The Balangiga bells are three church bells that were taken by the United States Army from the Church of San Lorenzo de Martir in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines, as war trophies after reprisals following the Battle of Balangiga in 1901 during the Philippine–American War. One church bell was in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment at Camp Red Cloud, their base in South Korea, while two others were on a former base of the 11th Infantry Regiment at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The three Balangiga bells on display at the San Lorenzo de Martir Parish Church
The 1853 bell
The 1889 bell
The 1895 bell
The Balangiga massacre was an incident during the latter stages of the Philippine–American War in which the residents of the town of Balangiga on the island of Samar conducted a surprise attack on an occupying unit of the U.S. 9th Infantry, killing 54. The incident is also known as the Balangiga Encounter, Balangiga Incident, or Balangiga Conflict, Some Filipino historians have asserted that the term of Balangiga Massacre more appropriately refers to the March across Samar, a subsequent action on the island that resulted in an estimated 2,000 Filipino civilians killed and over 200 homes burned, which they see as retaliation by American soldiers.
Members of Company C, 9th US Infantry Regiment posing with Mayor Valeriano Abanador and another town official
Battle of Balangiga monument
Battle of Balangiga memorial marker
Statue of Valeriano Abanador, Balangiga police chief during the Battle of Balangiga