On February 24, 1888, General Vicente Lim, Bataan hero and the first Filipino to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point (class of 1914), was born in Calamba, Laguna.
Lim served as brigadier general and became the top–ranking Filipino under General Douglas MacArthur, tasked with the defense of Southern Luzon when the Philippine Army was incorporated into the American Forces on July 16, 1941.
He survived the infamous Bataan Death March after American and Filipino forces surrendered to the Japanese forces on April 9, 1942.
The event was called Death March because Filipino-American troops who surrendered were forced at gunpoint to march from Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga, under the hot tropical sun and later proceeded to Capas, Tarlac. Those who could not march because of physical weakness were shot down or bayoneted.
Subsequently, admitted for injuries at the Philippine General Hospital, Lim convinced the Japanese of his incapacitation and pretended to be confined at the PGH while managing to conduct secret guerrilla activities in Luzon.
In 1944, Lim was ordered to rejoin General Douglas MacArthur in Australia. He attempted to travel but was captured en route to Australia by the Japanese. He was held for months at Fort Santiago and the Bilibid Prison before being beheaded, along with Colonel Antonio Escoda, shortly before the liberation.
He received the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart awards. General Lim also appears on the P1,000 banknote in recognition of his services to the Filipino people.
He died on December 31, 1944 at the age of 56. He is listed among the Tablets of the Missing at Manila National Cemetery.
Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna was named in his honor.
