San Esteban Landing Site

            “Twice surfacing at Santiago Cove on November 21, 1944, the USS GAR landed on this beach. Commandoes of the Army of the United States with equipment, arms, ammunitions and supplies led by Capts. William Vaughn and William Farell were Lts. Fred Behan and Donald Jamison with two other Americans and Larry Guzman with other G Filipinos of the First Filipino regiment. The landing was effected by USAFIP-NL under Col. Russell W. Volkmann with other paramilitary and guerilla units. By order of Volkmann, Jamison and Maj. Ferdinand E. Marcos sneaked through the cordon of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita to an air strip in Isabela and flew to Camp Spender”.

            The above words are etched on the marble table of the historical San Esteban Landing marker unveiled by no less than the late President Ferdinan E. Marcos in grandiose ceremonies in 1982, one of the few occasions where a Philippine President set foot on this town. Mr. Larry Guzman, a native of San Esteban and a guerilla during World War II. Thought of erecting the marker to immortalize the significant events that transpired in San Esteban and led to the eventual liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese Imperial Army.

            Unfortunately, the pedestal of the marker was swept by strong currents caused by Typhoon Feria on July 2001 and only the tablet remains intact. The name Ferdinand Marcos on the marker was even scraped by vandals during the post Marcos erz. The extent of the damage was reported to the National Historical Institute whose personnel came and made an ocular inspection and designed a new concept of the marker. They agreed to the suggestion that it will be relocated a little bit to the north so it will rest on tSan Esteban soil. The original one is situated in Santiago and is in contradiction to its name – San Esteban Landing.

LOCAL INDUSTRIES

The Stone Craft Industry

            The making of mortar and pestle is one of the industries in San Esteban. The stones are taken from the hills of barangays Bateria, Cappa-cappa and San Pablo. The most popoular finished products our of the limestone are the ‘alsong’, ‘gilingan’ and ‘almeres’. But through the ingenuity of our local producers, they are now making slabs used for landscaping. The most popular are baldozas similar to those paved along the street at the Heritage Village in Vigan City. Stone carvers also make benches and tables out of our natural resources. All products are made manually.