Chapter 1 - My Early Years

One of my first childhood memories is fleeing our home as bombs fell and exploded around us. We frantically ran for our lives and took cover in an air raid shelter somewhere near Manila.  The attack came from the American forces who had just started liberating the Philippines from the Japanese before the end of WWII. 

 Fireballs lit up the sky and looked deceptively like fireworks in my four year old mind as they rained down upon us.  Huddled together in the shelter, my mother clutched me close to her side as she fervently prayed the rosary with other women who were gathered with us . They were worried and frightened as the deafening booms made our ears ring and the  ground quake beneath our feet. The air was stifling and thick with smoke and terror, but I was mercifully too young to be afraid as we cowered beneath the ground and the world imploded above our heads. Once the bombing ceased and the skies and streets were quiet, we emerged from our shelter, and tried to find normalcy in the middle of a war zone.  

As young as I was, I was unconcerned by the tragedy and debris scattered around me, and I quickly returned to my daily routine. I was protected by the innocence of youth and joined the other children and we laughed and played together in the streets of Manila. 

Occasionally, military jeeps would pass by loaded with GI’s and we would attempt to chase them yelling “victory Joe, victory Joe”, our arms raised with the ‘V’ finger sign. They would toss Hershey’s chocolate bars out to us, the candy flying through the air like manna from Heaven, and we raced and clambered over one another to gather up the treats falling at our eager, excited feet.

Fast forward to 1984.  I was a lieutenant commander working in the Loran-C Branch at the Coast Guard Electronics Engineering Center (EECEN) in Wildwood, N.J.  Joe Daly, a GS-13, was one of our engineers.  He had been employed at EECEN for 20 years or so, and was close to retirement. 

 One Friday afternoon after work, Joe and I were talking shop over a beer at Crest Tavern, a favorite local hang out just outside the Center.  After a few beers, our conversation drifted to relating our life experiences.  He was amazed to hear my story on how I joined the Coast Guard from the Philippines and became a Coast Guard officer.  

Joe’s story was just as impressive. He was a WWII veteran, and served in the Army Air Corp, flying bombing missions in Manila.  I told him that while he was dropping bombs at 30,000 feet, I was in an air raid shelter below, clutching my mother as she prayed, and if just one of his bombs had hit us, I wouldn’t be at the Crest Tavern having beer with him 40 years later!

After the war, we moved to Santol where my parents started a laundry business.  They would pick up dirty laundry from customers near us, wash their clothes, iron them, and deliver them back.  Every wash, spin, starch, and fold was done by hand as we could not afford a washing machine.  The laundry business was our only source of income. When I was about 12 years old and strong enough, I joined my parents and helped pick up and deliver laundry.

One of our customers who had a profound part in shaping my life was Generoso Fernandez and his wife Miling.  They had six children: three girls and three boys.  The boys were about my age.

Mr. Fernandez was a civil engineer and was extremely smart.  When I graduated from high school, Mr. Fernandez  encouraged me to take civil engineering in college, which I did. He also taught me how to play chess. I paid attention and learned quickly. When I became skilled and stealth enough, I graduated to being his regular chess opponent.  His sons Boy, Bert and Sonny, became great friends of mine.  They would frequently invite me over to play table tennis and basketball in their yard and were my favorite playmates in Santol.  

A fun fact about me is my nickname, while I was growing up I was called “Junior” or sometimes “Jun”.  When we went to visit the PI in 2003, the Fernandez’s, my relatives, and other long time friends still addressed me as “Junior” and I was 62 years old! I guess some things never change, no matter how old you are.

While the Fernandez boys attended San Beda High School, I went to Mapa High.  I had started first grade when I was five years old (normal starting age was seven), which made me the youngest in our class in high school. My favorite subjects were math and science.  I also excelled in art so I took Graphic Arts as an elective in my junior and senior years.

There were about 50 sections in our graduating class in Mapa High.  Each section had about 30 students, and we were assigned to a particular section based on our grades the previous year.  Students in Section 1 would have the highest grades, while those in Section 50, the lowest.  I was in Section 2 in my senior year.  Our class graduated from high school in March of 1957.

Right after high school, I went to college at the University of the Philippines, but due to financial reasons, I only studied there for one semester.  I transferred and took evening classes at the Polytechnic Colleges of the Philippines (PCP).  

In my second year of college, I was dismayed to realize I could not complete my education to get a degree as my parents would not be able to pay for my education for very long.  They were getting older and it was becoming difficult for them to run their laundry business. But, if I quit school, I was at a loss of what to do with my life as my skills and opportunities were limited.  At that time, I was a 100 pound weakling, and knew I wouldn’t be strong enough for manual labor.

On a stroke of luck, I discovered that a couple of young men in our neighborhood had joined the U.S. Navy as stewards.  I also found out that stewards in the U.S. Navy worked in the kitchen and were responsible for cleaning the officers quarters. I was immediately interested and wanted to know how they got in.  After talking to their families to get more information, I learned that my first step was to get an appointment at the U.S. Naval Base at Sangley Point for a written test, which would then lead to an interview, and lastly, a rigid physical exam.  I thought I would give it a try just to see how far I would get in the application process.  After all, what did I have to lose? But, I was concerned that even if I passed the written test and interview, I wasn’t sure I could pass the physical exam with my 100-pound frame.

Determined to try, I wrote to Sangley Point several times requesting an appointment, but all I received in response to each letter was a rejection postcard saying “We will contact you when we need you” or words to that effect.  Oh well, that was the end of that, I thought.

But, then, as fate would have it,  a classmate from PCP told me how I could get an appointment at Sangley Point.  He said I should first write to the President of the Philippines  at the Malacanang Palace to get a letter of recommendation, then enclose that letter along with mine to Sangley Point requesting  an appointment.  With renewed hope and determination, I wrote to President Carlos P. Garcia and requested a letter of recommendation.  It must have been election season because I was pleasantly surprised to receive such a quick reply.  The recommendation letter came from his Vice President, Diosdado Macapagal. Enclosing the letter, I again asked Sangley Point for an appointment, and within a week, I was thrilled with joy when my appointment letter arrived.

So on this fateful day in 1958 when I was just 17, my Uncle Pelagio accompanied me to Sangley Point. It was a two-hour bus ride.  He patiently waited outside the gate while I went in for my written exam and interview. The process took all day as there were hundreds of applicants. I passed the exam and interview, but when the recruiter realized I was only 17, he told me to come back the next year for my physical exam.  I was given an appointment for October 22, 1959. I will never forget that date as that would be my 18th birthday.  At first, I was disappointed that I would have to wait another year, but then I realized I would not have passed the physical if I had taken it.  Since I was underweight, I would have flunked without a doubt. But now, I had another year to get myself in fighting shape, and I was determined to be ready.

Mr. Fernandez and I played chess a lot.  We became close; he and his whole family treated me like I was part of the family.  When he learned about my prospects to join the U.S. Navy and that I needed to be fit for my physical exam, he offered his help by enrolling me in a physical fitness program at the YMCA. Determined to pass, I exercised, lifted weights, and swam three times a week for a year.   

I weighed 115 pounds just before my scheduled physical, and had heard that the weight requirement was 120 pounds. Which meant I needed to gain five more pounds before I stepped on the scale at Sangley. The day finally arrived for me to take the physical exam.  The trip to Sangley Point was two hours from Santol.  My Uncle Pelagio gave me a brown paper bag full of bananas to take on the bus.  His instructions were to eat as many as I could before I got to the gate at Sangley Point. I must have eaten five pounds of bananas, but his secret plan worked because I passed my physical exam.

After meeting all the requirements to enlist, and now waiting to get sworn in, I asked myself if I really wanted to do this.  The reality was sinking in that I would be far away from my parents for the first time, and did not know when, or if, I would return.  I also wasn’t sure how I would perform working as a steward, but was acutely aware that if I didn’t go through with it, I couldn’t be anything else, and would have a dead-end career at home.  My parents were getting older, and, as a steward, I would have a steady income, and could help them out financially.  I was also excited at the prospect and adventure of seeing the United States of America.  I had only seen the U.S. in travel magazines and movies in technicolor, and now I could see its grand beauty and sweeping majesty in real life.  I realized it was too good of an opportunity to let pass by, so I signed up. The new recruits were given a choice to enlist in the Navy or the Coast Guard and I picked the latter.  That turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made throughout out my military career