BEHIND THE SCENES

Reminiscing Veterans Day at the US embassy residence
ALFRED DIZON

The US embassy residence at Camp John Hay looked surreal as the clouds descended among the pine trees and engulfed those who attended the Veterans Day ceremonies on Tuesday.
I was sitting beside John, the brother of US ambassador Kirstie Kenney and a Benedictine nun as the rain started to gently fall on the canvass sheet above us prompting John to remark, “It’s raining and cloudy but it’s a beautiful day.”

I couldn’t agree more, the clouds are a rarity nowadays in downtown Baguio. It was a fitting day and perfect place to honor the dead and living veterans. The event started with a muffled drum roll. During the presentation of colors, honors and national anthems, two US soldiers and their Philippine counterparts marched in cadence below the podium. One from each country held a flag while the other had a gun with a knife clipped on the barrel.
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Jonathan Skelly, Manila VA regional office director and master of ceremonies welcomed the guests. He introduced first Philippine Military Academy superintendent Gen. Leopoldo Maligalig who talked about the PMA’s role in molding future soldiers and his father being a Death March survivor in Bataan during World War 2. Ambassador Kenney also revealed her father and grandfather were World War 2 and 1 veterans respectively. She talked how wars cemented Philippine-American relations, adding the ambassador’s residence was the site where Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, head of the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War formally surrendered to allied forces led by the Americans.
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Ms Kenney cited the role of veterans in protecting the US and the Philippines when Japan unleashed its war machine six decades ago. She acknowledged veterans among the audience like Col. Estrada, also a Death March survivor with tears in their eyes. Estrada still had the strong and erect posture of a soldier although I didn’t ask if he was related to former President Joseph Estrada. There were some Caucasian guys, I presume bodyguards, who looked very fit and moved around areas where Ms Kenny went. I also espied an American gentleman in coat and tie with a Havana hat who looked every inch a Central Intelligence Agency agent.
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The program was short, significant how Americans conduct business. When the ambassador finished her speech, she asked everybody to go inside the house for refreshments. I was talking to a Filipina in her 50’s who introduced her husband, an American who was a Vietnam War veteran. He was joking how the absence of war had made him “soft,” then he mischievously looked at his wife who showed a little pout. It was an experience meeting people of diverse backgrounds.
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Before we left, I gave the ambassador my card joking they could always send their “praise releases” through my e-mail so we could print their articles in this paper. Her pretty Caucasian aide got my card saying with a mischievous smile, “Yes of course, thank you sir.” I guess she knew the US embassy had been sending press releases to this paper every now and then. I like the way the US embassy personnel and officials conducted the affair. They were polite, punctual and made people feel at home by being friendly. They introducing themselves and talked casually.

I earlier received an invitation from the US Embassy to attend the event so I didin’t have second thoughts of attending the affair. I may not have looked like a terrorist since I was in coat and tie so the guards at the gate allowed me to drive through the gate after waving a bomb detection devise below the hood.
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At the site, we were given miniature American and Filipino flags embossed on lapel pins. We were also given a program brochure. Basing from the information sheet, the term “veteran” originally meant “a person of long experience” or skill. Derived from the Latin term veteranus, after the American Revolution, the word veteran came to be associated specifically with former soldiers of old age who had fought for independence. As time went on, “veteran” was used to describe any former member of the armed forces or a person who had served in the military. ***
In the mid-19th century, this term was often shortened to the simple phrase “vets.” The term came to be used as a way to categorize and honor those who had served and sacrificed through their roles in the military.

Armistice Day was adopted in many US states and at the federal level as a day to honor veterans. This was made official in 1938 when an act of Congress made Armistice Day a national holiday. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower changed the name of Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
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Memorial Day is a day of remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died are also remembered on Veterans Day, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor all those who had served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime.
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According to the brochure, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served – not only those who died – have sacrificed and done their duty.