In Memory of My Paternal Grandfather Who Was Killed In World War II

dyerohmeb • May 25, 2015

I'm writing this mainly to collect my thoughts on recent mini-events in my every day life. I strangely had to bring forth the memory of the father of my late father. I never met him. He was a soldier and he died during World War II in the Philippines. My late father was very proud of him, although I believe he had few chances of meeting him as he was born during the war when my paternal grandfather was sent to fight (and subsequently died) in the war. My father told me how his mother received the terrible news of her husband being killed. My father even had to carry the mark of being a child of someone who died during the war in the form of a tattoo on his chest, which, according to him, was placed on him while he was still a youngster (or probably a baby). I recall asking him about this tattoo when I was still a little boy.

I was recently asked about my paternal grandfather because I had to blurt out to someone who condescendingly asked about which war was I was talking about when I said my grandfather died in the War. This someone is born of Philippine parents who were both soldiers with the US military. That person who asked me in that seemingly impertinent tone did serve as a US soldier, too, and he's retired now although he looks so young (which is common among Asians).

I got not much to say about my grandfather. His death provided for a monthly pension from the US government that my grandmothers (my late Father's mother and his grandmother) received until they died. Our family's considered well off in that part of Pangasinan province in the Philippines, and this was attributed partly to that pension as it would come no matter how economic conditions were in that part of the archipelago. I didn't have the opportunity to stay long enough in that province because my late Father built and brought up his family ('us') in Manila. We would just visit the elders and relatives from time to time, which gave me very strong and good impressions on how my relatives and our lives have been linked one way or another. This extends to having a dead grandfather whose memory I would bring back to conversations with just about anybody who is interested in such topics as the military, memorials, wars, soldiers, and the like. By the way, my grandfather is entombed among other relatives and other soldiers in the war memorial ('Libingan ng mga Bayani') in the Bicutan-Taguig-Makati area in the Philippines, an area that has become more prominent to others because of its booming economy and ultra expensive real property prices --- I wonder if someone will have the idea of moving this memorial somewhere else LOL and turn the space into something more profitable (this is a bad joke, I know).

If you could read the text in the image at the start of this posting, you'll see a sharing from my friend Sam Prudente on Facebook. I'm still disturbed up to now on the injustice brought about by the collective prejudice of those lawmakers in the US Congress who back-flipped after World War II on the promises of complete benefits to all those who served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. Can it be possible that the souls of all these soldiers, including my grandfather, are lamenting (and the energies of their spirits are reminding us) over these collective acts of injustices that have gathered dust and utter disregard all these years? Or am I just imagining ideas here? How come I get to face these issues here even if my grandfather died over 50 years ago? We're all supposed to be moving on, aren't we? I'm copying / pasting what my friend share here:

Memorial Day 2015 honors American soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. But is country more than just citizenship and a marker of the physical location of one's birth? Is national identity a birthright than can be conscripted and amended, offered and taken away by a college of Congressional representatives? The same ilk that now lords over equality in marriage, unrepentant before the Constitution?

Even though Memorial Day began as a holiday honoring the Union soldiers who brought down slavery, during the entire Civil War approximately 620,000 Americans died. More than half of those deaths were caused by disease as an indirect result of the exigencies of war and cut through all the hues of skin color.
In World War II a total of 405,399 Americans died. Filipino American Veterans numbered 260,000 officially - almost 3 for every 4 Americans who died.

Filipino Americans were readily conscripted and signed up AS AMERICAN CITIZENS living in the Commonwealth of the Philippines under American rule, and were promised all the benefits afforded to those serving in the armed forces of the United States until Congress conveniently back-flipped immediately after the war. Only Filipino Americans were denied military benefits. Nationals from the other 66 countries allied with the United States during the war were fully recognized and provided for their war efforts.

The opening text of the Rescission Act of 1946 states, "Service before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces...were in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States pursuant to the military order of the President dated July 26, 1941, including among such military forces organized guerrilla forces under commanders appointed, designated, or subsequently recognized by the Commander in Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, or other competent authority in the Army of the United States, shall not be deemed to have been active military, naval, or air service for the purposes of any law of the United States conferring rights, privileges, or benefits upon any person by reason of the service of such person or the service of any other person in the Armed Forces."

The text above is a convenient introduction to the hand washing of responsibilities, with the Congress of 1946 the Pontius Pilate.

The following numbers are a grim reminder of neglect, shunning and abandonment, aligned with the severest crimes of family and brotherhood in Filipino culture. Let's see if the number speak to you. To place it in a Civil war context, 260,000 is equivalent to the number of lives lost fighting under the Confederacy.

That is still more than all American deaths from World War I, Korean War, Vietnam War, Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom COMBINED. All deaths, combined. Sobering enough yet?

However during World War II, as my grandmothers and grandfathers did, many more fought guerrilla wars against the appropriated Japanese troops (who may have been born in Manchuria or the Korean peninsula) and that number would grow by official estimates to over 400,000. This brings the number of Filipino American veterans closer to a one is to one ratio with the total number of American deaths during World War II.

Those members of Congress watched (and I am sure some of them maneuvered and planned it) as over 127,000 Japanese-Americans were placed in concentration camps for the duration of World War II. Not to belittle it, but simply comparing by the numbers, this is not even half or lesser still, only about a quarter of the Filipino American Veterans who were ready to make the ultimate sacrifice.

In Arlington on Memorial Day 2015, about 5,000 visitors are expected to arrive. I pray each of them remember to pay homage to 25 Filipino Americans who served unsung during World War II and continue to be unsung heroes today.

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