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| Subic Bay in the Philippines has, from time to time, been the source of friction between the Philippines and the U.S. |
THE FRATERNITY of Filipino servicemen who were part of the U.S. Armed Forces came to the U.S. after WWII raised their families and established FilAm communities throughout the U.S. They made up the so-called Second Wave of immigration from the Philippines.
While much as been written about the manongs of the First Wave and praise has been heaped upon the Third Wave as beneficiaries of the loosened 1965 immigration reforms, the Second Wave's impact on our American communities has been largely skipped over.
Living out their version of the American dream, these men and their families gave birth to stable Filipino American communities that have survived for generations.
Their children and children's children and their great grandkids are rooted in far-flung U.S. communities working in every capacity at every level in a multitude of professions.
The U.S. has had a love-hate relationship with the Filipinos who volunteered to fight in its behalf and the close military alliance that was born during the Philippine-American War, and blossomed ruing WWII and matured through subsequent years and Asia-based wars: From the immigration restrictions and anti-Asian laws, to their abiding loyalty to the U.S.; from the broken promises of the Recission Act to the unswerving dedication to all that is America, from their struggles for equality and recognition to the Congressional Gold Medal.
My father-in-law served as a mess man and steward in the U.S. Navy, one ship after another and not getting a land assignment until late in his Navy career. My wife's godfather served on the Presidential yacht and cooked for President Calvin Coolidge.
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| Filipinos flocked to join the U.S. Navy. This photo was taken in 1923. |
The following is from the website of the Filipino American National Historical Society website, marking its own 35th anniversary this year:
For its 2017 Filipino American History Month theme, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) commemorates the 70th Anniversary of the 1947 Military Bases Agreement between the United States and the Philippines, the monumental effect it had on US-Philippines relations and the larger Pacific Rim, and the profound effect the law had upon the Filipina/o American community nationwide.
For its 2017 Filipino American History Month theme, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) commemorates the 70th Anniversary of the 1947 Military Bases Agreement between the United States and the Philippines, the monumental effect it had on US-Philippines relations and the larger Pacific Rim, and the profound effect the law had upon the Filipina/o American community nationwide.
The Agreement provided for continuation of the imperial relationship between the United States and the Philippines, and the proud service and settlement of thousands of Filipinos who were enlisted in the US military, particularly US Navy sailors, and their families across the United States in the post-World War II period.
On July 4, 1946, the Philippines became an independent nation after almost 50 years as a colony of the United States (1902-1946) and more than 300 years as a colony of Spain. As the Cold War deepened, the United States sought to maintain its military presence in the Philippines, particularly Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Base. The 1947 Military Bases Agreement allowed the United States access to these and almost two dozen other sites for 99 years. Article 27 provided for the recruitment of Filipino citizens into the U.S. Armed Forces. In 1991, the Philippine Congress voted to end the bases agreement and closed the bases. From the Bases Agreement to 1992, more than 35,000 Filipinos had served or were serving in the U.S. Navy.
Though several thousand Filipinos had been recruited into the US Navy and other branches of the military during the American colonial period, the Military Bases Agreement ushered in a period of several decades of aggressive recruitment of thousands of Filipino citizens into the U.S. Armed Forces, primarily by the U.S. Navy, with smaller numbers in the Army, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines.
On July 4, 1946, the Philippines became an independent nation after almost 50 years as a colony of the United States (1902-1946) and more than 300 years as a colony of Spain. As the Cold War deepened, the United States sought to maintain its military presence in the Philippines, particularly Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Base. The 1947 Military Bases Agreement allowed the United States access to these and almost two dozen other sites for 99 years. Article 27 provided for the recruitment of Filipino citizens into the U.S. Armed Forces. In 1991, the Philippine Congress voted to end the bases agreement and closed the bases. From the Bases Agreement to 1992, more than 35,000 Filipinos had served or were serving in the U.S. Navy.
Though several thousand Filipinos had been recruited into the US Navy and other branches of the military during the American colonial period, the Military Bases Agreement ushered in a period of several decades of aggressive recruitment of thousands of Filipino citizens into the U.S. Armed Forces, primarily by the U.S. Navy, with smaller numbers in the Army, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines.
As a result of increased need for personnel as a result of the Korean War, the Navy began recruiting Filipinos at a rate of 1,000 a year in 1952; this was increased to 2,000 annually in 1954. Hundreds of Filipino men rushed to enlist daily to Sangley Point Naval Base, the Naval Headquarters in the Philippines, due to the deteriorating economic and political environment of the Philippines (the Navy offered higher pay than they could expect in any occupation in the Philippines, so even college-educated Filipinos sought to join the Navy). Additional incentives included the promise of adventure and to travel the world, and the potential opportunity to obtain United States citizenship. Only a small percentage of applicants passed the grueling physical and language entrance exams.
Selection for the Navy transformed the economic fortunes of the recruits’ poverty-stricken families. These men sent more than half of their monthly $80 salary back home for decades. “This is the opportunity of my life,” remembered Exequiel Maula Atienza, of his successful application for the Navy. “I wanted us to have a better life. I wanted to help my parents.”
Selection for the Navy transformed the economic fortunes of the recruits’ poverty-stricken families. These men sent more than half of their monthly $80 salary back home for decades. “This is the opportunity of my life,” remembered Exequiel Maula Atienza, of his successful application for the Navy. “I wanted us to have a better life. I wanted to help my parents.”
He told his story to oral historians writing the book, In Our Uncles’ Words: ‘We Fought for Freedom,’ a book project of FANHS Hampton Roads, VA chapter. “You know when we joined the Navy at the time, you were almost the salvation of the family, economically speaking,” Armando Pili Placides told the interviewers. He was able to send family members on to college. “That was a blessing to the family back then … to be accepted into the U.S. military. When you joined the U.S. Navy at that time, it’s almost like you won the lottery because it was a big economic help.”
Discriminatory practices in the Navy barred Filipinos from rising above the rank of messman/steward, regardless of education or skills. The Messman Branch was created specifically in the late 19th century for people of color: various Asian immigrants, African Americans, and Filipinos.
Discriminatory practices in the Navy barred Filipinos from rising above the rank of messman/steward, regardless of education or skills. The Messman Branch was created specifically in the late 19th century for people of color: various Asian immigrants, African Americans, and Filipinos.
African Americans were barred from enlistment altogether from 1919-1932, and the Navy turned to using their colonial subjects, Filipinos, as messmen during these years. From 1932 until the military was desegregated in 1948, black sailors were limited to the messman branch. The Messman Branch was renamed the Steward Branch after World War II. After desegregation of the Armed Forces in 1948, black sailors could rise within the Navy and were not limited to the Steward rank.
However, this was not the case for Filipinos, who were limited to the steward rank until 1971, when an agreement was reached with the Philippine State Department to discard the practice. Stewards were responsible for providing cooking and cleaning for the ship and domestic service to officers and their families: food service, cleaning, laundry, and chores. Work as a steward was grueling and monotonous.
However, this was not the case for Filipinos, who were limited to the steward rank until 1971, when an agreement was reached with the Philippine State Department to discard the practice. Stewards were responsible for providing cooking and cleaning for the ship and domestic service to officers and their families: food service, cleaning, laundry, and chores. Work as a steward was grueling and monotonous.
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| President Harry Truman and members of his party pose with their Filipino stewards. |
“The job of a steward is honorable,” recalled Timoteo Medina Saguinsin in In Our Uncles’ Words. “We cleaned the dishes, the silverware, the kitchen, the pantry, the staterooms, the wardrooms, and the bathrooms. We mopped the decks or floors.”
The work could also be humiliating. Stewards were essentially domestic servants, and they endured extreme racism in the Navy, where they were called “boy” by officers and forced to perform domestic service for even the wives and children of officers. These seamen were blocked from promotion and only endured these indignities in order to support their families in the Philippines and the United States.
The work could also be humiliating. Stewards were essentially domestic servants, and they endured extreme racism in the Navy, where they were called “boy” by officers and forced to perform domestic service for even the wives and children of officers. These seamen were blocked from promotion and only endured these indignities in order to support their families in the Philippines and the United States.
The plum assignments for many Black and Filipino stewards included served high-ranking officers at the Pentagon and the President of the United States as stewards, on presidential yachts and at Camp David well into the 1990s. For example, through most of the 20th century, the White House domestic staff consisted of African American and Filipino Navy Stewards, who cooked and cleaned for the nation’s leaders. These seamen traveled the nation and world with their officers. Stewards like Jose Monge Montano spent years in the White House. Montano traveled alongside Presidents Johnson and Nixon all over the nation and globe.
During their service and upon retirement, these servicemen and their partners (many of whom were also immigrants from the Philippines) became American citizens, created families, settled in Navy towns, and petitioned for the immigration of family members.
During their service and upon retirement, these servicemen and their partners (many of whom were also immigrants from the Philippines) became American citizens, created families, settled in Navy towns, and petitioned for the immigration of family members.
In so doing, they and their partners and families created large new communities or built upon existing Filipino American communities in places as diverse as Chicago, IL; Providence and Newport, RI; Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA; Saint Mary’s County, MD; Jacksonville, Pensacola and Key West, FL; Corpus Christi, TX; Honolulu, HI; Kitsap and Seattle, WA; Charleston, SC; Long Beach, San Diego, Oakland and Vallejo, Calif.
After their service, retired Filipino seamen engaged in a wide diversity of occupations. Many opened their own restaurants or catering businesses using the cooking skills they learned in the Navy. Others continued their military service as civilians or transitioned to other governmental positions such as for the Post Office.
Both men and women served with honor and distinction. Rear Admiral Dr. Eleanor Mariano, the daughter of a Navy Steward, became the highest ranking Filipino American naval officer. She attended two American presidents and was the longest-serving White House physician in United States history. She served as the first woman commander of the White House Medical Unit.
Thousands of Filipino Americans trace their roots to the Filipinos who served in the U.S. military and settled in the United States as a result of the Military Bases Agreement. We urge every American to learn more about the significant role these Filipino military servicemen and women played in service to the United States during the Cold War, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and in dignified service as stewards on the Presidential Yachts, at Camp David, in the Pentagon and White House. They and their families breathed new life into communities across the United States and helped to build the nation we know today.
FANHS encourages organizations and communities across the United States to incorporate this theme in their Filipino American History Month events, to visit our website in late September for curriculum and lesson plan resources, and for all to share their stories of their family’s military stories at #FAHM2017 on Twitter, @fanhs_national and our Facebook page @FANHSnatl.
Both men and women served with honor and distinction. Rear Admiral Dr. Eleanor Mariano, the daughter of a Navy Steward, became the highest ranking Filipino American naval officer. She attended two American presidents and was the longest-serving White House physician in United States history. She served as the first woman commander of the White House Medical Unit.
Thousands of Filipino Americans trace their roots to the Filipinos who served in the U.S. military and settled in the United States as a result of the Military Bases Agreement. We urge every American to learn more about the significant role these Filipino military servicemen and women played in service to the United States during the Cold War, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and in dignified service as stewards on the Presidential Yachts, at Camp David, in the Pentagon and White House. They and their families breathed new life into communities across the United States and helped to build the nation we know today.
FANHS encourages organizations and communities across the United States to incorporate this theme in their Filipino American History Month events, to visit our website in late September for curriculum and lesson plan resources, and for all to share their stories of their family’s military stories at #FAHM2017 on Twitter, @fanhs_national and our Facebook page @FANHSnatl.
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