THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410200081
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
WHEN MANUEL HIPOL thinks back to his childhood, and the history of his native Philippines, the one figure that emerges from the mists of time is an American - U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
``Since I was a young boy, the name MacArthur has been a common household name because of his coming back to liberate us from the Japanese,'' said Hipol, 56, a Virginia Beach doctor. ``He is regarded as our hero.''
The act that earned MacArthur such reverence, his landing on Leyte Beach to reclaim the island nation from the Japanese, happened 50 years ago today. Norfolk is playing host to a commemoration that is billed as the nation's largest, in part because the city is home to MacArthur's remains and a historical center in his honor.
But with 20,000 Filipino-Americans living in Hampton Roads, the area can also claim a strong spiritual connection to the general.
``General MacArthur represents the veterans who liberated us from tyranny,'' said Victor Sibal, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy whose parents survived the Japanese occupation. ``I think of him as the hero to many Filipinos, someone next to God.''
Azcena Bulanadi-Bautista, a political science professor at Norfolk State University, gave a simple explanation for MacArthur's heroic status: He fulfilled a promise.
``To every Filipino, this day is something that will be remembered forever,'' said Bautista, who emigrated to the United States in 1965. ``We owe the general a lot.''
MacArthur's actions during the war both saved the nation and forged a stronger bond between Filipinos and Americans, said Allen Bergano, a Virginia Beach dentist.
``With Americans dying side by side with our troops, the attitudes changed,'' said Bergano, 41. ``Instead of being referred to as `little brown monkeys,' they were `little brown brothers.' MacArthur had a lot to do with that.''
At age 38, Sibal missed World War II by more than a decade, but his parents' recollections are enough to make him feel he witnessed the mayhem firsthand.
He lost two uncles - a doctor who disappeared without explanation and a soldier, one among the thousands of Filipinos and Americans who died in the hands of the Japanese after MacArthur's command was ordered to abandon the Philippines.
Sibal also knows the torture Filipinos endured. They told him of people being forced to eat roots, frogs and worms to survive.
``It is hard to comprehend,'' he said. ``There was constant hiding from the Japanese, scrounging for food to survive and trying to track down families and relatives. Everybody was waiting for MacArthur. They knew the States would come back to secure the Philippines.''
Many GIs left behind at Bataan and Corregidor refuse to honor MacArthur's memory, saying they were forgotten while military leaders carried out the largest American surrender on a battlefield in history.
The general's reputation for stubbornness, even in the face of presidential orders, also cost him support later among Americans.
But even as Filipinos have targeted the U.S. military in recent years, driving the Navy from places like Subic Bay, MacArthur's image remained largely intact.
Rosa Blanco, a math teacher at Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach, said she was surprised to learn that MacArthur had become a controversial figure in his own country.
``I see things here that don't glorify him the way they do in the Philippines,'' said Blanco, who emigrated in 1972.
``I always remember the popular saying, `I shall return,' said Ferdinand Talentino, a Virginia Beach School Board member. ``But growing up, I remember my parents, every time a relative would come from out of state, we'd always go to the MacArthur center.''
At 25, Talentino represents the younger, American-born generation. Though he studied history in college, he said he learned much of his Filipino history through relatives.
``It upsets me I didn't have the opportunity to find out about my history,'' Talentino said. ``Every day you always try to discover a little more.''
Manuel Hipol, who also is vice chairman of the MacArthur anniversary planning committee, said the celebration holds a message for Filipino youth. Filipinos fought and died valiantly for their nation's freedom, accounting for 65,000 of the 88,000 prisoners captured by the Japanese at Bataan and Corregidor.
``It's like opening a golden page of history that's been closed for 50 years,'' Hipol said.
Bulanadi-Bautista, who also served on the planning committee for the celebration, said the anniversary is a way to bridge the generation gap.
``Being a first-generation immigrant, I can look back to the old country and have that kind of feeling,'' she said. ``A (younger) Filipino-American could know nothing. In most cases, they may not have heard of it and may not care.''
Younger Filipino-Americans in Hampton Roads have formed a tight-knit community, Talentino said. They are working to teach all generations about Filipino heritage, including the time of the Japanese occupation.
``This is the focus for who I am, my identity, what it means to be Filipino-American'' Talentino said. ``That focus is . . . what will keep our community together as well.'' ILLUSTRATION: JIM WALKER/Staff
Dr. Manuel A. Hipol, a Virginia Beach physician of Filipino
ancestry, says the MacArthur commemoration is ``like opening a
golden page of history that's been closed for 50 years.''
by CNB