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Filipinos 10-feet tall with Taguba |
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Monday, 31 May 2004 |
THIS writer had a brief encounter in 1978—that’s 26 years ago— with then Capt. Antonio Taguba, now a two-star rank officer of the US army, in the limelight for his report on the abuses committed by American soldiers against Iraqi prisoners.
In one occasion during the writer’s artillery schooling at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where the then Captain Taguba was assigned, I took the opportunity of inviting Fil-Am military personnel to celebrate the Philippine-American Friendship Day. Taguba played a significant role in making the celebration a resounding success. He personally went out of his way not only to gather the Fil-Ams but also to set up a colorful Filipino dance presentation that made us proud of our Filipino roots. His remarks left an indelible imprint in my mind: "I am proud as a Filipino and humbly will I try my worth in the US Army, as my father fought in Bataan."
Again, on my way back home to the Philippines, I had the privilege to call on his mother in Hawaii. Her mother was emphatically stressing: "My son (Antonio) knows the odds he faces in his military career which includes in one way or another discrimination. He is proud of his father, a Bataan veteran who inspired him to join the military." And then jokingly, she concluded: "I would like him to take also one of our kind for his life-time partner." He was still then a bachelor.
Needless to say, with former Gov. Benjamin Cayetano of Hawaii in politics and golfer Dorothy Delasin in sports, the Filipino stands 10-feet tall with Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba rendering his snappy Filipino salute. —VICENTE SUMAJIT SANTOS JR., colonel (ret.), chair, Kapatiran ng mga Kawal na Makawikang Pilipino (Kakampi) Inc., Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City
Source www.inq7.net |
