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Post by kerwin on Jan 7, 2008 12:38:52 GMT -5
Hi guys, I hope this is not a re-post, but i chanced upon this story in another board and found the wikipedia source. Can any of you guys confirm this story? Ramon Simpas Subejano (1905 - 1988), a native of the Philippines, became a highly decorated United States WWII veteran. He brought back 17 medals earned for killing more than 400 Germans in battle. One of the medals was the much coveted Silver Star which cited him for "Gallantry in action on 7 December 1944 in the vicinity of Dillengen, Germany." The citation continued, "At the risk of his life, Pvt. Subejano made his way along through devastating 20 mm and machine gun fire and hand grenade explosions to the building. He then entered the strong point and going from room to room, killed five enemy, wounded six and forced the remaining 37 to surrender. PFC Ramon S. Subejano served with Company A 358th Inf. Div. at Normandy Beach, Ardennes, Northern France, Holland, and the Rhineland, he was a scout sniper and was wounded several times. He died September 16, 1988 and was one of the United States' most decorated heroes of WWII. Subejano is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His story is in the Library of Congress, "One Man Army" (1978). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_S._SubejanoKerwin |
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Post by VeeVee on Jan 7, 2008 20:48:09 GMT -5
Thanks for this tidbit. Will look him up and read more about him.
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Post by arnaldodumindin on Jan 14, 2008 10:22:26 GMT -5
Here's New York Times article on Ramon Subejano, September 18, 1988:
Ramon Subejano, 83; Hero of World War II
Ramon Simpas Subejano, a native of the Philippines who became a highly decorated United States war veteran, died after a brief illness Friday at a Veterans Administration hospital here. He was 83 years old, said a close friend, Al Livingston.
Mr. Subejano left the Philippines for the United States in 1927 by stowing away on a freighter. He was a merchant seaman, traveling to most ports of the world, before he bought a pool hall with $32,000 that he won in a casino.
Mr. Subejano lost all his money in the Depression, and had to work as a busboy. He was drafted into the Army in 1942 and was sent to Europe, where he was credited with killing more than 400 German soldiers from Normandy to the Rhineland.
Mr. Subejano was wounded four times, including once by bayonet, and came home disabled.
He was awarded the Silver Star for his single-handed capture of a factory near Dillingen, Germany. According to his service record, he crept into the factory amid heavy machine gunfire and exploding grenades. He killed 5 German soldiers, wounded 6 and forced 37 others to surrender.
He was also a holder of the Purple Heart for his wounds and was decorated by the French, Dutch and Belgian governments. Memorial service and plans for Mr. Subejano's burial were pending.
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av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Jan 14, 2008 17:36:41 GMT -5
Yes, this guy is one of the man that I look upon. A real fighter! Comparable to Sgt Alvin York and Audie Murphy. I've been looking for a copy of "One Man Army", I guess I have to go to the Library of Congress for that one of this days.
Some bit of information about him that I remember: 1) He lost all his medals because of burglary, then some friends and people from congress acted to give his medals back. 2) He had some misunderstanding with his landlord that lead to a court case. The judge ruled in favor of him, citing what the old man had done for us during the war.
Well, here's to our man Ramon... A real Pinoy-American hero!
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Post by ezekielhouse on Aug 13, 2008 23:18:09 GMT -5
Yes it is very true. my grandfather Honorio and Ramon are brothers. unfornately my sister in the philippines was cleaning the our house and threw some of the boxes outside which happens to have pictures and documents of him that my Mom had kept for years. My Mom was furiosly mad. but nothing much we can do. In fact i remember reading Ramon Subejano in the Philippine History Book by Zaide when i was first year or second year high school in the phil. way back 1981-82. September of 2000 i finally able to visit his grave at the Arlington Cemetery and i cant help but shed tears.
Thank you guys.
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Post by rayshell on Aug 20, 2011 7:18:50 GMT -5
my grandfather is a good soldier..
he fight for peace..
he fight for justice..
he for her family..even thou he had no own family..
im so proud for him..
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Post by Justin on Mar 21, 2013 7:05:49 GMT -5
Hello,
I am a relative of Ramon and i knew him growing up in Boston and when i was 5 years old i was at his funeral at Arlington Cemetery. I have pictures of the 21 gun solute and my Mother, who is Filipino and his relative also, was the one who received the flag. I believe we still have it.
I also have all of his medals, his silver star and his purple hearts. Along with all his other personal items he had a German Luger which my parents donated to the museum in Massachusetts.
These stories that you guys have been talking about are all true and i have all the U.S. military paper work that was given to him during his discharge and i have to say it is even more amazing than any story or article you can find out there about him. We have pictures of him with many famous people he has met over the years.
But best of all i have the one and only original copy of his autobiography which tells his whole story from childhood all the way to D-Day when he stormed the beach at Normandy. The detailed account he writes are so amazing that they make any movie or story like "saving private Ryan" and things like that pale in comparison. And believe me he killed 400 Nazis or more. He has all of this and an accurate head count in detail from a journal he kept during the war. I keep the only copy very safe and i cherish his account and memories of how he helped us win the war. He believes he should have received the medal of honor and after the war Senator Kennedy tried to push for him to get it but for a number of reason he never received it. Almost every after the war
i have letters and cards from a number of U.S. presidents wishing him a Happy Birthday.
He was an very amazing man and almost poetic yet concise and emotionless the way he wrote this book and i wish his story could be told accurately and fairly. I am planning to publish is book someday soon.
If anyone can help me get it into the proper hand i would appreciate it. I live in California and i have it all here.
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av8tor
History Buff
Posts: 125
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Post by av8tor on Mar 21, 2013 18:33:55 GMT -5
Hi Justin, Please contact me, I would like to discuss this story of Ramon with you. My e-mail dmplata(at)aol.com
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Post by elizabethrc33 on Apr 13, 2013 23:02:25 GMT -5
To Ramon S Subejano's family, I knew him pretty well and he was a great person. My dad and uncle's knew him more. I was in the st patrick day parade in South Boston IN the late 70's with him. my uncle helped him out alot, and wrote a couple of stories about him. he was very well loved in Boston.  |
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Post by Nar Sorinio on Aug 11, 2013 21:55:19 GMT -5
To Justin,
Hi Justin, Nong Ramon came from New Lucena Iloilo which formerly one of Santa Barbara town, he still have lot of relatives in Santa Barbara and New Lucena, I believe he was born in Barrio Cabilauan. My Grand auntie told me about him. I know we are related but I do not know how close since my Mother is also related to Simpas which is his maternal side. I meet his great grand nephew and Niece here in California. We need to keep his story alive and hope a movie should be made after his heroic service during WW2 and his life in USA.
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Post by frank on Mar 18, 2015 10:01:00 GMT -5
Hello, I am a relative of Ramon and i knew him growing up in Boston and when i was 5 years old i was at his funeral at Arlington Cemetery. I have pictures of the 21 gun solute and my Mother, who is Filipino and his relative also, was the one who received the flag. I believe we still have it. I also have all of his medals, his silver star and his purple hearts. Along with all his other personal items he had a German Luger which my parents donated to the museum in Massachusetts. These stories that you guys have been talking about are all true and i have all the U.S. military paper work that was given to him during his discharge and i have to say it is even more amazing than any story or article you can find out there about him. We have pictures of him with many famous people he has met over the years. But best of all i have the one and only original copy of his autobiography which tells his whole story from childhood all the way to D-Day when he stormed the beach at Normandy. The detailed account he writes are so amazing that they make any movie or story like "saving private Ryan" and things like that pale in comparison. And believe me he killed 400 Nazis or more. He has all of this and an accurate head count in detail from a journal he kept during the war. I keep the only copy very safe and i cherish his account and memories of how he helped us win the war. He believes he should have received the medal of honor and after the war Senator Kennedy tried to push for him to get it but for a number of reason he never received it. Almost every after the war i have letters and cards from a number of U.S. presidents wishing him a Happy Birthday. He was an very amazing man and almost poetic yet concise and emotionless the way he wrote this book and i wish his story could be told accurately and fairly. I am planning to publish is book someday soon. If anyone can help me get it into the proper hand i would appreciate it. I live in California and i have it all here. Hello Justin. Have you been in touch w/ Donald? If you are in So Cal we will.be meeting this May 2015 at Long Beach at the Phil. Scouts Heritage Society. Hope to.meet you. Frank Lopez , Secretary, Los Angeles PSHS chapter. |
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Post by frank on Mar 18, 2015 10:02:35 GMT -5
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Post by Nar Sorinio on Apr 2, 2015 0:03:32 GMT -5
Hi Justin, can you msg me @ 209.986.2050 with regards to PFC Ramon Subejano.
Thanks,
Nar
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Lorna Bergdale Gilbert
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Post by Lorna Bergdale Gilbert on Aug 4, 2017 16:57:18 GMT -5
My father, Harold G. Bergdale, Lt.Col. Ret., then Captain Bergdale, was Mr. Subejano's commanding officer in the 90th Division during World War II. A few years ago I submitted to the 90th Division Association a six-page letter Mr. Subejano had written to my father after the war, which can be accessed on the 90th Division Association's website. Mr. Subejano's letter related a number of truly hair-raising experiences he had had under my father's command. He stated in his letter that he had been awarded the Silver Star and was requesting my father's recommendation of him for a Congressional Medal of Honor. My father passed away in 1989 at the age of 89. He simply never spoke of his war experiences, so this letter is really treasured by my family. Both Mr. Subejano and my father were bona fide heroes.
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Mapiya Sobejano Superio
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Post by Mapiya Sobejano Superio on Dec 22, 2017 5:59:31 GMT -5
I am a native of Santa Barbara, Iloilo, Philippines. My Great grandfather and him are cousins but I was curious of why they have a slightly different surname. The spelling my great grandfather's surname is "Sobejano" while Pvt. Ramon's surname is "Subejano." When my grandmother went to the municipal registrar about surname variations, the officer said that "Subejano" and "Sobejano" are all related. It is just the pronunciation of the parents that made the surnames different. The original spelling for this surname is "Sobejano" but maybe Pvt. Ramon's parents rather emphasized the letter O as letter U, making the spelling of the surname as "Subejano."
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Post by mdcebu on Apr 3, 2018 2:07:06 GMT -5
I am very interested in finding out details on Pvt Subejano, did a book ever get published with the help of all the records he kept , how or is the CMH thing? Are the representatives of his congressional district aware of this national treasure? my email is mdcebu@aol.com. thanks
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Post by Edwin Sonoy on Feb 27, 2020 0:34:22 GMT -5
My father was a native of Santa Barbara Iloilo though I was born and raised in Manila. I am proud that I am related to the Simpas side of PVT Subejano. What a great honor. It’s a must that his war exploits be kept alive and published for posterity’s sake. Hollywood should pick this up at the least.
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Post by Narciso Sorinio on Jul 25, 2020 13:19:40 GMT -5
My father was a native of Santa Barbara Iloilo though I was born and raised in Manila. I am proud that I am related to the Simpas side of PVT Subejano. What a great honor. It’s a must that his war exploits be kept alive and published for posterity’s sake. Hollywood should pick this up at the least. One of our retired Pinoy US Military veterans wrote letter to President Trump and other congressmen to look at PFC Subejano records that needs to be upgraded to CMOH. My roots from Bilidan New lucena neighboring barrio of Cabilauan where PFC Subejano from. BTW I believe my mom side are related to Simpas, and my dad side to Subejano since my grand aunt mentioned him to look for him when we reach US. As you know New Lucena separated from Santa Barbara and most of the people that have bloodline from that area are relatives. |
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Post by Narciso Sorinio on May 31, 2021 18:26:56 GMT -5
I am a native of Santa Barbara, Iloilo, Philippines. My Great grandfather and him are cousins but I was curious of why they have a slightly different surname. The spelling my great grandfather's surname is "Sobejano" while Pvt. Ramon's surname is "Subejano." When my grandmother went to the municipal registrar about surname variations, the officer said that "Subejano" and "Sobejano" are all related. It is just the pronunciation of the parents that made the surnames different. The original spelling for this surname is "Sobejano" but maybe Pvt. Ramon's parents rather emphasized the letter O as letter U, making the spelling of the surname as "Subejano." |
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Post by Narciso Sorinio on May 31, 2021 18:34:10 GMT -5
My great Aunt told us about his story he was from Cabilauan New Lucena which also part of Santa Barbara our family from Bilidan next barrio of Cabilauan. His family moved to mindanao so does some of mine. It is common for spelling change like mine Sorinio my aunt using Soreno we just don't know the real one but it doesn't matter since we know our relationship. BTW his great nephew and neice are here in California too. I visited his grave in Arlington when I have military assignment in Virginia.
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