To many Americans and Europeans, D-Day, the 6th of June, is of major importance in world history – important enough to bring to the continent droves of tourists, mainly veterans of World War II who fought in the European theater, and their families. It was on that day in 1944 when allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy on the way to liberating Europe from the Nazis.
It was in that context that I suggested to Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, on my recent visit to Manila, that October 20 be viewed as an opportunity for tourism promotion. It was on that day in 1944 when U.S. forces, led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, landed at Red Beach in Palo, Leyte to start the liberation of the Philippines.
To veterans of the war in the Pacific, that day is as significant as D-Day. In fact, for families of the thousands of U.S. and allied soldiers buried in the American cemetery in the former Fort Bonifacio, and those who fought in Bataan, Corregidor, Leyte and the many war fronts across the archipelago, October 20 should inspire an annual sentimental journey to the Philippines – similar to that one made by Gen. MacArthur and his wife, Jean, in 1961.
To MacArthur, October 20 was A-Day or Attack-Day. The day he would make good on his solemn vow, “I shall return!”
This fact would have been buried in the landfill of history had Filipino-American Rudy Ascercion not accidentally discovered a letter of an American sailor to his sweetheart, telling her, “Tomorrow is A-Day.”
Asercion is executive director of a San Francisco non-profit, the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, and a commissioner of the Veterans War Memorial Commission. He was rummaging through the archives of the Commission when he came upon the sailor’s letter.
Intrigued, Asercion dug further and confirmed from records that A-Day was MacArthur’s code name for the start of the liberation of the Philippines.
Asercion didn’t stop there. He brought this to the attention of the White House, with the support of Yolanda Stern, President Emerita of the Federation of Filipino-American Chambers of Commerce, and Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret.), the FilAm general who blew the lid off the U.S. Army human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Acknowledging that A-Day was an occasion that merited honors, Pres. George W. Bush issued a proclamation to that effect. On October 20, 2004, the first official commemoration of A-Day in America was held at the Herbst Theater, War Memorial Bldg. in San Francisco. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who was then Philippine Ambassador to Washington, graced the occasion, along with officers of the American Legion, Philippine consular officials and FilAm community leaders.
Asercion, Taguba and Stern did not stop at this decidedly significant achievement. That same year, they lobbied for the California legislature to pass a bill that would include in the social science curriculum of the state’s Department of Education the vital role played by Filipino soldiers in World War II. Recognition of this role was pivotal in the granting of benefits to Filipino veterans by the U.S. Congress and the Obama presidency – a role denied by the Rescission Act of 1946.
Unfortunately, despite positive action by the state legislature, then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have given our veterans the recognition due them.
Unfazed, Asercion, Taguba, Stern and a more empowered FilAm community, including KAYA, a youth group that actively helped in the Obama presidential campaign, lobbied the current legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown. They finally succeeded.
Last October 8, Brown signed AB 199, co-authored by Assembly Pro Tempore Fiona Ma and Assemblyman Paul Cook, that urges the inclusion of Filipino World War II veterans in the 7-12 public high school curriculum in California.
According to Asercion, California is one of three states authorized to print textbooks for use in schools across the U.S. This could mean that the inclusion of Filipino veterans in textbooks used in the state will result in their inclusion in social studies in schools all over the country.
Like the Energizer bunny, Asercion just keeps going and going and going. To commemorate A-Day this year, he arranged for a luncheon in honor of 12 surviving Filipino veterans. Held at the War Memorial Building, the old soldiers and their wives had community leaders waiting on them.
Donning waiters’ aprons were Carmen Colet, president of the San Francisco FilAm Chamber of Commerce; Rodel Rodis, president of U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance and former president of the San Francisco Community College Board, and Yolanda Stern. I also volunteered to play waiter at the event.
Gen. Taguba, who resides in the Washington DC area, could not make it to the luncheon. But he continues to plug for Filipino veterans in his current key position in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Also unable to attend was Assembly Pro Tempore Fiona Ma who was expected to announce, with Rodis, Stern and Asercion, the proposed curriculum mandated by AB-199.
The curriculum will include personal testimonies of Filipino veterans recorded on audio and videotapes, as well as historical records that Asercion has doggedly exhumed from the archives of the Commission. At the luncheon, several old soldiers were videotaped relating their war experiences.
For a number of reasons, the observance of A-Day this year was not be as high-profile or as impressive as the first one held in 2004. It’s easy to point out why this is so. Blame is so much easier to identify.
But the fact is that Rudy Asercion, Gen. Tony Taguba and Yolanda Stern have lighted an ember that continues to glow, despite community apathy. It just deserves to be fanned more vigorously, indeed, more creatively. The good news is that, at Seasons' Marketplace in Milipitas, Ben Menor and other South Bay community leaders also scheduled a commemoration of A-Day on Sunday, October 23.
Like the annual Filipino festivals that I also pointed out to Mon Jimenez as presenting rich opportunities to promote the Philippines and Philippine tourism, the ember of A-Day and AB-199 can be made to burst into flame.
We hope that more zealous and caring individuals will step up to fan the ember and help dispel the darkness of our anonymity in America and in the rest of the world.
(gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)
It was in that context that I suggested to Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, on my recent visit to Manila, that October 20 be viewed as an opportunity for tourism promotion. It was on that day in 1944 when U.S. forces, led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, landed at Red Beach in Palo, Leyte to start the liberation of the Philippines.
To veterans of the war in the Pacific, that day is as significant as D-Day. In fact, for families of the thousands of U.S. and allied soldiers buried in the American cemetery in the former Fort Bonifacio, and those who fought in Bataan, Corregidor, Leyte and the many war fronts across the archipelago, October 20 should inspire an annual sentimental journey to the Philippines – similar to that one made by Gen. MacArthur and his wife, Jean, in 1961.
To MacArthur, October 20 was A-Day or Attack-Day. The day he would make good on his solemn vow, “I shall return!”
This fact would have been buried in the landfill of history had Filipino-American Rudy Ascercion not accidentally discovered a letter of an American sailor to his sweetheart, telling her, “Tomorrow is A-Day.”
Asercion is executive director of a San Francisco non-profit, the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, and a commissioner of the Veterans War Memorial Commission. He was rummaging through the archives of the Commission when he came upon the sailor’s letter.
Intrigued, Asercion dug further and confirmed from records that A-Day was MacArthur’s code name for the start of the liberation of the Philippines.
Asercion didn’t stop there. He brought this to the attention of the White House, with the support of Yolanda Stern, President Emerita of the Federation of Filipino-American Chambers of Commerce, and Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret.), the FilAm general who blew the lid off the U.S. Army human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Acknowledging that A-Day was an occasion that merited honors, Pres. George W. Bush issued a proclamation to that effect. On October 20, 2004, the first official commemoration of A-Day in America was held at the Herbst Theater, War Memorial Bldg. in San Francisco. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who was then Philippine Ambassador to Washington, graced the occasion, along with officers of the American Legion, Philippine consular officials and FilAm community leaders.
Asercion, Taguba and Stern did not stop at this decidedly significant achievement. That same year, they lobbied for the California legislature to pass a bill that would include in the social science curriculum of the state’s Department of Education the vital role played by Filipino soldiers in World War II. Recognition of this role was pivotal in the granting of benefits to Filipino veterans by the U.S. Congress and the Obama presidency – a role denied by the Rescission Act of 1946.
Unfortunately, despite positive action by the state legislature, then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have given our veterans the recognition due them.
Unfazed, Asercion, Taguba, Stern and a more empowered FilAm community, including KAYA, a youth group that actively helped in the Obama presidential campaign, lobbied the current legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown. They finally succeeded.
Last October 8, Brown signed AB 199, co-authored by Assembly Pro Tempore Fiona Ma and Assemblyman Paul Cook, that urges the inclusion of Filipino World War II veterans in the 7-12 public high school curriculum in California.
According to Asercion, California is one of three states authorized to print textbooks for use in schools across the U.S. This could mean that the inclusion of Filipino veterans in textbooks used in the state will result in their inclusion in social studies in schools all over the country.
Like the Energizer bunny, Asercion just keeps going and going and going. To commemorate A-Day this year, he arranged for a luncheon in honor of 12 surviving Filipino veterans. Held at the War Memorial Building, the old soldiers and their wives had community leaders waiting on them.
Donning waiters’ aprons were Carmen Colet, president of the San Francisco FilAm Chamber of Commerce; Rodel Rodis, president of U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance and former president of the San Francisco Community College Board, and Yolanda Stern. I also volunteered to play waiter at the event.
Gen. Taguba, who resides in the Washington DC area, could not make it to the luncheon. But he continues to plug for Filipino veterans in his current key position in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Also unable to attend was Assembly Pro Tempore Fiona Ma who was expected to announce, with Rodis, Stern and Asercion, the proposed curriculum mandated by AB-199.
The curriculum will include personal testimonies of Filipino veterans recorded on audio and videotapes, as well as historical records that Asercion has doggedly exhumed from the archives of the Commission. At the luncheon, several old soldiers were videotaped relating their war experiences.
For a number of reasons, the observance of A-Day this year was not be as high-profile or as impressive as the first one held in 2004. It’s easy to point out why this is so. Blame is so much easier to identify.
But the fact is that Rudy Asercion, Gen. Tony Taguba and Yolanda Stern have lighted an ember that continues to glow, despite community apathy. It just deserves to be fanned more vigorously, indeed, more creatively. The good news is that, at Seasons' Marketplace in Milipitas, Ben Menor and other South Bay community leaders also scheduled a commemoration of A-Day on Sunday, October 23.
Like the annual Filipino festivals that I also pointed out to Mon Jimenez as presenting rich opportunities to promote the Philippines and Philippine tourism, the ember of A-Day and AB-199 can be made to burst into flame.
We hope that more zealous and caring individuals will step up to fan the ember and help dispel the darkness of our anonymity in America and in the rest of the world.
(gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)
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