PINES AND THE PROMISE: A SYNOPSIS

Pines and the Promise – A Synopsis Pines and the Promise is a sweeping historical novel that follows Bienvenido “Ben” Baquirin, a barrio boy from Asingan, Pangasinan, whose journey from humble beginnings to the battlefields of two wars tests the limits of his duty, faith, and love. Raised in the Methodist tradition by his uncle and grandmother, Ben earns honors in school and enters the Philippine Military Academy. There, his life intersects with Josefina “Fina” Quirino, the Catholic niece of a rising political figure, Senator Elpidio Quirino. Their meeting at the glittering PMA Ball — under the gaze of President Manuel Quezon and General Douglas MacArthur — sparks a quiet, cautious courtship shadowed by class, religion, and family scrutiny. But history interrupts. In 1941, Ben’s PMA class is dismissed as the Japanese invasion closes in. He returns to his home province, raises a guerrilla squadron under the authority of American officer Col. Claude Thorpe, and fights in the foothills and fields of Luzon. Alongside relatives, friends, and fellow cadets like Marcelo Navarro — and with his young cousin Eddie running messages — Ben leads daring strikes against Japanese convoys, forging the leadership that will define his military career. After the war, as the Philippines rebuilds, Ben’s path crosses Fina’s again. Their bond deepens during visits to her family’s estate, Villa Alto, under the watchful eyes of her sister Manang May and her formidable aunt, Tía Alex, the “Gatekeeper.” A tense dinner with a Catholic priest and a Methodist pastor exposes their theological divide, but also Ben’s quiet resolve. In 1950, President Quirino sends the 10th Battalion Combat Team to fight in Korea under the United Nations flag. Ben, now a seasoned officer, joins the mission. He trains in the mountains of Marikina, sails aboard the USMS Sgt. Sylvester Antolak, and faces the bitterest winter in two centuries. The Korean crucible reaches its peak at the Battle of Yultong (April 1951), where Ben’s leadership and refusal to abandon his men earn him the Gold Cross Medal — even as he loses close friends like Lt. Jose Artiaga and Capt. Conrado Yap. Returning home, Ben serves in counterinsurgency campaigns against communist rebels, then attains his dream post as a Tactical Officer at PMA. Eventually, he joins the Corps of Professors, teaching Psychology, Military History, and Strategy to a new generation. Through war and peace, the love between Ben and Fina endures — tested by distance, difference, and the shifting tides of history — bound by a promise made under the pines. Rich in historical detail and driven by deeply human stakes, Pines and the Promise is a story of courage, conviction, and the quiet resilience of love in a century marked by upheaval.