My father was born on February 20th, 1941 in the Zambales Province of the Philippines. Like my mother, my father grew up during a period of war. In my father’s case, it was World War II and it’s aftermath. The Philippines and other Pacific Islands were strategic for both the Axis (Japan) and Allied powers (United States) to control. And the Philippines suffered the consequences, including the death of over 50,000 Filipinos.
Zambales, like much of the Philippines, was a largely agricultural region that depended on the land for its sustenance. My father was the 2nd oldest of 8 siblings. Even though he had an older brother, the responsibility of the farm and his family fell on my father’s shoulders.
My father was revered not only by his family but also by the community, where he was known to be kind and friendly. Per other family stories, my father was also very handsome and almost accepted an offer to become an actor, but he was too shy.
However, life in the Philippines was not easy and there were very limited opportunities to advance from poverty. I assumed he knew this and wanted more for himself. This opportunity came via the US Navy.
The United States colonized the Philippines upon their victory in the 1898 Spanish American War. Shortly after, the US Navy started allowing a small number of Filipinos to enter the Navy as lowly stewards. H.G. Reza (LA Times 2/27/92) reported that the US reached a formal agreement in the late 1940’s with the Philippines to recruit Filipinos without them first emigrating to the US. In short, the US Navy allowed these young Filipino men to become naturalized US citizens.
Reza noted that the competition for these limited spots was “fierce” and the US Navy received up to 100,000 applications for 400 spots.
The opportunity was too great for my father to pass up—to not only see the world and leave behind the hard life on a farm but to become a US citizen.
The irony of this coveted spot does not escape me—the best and brightest Filipino men were being recruited to become stewards in the US Navy. I don’t think they saw this limitation and likely only saw the priceless opportunity to become a citizen of the United States of America.
Childhood lost 