“OUR commitment to justice will be measured not by whether we will get the bill passed, but whether we will harness our collective energies to correct a grave injustice. We cannot lose faith in our capacity to do what is right and just.” —Jon Melegrito, National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity (NAFVE)
I have been fortunate to have family members who survived World War II, with amazing legacies of being more humane to others, socially gregarious and enormous in their “generosity of spirit.” They never preached hate toward the Japanese, but both fathers reminded us that these Imperial Army soldiers loathed what they did, but had to do, as duty.
My husband’s father, Atty. Enrique Delacruz, Sr. survived the Bataan Death March and walked over 200 miles, day and night, counting all the unburied dead along his path. 1, 2, 3, 4, until he counted 124 one night, 100 the next evening, and 150 the next. When I asked him why did he count them each night, he said, “to honor their lives, to remember them, to tell them in their death, we affirm their heroism.”
Both fathers have passed away, but their lives inform us of what is right and just.
To survive, Enrique, Sr., my father-in-law negotiated with his Japanese soldiers/captors for his team of soldiers to be spared. The Japanese soldiers agreed. How? He persuasively reminded them they had to eat as soldiers and that he understood they were simply doing their jobs. He humanized them.
He went on to attend law school and each day, he would walk several miles to get to his school. He became a country lawyer, defending his clients from land grabbers, and at times, his fees were paid in the form of eggs, goats, chickens, pigs, and milking cows, which my husband Enrique learned to milk as the eldest in the family.
It was not until Enrique, Sr. was in his eighties that we learned of this painful story. Our son, Carlo, then in high school, made a video about his grandfather as part of his AP history coursework. Because of Carlo’s assignment, we all learned valuable lessons from Enrique Sr’s history, which would have been buried by six decades of silence.
Eleazar Abarquez, my dad, passed away in 2000. At the time of his passing, I encouraged my mother to write down the love story between her and my father to assuage her grief from his passing. In her writings, my mother shared how my father, was orphaned as a result of his parents, Maximo Abarquez and Josefa Aquino Abarquez, being assassinated by the Japanese Imperial Army. When his parents died, he sought burial in a Catholic Church, but the Catholic pastor was so afraid that he might suffer retaliation from Japanese soldiers. Yet, my father persisted and obtained a Catholic burial for his parents. He argued that is what is humane, right and just.
My father also lost three brothers – Angel, Constancio and Norberto—who were all soldiers killed by the Japanese. He could have been bitter. But, after his tragic losses of four family members gone, my father persevered through school, walking barefoot for miles, like my father-in-law, and wore pants from modified rice sacks. His status of being an orphan did not stop him from pursuing his dreams, until he served as a government employee, enforcing labor codes of the Republic of the Philippines.
During Christmas, nuns and neighbors were in our house, as my father handed out presents. He and my mother saved up for the entire year to be able to do this. When he died, he was eulogized as “Christmas,” as he embodied that spirit of generosity to everyone—family, neighbors, friends and stranger.
Both fathers stood for what is right and just.
It is in that spirit of doing what is right and just that we welcome the new executive action by Pres. Barack Obama of extending visa privileges to dependents of WW II veterans to come to the United States.
Gel Santos-Relos, an Asian Journal columnist, cited Rommel Conclara’s interview of July 16, featuring Filipino World War II veteran Leocadio Ansis, already 88 years old, who originally petitioned his son, Enrique, to legally come to the United States in 1992. After waiting for more than 22 years, Leocadio was notified that his son’s paperwork has finally started: “I would say it is too long already for waiting and you realize that some of my peers have faded away already so I would be praying that these people who are still around that their dreams can come true with their families coming to join us.”
Filipino WW II Soldiers: America’s second-class citizens.
Rick Rocamora’s book with 85 pages of black and white photos and essays on Filipino WW II soldiers features more of the heart-wrenching stories of survival of my two fathers. I wanted to highlight some of these veterans’ lives in the U.S.
Pablo Abunada’s free meal at Glide Memorial Church. To save money, many veterans take advantage of soup kitchens for elderly and indigent residents of the Tenderloin in San Francisco, California. Photo and caption by Rick Rocamora.
“I [Victor Agagne] earn $25/week collecting cans…good enough to help me pay for my own room. I don’t feel comfortable living with others in the same room. I am very lonely here because I am separated from my family.” Photo and caption by Rick Rocamora.
“In 1947, Rick Rocamora writes, Major Austin C. Shofner of the US Marine Corps wrote to Magdaleno Duenas, “I can never repay you for all you did for me in Mindanao.” Duenas assisted Austin Shofner and nine other soldiers on their long trek to freedom after their escape from the Davao Penal Colony on the island of Mindanao. Shofner and his group of escapees told the world about the atrocities and pain of the Bataan Death March. The escapees retired from service as heroes with full benefits are recognized every year on Veterans Day. Magdaleno Duenas’ name became synonymous with the plight of all the veterans and has been mentioned in the halls of Congress in a tragic light. He died longing for the recognition of his service during the war.”
From 425,000 veterans of Filipino descent, there are only 6,000 estimated still living in the US. We hope it is not too late for them to experience the joy of a family, reunited.
Thank you to Rick Rocamara for capturing these images and the words of these veterans, and whose photos “have been exhibited at the U.S. Capitol and have been used by Congressman Bob Filner and other organizations to campaign for the repeal of the provision of the Rescission Act of 1946 that classify Filipino soldiers who fought during WW II side-by-side with American soldiers, as members of the US Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) with a non-veteran status,” Kim Komenich wrote.
We are grateful to Pres. Barack Obama for doing what is humane, right and just, and we hope the Dept. of Homeland Security follows suit with what is humane, right and just, and issue the administrative rules and regulations to implement this new federal policy from the White House.
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for Asian Journal Press for 8 years now. She contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in the field of science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium and Mexico and 22 national parks in the US, in pursuit of her love for arts.