Under the Gun

By all accounts, Lieut. Colonel Dennis Villanueva was a soldier who fully earned the chestful of medals he received in 19 years of fighting for the Philippine Army. The 42-year-old father of three would bravely lead men into battle, then party with them afterward. ("He drank anything," recalls one of his junior officers fondly, "as long as it wasn't poison.") In February, Villanueva planned a break from duty on the strife-torn southern island of Mindanao for a family reunion. On Feb. 10, he sent a text message to his wife, Evangeline: "I can't come. We're under attack here." The week before,...

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