Bridge Generation

Personality of the Month: 

(Today’s Bridge Generation — now in their 70s, 80s,, and 90s — are a rapidly declining population.  Over the years, most members of these American children of the first wave of Filipino immigrants have passed away.  To remember their contributions to the history of Filipinos in America, a deceased BG individual is a recurring feature of this blog.  This issue features Secundio “Conding” Gumagay Bucol.)

“Eldest son, responsible, curious, mature, Manong, patriot, radioman, leader, spy, war hero, landscaper, musical, artist” — all perfect descriptions of Conding.  Born  on July 1, 1920 — the eldest child of Visayan parents, Domingo Liguton Bucol from Negros Oriental and the former Damasa Gumagay of Siquijor — he arrived in America as an infant with his parents via the Territory of Hawaii.

Conding’s initial years on mainland America were spent in the hamlet of Cressy in California’s Central Valley and in the East Bay where his parents worked long hours in picking strawberries.  He was a responsible youngster, much to the relief of his parents.  Assigned to watch over his six brothers and only sister, young Conding was diligent in his responsibilities. Naturally curious, he always found ways to occupy himself. Later, as a Hayward High School student, Conding’s curiosity again demonstrated itself by his strong interest in his classes — science, art, American history, math, etc.  He often went beyond minimum homework assignments.  In his science class, for example, he drew a detailed picture — freehanded — of the human anatomy.  His many interests also included music.  Rose Jamero, his only surviving sibling, remembers the tenor-voiced Conding singing while accompanying himself on ukulele. Raised in the Filipino tradition of respect, he was always referred to as “Manong Conding” by his younger siblings.  In Filipino  families, the eldest child can sometimes be resented by siblings because of perceived favored treatment.  According to Rose, his siblings’ respect for him was always sincere and genuine.

Due to his early interest in history, Conding considered himself to be a proud and patriotic American.  He enlisted in the U.S. Army on November 19, 1942 after Japan’s December 1941 bombings of Pearl Harbor and Manila.  His first duty station was with the First Filipino Regiment at Camp Cooke, near today’s Lompoc, CA.  When the regiment was deployed north to Camp Beale in Marysville in 1943, Conding was among more than 1000 Filipino soldiers who became American citizens in a mass naturalization ceremony.  He subsequently was one of 200 men selected for special duty.  Their secret mission: to infiltrate the Philippines by submarine and provide intelligence to General Douglas MacArthur’s Headquarters in Australia for the general’s promised “Return to the Philippines.”

After receiving Japanese language training at the Foreign Language Center in Monterey and radio/signal training at Camp Kohler in Sacramento, Conding’s unit — the First Reconnaissance Battalion (Special) — was sent to Brisbane, Australia.  There, they were trained in survival and jungle warfare, in hand-to-hand fighting techniques, and demolition skills.  He learned to operate small boats, read maps, and sketch under dire conditions. Conding’s demonstrated leadership in every phase of training earned him a promotion to Master Sergeant — the highest rating for a non-commissioned officer.  The unit was sent to New Guinea in final preparation for secret landings in the Philippines.  Their primary tasks in the Philippines: (1) To maintain radio contact with MacArthur headquarters in Australia by providing intelligence on Japanese troop movements, and (2) To work with Filipino guerillas to aid MacArthur’s return.

After boarding the submarine USS Nautilus, Conding disembarked — undetected under cover of night — on a remote Lingayen Gulf shore in central Luzon on October 1944.  Until the end of hostilities in 1945, Luzon was Master Sergeant Bucol’s base of operations.  It was where he carried out his dangerous assignment as a radioman/spy — often fighting alongside Filipino guerillas against Japanese troops blowing up bridges and engaging in fire fights.  When not with the guerillas, Conding was constantly on the move.  He was often sheltered by friendly locals. He lived among indigenous Igorots (reportedly headhunters) in the mountains.  Citing Igorot legendary bravery against the Japanese, General MacArthur said, “For sheer, breathtaking and heart-stopping desperation, I have never known the equal of those Igorots.”

Conding rarely spoke of his combat experiences.  However, the record of his unit speaks volumes of the bravery of its members.  Each member of the First Reconnaissance Battalion (Special) received the Bronze Star for Valor, the Meritorious Service Award Plaque, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.   However, not one unit member received the more highly-valued individual awards for valor such as the Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, or the Medal of Honor!  Pelagio Valdez, chronicler of the the First Filipino Regiment to which Conding’s unit belonged, believes individual unit members should have been better recognized for their valor — such as individual awards to members of the Sixth U.S. Army Alamo Scouts who were engaged in similar intelligence activities.  The reason for the disparate treatment between the two units? Valdez wrote, “……the First Reconnaissance Battalion’s heroic actions were not witnessed, confirmed, or verified by White officers.”

Following his honorable discharge on January 21, 1946, Conding experienced a typical return to civilian life.  He took advantage of GI Bill benefits and obtained  employment as a landscaper with the California State Department of Highways.  After his marriage to Josephine, a Japanese national trained as a geisha in Japan, the couple settled in the Livingston/Delhi CA area.  Josephine was an accomplished artist who taught Conding Sumi-E — Japanese brush painting.  He was a quick study of the medium and soon joined her in teaching art at Merced College.  His works were extensively exhibited and received critical acclaim.  In 2002 — twenty years after his untimely death on October 28, 1982 — his bamboo paintings were the centerpiece in the “Reflections of Filipino Americans in the Arts” exhibit at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center.  Today, in lasting tribute to Conding’s life, his work is proudly exhibited in Rose’s home and in the homes of her four children.

(Acknowledgments: Rose Jamero interview, November 5, 2022; Barbara (Bucol) “Sootie” Graham private collection; Herb Jamero, “An Unsung Hero” in Talk Story, FANHS Central Valley Chapter, 2008; Vince Reyes‘ article in Filipinas Magazine, October 1995; Pelagio Valdez, “Filipino American History Month” in FaceBook, October 2022.)

Happy December Birthdays: 

Rose (Bucol) Jamero, Connie (Muca) Jamero, Rosemary (Quitiquit) Figueroa, Clem Morales, Mike Nisperos, Paul Paular, Phil Ventura

Pinakbet — News Across America

Filipino American Historical Tidbits:

On November 1929 in Exeter CA, soon after the Wall Street Crash that ignited the Great Depression, a White mob burned a Filipino campo into the ground.  In January 1930, in nearby Reedley, dynamite was thrown in the campo of 100 sleeping Filipinos…………. Philippine journalist Carlos P. Romulo is well  known for being photographed wading ashore alongside General Douglas MacArthur in the 1944 “I Shall Return” landing on Leyte, Philippines.  In New York City in 1949, he was elected President of the U.N. General Assembly. (In 1945 I was honored to personally meet him in Washington, D.C.  I was pleasantly surprised this famous man took time off his busy schedule to chat with this shy 14 year old.)

Did you Know:

Kudos to Catherine Ceniza Choy for authoring Asian American Histories of the United States.  Her new book persuasively argues the omission of anti-Asian hate and violence in our history books contributed to an incomplete understanding of U.S. history………… On October 27 Vallejo native Rear Admiral Leonard “Butch” Dollage was honored by the local chapter of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce for his elevation to Chief of Legal Affairs for the U.S. Navy — point person in the Navy’s formal relationship with the U.S. Congress…………  July 15 was the official unveiling of the Alice Pena Bulos Memorial Freeway.  A civil rights activist who mentored numerous budding  politicians, Alice was affectionally known as the “Godmother of Filipino American Politics.”  The memorial freeway is part of Skyline Boulevard that includes Daly City which boasts a Filipino population of 40%………….. Retired Administrative Law Judge Betty (Oducayen) Buccat, 74, passed away on October 4.  Early in her career, she was lauded for protecting the rights of farm workers by prosecuting growers who engaged in unfair labor practices in California’s San Joaquin Valley. In 1980, Judge Buccat was among a small group of trail-blazing Filipino American lawyers that founded the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California.

Musings

White Supremacy in America, (to) It Has Always Been About People of Color, (to) Equitable Justice for People of Color, (to) Multi-racial Democracy Weakened, Part XXX:

Thanks to the voters on November 8, America’s multi-racial democracy was the resounding winner of the 2022 midterm elections.  Soundly defeated were ex-president Trump, extremists, and election deniers as the Republican “Red Wave” never materialized.  Voters were clearly more concerned about the threats to American democracy and threats to our rights and freedoms: abortion/reproductive rights, civil rights, election rights, privacy rights and the unalienable rights of freedom of religion, due process, and the rule of law.

Winners: multi-racial democracy, election integrity, President Joe Biden, women, age 30 and under voters, Democratic Party, Select House Committee on the January 6 insurrection.

Losers: Donald Trump, election deniers, extremists, MAGA Republicans,  political violence, FOX News, pundits, polls, Republican SuperPACs, Republican Party, White supremacists, politics of hate, fear, and lies.

May America’s multi-racial democracy continue to thrive!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

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