VIRGINIA BEACH — In the front row of an audience gathered at the Philippine Cultural Center of Virginia on Saturday, May 28, a young midshipman sat next to a retired lieutenant commander on a special day honoring the important service of Filipino sailors in the U.S. Navy.
Both wore their white uniforms during remarks by officials, community leaders, even an admiral.
Retired Lt. Cmdr. Sid Barrera, born in the Philippines, enlisted in the Navy to initially serve as a cook and steward, a role to which Filipinos once were relegated within America’s sea service. But how he rose.
He excelled in uniform and academics, earning degrees, earning his commission, being profiled in a magazine article that mentioned how he even won a writing contest with an essay entitled, “Why am I in the Uniform of My Country?” And becoming a leader in the Filipino-American community here, including service at the cultural center since its infancy.
Next to him was Midshipman Kristin Ocampo, who is in the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2023, near the beginning of her own journey of military service. She’s from Hampton Roads, grew up right in a decidedly Navy town, where she became fascinated by naval aviation.
“It was part of growing up,” she said during an interview later in the day. “I always passed the Navy base.”
The room was full of veterans, leaders, loved ones and more for a program of music and remarks before the unveiling and dedication of a marker honoring Filipino sailors in the Navy, which now stands in front of the cultural center along Baxter Road. The gathering was the first major event at the center since restrictions related to the novel coronavirus, and it was a homecoming of sorts for some people who are part of a place whose membership reflects strong ties to military service, especially the Navy, which brought many Filipino-Americans here to Hampton Roads and Virginia Beach.
“Here we are, standing together, united in appreciation for the sacrifices of our servicemen and women who have protected our freedom,” said Dr. Cynthia Romero, chairperson of the Council of United Filipino Organizations of Tidewater, after recognizing those who have served and serve now and their loved ones. She is also the former Virginia state health commissioner – as well as the daughter of a veteran.
And she welcomed people back to the reopened center.
“It was a timely decision to open our cultural home,” she said, “for a common thread that connects many of our local families – our relationship with the military, particularly the U.S. Navy.”
She discussed how the recruitment of people in the Philippines into the Navy led to assignment in the U.S., and Filipino communities formed near military installations. “With the largest naval base situated in our neighboring city, Norfolk,” she noted, “it is not surprising that our Filipino-American community of Hampton Roads was born.”
“The U.S. Navy has a very long and storied history of Filipino sailors among their ranks serving their country,” said Mayor Bobby Dyer, who is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. “And today we are taking time to acknowledge the immense contributions of those servicemembers.”
Other speakers included Virginia Veterans and Defense Affairs Secretary Craig Crenshaw, U.S. Reps Elaine Luria and Bobby Scott, state Del. Kelly Fowler and Councilmember Michael Berlucchi.
Gabriela Igloria, a poet and college student, shared a poem by her mother, Dr. Luisa A. Igloria, an educator who is the poet laureate of Virginia.
In part, the poem read: “But here we are today, across / the land, across the globe. We, architects of rafts and smaller / vessels that narrow distances / between shores. We, no longer / just recruit, apprentices, / messboys, servants, / stewards. We, builders of / galleons. We, who learned to / captain our craft by the stars.”
“As many of you know, Filipinos played a role during World War II in resisting and delaying Japan’s efforts to take the Philippines,” Reyes said. “Up to 80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war were force-marched over 70 miles by their Japanese captors during the Bataan Death March in 1942. Because of this and many other shared sacrifices and our ultimate victory in the Pacific, the U.S. and the Philippines … agreed to permit Filipino citizens to enlist in the U.S. Navy for decades after World War II, allowing generations of Fil-Am sailors to make immeasurable contributions to the security of our nation.”
He added, “I know my own service in the Navy, certainly as a flag officer and all of the roles I’ve played, would not be possible without the courageous service of all those who have served before me. That includes many in our audience today.”
He honored those people for their service, and he mentioned his parents, too.
“My father served 30 years of active duty in the Navy, and my mother as a Navy spouse,” he said. “My parents both left their homes and their families in the Philippines …. to build lives here in the U.S., to raise a family here and to make lives better for us all. I think many of us in this audience today, gathered here today can reflect and appreciate and embody that, as well.”
He spoke of a number of accomplished Filipino-American sailors during his remarks. “We have a rich, rich heritage of service from E-1 to O-9, and we have all stood on the shoulders of men and women like my mom and dad, like the rest of our veterans and retirees and spouses here today. And we do so proudly, and we do so humbly. I look forward to the next generation of Fil-Am sailors continuing this legacy. I’m looking at you, Midshipman.”
Ocampo sat in the front row.
“And you’ll stand on our shoulders to attain even greater levels of responsibility and service and contribution to the Navy and our nation,” the admiral said.
After the ceremony inside the center, those gathered walked outside toward the road for the unveiling of the marker.
After a blessing, Ocampo unveiled the marker between the cultural center and the road with Barrera, the retired lieutenant commander, who stood on the other side of the marker. Reyes was among those standing nearby.
Together, the commander and the midshipman removed a covering showing the commonweath’s seal from the marker to reveal the message – that Filipinos have served as early as the Civil War and enlisted in great numbers after the U.S. took possession of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War, that the Navy began to recruit Filipino nationals after the Philippines gained independence in 1946, leading to tens of thousands of Filipino sailors serving as stewards and mess attendants before, by the 1970s, they became eligible for all the other enlisted jobs and for opportunities as officers.
“Filipino American communities often developed near naval bases,” the marker reads. “One of the nation’s largest such communities is here in Hampton Roads.”
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