Mount Samat

Mount Samat
The 302-ft Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) Memorial Cross located near the summit of Mount Samat
Highest point
Elevation	544.7 m (1,787 ft)
Parent peak	Mount Mariveles
Coordinates	14°36′15.4″N 120°30′27.3″E / 14.604278°N 120.507583°E / 14.604278; 120.507583Coordinates: 14°36′15.4″N 120°30′27.3″E / 14.604278°N 120.507583°E / 14.604278; 120.507583
Geography
Mount Samat Location within the Philippines
Location	Luzon
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Luzon
Province	Bataan
Municipality	Pilar
Parent range	Zambales Mountains
Geology
Mountain type	Extinct volcano
Volcanic arc/belt	Western Bataan Lineament
Last eruption	Unknown
Climbing
Easiest route	Mt. Samat Road

Mount Samat (Tagalog pronunciation: [samat]) is a historic mountain in the town of Pilár, Province of Bataan, in the Republic of the Philippines. Located near its summit is the Mount Samat National Shrine, a national shrine dedicated to the fallen Filipino and American fallen during World War II.

Mount Samat is a parasitic cone of Mount Mariveles with no record of historical eruption. The summit of Mount Samat is 9.2 km (5.7 mi) NNE of the Mariveles caldera. Mount Samat itself has a 550-metre (1,800 ft) wide crater that opens to the northeast. The Mount Samat Cross is situated near the edge of the crater rim.

At the start of World War II in 1942 after suffering heavy losses against the Imperial Japanese Army all over Luzon, the Filipino and American soldiers retreated to Bataan Peninsula to regroup for a last valiant but futile stand. After four months of fighting, the 78,000 exhausted, sick and starving soldiers under Major General Edward P. King surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942 known as the fall of Bataan. It is the single largest surrender of U.S. soldiers in history and Mariveles, a town in the Bataan province, was their last stronghold after which, together with the Philippine soldiers, they were led on to the 80-mile (130 km) march to Capas, Tarlac known as the Bataan Death March.