César Fernando María Tianko Basa (21 June 1915 – 12 December 1941) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

military pilot who fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was one of the pioneer fighter pilots of the

Philippine Army Air Corps The Philippine Army Air Corps ( fil, Pulutong Himpapawid ng Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas; es, Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejercito Filipino) was created in 1935 as the air component of the Philippine Army. It was the predecessor of the Philippine Air F ...

, the forerunner of the

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forc ...

, and was the first Filipino fighter pilot casualty during World War II.

Early Years

César Basa was born on 21 June 1915 to Fernando Basa and Rosario Tianko of

Isabela, Negros Occidental Isabela, officially the Municipality of Isabela, is a 2nd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,516 peo ...

. He finished his primary education in his home town, until their family moved to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

where his parents enrolled him at the

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

. He took up

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

Major in

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, and graduating in the class of 1939. In school he was known as a star player of their

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and was a swimmer. Upon graduating from the ADMU, he joined the Philippine Army Flying School in Zablan Airfield in Camp Murphy, and received his commission as 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation in 1940.

Death

Basa's fight took place at

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...

Field on the morning of 12 December 1941 when 27

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

bombers and 17 fighter escorts raided the base. Six Filipino fighter pilots of the 6th Pursuit Squadron in Boeing P-26A "Peashooter" fighter planes, led by Captain Jesús Villamor, engaged the numerically superior enemy in aerial combat at . Several dogfights ensued as Villamor and his men fought desperately to prevent the pack of bombers and their fighter escorts from reaching and bombing Lipa Airfield. Lieutenant Basa, still airborne after a two hour air-reconnaissance mission, rushed to the scene and attempted to join the aerial engagement with only 15 minutes' worth of fuel left in his P-26. Enroute, he was intercepted by seven Japanese fighters and shot down. Although he was able to bring his aircraft back to Nichols Airfield and run for cover, he received a fatal head injury after one of the Japanese fighters swooped down to strafe his aircraft. Lt. Victor Osias still attempted to rescue him, but Basa expired in his arms. This made him the first Filipino fighter-pilot casualty of war. Captain Villamor and his pilots won the battle, with the only casualty being Basa. In recognition of his heroism, Lieutenant Basa was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

Honors

Cesar Basa Air Base Cesar Basa Air Base, or simply Basa Air Base (formerly known as Floridablanca Airfield), is an airbase currently operated by the Philippine Air Force. It is located at Floridablanca, Pampanga about northwest of Metro Manila in the Philippines. ...

in Floridablanca,

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

, Philippines is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basa, Cesar 1915 births 1941 deaths Filipino military personnel killed in World War II Philippine Air Force personnel Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Filipino World War II pilots Filipino military aviators Ateneo de Manila University alumni Philippine Army Air Corps Filipino military personnel of World War II