Mount Samat (Tagalog pronunciation: [samat]) is a mountain in the town of Pilar, Province of Bataan, in the Republic of the Philippines. Located on the summit of the mountain is Dambana ng Kagitingan or Shrine of Valour, a memorial shrine complex built to honor and remember the gallantry of the Filipino and American soldiers who fought during World War II.
Consisting of a colonnade and the huge Memorial Cross, the sentinel of Bataan, the park was commissioned in 1966 by then President Ferdinand Marcos, aWar Veteran himself, for the 25th Anniversary of the Second World War.[1] The white Memorial Cross stands as a remembrance to the soldiers who fought and lost their lives in the Battle of Bataan. From the colonnade and the cross, one can view Bataan, Corregidor Island and on a clear day, the city of Manila. The shrine complex also includes a war museum with a wide array of collections from paintings of the Philippine heroes to armaments used by the American, Filipino and Japanese forces in the heat of the battle.
