Riding on His Coattails

My family and I were stationed in Germany when we got word that my mother-in-law was critically ill.  She had been stricken with bone cancer and was going to have surgery to remove her lower jaw bone, and rebuild it from rib bones.  I was granted emergency leave, however seating on flights from Germany to the Philippines allowed only my wife and two children to go immediately; I would have to follow a few days later.

Once in Manila I found a small apartment near the hospital.  We spent the next several days recuperating, making trips to the hospital, and visiting relatives.  After she was released from the hospital, the whole family decided to go down to her hometown, a village towards the south-eastern end of the main island…  It would be a 22 hour trip by train, bus, and boat.  The further along we traveled, the more obvious it became that very few Americans made it into this part of the country.

The train ride was “an experience”!  It was a very old system set on narrow tracks.  I never got the sensation that the train was stable; always rocking back and forth.  Between the train and people talking it was very noisy.  People were packed in like sardines, and the wooden seats just beat the tar out of my butt!  However, the further into the countryside we traveled, the more I started enjoying the trip.  With every stop there would be children waiting to see “the American”.  Many had never seen an American before.  They wanted to see me, touch me, and talk to me although I couldn’t understand them.  My wife interpreted for us all.  Then I would get off the train and play with them until the police officers would come and chase them away.  It was really a lot of fun.  I had transformed from a curiosity to a celebrity.  Evidently, people were getting the message down the line that an American was coming.  Every stop was the same, crowds of children waiting, and lots of touch, talk, and play.

As more of the older folks noticed me getting off and on the train, they too wanted to visit and shake my hand.  Many wanted to talk about the war… World War II and General MacArthur.  This was 34 years after the end of the War, and the Filipino people still remembered what General MacArthur and his forces did for them.  Many had fought in the war, or had otherwise suffered at the hands of the Japanese.  Their stories confirmed by the absence of an arm or leg, or evidenced by some other injury.

The several hour bus ride was also a unique experience.  I had seen this in movies, but never in person.  Baggage was thrown on top of the luggage rack; people were literally hanging on to the outside of the bus; half in and half out of a window.  Some had their feet in the window and were holding onto the luggage rack.  There were farm animals in the bus.  There was no room to move.  Everyone wanted to talk with me.  Josie had her hands full trying to keep up with all the translations.  With each stop, new people would get onboard, and it would start all over again.  They wanted to know where we came from, where we were going, why we were here.  Some were even repeating MacArthur’s words “I shall return”.

When we arrived at the boat dock for the last and shortest leg of the trip; from where we would travel up-river to her village, there were dozens of children and adults, just wanting to get a glimpse of me.  The children were pulling on my shirt sleeves, yelling from excitement.  It was quite an experience.  We had to wait for the boat to arrive and my wife wanted to shop, so we went into a market which had several very large windows along the dock side of the structure.  In the middle of our shopping we heard a crashing sound, turned to look, and saw children’s faces stacked like cord wood, completely filling in a large windows from left to right, and top to bottom.  Apparently some had fallen trying to climb over others.  I went out to play with them, but the elders didn’t want the children to be a “bother”.  I had my wife tell them that I wanted to play with them.  It was a ton-of-fun!!

The boat was a long, thin canoe styled vessel with a pontoon on one side, powered by a motor with a long shaft that stuck out the back several feet.  When I went to board, the operator was afraid I was going to fall in the water. He kept trying to grab my hand and help me which kept throwing me off-balance.   I had the misses tell him that I had lots of experience with boats, and promised I wouldn’t go overboard.  I don’t think he was convinced.  All the way up the river, people were lining the rivers sides yelling and waving as I went by.

It was absolutely incredible the way the Filipino people treated me.  The elders remembered, and youngsters had been taught what MacArthur had done.  Everyone wanted to show their appreciation for something someone else had done 34 years ago.  People came from other villages bringing me food.  Others came just to see me.  It was a very humbling experience.  I can’t fully comprehend what transpired during the War, but I do fully comprehend the love the Filipino people still had for the General.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to ride the coattails of such a man.