Col. Manuel A. Acosta, PA

Col. Manuel A. Acosta, PA was born on 17 December 1916 in Laoag, Iloco Norte. Youngest of the Acosta Brothers Act (Flor ’37, Melchior ’40), Maning was quiet, unassuming but big-hearted. After graduation, he joined the FA where WW II found him as Btry Comdr, 301st FA. He served in Bataan with distinction. When Japanese planes strafed his position on Jan. 16,1942, Maning was seriously injured that his left arm had to be amputated at a Field Hospital, where he languished until the fall of Bataan. Taken POW, he joined the Death March and was interned in Capas. After his release as POW, he managed to rehabilitate himself and worked as a Social Worker at the Bureau of Public Welfare. On 31 July 1943, Maning married his sweetheart, Rosita S Henson of Pampanga. They lived in the affluent Greenhills Village in San Juan, Metro Manila. After the war, he studied at the Advance QuarterMasters Course in Fort Lee, VA. He held various positions within the Philippine Army. He was as Army QM Gen, Head-Phil Procurement Mission to Japan, and PMLO-Sangley Point. He served as Executive Director of the National Shrines Commission from 1972 to 1983. The Shrines in Bataan, Coregidor and Capas were started during Maning’s incumbency.

Sources

• "Philippine Military Academy Class of 1940". http://bit.ly/1fNkp02. Date accessed: 24 February 2014.