IN an unprecedented show of unity, patriotism and force, spontaneous welcome filtered out of nowhere for former President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) at the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall this Memorial Day Weekend.
Once more, in a moment of celebration, FVR came to honor the men and women and what they died for…despite the bloody cost.
It was a proud day. The people’s applause was special.
They simply put their hands together in long sustained ovations for the bemedaled WWII veterans, who came, perhaps for the last time, to pay tribute to the few among them and their untucked memory.
It didn’t matter that they only had a few moments to show off their medals and remember, but it was bittersweet.
As the WW II vets passed, people stood in quiet respect and eulogy.
Many of those who left for war were fresh, muscular 20- to 21-year-olds.
Back then, they were young, strong and resolute. They were bonded in that kind of relationship which forges fire with steel.
Now, they sit on wheelchairs or walk aided by canes. Some could no longer walk, others were unable to speak about surviving death-defying and wartime sacrifices of long ago.
Craggy-faced veterans in their uniforms and garrison caps were bedecked with medals of valor. Stomachs in and shoulders back, their lined faces were adamant in their manliness, yet beautiful in their frailty.
These remnants of World War II continue to evoke a powerful sense of something definitive in our past — that most fecund tragedy than can ever be remembered.
Time has shrunk snapped bones, indefatigable microbes and exhausted hearts, that continue to deplete. Age has creased their skin and hobbled their organs.
Everyday they live on a razor’s edge of will. They are veterans of an era, withdrawn into a mere abstractions.
Meantime, we go on with generalizing, romanticizing and trivializing their war and those who endured it.
These gentle, noble survivors will always think of themselves as former soldiers. The eyes of the entire nation, as well as the entire world, were fixed on them — they were young men ready to live at close quotas with death, in the name of their flag and freedom.
It was a day of retracing steps of many years ago — reviving the bloody sacrifices and honoring fallen comrades.
Honor guards paced slowly through the crowd, followed by men in uniform. Some fit tightly across the stomach, others fit trimly, as the day they were first worn.
The Fil-Am community began to clap and stomp their feet, some began to weep.
Yet, what is disturbing today are the sad remnants of WW II fighters still waging a battle. Almost certainly, the last major struggle is being hurdled by a sprinkling number of those still living.
In their more than half a century of fighting to be recognized as American vets, there are still those who continue to struggle.
These courageous and inspiring Filipino soldiers and guerillas, who served the United States, should be entitled to the same benefits as other GI’s — from Normandy to Iwo Jima.
Yet, they lost to the Rescission Act of 1946.
It makes you think — nowhere else in Asia did people support and defend their colonial master in the same manner.
Didn’t the Indochine turn against the French, the Indonesian on the Dutch and Malaysian and Burma against the British? Only Filipinos remained loyal.
In a day of tribute about wartime sacrifices, nobody stands taller in remembrance than WWII veterans.
Feeling proud but forgotten, battle-scarred and fighting oldage and infirmity, they embody poignant messages of duty, honor and undying love, heroism and sacrifice.
During the one-on-one dialogues with veterans, what we were heading for (for the rest of the afternoon) was coherent language that will amplify the patriotic and inspiring words of FVR.
In spite of the solemnity of the day’s remembrance, the gathering was easy, light and simple.
Accustomed to being addressed with hush respect and obedient awe, FVR was completely at ease. He clearly enjoyed the sometimes subtle, combative game, triumphant in the informal exchange and discussion. After the first questions, the free-for-all began.
Every presidential visit is always worth remembering. Even an off-the-cuff remark said in playful jest, although anything is subject to interpretation.
Like old times at the Palace, our little interview tried faithfully to reflect the nuance of presidential words. I don’t always quote what he says, but what he means. Words are filtered through paraphrases.
What I feel about my President is what my family taught me. As one raised from the North, I was raised in blue-collar awe of the presidency!