The Homeboys: A Sea Story Of Filipino Sailors

No one could ever underestimate the influence of Filipinos in the armed forces of these corrupted states. My love for my homeboys runs deep like the Philippine Sea. That's what Filipino sailors called themselves: The Homeboys. And I thank every one of them for making my experience in the service more smoother than it should have been. I was an honorary homeboy.

As a young eighteen year old sailor, they took me under their wings and showed me the ropes and made sure I was squared-away. My sea daddy was a Filipino. No jokes about seaman dropping the soap in the head (shower/bathroom), please. The first words that usually came out of a homeboy's mouth when I met when were, "Pilipino, ka ba?" Which literally translates to "Are you Filipino?" My ten-letter last name on my dungarees usually prompted that question.

Petty Officer Santos gave me the nickname "M9" because he claimed Laotian last names were too long and difficult. The other Laotian guy, V10, slept a few racks away from me.

I had tan skin just like every other homeboy in the service. Maybe that's what brought me closer to them -- my brown eyes, black hair, and similar complexion. I didn't share a Spanish last name, nor did I speak the mother tongue (Tagalog). But I became comfortable with them from the get-go and made friends I would never forget.

After noticing that nearly ten percent of my ship was Filipino, I had to ask why. It wasn't a coincidence. Every other ship had their homeboy clique and everyone knew each other on the base. Up until the closing of the last US naval base in Subic Bay in 1992, the recruitment of Filipinos into the navy was as A-me-li-kkkan as apple pie. Tagalog was the unofficial second language of the United States Navy, my Chief told me on a pier in Penang, Malaysia.

"We were like the Mexicans of the sea," he once proclaimed to me after a few San Miguels in his heavy Filipino accent.

Tagalog was so widely spoken among the Filipinos in the navy, captains and commanders banned it from being spoken because of the complaints from other crew members. I didn't just hear of that happening, I witnessed it firsthand. Regardless, it did not stop them from from using it behind compartment doors. I didn't mind one bit.

Like a lot of the Filipinos in the service back then, many of them were recruited straight from the Philippine Islands. The Philippines was the only country outside of the US that was allowed to join the armed forces. Henceforth, they took jobs many servicemen would not do. They filled the ranks of cooks, stewards, and other logistically back-breaking jobs afforded mostly to Black servicemen. They stood side by side with their counterparts in the galleys and messhalls cleaning up after the White man's meals and made sure his boots had a tip-top shine on them.

Every military person that's ever served knows the only caste system left in our civilized society still exists on the battlefront behind a flying ensign.

If you don't already know, Filipino Americans account for the biggest ethnic group of Asian/Pacific Islanders in this country. You can probably contribute that to many Filipino veterans who served this country during peace and war time that brought their families over here to live better lives after their service was over.

When you ever do meet a Filipino navy veteran that served from WWII on to 1976, thank him. If there was anyone who did the dirty work of cleaning the bilges of an auxiliary room, making sure the Officer's Country had their bread and butter, and pressing crisp dress uniforms for all hands on deck in a one-hundred-and-ten degree laundry room, it was more than likely a person of color trying to make sure their wives and kids had a better life than they did.

We are in a different era now: A kinder, gentler, more politically-correct navy. All that's left are seas stories by aging homeboys told in the smokepits of the starboard break of an American guided missile cruiser.

Salamat po, pare.


(Pic stolen from Jeff of 8Asians. Coincidentally, while taking a break from this piece, AAM has a good post on a Vietnamese refugee turned skipper. No shit.)