Introduction

My name is Jason Gavilan, and I earned a History Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. My dissertation, “The Politics of Enlistment, Empire, and the ‘U.S.-Philippine Nation’: Enlisted and Civilian Filipino Workers in and beyond the U.S. Navy, 1941-1965”, examines how the experiences of Filipinos shaped—and were facilitated by—the United States Navy. Filipino civilians were native-born Philippine locals recruited by U.S. military officials to work under indefinite civilian contract within U.S. military bases in the Philippines, Okinawa, Guam, and elsewhere in Asia and the Pacific. These civilians often worked in positions of manual and technical labor on these bases. In turn, Filipino enlistees were native-born locals in the Philippine archipelago who U.S. military officials recruited in its enlisted force. The terms of their enlistment normally lasted between four and six years, with probable chances for re-enlistment.

By investigating the historical distinctions and comparisons between civilian and enlisted Filipinos within (and beyond) the U.S. Navy, I explore the following questions. When and why did U.S. military officials enlist Filipinos in the first place? Second, what political implications did Filipino recruitment serve in expanding U.S. war, occupation, and colonial governance in the Philippines—and elsewhere in Asia and the Trans-Pacific? And third, to what extent did these recruited Filipinos shape their own terms of enlistment, upward mobility, and subjectivity beyond their parametrical restrictions by the U.S. military and the nation-state? From these underlying questions and frameworks within my dissertation, I argue that the inclusive and restrictive politics of Filipino enlistment, coupled with the intricate bi-nationalities of U.S.-Philippine relations, vitally contributed to the Cold War imperial politics and multiethnic alliances within the formal and informal U.S. Empire nation-state. These seemingly contradictory politics of enlisting Filipinos played a key role in shaping militarized formations of the U.S.-Philippine nation state during and following the Second World War.

Scholarly Interventions

My dissertation focuses on World War II and the early Cold War period up to 1965. The reasons for this are twofold. It complements the majority of previous work, especially in Asian American historical scholarship, that focus on the post-1965 period of Asian migration and settlement in the United States. While many works rightly recognize the quantitative importance of the 1965 Immigration Act as a port of entry for hundreds of thousands of Asian professionals and families to the U.S., there were also critical masses of Asian immigrants, including Filipinos, who came to the U.S. well before 1965.¹ In conversation with the historians Mae Ngai (2003) and Dorothy Fujita-Rony (2003), my dissertation decenters our temporal understanding of Asian immigration as a post-1965 phenomenon, and re-centers it on a significant segment of Third Wave Filipino migration to the U.S. and elsewhere in the transpacific: enlisted civilians and stewards in the U.S. military (1941-1965).²

Like the early Cold War period, the overwhelming impact of global circumstances and catastrophes in World War II cannot be overestimated or over-studied—especially the politics of minority enlistment, inclusion, and experience in the U.S. Navy and other branches of the U.S. military. My prioritization of World War II, therefore, seeks to redress previous works by scholars of this period who have not yet addressed one of the most crucial events in world history and all of its related and regional historical scholarships. My emphasis on the Second World War fills this under-theorized area of historical scholarship, particularly in Asian American and Filipino American studies.

Methodology

My dissertation project draws upon both written and oral historical records to shape its explicit and implicit historical arguments. By written historical records, I mean correspondences, letters, and memorandums composed by U.S. and Philippine military officials, political officials, military personnel, and civilian citizens. In turn, interviews of mostly Filipino naval enlistees, from various published oral history collections and manuscripts, comprise the oral historical records cited in this dissertation. While the written historical files largely informed my findings regarding enlisted stewards during World War II and civilian workers during the early Cold War period, the oral histories primarily guided and shaped my historical analysis of Filipino enlistees following the Second World War. My extensive, balanced, and methodical use of written records and oral histories is what distinguishes this dissertation project from the work of previous scholars on this subject, particularly within Philippine/Filipino American history, Asian American studies, and American military history. My dissertation is the first methodologically balanced and comprehensive historical analysis on military correspondences and oral histories of U.S. Navy Filipinos since the inception of Filipino American and Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies as American studies fields of scholarship over thirty-five years ago.

Notes on the Following Interview

From April 26 to June 6, 2004, during the early stages of my doctoral work, I visited Cavite,: a Philippine province with a long history of U.S. military presence and Filipino naval recruitment that spans throughout the twentieth century. In this province, I conducted numerous interviews with Filipino U.S. Navy retirees. Some of these retired enlistees, like my lolo [grandfather], were just visiting this Philippine province for vacation purposes. Some, like my tatay [father], chose to retire and resettle permanently in the Philippines after obtaining U.S. citizenship and veterans’ benefits through their enlistments in the U.S. Navy. Some retirees, on the other hand, were initially recruited in the U.S. Navy as civilian workers but were never officially promoted or classified as enlistees. While these civilian workers were, in many cases, as geographically mobile as their enlisted counterparts, they were never able to settle long-term in the U.S. and obtain the same privileges and benefits of citizenship as my lolo and the other 22,000+ Filipino naval enlistees between 1944 and 1973.

One of these retirees from the civilian naval force was my lolo Bonifacio Luna’s cousin, Larion Luna Toledo. Mr. Luna Toledo, as one of my senior colleagues would note, is “just one piece of a larger and more complex historical analysis of Filipinos in the U.S. Navy.” In the early afternoon of May 31, 2004, I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Luna Toledo about his life before, during, and after his life in the U.S. Navy. Bonifacio Luna also participated.

* * *

Mr. Luna Toledo, May 31, 2004

Jason Gavilan [JG]: Please tell me your full name.

Larion Luna [LL]: Larion Luna Toledo.

JG: …And what day is your birthday?

LL: October 21, 1931.

JG: And where were you born?

LL: Here in Ligtong, Rosario, Cavite.

JG: And when you were a little kids, how was Ligtong like?

LL: Oh, at that time, it’s very happy here.

JG: Happier?

LL: Yes. No drug. No everything, except dancing—you know dancing—folk dance?

JG: Mmhm.

LL: Here, folk dance. Filipino dancing…. Now difficult. Not previously, at that time, until midnight, people are happy. Now, little bit of trouble.

JG: How else was it happy back then? How were things that made people happy at that time?

LL: Because people at that time are not greedy.

JG: Not greedy.

LL: Yes. Now, when they see the television, because American life, now, they mirror it. They want to follow that [way]. Because earnings here in the Philippines are very small. You cannot afford American life. You see people here… like American—but we’re native Filipino. It’s much better living at that time than today.

JG: And what else can you remember about living at that time in terms of how it was like during that time? Anything else?

LL: What?

JG: What else do you remember during that time that made people happy?

LL: Now, only the… almost all people follow the new generation.

JG: They want the American life.

LL: Yes.

JG: And how do you feel about that?

LL: Sometime I feel happy when they are enjoying. But when they have trouble, I blame myself. You see, I have two children—two kids. They want, what do you call that… bad habit, I don’t like. You know what I mean, bad habit?

JG: No, what do you mean?

LL: Oh, that’s bad habit. Don’t tell somebody, huh?

JG: I won’t. LL: (speaks softly) That’s drug.

JG: Uh-huh.

LL: Drug.

JG: Siapu?³

LL: Yes. That’s bad habit. They will, until now, they did not admit. They only tell a lie…. I knew it. But I did not stop. That is big—I made a mistake for me, why I go abroad. Because if I’m here, I do not let that happen to them. Some more question?

JG: Yeah. How many brothers and sisters do you have?

LL: I’m the oldest. I only have two sisters.

JG: Only two sisters. And what are their names?

LL: Next to me, Linda Toledo Barea… And Buling is my last sister.

JG: And what work did they do?

LL: Oh, until now, storekeeper.

JG: Where?

LL: Here, under our own house.

JG: And your sister? Same thing?

LL: Yes.

JG: And your parents. What did your parents do?

LL: Oh, parents now, they almost… my father, almost sixty years, they pass away. And my mother, around now, fifteen years. I’m the oldest now in this house.

JG: And when were your parents born?

LL: I don’t know, maybe around now, if they’re living now, they’re more than one hundred years …

JG: … And what jobs did they have?

LL: When my father were living, he was only fisherman. And my mother was only housekeeping [stay at home mother].

JG: But your dad fishing—that was enough to support the family?

LL: You still cannot support. That’s only little amount for food. It’s better you’re working in a company than fishing.

JG: So did anybody else work to support the family when you were growing up?

LL: No, I’m alone at that time. But I realize it’s better when you finish school, or you are a professional. Anywhere you go, it’s very quick to find a job than if you’re a fisherman. Not like me. Only five grades in elementary.

JG: So you start school at age five?

LL: The school in elementary, I’m five years old.

JG: And do you remember what you learned when you were in elementary school?

LL: Oh, Japanese language and English. That was during Japanese time. 1941…

JG: You were in  fifth grade in 1941?

LL: Yes, yes.

JG: And you learned English and Japanese. But was Tagalog taught in the school?

LL: We speak the national language when we were playing, like that. But inside the classroom, we speak English and Japanese language.

JG: So, were you allowed to speak Tagalog in school?

LL: …What do you mean to say?

JG: I mean, you mentioned earlier about Tagalog not being taught.

LL: Yes, if teacher ask you in English, we also answer in English, speak in English. Not speak Tagalog.

JG: And if you speak Tagalog, they—

LL: They will hit you. Yes, if they ask you in Tagalog, okay. No question. But when they ask you questions in English, don’t answer in Tagalog. (Laughs) …That’s true. You answer to your grandfather.

JG: What did you think about that?

LL: It’s better that they’re, like when you’re playing, you play. But if they ask in English, you better answer also in English. Not now, almost all Filipino teacher speak in English, almost all children answer in Tagalog. Real bad.

JG: So from grade one to grade five you learn English.

LL: Yes. Beside that, even [if] I’m not learning in elementary, I learn my own… So from that time, it’s very difficult to find job. But when you know a little bit in English, it’s very easy. But around that time, all good company here in the Philippines, I was employed. Like, example: Travis Air Force Base, U.S. Intelligence. Subic Naval Base, Naval Administration. And also Philippine Navy. Also good company. Philippine—that’s a government, yes—Philippine government. And I enroll in many, many country. Because I speak a little English, I go there… like Saudi, Iran, Qatar. There in Qatar, I stay there around for ten years. But not too much lucky… Because of my smoking cigarettes. Until now, I smoke cigarettes too much [Larion currently suffers from emphezema.]…

JG: Okay, let’s go back for a second. You stopped school in fifth grade—

LL: Yes.

JG: And what did you do right after?

LL: At that time, I go fishing.

JG: Oh, you go fishing.

LL: But every morning, the relative of my father always asking me, “Why I go fishing?”…. That’s the father of the mother of Auntie Liting. He’s the richest man at that time. Until now, Auntie Liting’s the richest woman in our place. Always in the morning: “Larion, did you catch fish?” I say, “Nothing!” “I tell you before, you find work in the Philippine government. So at that time, I try… Every morning, they’re [mother and father of Auntie Liting] asking, “Larion, did you catch fish?” I say, “nothing.” “I tell you before, go to [Senator Montano]… the greatest people at that time here in Cavite… There, at the time, I find work. (Laughs)

JG: And what year was that?

LL: I always in Congress.

JG: Congress?

LL: Yes. I ask for recommendation. Oh, big story. You want to know it?

JG: Yeah!

LL: If I’m jobless, I always go to the office of Senator Montano. When I find a job, I begin to go with him to his office. So sometime, I’m jobless again, I also go again to his office … [mentions how he got jobs despite his fifth grade education, earning one hundred and eighty pesos a month working for the government.]

JG: How much did you earn being a fisherman during that time?

LL: Sometimes, seven days a week, we not make salary for us! No fish! We did not catch the fish! But almost in one night, very sleepy, because you know… We twelve to fifteen people in one banka. [During Japanese time.]

JG: Banka?

LL: Banka is boat… Long one.

JG: So what year did you start working for Senator Montano?

LL: Oh, at that time, it’s almost 1951, ‘52.

JG: Okay, so for ten years, you were a fisherman.

LL: Yes… [Describes the prestige of Senator Montano and his experience working for him and the power of obtaining connections with him in finding a government job. Then explains working in Guam for the U.S. military as a boatbuilder, obtaining a job from the U.S. embassy and quitting his previous job with the Philippine government in order to “earn more dollars.”]

...

JG: When you were going to school, did they teach Philippine history?

LL: Yes.

JG: Oh, they taught Philippine history when you at school? What kind of history?

LL: Philippine history.

JG: From what grade?

LL: Only grade one and grade two.

JG: And do you remember what they taught about Philippine history?

LL: Yes, yes. Especially the hero of that time. Andres Bonifacio, Jose Rizal, Emilio Aguinaldo. Do you know General Aguinaldo?

JG: Mmhm.

LL: One of the best general … is my grandfather.

JG: Who is it?

LL: Joaquin Luna. That’s the brother of our grandfather. He’s the greatest, according to veteran, huh? … I did not see, but there is in history—Joaquin Luna. That’s our family.

JG: And do you remember, in terms of what they did, who they fought, stuff like that.

LL: Relate to our grandfather?

JG: Yeah.

LL: At that time, that history, our grandfather, Joaquin Luna… When there is… they say, “Men, always, on my back!” You mean, when there’s fighting, our grandfather… “Ating ating,” how do you say that in English?

Bonifacio Luna [BL]: Magician.

JG: Magician?

BL: Yeah… That’s only common here…

LL: Many soldier told me around that time, our father tell our grandfather, “Okay, all of you, on my back.” When there’s fighting, our ating soldier, he catch the bullet of the enemy! It’s true. I say, “I cannot believe!” After that… the bullet of the Spaniard…

JG: Oh, the bullet of the Spaniard.

LL: Yes! That’s why you tell me your grandfather, very intelligent. Good in, how do you say in English… At that time, only Luna have a trick… At that time, this Captain Luna, they call his greatest, even…[unclear]… General Aguinaldo. So that’s why at that time, many people stay here. Because one kind of Captain Luna’s here, you better stay here. Nobody will touch you. That’s why this town, this barrio is very young…. When they say, don’t do anything—and if you want to go inside. But my town don’t make mistake. When they say, don’t do it, if you don’t follow, you [get killed]. Even now… people get killed.

JG: Which one(s)?

LL: Oh, councilman.

JG: Oh, the councilman.

LL: When they say, don’t do it, you do it, face to face—they’ll kill you now. They cannot give to the authority because… Dismiss… Because he’s the authority, and you did not obey him. So he is authorized to kill you.

JG: This is today.

LL: Yes, today… If you have authority, if a civilian make you want to fight you, especially if you have a gun, you kill him with gun. That’s how it happen…. Yes…

…

JG: What did you think when Grandpa joined the U.S. Navy?

LL: Your grandfather? He’s lucky.

JG: Why lucky?

LL: Many people here want to go join the Navy but cannot pass the examination. Because he have a brain, your grandfather. Many, many people here in Ligtong want to join the Navy, but they don’t pass the examination.

BL: I’m lucky because I pray hard.

LL: At that time, I’m big, I can’t join! … Then I saw people employed in big company… [tells privilege of knowing English, not Tagalog]

…

BL: … If my family is rich, I had money, I wouldn’t be in the Navy. I’d be a teacher now, if I’m still alive. Because I’m smart! I’m good in school! As I told you. See the way I raised you? I did what I used to do. Three years, no speak. But I raise you. I guide you, the way you go to school. I told you I don’t want you to go outside and play without doing your homework. Remember I do that to you? And then when I found out you cannot speak good, I went to teacher and ask about somebody that teach you. And I took this child development in college. I ask teachers, the way I bring you up, that subject is about bringing up children. The more toys you have, the better for you to be smart when you grow up. And then I take you to play in the gym. You go to those bars in Slater. I took you there. I take you there, I take you back. Go to McDo [MacDonalds]…

Endnotes:

¹ Yen Le Espiritu, Homebound (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003), 31.

² The “Third Wave” of Filipino immigration to the U.S., according to Fred Cordova, was Filipinos who came to the U.S. between 1945 and 1965. This wave primarily consisted of navy men, women nurses, professionals, business technicians, and engineers (Cordova 1983, 20). The Second Wave of Filipino immigrants came during the U.S. colonial period between 1906 and 1934. In its early years, this wave was comprised of pensionados, who were students subsidized by the Philippine colonial government. Those who came later in this second wave were single male laborers who worked in farms and canneries, primarily in the American West, Midwest, and the East Coast (Cordova 1983, 14-19). The very first wave of Filipino immigration came between 1763 and 1906. This wave included more sporadic patterns of migration among seafarers, laborers, domestic workers, and “stowaways” escaping Spanish colonial captivity in the Philippine archipelago and the galleon trade ships. On these galleon ships in particular, many of them were stationed as crew members and slave laborers.  While most of them migrated to Alaska and Hawai’i, a few of them landed in Acapulco, Baja California, Peru, Guam, and New Orleans, among other places in the trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic (Cordova 1983, 9-10). See Fred Cordova, Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans, A Pictorial Essay/1763-circa-1963 (Seattle: Demonstration Project for Asian Americans, 1983).

³ Mr. Larion Luna pronounced this word exactly how it looks in this oral historical record: “siapu,” with a p. I repeated the word with that exact pronunciation and he affirmed it, as recorded in the interview. Nevertheless, it is possible that he might be referring to the word “shabu” instead. “Shabu” is a type of methamphematine, as noted by Luis Francia (“Uncle Luigi”) and Alfred McCoy in Eye of the Fish (2003) and State and Family in the Philippines (2009), respectively. I am indebted to these works for bringing to light this historical fact and possible historical correction.