Autobiography Update: Chapter 2- Memories of Romblon Islands

I first wrote my autobiography in 2008 and updated it in 2011. There are several things that changed since 2011 in my family personal lives and a few significant events that is needed to be updated. I will include more photos so the articles will be not too boring for those who have already read this post. Again, I will appreciate any comments positive or negative. I will highlights all the updates. Thanks for your time.

In late 1945, just after the end of American-Japanese War in the Philippines, my father who was a captain and dental officer for the Philippine-US army took me and my Mom for a month to Romblon Province. He was in-charged of all the dental needs of army personnel in the whole island of Panay as well as in Romblon. I remember we took a PT boat owned by the US navy from Iloilo to Romblon. I was only about 11 years old that time, but very knowledgeable of US history. One of my hobbies was to read US history. I have memorized all the 48 capitals of US states( yes,at that time there are only 48 states in US). My father's dental assistant was a white sergeant from Oklahoma City. He used to quiz me of my knowledge of the capital city of all the US states. If I get it right he gave me chocolates and cookies as a prize. There came a time when he ran out of chocolates, since I have never made a mistake. One capital I almost made a mistake was the capital of California. Most people think at that time the capital city is either LA or San Francisco. Even today, there are still a lot of Filipinos that do not know that Sacramento is the capital of California. The same thing with the capital of Illinois. Most Filipinos at that time believe it is Chicago( the biggest and most populated city in Illinois).

Back to my memories of Romblon. As we enter the harbor, the picturesque view of the mountain so close( all white with marble) almost took my breathe away. It was so beautiful that until today, it is still vivid in my memory. I have not been to Romblon since then, so I do not know if the view is still the same. Anyway we stayed in Romblom Island for 2 weeks. Every day my father took me to his dental office. All of his patients talked to me about their lives and towns/cities in US. That was the beginning of my life-long dream to visit and live in US someday. I did accomplished that dream, having studied, lived, worked and raised a family here in US since 1960.

After two weeks in Romblon Island, my father's assignment was one week each at the two other big islands of the province, Tablas and Sibuyan Islands. The trip to Tablas Island from Romblon took only about 30 minutes by PT boat. I remember, it was so fast, that we arrived about one hour early at the port of Badajoz ( now known as the town of San Agustin). The PT boat went back to Romblon and we waited by the side of the sea under a coconut tree for a jeep from Odiongan, capital town of Tablas Island.
We were hungry and thirsty, but there was no store (tiange) or restaurant in the area. We saw a several residents in the several nearby houses, staring at us, but no one said hello or even offer us a glass of water. As I remember these memories, I felt that if this incident happened in Marinduque, at least one person will probably offer us a glass of water and perhaps even invite us to wait in their house instead of outside under the sun ( luckily there were a few coconut trees providing us with shade). My father explained later why the town was called Badajoz. He said it means "bad hosts". I am glad the town is now called San Agustin.

Our week stay in Odiongan, Tablas and later in Cajidiocan, Sibuyan went pretty fast. Before I realized,it was time for me to go home to Iloilo and back to school.
Sibuyan Island and Mt Guiting-Guiting in the background
My memories of Odiongan and Cajidiocan - it was the most rural place on earth and the roads were bad. It felt like driving in the craters of the moon. Does any one knows what the road conditions now in the Tablas and Sibuyan Islands?
If any one is from Romblon reading this blog, I will appreciate if you let me know what is going on in Romblon today. Someday, I will visit the province again, to see if that harbor view of the marble mountain is still the same.

Romblon today is known for its marble products. The products are popular to both local and foreign tourists.
Marble products-I have several marble products from Romblon including a bench, three round tables,and two table lamps.

Autobiography Update: Chapter 1- Childhood Memories of the Japanese-American War in the Philippines

I first wrote my autobiography in 2008 and updated it in 2011. There are several things that changed since 2011 in my family personal lives and a few significant events that is needed to be updated. I will include more photos so the articles will be not too boring for those who have already read this post. Again, I will appreciate any comments positive or negative. I will highlights all the updates. Thanks for your time.


General MacArthur Returns Memorial, Leyte Island, October,1944

I am writing this article for the benefit of my children and grand children and the new generations of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans who have no knowledge or memory of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. It was 13 days before my 7th birthday when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in the morning, Sunday , December 7, 1941. That same day in the evening, Japanese planes had taken off to attack several targets in the Philippines. The Japanese had planned six landings: Bataan, Aparri, Vigan, Legaspi, Davao and Jolo Island. For the sake of clarity in this narrative, here are the important dates of that war:


December 7, 1941 Sunday Morning Bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii


December 7-22, 1941 Start of Bombing of the Philippines and Japanese landed in several places in the island.


April 9, 1942 The Fall of Bataan and the Death March


May, 1942 The Fall of Corregidor and General MacArthur fled to Australia


October 1944 General MacArthur landed in Leyte " I Shall Return"


September, 1945 Japanese Surrender


July 4, 1946 Philippines Independence from US

The above video is a summary of the Japanese Invasion of the Philippines
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The following article was my first gold award winning article for ViewsHound*. This was an excerpt from my original article on the subject published in the first edition of this autobiography. This biography is in its 3nd Edition of printing.
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Life in the time of war is a difficult experience for a child. All school and play activities are interrupted. Survival amidst the chaos becomes a paramount goal in life. Our family had to uproot ourselves from the comfort of home and move several times to the hard life in the countryside. We had to avoid the conflict and the bombing in the city.

We chose a life of peace and quiet away from the invading Japanese troops. Due to the language barrier, the Japanese instilled order and dominance of the conquered using fear, by hurting or killing innocent civilians, resulting in the rise of the resistance movement. For every day that passes, there was the dream of peace, but during the lengthy war period, one had to expect the worst before anything good happened.

Before the war started, we lived a comfortable life in our home in the city of Jaro, Iloilo located in the central Philippine island of Panay. My father had a dental practice and we had our farm landholdings around the province. It was 13 days before my 7th birthday when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in the morning of December 7, 1941.

On that evening, Japanese planes had taken off to attack several targets in the Philippines, which was then an American colony. It was the start of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, and the reign of fear was about to begin.

I was in 2nd grade at the Jaro Elementary School when Japan started bombing the bigger cities of the country. When we heard the terrifying news, my parents became concerned for our safety and decided to get out of the city, a possible bombing target.

They chose to move to our farm in the small town of Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, my mother’s ancestral town 60 kilometers north of Jaro. It was a time of panic, chaos and fear over what was to happen in the city. We were about to leave our cherished home and anxiously head to the unfamiliar and the unknown.

Within a couple of days all the essential items we could bring were already packed. All the furniture and the huge and heavy items were left behind. My mother had all her china and silverware buried in the backyard for safekeeping.

We found out later that our house was bombed and totally destroyed. All the furniture were either destroyed or stolen. All the china and silverware was dug up and stolen. Despite the losses, we were grateful that we made a wise decision and survived unharmed.

For a short period we settled in a small farm house of our tenant in a remote district of town. As the war progressed, we were informed that the Japanese forces had penetrated most of the big cities in the country and were starting to occupy smaller towns. My father was a captain and dental officer of the newly organized Philippine guerrillas, an underground resistance movement to fight the Japanese. As a precaution, he decided to move our family a second time, to the jungle in the interior of Panay Island.

We had to walk for three days through the woods of the jungle, cross over numerous creeks and climb over mountains with the help and guidance of our farmer tenants. Our trek ended and we settled in a hidden valley lined by a creek with clean running water. Our tenants built us a hut for shelter made of bamboo and nipa palm, an outdoor kitchen and a dining area.

They used a bamboo cart pulled by a water Buffalo to bring us supplies of rice, salt, sugar and other spices regularly. In the valley we cleared the land to plant vegetables, corn and sweet potatoes. We also raised chickens and ducks for eggs, pigs for protein and goats for milk.

One of the scariest events while living in the jungle was when our pig livestock were preyed upon by a python snake measuring about 30 feet long. It was pitch black at night when we heard our two pigs squealing out loud in fear. My father instructed our helper to inspect the pig pen using a kerosene lamp.

He saw the snake strangling one of the pigs. He struck and killed the python using his machete and a piece of wood, sadly, our small pig also died. That whole week we had protein in our meals. It was proof that the jungles of Panay are inhabited by dangerous pythons.

We had no pet with us. I chose the chickens and the goats to become my pets. I raised one of the chickens; it slept with me, got attached to me and kept trailing me wherever I go. My mother tolerated my unusual pets because I had no peers my age aside from my younger brother.
Me and my younger brother, Erico

To continue with our education, my father home schooled us together with two of my older cousins. For four hours each day we were taught arithmetic, spelling and history. We were lucky to have brought with us a few books on Philippine and US history. Whenever our tenants brought us food supplies, they would update us on news about the status of the Japanese occupation.

Late in the war when the Japanese brutality and atrocities appeared to have stopped, we moved again from the jungle to a seaside village. We stayed at the house of another tenant. My father warned us not to talk to any stranger, and if asked, to avoid giving our real last name of Katague and instead provide an alias which was Katigbak.

There were unverified rumors that the Japanese had a list of names of all the guerrillas, which might have included my father. Some traitor Filipinos worked as spies for the Japanese by pinpointing the guerrillas in exchange for favors.

One day, we saw a platoon of uniformed Japanese soldiers armed with guns and bayonets passing by our village. My brother and I watched them march while hiding in the bushes. I knew their brutal reputation towards the natives, and I was afraid of us being seen and getting in trouble. I was relieved that nothing happened and they continued with their march to the next village.

A terrible incident happened to about 30 of my maternal relatives while we were living in the jungle. They were similarly hiding and living in the jungle on a mountain ridge next to us. They were killed by the Japanese soldiers who discovered and penetrated their location with the help of the spies.

A handicapped relative in a wheelchair was spared. During the massacre, she fell on the creek and must have been left for dead. She lived to tell the tragic story. This is only one example of many atrocities that was committed by the Japanese to the Filipino civilians.

When General MacArthur landed in Leyte on October 1944, it was the happiest day for the Filipinos, the Americans were back to save us from the Japanese tyranny. The Japanese troops started to retreat and surrender. The chance for peace in the Philippines was welcomed with excitement. The schools were planning to reopen. There was no more need to live in hiding and in fear, and to lie about one’s name. We were able to live free from the oppressors.

From the seaside village we moved to another district much closer to town where we built a bigger house. At the back of the property was a hill, and on a clear day, from the top of the hill you could see the nearby island of Negros.

We used it as an observation hill where we could watch the Japanese and American planes flying and then fighting each other. My brother and I witnessed two planes attacking each other, with one plane being blown to pieces and burning as it fell from the sky to the sea between Panay and Negros islands. It was a thrilling dogfight show to watch, although we never found out the victor.

When school reopened, we were required to take a test to determine which grade level we would qualify for. I passed the test for a 4th grade level. I was merely in grade 2 when war broke out. In short, I completed six grades of elementary in only four years of schooling. In class, I was two years younger than most of my classmates. I was thankful for the result of my father’s patience in home schooling us while living in the jungle. At last we were able to go back to our school, new home, and live the life of what was left of my childhood years in peace.

*ViewsHound is published by Publisha Ltd. It is a Seedcamp 2010 winning company, and have raised significant funding creating a great experience for readers and authors all over the world. It is an independent and privately owned company based in UK, but went out of business in 2011.

Autobiography Update: Dedication and Prologue

I first wrote my autobiography in 2008 and updated it in 2011. There are several things that changed since 2011 in my family personal lives and a few significant events that is needed to be updated. I will include more photos so the articles will be not too boring for those who have already read this post. Again, I will appreciate any comments positive or negative. I will highlights all the updates. Thanks for your time.


Photo taken during my niece wedding(D'Wanie Katague Gregorio,M.D.) and also my 74th Birthday. Note that Macrine's gown was designed and tailored by Rudy Diego-one of Manila's well-known couturier.

I am writing this autobiography for the benefit of my four children and six grandchildren here in California, United States of America. My children are:
Dodie( Diosdado), B.A. (Geography) UC Berkeley, JD (Law) UC Davis, CA (Married, Ruth Carver)
DinahKatague, B.A. (Sac State U), M.A (Paralegal) St Mary, Moraga, CA( Married to David King and now divorced)
David Ernst, B.S. Agricultural Economics UC Davis, CA, M.A, Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon U, Pittsburgh, PA (Single)
Ditas Macrine, B.A Double Major Communications/Arts, UC Berkeley,CA, M.A. Government Relations, USC, Los Angeles, CA and Washington, D.C.(Married, Nick Thompson-now deceased)

My grandchildren and their ages as of this write up:
Ian Katague King Age 23
Elaine Katague King Age 21
Philip Winchester Katague Age 21
Alexandra ( Alix) Katague Age 20
Marina Katague Age 17
Carenna Katague Thompson Age 11
Grand Children, Christmas, 2013
Special dedication to Ian, Elaine and Carenna for their tolerance and patience during their hectic trip from US to Marinduque, just to attend our golden wedding anniversary celebration. I hope the memories of that trip will never be forgotten in their memory and that they will have favorable remembrances of the Philippines.
( For details of our golden wedding anniversary celebrations see Chapter 14)

I also dedicate this blog to all my brothers and sisters and their husbands and wives ("in-laws)" in the Philippines, Australia, United States and Canada. Also to my nieces and nephews all over the world in Iran, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, England and the United States, and also to all my sister-in-laws in the Philippines and United States.

In addition, I also dedicate this blog to all members and friends of Marinduque International,Inc. especially those members and nonmembers who had participated in the past several medical missions to Marinduque, Philippines. I am sure that those of you who had participated in the past medical missions believed in my favorite quotation." The time you have touched the lives of others is the time that you have really lived".

Moreover, I also dedicate this blog to my colleagues and friends at the Food and Drug Administration(FDA), Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products ( New Drugs), Silver Spring, MD specifically, Maureen Dillon Parker, Suresh Pagay, Milton Sloan, Andrew Yu and Vithal Shetty and several others that I will not be able to mention (you know who you are) because it will take at least two pages to mention your names. My 12 years career at FDA was the most challenging, productive and satisfying experience in my professional life. As a GS-14-expert on antimalarial drug products, I feel that I have contributed reducing the incidence of this disease not only in the Philippines but also world wide. (see Chapter 11 for details). My million thanks to Dr. Wilson (Tony) De Camp( my former supervisor) for selecting me out of the numerous applicants for a review chemist position in 1990 during a Job Fair in San Francisco and believing in my abilities to be a good review chemist and later a team leader ( first-line supervisor) in FDA.
Dave and Macrine-Photo by Agnes Apeles taken on August 22, 2009 during MI, Inc Dinner Dance & Reunion in Buena Park, California.

Last, but not least to my beloved wife of 57 years, Mrs Macrine Nieva Jambalos Katague, whose understanding, devotion, patience and love made this all possible.

This autobiography is divided into three time frames and posted in 17 chapters as follows:
Chapter 1 to 5: Life in the Philippines-1934 to 1959(Elementary, High School and College Years)
Chapter 6 to 11: Life in the United States-1960 to 2002 (Post Graduate and Professional Career Years)
Chapter 12 to 17: Life in the US and Philippines- 2002 to the Present( Retirement Years and Beyond)

I hope that my grand children will be inspired after reading this autobiography to do their best to achieve a successful and happy life, similar if not better than what I have experienced here in US and in the Philippines with my beloved wife of 57 years, Macrine Nieva Jambalos of Boac, Marinduque, Philippines.

PROLOGUE
To other readers who may also be inspired by my experiences, I salute you! I know that there is one individual not related to me who indicated that without my knowledge I had been his role model during his childhood and formative years in the Philippines. At present, he is a Professor at the University of the Philippines in Iloilo. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Oceanography from the University of Hawaii.

University of the Philippines Visayas, at Miagao, Iloilo

Several years ago, while visiting my hometown in Barotac Viejo,Iloilo, I asked my sister who was still residing there at that time, if she knows of any Ph.D. graduate from our town besides myself. She said there was a recent Ph.D. graduate from our town who is now teaching at the University of the Philippines in Miagao. So, I ask her if I could met this guy and my sister said, let us look for him at the university right now. We immediately drove back to the city and then to Miagao. We went directly to the Administration Office and they gave us directions to his office and classroom. He was not there, but his secretary said he is at home on sick leave. We ask the secretary to call him and ask if we could visit him. To make the story short, we met him at his residence and start introducing ourselves.

The moment, I saw him I feel very close to the guy, even though this is the first time I've seen this guy. He was very friendly in spite of his cold. After 5 minutes of preliminary talk, he blurted out. He said, "I have been wanting to meet you also in person all these years. Without you knowing, you have been my role model during my childhood years and your story has been my inspiration". I was shocked and surprised. Then he explained that his grandmother that raised him has been brainwashing him with my life story in the US. His grandmother told him, he must also study for his Ph.D abroad. He said yes, without even knowing what is the meaning of Ph.D. It turned out that my mother and his grandmother were good friends and my mother has been informing his grandmother all the details of my life and graduate work at the University of Illinois in Chicago. I hope others who read my autobiography will also be inspired to work hard to the best of their ability to fulfill their dreams.

Allow me to end this introduction to quote my "Philosophy in Life".
"Where there is God and Love, there must be Faith,
And where there is Faith, there is Peace indeed!
Where there is Peace, there must be God, and where there is God,
There is no Need! Where there is no Need, there is Paradise
In Paradise, there is bliss, contentment and delight!"

Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Barcelona, Spain

Daughter Ditas and Grand Daughter Carenna are now in Barcelona, Spain enjoying the site and sounds of Gaudi's famous but unfinished work of art. This is the whole world most popular tourist spot in Europe. Be sure to put this in your bucket list of things to do before you die. Here's an article from www.slate.com for your information.

"When Antoni Gaudí began work on the Sagrada Familia cathedral in 1883, it was already a neo-Gothic work-in-progress; another architect had begun constructing it a year before. But Gaudí swiftly began imposing elements of his singular organic, nature-inspired sensibility upon the structure, as well as designing furniture and objects for the interior.
Glass Stained Windows Inside

Gaudí toiled for the remainder of his life on the project, turning down other commissions to focus solely on the church starting in 1914. He worked and lived on site in his final years before being struck down by a tram in 1926 at age 73.


But while he labored over this grandiose monument to Catholicism—one that has in turn become a shrine to his own genius and a symbol of the city of Barcelona itself—Gaudí only completed around 25 percent of what has always been a privately funded work. What’s more, he wasn’t in a rush to finish. “The work of the Sagrada Família progresses slowly because the master of this work is in no great hurry,” he once said, suggesting that his project's slow progress was not only due to a lack of manpower or means.
Carenna at Entrance to the Cathedral

In recent decades, construction has been guided by architect Jordi Bonet, whose own father had worked under Gaudí, and by architect Jordi Faulí, who took on the role in May. Throughout, there has been controversy about how to carry out Gaudí’s original ideas. Some people seem bent on executing an absolute interpretation of Gaudí’s vision, guided by the writing, sketches and drawings that survived the Spanish Civil War. In 2008, a group of Catalan architects even suggested halting work altogether in order to preserve Gaudí’s authorship. Others believe that Gaudí left the plans open to collaborators from future generations who would ultimately be responsible for finishing what he had started.

Even unfinished, Sagrada Familia is a masterpiece, the crown jewel in Barcelona’s architectural landscape. This living monument that began as an homage to the life of Christ has ended up becoming a testament to the divine possibilities of the human imagination.
View of the Cathedral from their Hotel Room

I remember the spell the structure cast when I visited 15 years ago, climbing its staircases and struggling to envision what it would eventually become, marveling at what was already there, noting the sacrilegious presence of a Coke machine for the tourists."
From: www.slate.com by Kristine Hohenadal

Buchart, Filoli, and Longwood Gardens

The Buchart Garden
If you love flowers, trees and gardens you should visit Buchart ( Victoria, British Columbia), Filoli ( Woodside, CA) and Longwood Gardens( Kenneth Square, PA-suburb of Philadelphia if you have not done it yet. Macrine and I have visited Longwood Gardens twice but visited the other two only once. The gardens looked different during the various seasons, but for us spring time was our favorite season. It is the time when the gardens are most colorful. The following are some of the photos I took of the three gardens and a short video of the three gardens. I hope you enjoy the videos as much as we do.
Buchart Gardens, Victoria, BC

Filoli Sunken Gardens

Longwood Gardens, Spring Time

Photo Trip Down Memory Lane

Katague and Thompson Wedding,2002
The following photos are old but it always remind us of our younger and happy days, now that we are in the twilight stage of our life. The photos remind us when we were still young, healthy and strong and were active with community involvement and try to touch the lives of others. The other photos were part of our personal life and activities. I hope that looking at these pictures will tell you, that we tried our best to be good citizens of the world and not a burden to humanity.

Our Golden Wedding Anniversary

Thanksgiving Photo of the David B Katague Clan, 2008

Macrine and I with Bishop Evangelista, Retired General Recaredo Sarminento and Thelma Santos, in Mogpog after distribution of Food and Goods as Relief to the The victims of Typhoon Reming in Marinduque, 2008

Macrine at Victoria Harbor, British Columbia, Canada after our high tea at the Empress Hotel-one of the many treasured vacations that we have taken since 1960.

Photo of siblings and in-laws during my niece wedding, Dr D'Wanie Katague Gregorio-Conlu, Iloilo City. Not in the photo are sisters Agnes and Myrla and brother Dolce Ruben.

Macrine and I with Lito and Olga Quiazon at Los Angeles, California during one of the many reunions of members of Marinduque International,Inc- a humanitarian non-profit organization with goals to help the needy in our second home-the beautiful island of Marinduque. Marinduque as of today has no air transportation services and its transportation infra structure( air, sea and land) should be the number one priority of its politicians, I truly believe.

I have hundreds of photos but I will end this photo tour not to bore you. Needless to say, Macrine and I had fruitful and productive personal and professional careers. We have traveled to more than sixty cities and countries all over the world and have resided in all regions of the US except the South. Currently we are enjoying the last stage of our lives. We certainly have touched the lives of others. As the saying goes, "You only lived if you have touched the lives of others".