalba and Irene Bontoyan of Tanay, Talamban, Cebu City.
The Bordalba's ten children are the following: Engracia Bordalba(later married to Vercede), Cerelina Bordalba (later married to Narboada), Inocenta Bordalba (later married to Gerona), Rosa Bordalba (later married to Archua), followed by five boys namely: Avelino Bontoyan Bordalba, Alpeniano Bontoyan Bordalba whose family settled at Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur; Basilio Bontoyan Bordalba and Apolonio Bontoyan Bordalba who both died as patriots, Jovencio Bontoyan Bordalba and the last, a girl, the youngest Natividad "Idad" Bordalba, who remains unmarried and is now nearing her centenarian status, living in Quezon City, taken cared by cousins, Lou Narboada Guevarra and Kevin Narboada Presas.
Pondering on their past exploits perhaps could offer us some kind of relief, a balm for these pressing problems that we perpetually face and tirelessly solve. The triumphs of our pioneering parents, their survival in the face of unimaginable circumstances, this reminds us to have hope for better days ahead. Remember the Master's hand. Throughout ages, the unseen hand of the Master providing courage as man fight for day to day battles. And it is no longer a battle against the Japanese Imperial Army. Today, it is mankind's encounter with the realities of life.