Summary
Highlights
The video introduces "The Battle of Hill Eerie," a crucial event where Lieutenant Fidel Ramos led Filipino forces to capture a Chinese outpost during the Korean War. Hill Eerie, a well-fortified Chinese-controlled outpost, was strategically located between UN and enemy lines. Control of the hill changed hands multiple times, with early Filipino attempts in May 1952, led by Colonel Salvador Abcede, failing to secure the objective despite inflicting casualties on the enemy.
Due to Hill Eerie's strategic importance, Colonel Abcede tasked Major Felizardo Tanabe to devise a new plan. A 44-man reconnaissance and assault team, led by 24-year-old West Point graduate Lieutenant Fidel Ramos, was assembled. This team was divided into scout, sniper, forward observer, and rifle units, supported by air, tank, and artillery forces.
On May 21st, at 4:07 AM, Ramos and his team infiltrated under the cover of darkness, reaching an irrigation ditch 400 meters from the outpost two hours later. After an aerial bombardment by F-86 Sabre fighter bombers, Ramos directed a heavy artillery barrage. He then identified an opening in the barbed wire defenses, leading his scout team through the right side while the rifle team attacked from the left, with sniper cover from Lieutenant Dizon.
Inside the camp, intense fighting ensued with heavy enemy gunfire and grenades. The Filipinos systematically cleared bunkers using grenades, and despite some casualties, pressed forward. Ramos' demolition team destroyed two bunkers with satchel charges. When enemy troops fired from a connecting trench, the Filipinos retaliated, eventually driving the remaining Chinese soldiers to retreat. Ramos then called for artillery fire to ensure the area was clear.
The battle lasted two hours, marking the third major Filipino victory against Chinese Communist Forces in the Korean War. The camp was renamed Molina Hill in honor of Corporal Liberato Molina. Only one Filipino soldier was wounded, while 16 Chinese were killed. Forty years later, Lieutenant Fidel Ramos, the successful leader of this mission, became the 12th President of the Republic of the Philippines.