Filipino World War II Veterans and the Congressional Gold Medal

A Long-Delayed Tribute

The Guevara Family Tree

A possible distant cousin reached out to me in August 2022. Jun Guevara has relatives working on the Guevara family line, and asked if I might help determine how we are related.

“I have some Guevara tree diagrams that show different lines all the way from the first recorded Guevara birth in the Philippines in the 1700s,” Jun wrote. “I’m pretty sure your grandfather is from another line not yet depicted.” We know very little about the ancestry of my grandfather Santiago Garcia Guevara (1899-1996), who was raised in relative poverty on Luzon in the Philippines, for the first half of the 20th century a protectorate of the United States. In 1919 Santiago received a prestigious appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and returned to the his native land in 1923 as a peacetime American Army officer.

The Philippines During World War II

War came suddenly to the Philippines on December 8, 1941, hours after the aerial attacks on Pearl Harbor. Unlike in Hawaii, these island attacks were followed by amphibious landings and more than three years of enemy occupation. U.S. Army combat forces in the Philippines were overwhelmingly composed of Filipino nationals, and guerrilla units were even more so. Santiago was attached to the Philippine Military Academy at the onset of war, and subsequently assigned to the newly-formed and poorly-supplied Philippine Commonwealth Army on Bataan.

FilVetREP and the Congressional Gold Medal

Sadly, in 1947 the United States reneged on wartime promises made to Filipino veterans regarding post-war benefits and citizenship. The Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP) was formed in 2013 “to create a national campaign to raise awareness through academic research and public education and obtain national recognition of the Filipino-American WWII soldiers for their service to the United States and Philippines from July 1941 to December 1946.”

Cousin Jun referred to the culmination of phase one of FilVetREP’s work when he wrote, “The other thing I wanted to inquire about is – did your grandfather receive the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal (CGM)? I recently received the award on behalf of my late father, who served in the U.S. Navy and was involved in the Philippines Campaign. My family and I are very proud of this CGM.”

From the FilVetREP website, “The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by Congress and is the highest civilian award in the United States. The decoration is awarded to an individual or unit who performs an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States. The Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015 awards a Congressional Gold Medal collectively to the Filipino Veterans of World War II, in recognition of their outstanding wartime achievements and honorable service to the United States during World War II.”

Honoring Lolo and Nona

Santiago married in Manila in 1930, and he and his wife Carmen (née Fernandez) had three children. We called our grandparents Lolo and Nona, and spent significant time with them as we grew up. Their love and sacrifices were not fully appreciated by us their descendants during their lifetimes. An intended one or two page tribute to their incredible lives turned into a 165-page biography in 2016 – West Point, Bataan, and Beyond. Though Lolo and Nona are already honored and remembered fondly, when Jun apprised me of the CGM I was intrigued.

CGM Banquet

In early October 2022 I applied for the CGM in the name of Santiago. FilVetREP regional director SgtMaj Jay Cabacar (U.S. Army, retired) contacted me the same day, within a week the application was approved, and we were apprised that the presentation of the CGM to the families of eight veterans would take place at a banquet in Crystal City, VA at the end of the month. My sister Teresa and I attended the lavish affair, complete with a U.S. Armed Forces honor guard, the national anthems of the United States and the Philippines, multiple speakers, a three-course dinner, music, and dancing.

A Family Thanksgiving

At our most recent family get-together, we celebrated with yet another banquet, privately honoring Santiago, Carmen, and their children – including our late father – each of whom sacrificed that we might live in peace and freedom. We have indeed been fortunate. May we continue to remember them and live honorable lives in gratitude.

A Short Biography

Santiago Garcia Guevara served as Commandant of Cadets at the Philippine Military Academy in 1941, and lived with his family in Baguio, 150 miles north of Manila. On December 8, the Philippines experienced surprise aerial attacks, followed by multiple amphibious landings.

Carmen Fernandez Guevara (b. 1907) and their children Bobby (1931-2002), Minnie (1935-2018), and Nicky (1938-2002) fled to Manila, where they were taken in by Carmen’s sister.

Santiago was assigned to First Regular Division, Philippine Commonwealth Army, which withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula. There they fought numerous battles, in addition to combating disease, malnutrition, and despair while under enemy siege from January through March 1942. All surviving troops were surrendered April 9.

Santiago endured the brutal Bataan Death March – during which he was bayoneted in the back – and was interned as a Prisoner of War at Camp O’Donnell. Upon parole Santiago, still suffering from malaria, beriberi, and his bayonet wound, rejoined his family. Together they bore deprivation and hardship during the remaining two and a half years of Japanese military occupation.

The family moved to the U.S. in 1949. Santiago died in 1996, Carmen in 2009. Both are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Appreciation

Many thanks to our cousin Jun Guevara, who let us know about the CGM. Our gratitude also to SgtMaj Cabacar and the leadership at FilVetREP. Read more about their work at https://filvetrep.org/. Most of all our heartfelt appreciation to all those who served, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice that others might live. Maraming salamat po.