F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyoming - The US government on Thursday formally returned to the Philippines church bells that were taken as war trophies following gruesome clashes, seeking to close a contentious chapter in the 2 allies' shared history.

War veterans and the Philippine government for decades called for the return of the bells that US soldiers took from a church in Balangiga, Samar during the Filipino-American War.

The return of the historical artifacts will "smooth the bonds that were tested but never broken by war," said US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at a ceremony here, where 2 of the 3 bells are located.

"Bear these bells home back to their Catholic Church confident that America's ironclad alliance with the Philippines is stronger than ever," Mattis added, addressing Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez.

The third Balangiga bell at a US Army museum in South Korea was already crated and ready for repatriation, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) earlier said.

The ringing of the Balangiga bells on September 28, 1901 signaled a sneak attack by Filipino villagers, which left 45 US troops killed.

In response, a US commander ordered the killing and burning of all Filipino males above the age of 10, leaving some 2,500 dead.

• Why US agreed to return Balangiga Bells after a century

Some US veterans and Wyoming's delegation to the US Congress uniformly opposed returning bells that were a memorial to the slain American soldiers.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez meet in front of the two #BalangigaBells at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. @ABSCBNNews @ANCALERTS @TVPatrol @ukgdos @balitangamerica pic.twitter.com/L1Be3mLA67

— Jared Bray (@JaredBray) November 14, 2018

'COURAGE IS TIMELESS'

Mattis said the Philippines has proven itself as a great US ally in conflicts over the century since that clash. He said the sacrifices of US forces would not be forgotten.

"To those who fear we lose something by returning these bells, please hear me when I say: Bells mark time, but courage is timeless," Mattis said. "It does not fade in history's dimly lit corridors."

The Philippines' foreign affairs department cheered the move.

"Today is a time of solemn remembrance as we pay tribute to all those who gave up their lives during the Filipino-American War," it said.

Wyoming's Congressional delegation, which did not attend the ceremony, issued a terse statement.

"We continue to oppose any efforts by the Administration to move the Bells to the Philippines without the support of Wyoming’s veterans community," Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Representative Liz Cheney told Reuters in a joint statement.

All 3 bells will be restored and handed over to the Philippines as early as December, said Joe Felter, deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia.

The 1901 attack in Balangiga was seen as perhaps the worst routing of US soldiers since the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, also known as Custer's Last Stand.

Some Wyoming veterans, like Cheryl Shannon at Veterans of Foreign Wars, said they were fine with the decision to return the bells.

"We're tired of it always being an issue," said Shannon, an Iraq war veteran.

But Hank Miller, a veteran with the VFW who wanted to keep the bells in Wyoming, said broader support for his position had faded as it became clear Washington would return the bells.

"I was advised to 'stop fighting a losing battle' and 'stop beating a dead horse' as the bells were going back," Miller told Reuters.

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• Why US agreed to return Balangiga Bells after a century

With reports from Phil Stewart, Reuters; Jared Bray, ABS-CBN News