thedrifter
06-18-07, 02:05 PM
For absent heroes
Whittier Daily News -
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
WEST COVINA - More than 60 years later, Mike Palomo still has a small piece of the Japanese kamikaze plane that attacked his ship in 1944 in the Philippines.
The burgundy metal fragment - part of the red, circular Japanese insignia on the side of the plane - has nine names etched into it.
"Jack Lucas," "Soapy Riley" and "Keester" are some of those names Palomo scratched into the metal as a young Navy gunner's mate in World War II.
Above them are the words, "They did not die in vain."
"They died, I didn't," the 81-year-old said. "They were young guys, just like me. Sometimes I wonder what would they have done with their lives."
Palomo was born in Sonora, Mexico, but was raised in California and became a naturalized citizen in 1946.
He fought in eight major battles during World War II.
Of those eight, the attack in the Philippines that took the lives of nine of his friends from the "greatest generation" stays vivid in his mind.
"On a ship, whenever a suicide plane hits, someone's going to die," he said. "In war, we all expect to get killed. You figure, `I'm sorry he's dead, but I'm glad I'm alive.' ... That's war."
But that was not something Palomo realized when he first enlisted in February 1943 as a 17-year-old from San Diego.
Still in high school, Palomo followed friends who felt that, in the spirit of patriotism, they needed to fight.
"I didn't really realize what battle was," he said. "I think we were too young to realize what the fight was even about, but we felt we had to serve our country."
Nine months later, Palomo understood the reality of war during the Battle of Tarawa in the South Pacific.
"After that first time, you know, you see all these dead Marines floating around in the water and you think, `That could be me."'
Palomo also learned the pains of discrimination during his military days.
As a Mexican American growing up in a border town, Palomo said he never experienced racism.
It wasn't until he entered the military and watched African Americans serve in segregation that he, himself, was subjected to racial slurs.
Palomo and other Latinos found protection from the discrimination as a group. At nights, they would gather to play music and sing songs.
"I know he's been through a lot," his wife, Eva Palomo, said. "He's seen a lot. I always tell him he's lived a full life."
In his West Covina home, Mike Palomo still has keepsakes from his wartime days.
A string of four photographs taken from another ship show the before and after pictures of his ship - the USS Maryland - being attacked in an air raid in Okinawa, Japan.
Palomo also has a shadowbox boasting his dog tags and all his commemorative medals from World War II and the Korean War.
"His generation, they are dropping like flies now," said son Carlos Palomo.
He - like his father - feels more needs to be done to voice the stories of Mexican-American and Latino veterans.
"They absolutely deserve more recognition for the battles they fought and everything they sacrificed, especially for the ones that didn't make it home," he said.
For Mike Palomo, the memorabilia helps to tell those stories.
"I feel so proud that I served," he said. "I feel proud I was in combat. I've done my bit for this country. ... I earned my right to be here."
tania.chatila@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2703
Ellie
Whittier Daily News -
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
WEST COVINA - More than 60 years later, Mike Palomo still has a small piece of the Japanese kamikaze plane that attacked his ship in 1944 in the Philippines.
The burgundy metal fragment - part of the red, circular Japanese insignia on the side of the plane - has nine names etched into it.
"Jack Lucas," "Soapy Riley" and "Keester" are some of those names Palomo scratched into the metal as a young Navy gunner's mate in World War II.
Above them are the words, "They did not die in vain."
"They died, I didn't," the 81-year-old said. "They were young guys, just like me. Sometimes I wonder what would they have done with their lives."
Palomo was born in Sonora, Mexico, but was raised in California and became a naturalized citizen in 1946.
He fought in eight major battles during World War II.
Of those eight, the attack in the Philippines that took the lives of nine of his friends from the "greatest generation" stays vivid in his mind.
"On a ship, whenever a suicide plane hits, someone's going to die," he said. "In war, we all expect to get killed. You figure, `I'm sorry he's dead, but I'm glad I'm alive.' ... That's war."
But that was not something Palomo realized when he first enlisted in February 1943 as a 17-year-old from San Diego.
Still in high school, Palomo followed friends who felt that, in the spirit of patriotism, they needed to fight.
"I didn't really realize what battle was," he said. "I think we were too young to realize what the fight was even about, but we felt we had to serve our country."
Nine months later, Palomo understood the reality of war during the Battle of Tarawa in the South Pacific.
"After that first time, you know, you see all these dead Marines floating around in the water and you think, `That could be me."'
Palomo also learned the pains of discrimination during his military days.
As a Mexican American growing up in a border town, Palomo said he never experienced racism.
It wasn't until he entered the military and watched African Americans serve in segregation that he, himself, was subjected to racial slurs.
Palomo and other Latinos found protection from the discrimination as a group. At nights, they would gather to play music and sing songs.
"I know he's been through a lot," his wife, Eva Palomo, said. "He's seen a lot. I always tell him he's lived a full life."
In his West Covina home, Mike Palomo still has keepsakes from his wartime days.
A string of four photographs taken from another ship show the before and after pictures of his ship - the USS Maryland - being attacked in an air raid in Okinawa, Japan.
Palomo also has a shadowbox boasting his dog tags and all his commemorative medals from World War II and the Korean War.
"His generation, they are dropping like flies now," said son Carlos Palomo.
He - like his father - feels more needs to be done to voice the stories of Mexican-American and Latino veterans.
"They absolutely deserve more recognition for the battles they fought and everything they sacrificed, especially for the ones that didn't make it home," he said.
For Mike Palomo, the memorabilia helps to tell those stories.
"I feel so proud that I served," he said. "I feel proud I was in combat. I've done my bit for this country. ... I earned my right to be here."
tania.chatila@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2703
Ellie