Heroes of Marawi: Walang Iwanan! (A Tribute to Cpt Sandoval)
I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.
-Ranger's Creed
Cpt Rommel Sandoval, a member of PMA Class 2005, is among the fatalities in the recent clashes with the ISIS inspired Maute Group.
Daredevil (his callsign) was the company commander of 11th Scout Ranger Company, a part of a larger force tasked to deliver the final blow to the terror group.
The incident happened when one of his team leaders was left wounded in the first floor of the building they were occupying.
Sensing that the enemy were closing in on the wounded, Cpt Sandoval who was at the time was at the 5th floor of the building intructed his men to provide him cover fire as he tried to recover the wounded.
With total disregard to his personal safety, he managed to get close to the wounded along with a ranger buddy (Private First Class Sherwin Canapi). At that moment, he immidiately checked the pulse and was glad the wounded team leader was still alive.
A volume of fire from enemy (in a nearby room) was later directed towards their position as they were trying to get the wounded out of danger. A bullet managed to slip through the side of his (Cpt Sandoval) vest but this did not deter him to fight back along with PFC Canapi.
A bullet caught up to his cheek that resulted to his stantaneous death.
Fellow rangers came to their rescue but were few seconds late. Cpt Sandoval and PFC Canapi died in process while four others were wounded.
The team leader they were trying to rescue survived and will live to tell the story of how his gallant Commander and a fellow ranger risked their lives for his.
Remaining true to the Ranger's Creed, Cpt Sandoval along PFC Canapi risked their lives to prevent their wounded from falling into the hands of the enemy. WALANG IWANAN!
The are now a total of 44 fatalities among the rangers in Marawi.
My snappiest salute to Cpt Sandoval and his men...
Thank you for your service.
Credits:
https://www.rappler.com/nation/181804-marawi-battle-troops-recover-tall-buildings
Salute to fallen page for the photo