An American missionary and a Filipina nurse caught in a lengthy hostage crisis in the Philippines were remembered by friends and relatives in San Diego County as kind and diligent.
Donna and Bill Davis of Allied Gardens, who are linguists with New Tribes Mission, said they met Martin Burnham, 42, of Rose Hill, Kan., and his wife, Gracia, 43, in the Philippines in the mid-1980s. Martin Burnham was a pilot who flew missionaries and supplies in and out of the various island locations.
"He's a real consistent guy, very much a man of integrity," Donna Davis said. "They both have servant hearts and are really, really dedicated to their ministry and the Lord."
Martin Burnham and the nurse, Ediborah "Deborah" Yap, were killed last weekend in a battle between U.S.-trained commandos and members of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf. At least four of their kidnappers were killed and seven Filipino soldiers were wounded, according to reports.
Gracia Burnham – pronounced Gray-sha – sustained a gunshot wound to her right thigh during the battle. She underwent surgery in the Philippine city of Zamboanga, then was flown to Manila en route to the United States. She was reunited with her three children Monday afternoon after arriving in Kansas City, Mo.
The Burnhams were kidnapped from a beach resort in the Philippines with 19 other people on May 27, 2001.
Just days before their abduction, Gracia Burnham attended the high school graduation of the Davis' daughter, Bethy, in Manila. Gracia Burnham sat next to Donna Davis during the ceremony and relayed her and her husband's plans to celebrate their wedding anniversary at the resort on Palawan Island.
"It was kind of uncharacteristic of them. They're just kind of low-key people," Donna Davis recalled. "(Gracia) was ambivalent about going. They were wondering if they should stay in Manila."
Donna Davis said she and her family were terrified by the news of the kidnapping because it hit so close to home. They were also troubled by pangs of guilt.
"We were the ones who requested that they come down to Palawan at that time," she explained. Martin Burnham was supposed to fly the Davis family to the island after the graduation.
Since the hostage crisis began, Yap's relatives have been swapping bits of information, including amateur video that a family member took of the melee at the resort where the Burnhams were kidnapped.
Yap was working as a hospital nurse when she was abducted by guerrillas who invaded her workplace to steal medicine.
San Diego lawyer David Chan, Yap's nephew, said the family has been told that Yap had a chance to escape from her captors when some other hostages broke free, but she stayed to help care for and provide emotional support to the Burnhams.
"She was a kind and good person. Emotionally, she was strong," said Chan. Chan's 80-year-old mother, Aurora Pamaran Chan of Carlsbad, is Yap's eldest sister.
"She's holding up pretty well," Chan said of his mother. "She was definitely in mourning when she heard the news."
In March, Chan made a personal plea for U.S. officials to work to free his aunt and the American missionaries. He now wonders whether U.S. intervention would have made a difference.
"I don't know if the U.S. military could have done anything," Chan said.
Dana Littlefield: (760) 476-8233; dana.littlefield@uniontrib.com
