Post by VeeVee on Dec 5, 2008 16:19:53 GMT -5
A PS vet in the news...
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www.sacbee.com/276/story/1444153.html
66 years later, soldier gets POW medal for Bataan
By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Dec. 03, 2008 | Page 7B
Adorned with old flags, photos and plaques galore, VFW halls are all about remembering. On Tuesday, a North Highlands hall turned its attention to remembering – and honoring – the service of Gil Perla.
More than 65 years after a Japanese rifle butt was slammed to his skull, punctuating his journey on the Bataan Death March, Guillermo "Gil" Perla finally received his due – a Prisoner of War Medal.
"We finally got his medals," said Rep. Doris Matsui shortly before pinning the medal adorned with a golden eagle on Perla, as his three children, several grandchildren and numerous other guests watched. "He is a true hero."
And with the medal, perhaps, Perla will receive a measure of comfort that the world is not forgetting what happened in 1942 on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.
Perla, 87, of North Highlands was a 20-year-old Filipino member of the 12th Signal Corps, serving as a scout for the U.S. Army, when Bataan fell not long after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
That much is undisputed.
About 75,000 troops – nearly 12,000 of them Americans, most of the rest Filipinos – were captured and forced to march more than 60 miles north in what became known as the Bataan Death March. An estimated 6,000 to 11,000 soldiers died along the way from mistreatment, exhaustion or execution by their Japanese guards.
What is less clear is what happened to Perla after the forced march began.
For years, Perla – who still has an scar along the back of his head – has told the story, as he recalled it. Hours into the march he slowed to help a Marine who had fallen behind and was struck in the head by a Japanese soldier's rifle butt, according to his account. Fearing further punishment, Perla later made a break, disappearing into the sugar cane fields.
After his escape, he said, he lived with relatives for four years in Manila, where he worked as a theater usher and as a guerrilla.
Stephen DeBoever, who works as a veterans' advocate through the organization Disabled American Veterans, said the official record of Perla's capture clashes with his account.
"According to the National Archives and Records (Administration), he had been interned over three years and five months," said DeBoever.
DeBoever, who helped Perla get the recognition he had sought for years and believes he is also in line for a Purple Heart, noted that Perla had a significant brain injury.
His career in the Army and later a 20-year career in the Air Force landed him U.S. citizenship and led him to Sacramento, where he worked at both McClellan and Mather Air Force Base.
On Tuesday, Perla conceded that he can't remember too much from the time of his capture. But at 87 he gets around pretty well, wears an eager smile and isn't afraid to let people know his pet peeves.
For the record: Don't say or write "America" when you really mean the specific country "the United States of America."
Regardless of the particulars, Perla's family said they were pleased with the honor.
"This is his day," said his daughter Josie Perla. "It's too bad my mom's not here," referring to her late mother, Rose.
"It means an awful lot to the family," said son-in-law Rod Kelleher. "It's something that he felt he should have for a long time."
Over the years, Perla and other veterans feared that younger generations knew little, if anything, about the difficulties U.S. prisoners of war faced. In 1998, he told The Bee that even his grandchildren would ask, "What's Bataan?"
At Tuesday's ceremony in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in North Highlands, his grandchildren got the history lesson of a lifetime.
"Mr. Perla fought bravely for our country and represents the best of America," Matsui said in a prepared remarks. "He is a hero and stands as an example of the sacrifices our veterans make. For this, we are eternally indebted."
"We owe so much to our nation's veterans," Matsui said, "and I will do everything I can to ensure they get the recognition they deserve."
It's unclear why it took so long for Perla to receive the medal. One at least partial explanation is that Perla never finished the march.
For years, Kelleher has sought witnesses to his father-in-law's account, hoping the extra evidence would move the process along.
This week, Matsui – whose office contacted the National Personnel Records Center – said she and her staff have all the evidence they need.
--------------------
www.sacbee.com/276/story/1444153.html
66 years later, soldier gets POW medal for Bataan
By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Dec. 03, 2008 | Page 7B
Adorned with old flags, photos and plaques galore, VFW halls are all about remembering. On Tuesday, a North Highlands hall turned its attention to remembering – and honoring – the service of Gil Perla.
More than 65 years after a Japanese rifle butt was slammed to his skull, punctuating his journey on the Bataan Death March, Guillermo "Gil" Perla finally received his due – a Prisoner of War Medal.
"We finally got his medals," said Rep. Doris Matsui shortly before pinning the medal adorned with a golden eagle on Perla, as his three children, several grandchildren and numerous other guests watched. "He is a true hero."
And with the medal, perhaps, Perla will receive a measure of comfort that the world is not forgetting what happened in 1942 on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.
Perla, 87, of North Highlands was a 20-year-old Filipino member of the 12th Signal Corps, serving as a scout for the U.S. Army, when Bataan fell not long after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
That much is undisputed.
About 75,000 troops – nearly 12,000 of them Americans, most of the rest Filipinos – were captured and forced to march more than 60 miles north in what became known as the Bataan Death March. An estimated 6,000 to 11,000 soldiers died along the way from mistreatment, exhaustion or execution by their Japanese guards.
What is less clear is what happened to Perla after the forced march began.
For years, Perla – who still has an scar along the back of his head – has told the story, as he recalled it. Hours into the march he slowed to help a Marine who had fallen behind and was struck in the head by a Japanese soldier's rifle butt, according to his account. Fearing further punishment, Perla later made a break, disappearing into the sugar cane fields.
After his escape, he said, he lived with relatives for four years in Manila, where he worked as a theater usher and as a guerrilla.
Stephen DeBoever, who works as a veterans' advocate through the organization Disabled American Veterans, said the official record of Perla's capture clashes with his account.
"According to the National Archives and Records (Administration), he had been interned over three years and five months," said DeBoever.
DeBoever, who helped Perla get the recognition he had sought for years and believes he is also in line for a Purple Heart, noted that Perla had a significant brain injury.
His career in the Army and later a 20-year career in the Air Force landed him U.S. citizenship and led him to Sacramento, where he worked at both McClellan and Mather Air Force Base.
On Tuesday, Perla conceded that he can't remember too much from the time of his capture. But at 87 he gets around pretty well, wears an eager smile and isn't afraid to let people know his pet peeves.
For the record: Don't say or write "America" when you really mean the specific country "the United States of America."
Regardless of the particulars, Perla's family said they were pleased with the honor.
"This is his day," said his daughter Josie Perla. "It's too bad my mom's not here," referring to her late mother, Rose.
"It means an awful lot to the family," said son-in-law Rod Kelleher. "It's something that he felt he should have for a long time."
Over the years, Perla and other veterans feared that younger generations knew little, if anything, about the difficulties U.S. prisoners of war faced. In 1998, he told The Bee that even his grandchildren would ask, "What's Bataan?"
At Tuesday's ceremony in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in North Highlands, his grandchildren got the history lesson of a lifetime.
"Mr. Perla fought bravely for our country and represents the best of America," Matsui said in a prepared remarks. "He is a hero and stands as an example of the sacrifices our veterans make. For this, we are eternally indebted."
"We owe so much to our nation's veterans," Matsui said, "and I will do everything I can to ensure they get the recognition they deserve."
It's unclear why it took so long for Perla to receive the medal. One at least partial explanation is that Perla never finished the march.
For years, Kelleher has sought witnesses to his father-in-law's account, hoping the extra evidence would move the process along.
This week, Matsui – whose office contacted the National Personnel Records Center – said she and her staff have all the evidence they need.