In love in war

(Editor’s Note: The following is excerpted from the narrative that won third prize in the 2011 WWII True Stories Contest. Gabiana won a desktop computer with a printer plus a Philippine Veterans Bank savings deposit of P5,000, while her teacher-coach, Eduardo S. Itchon Jr., received P5,000 in cash from PVB.)

SECUNDINA S. Magno was 18 years old on Dec. 8, 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor that brought World War II to the Pacific.

The daughter of a Spanish father and a Chinese mother, she had just graduated from high school and was working part-time in a library of the Far Eastern University on Azcarraga (now Claro M. Recto Avenue) in Manila. She planned to enroll at the University of Santo Tomas and get a real job.

On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, sirens wailed and her whole neighborhood talked about the bombing. They said the Japanese would attack the Philippines, too, as it was under American rule.

The Japanese air force destroyed Clark Air Base and, a few weeks later, the Japanese landed in Lingayen.

The Allied forces of Americans and Filipinos suffered devastating casualties. Manila was declared an open city.

Secundina and her family stayed in their house. Every time they heard a plane, they hid under the staircase.

One early morning, a shiny Cadillac arrived carrying a young man of 21. Virgilio Cebrero, a student of the De La Salle College, was a family friend from Nueva Ecija and Dina’s ardent suitor.

The family was surprised at his sudden arrival. He explained that he came to bring them to safety, offering to bring the family to Nueva Ecija where Dina’s aunt had a farm. Dina’s father refused to leave the house but Dina, her mother, and eight siblings left.
The farm of Dina’s aunt’s was near the farm of Virgilio’s family. He visited Dina frequently and also brought her to his home to meet his family.

Dina’s mother, who was pregnant, decided to rejoin her husband in Manila because the hospital in the province was too far.

Dina stayed behind, at Virgilio’s request, with her two younger brothers.

After her mother and sisters left, Virgilio asked Dina to marry him. She was shocked. She was only 18.

He told her, “How can I protect you if we don’t get married? I won’t be able to stay with you always because people will surely talk. Sooner or later, we will have to leave this place. The Japanese will come. I can’t leave you behind.” Still, Dina refused.

Safe house

One day, Virgilio asked Dina and her brothers to move to his family’s home where they would be safer. His family also invited other people to stay with them.

Every day, the “evacuees,” as they called themselves, heard that the Japanese were coming. They heard of the atrocities committed by the enemies, particularly against young women.

The soldiers reportedly knocked on doors and asked for food and women. Many men died trying to protect the girls in their families.

It was said women tried to protect themselves by shaving their heads bald, smearing charcoal on their faces, or wearing men’s clothes. Fathers supposedly dug tunnels under their houses to hide the girls.

Dina and the others heard that the Japanese were already in the next town. Everybody was afraid. Even the parish priest moved to Virgilio’s house.

Virgilio asked Dina again to marry him. Already very frightened, Dina felt more at risk than the rest of the group because she was the only single woman in the house.

Still, she was reluctant to accept Virgilio’s proposal as she felt 18 was far too young to marry.

Virgilio said, “The Japanese will be here soon. I have to take you away with me. I don’t want them to get you.”

Something borrowed

So, the next morning, the parish priest married them in simple ceremonies. Dina wore borrowed shoes, the dining table became the altar, and a few turkeys in the backyard were roasted.

After breakfast, the couple left the house, having decided to go as far away from the town as possible on foot, toward the mountains.

At the end of each day, they would go to the nearest house and ask if they could spend the night there. The next morning, they would walk again. They traveled for weeks. Everyone was so kind. They were never refused shelter, and were even offered food.

After travelling for weeks, they finally heard the news that the Japanese had left their town and it was safe to return.

Soon, Dina was pregnant with her first child and they went to Manila. As it turned out, the situation in Manila was far better than in the provinces. Not all the Japanese soldiers, especially officers, were tyrannical and merciless. Officers were usually assigned to the cities.

In Manila, one Japanese captain asked Dina’s husband if they could rent the upper floor of the house where the couple was staying. Virgilio agreed but warned Dina to stay away from the Japanese. But the Japanese never bothered anyone in the house during their stay. The captain always saluted Virgilio when they met and even offered food.

When Dina became pregnant with her second child, she learned to do domestic chores. The young wife, who had a Spanish upbringing, was expected to stay at home to care for the children.

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war and life returned to normal.

Now 88 years old, Mommy Dina, as she is fondly called, remains sharp. She insists on living on her own, perhaps to enjoy as much of the freedom she really did not have for most of her life.

She raised eight children and has 23 grandchildren.

Mommy Di, my Spanish teacher and my dear friend, has touched so many lives, especially mine. She cooks arroz caldo for her Spanish class, shares her insights, and listens to our concerns.

If World War II did not happen, would she have married the same man? It is said everything happens for a reason.