Submarine Stories and Military Writers: September 2016

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Life on a Submarine -Poem

Submarine

I slice through the water
Like a long sharp knife.
The ocean is my battleground,
Lonely is my life.
My best friend is Silence.
My enemy is Sound.
Pressure is always on me,
And Danger always around;
But able men are with me,
They trust me with their life.
We embrace our quiet existence
To prevent the unspeakable strife.
We speak softly with one voice;
History has taught us to keep our tongue.
Together, we patrol the world’s deep oceans,
We are silent, unseen and unsung.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Pilipino WWII Veterans

8/2008 Dedicated to The American Legion, The U.S. House of Representatives & others. With some tweaking of the lyrics by M.E. "Pinay", the original song credit belongs to Bob Dylan.

Blowin’ in the Wind

How many more Filipino U.S. WW11 veterans must die

Before we can call 'em United States own?

Yes, 'n' how many times must a Bill the House consider

Before you can call it a Law?

Yes, 'n' how many more foes must slay the Filipino veterans

Before you can say it is enough?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,

The answer, indeed is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must Filipino veterans fight

Before they can see the end of the war?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear the Filipino veterans cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many Filipino veterans have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer, indeed is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can the Filipino veterans' plea exists
Before it's heard by y’all?
Yes, 'n' how many years can Filipino veterans complain
Before they're allowed to be right?
Yes, 'n' how many times can some politicians turn their heads,
Pretending they just do not see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer, indeed is blowin' in the wind.

This website is dedicated to all soldiers of Pilipino descent who served in theUnited States military during WW11 (12/7/1941-12/31/1946). The mission of this website is to reclaim our forgotten military history and heritage in the United States Armed Forces. Special recognition is given to the 7,000 Pilipinos in the U.S. Army 1^st, 2^nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, 1^st Reconnaissance Battalion, as well as to the additional Navy and the Merchant Marine personnel, mostly sent to liberate the Philippines, then a colonial possession of the United States from three years of Japanese occupation. Some of the Pilipino soldiers, already WW1U.S. veterans in the Hawaiian Infantry would serve again in the Korean War. Significantly, their descendants would serve not only in the Korean and Vietnamwars, but also in the current Middle East military conflicts. This only proves thatanswering the call to military duty is a gift that soldiers of Pilipino descent in every generation keeps on giving to Uncle Sam, especially during times of wars. Sadly, such loyalty was repaid by the U.S. Congress Rescission Acts of February 1946, wherein the dignity of the wartime heroic deeds of the Pilipinos was diminished by the ongoing unequal treatment of the WW11 Pilipino veterans under the laws of the United States.

An invaluable resource for the Filipino Infantry Regiments is

http://geocities.com/laginguna1942

the highly recommended website owned by Sgt (Ret.) Pelagio A. Valdez, created to honor SSgt Pablo S. Valdez, his father who served in both of these WW11 Filipino Inf Regts.

Meanwhile, in our website, we start with the name list of our ilipin

P
o WW11 veterans from their respective home state/country of military record or residence. Most of the initial listings will come from the State of Hawaii, since my first genealogical project is about Pilipinos in Hawaii

http://filipinosgone2hawaii.tripod.com

Significant listings will be added for Pilipino WW11 veterans who served in thePhilippines after they volunteered or were drafted to the US military service. They are the casualties and survivors of the Bataan Death March, POWs, Army Philippine Scouts (PS), USAFFE, Navy, Coast Guards, USMC, Merchant Marine, Guerrilla forces, Women Auxiliary Services of nurses, spies and others. Our listing will also include reactivated U.S. military units formed in 1946 (inactivated 1947) and designated as the 12^th Infantry Division (PS;”new Scouts”) for duties like the occupation of Okinawa & other Japanese islands; guard duties like the Military Police, etc. Gathering all these massive information will almost be a lifetime project, but then, such will be an insignificant task compared to what thousands of our soldiers had given all of us for the cause of freedom and liberty.Moreover, since the Philippines is the host country to the U.S. military bases, the role that the Pilipinos played in these wars that involved Asian countries like Japan, Korea & Vietnam can not and should not be ignored.

The awareness of our unique history is the responsibility of every living Pilipino. I offer you this website as a limited resource for WW11. It is my hope that my love for the Philippine history and culture overcome my lack of scholarly credential.