Book Review : 44 Days of Faith and Valor

Based on the cover of the book, I suppose that this book may contain some stories that may be related to our cadetship training, but after a few moments of examining the outer book, I decided to read one page at a time. Soon, I learned that PLTGEN CESAR HAWTHRONE R. BINAG (Ret) started as ordinary folk who lived a life of being a listener. His attitude towards listening in a conversation or story of another relates to me as some would say that I am an excellent listener where I am just a man of few words in reality. His life story started simple, being a 'balut' vendor in terminals and being exposed to the bible at a young age. What I love about the overview of the book is that the author made a mixture of both religion and military life, where some would some it is contradicting in some aspects, but he ensured that the two concepts are one further in the book.

If you look deep into the book, away from the stories of war and the concepts of SAF, the book is about finding God. The book is a guide, but not any guide towards righteousness, a guide on how to embrace challenges that God puts in front of us. The book refers to all of us as warriors where. We need our daily devotion to keep on fighting, to keep on carrying on.

One of my favorite parts of the book was chapter 36, titled "TOTO MAOY," where one of his men discharged a rifle to put his dog out of misery because the puppy was run over by a vehicle. I consider myself a dog lover, and it was a heartbreaking chapter, to say the least, though what followed was a humorous reason for discharging the firearm multiple times for a salute to the dog. The chapter does not want the readers to focus on the whole scene but on the deeper concept of it. Toto's father was shot in front of him, causing him psychological problems, which were later revealed. Sometimes one misses the story's point because we are focused on the smaller picture.

​ The book was beautiful, nothing more, nothing less. As a Cadet, I could imagine myself on the lines of Mindoro as PLTGEN CESAR HAWTHORNE R. BINAG (Ret) did when facing insurgencies. Now I understand how the book is titled "44 Days of Faith and Valor". 'Valor' symbolizes courage, while 'Faith' supplements boldness with the word of God. I highly recommend this book because of its rich stories and the person behind it. Not all those who go into war live to tell tales from within. The book sheds light on war and how many lives were lost. But amidst the gunfire and explosions, God can be found. In everything we see and hear, God can be found.

​ The book got me questioning the idea of how to strengthen others as well as myself in a spiritual way. Through the movie title, one can already identify the straightforward concept of God and war. By digging deeper into the literature, one can find God and one's faith in the self. The book idealizes the importance of believing in yourself and not too little about your abilities, as shown in chapter 10.

Reference: Raga, A. A., & Binag, C. H. (n.d.). 44 Days of Valor. PNP. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://pnpfeo.net/news/81-about-us/150-pcsupt-cesar-hawthorne-rivera-binag/