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Chick Parsons. Roque Ablan. Captain Joe. Aurora Lopez Sacro Ver, The men of the USS Stingray. Silver Guillermo. The bolomen of Ilocos. Indeed, while war brings out the worst in men, it also brings out the best. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds and sometimes fighting rifles and machineguns with only bolos and bamboo spears, the stories of these men and women were documented in the first edition of Bolomen -- an attempt to rescue from the dustbin of historical obscurity the struggle of a people undaunted and unbowed by an oppressive occupation. Bolomen successfully reminded us the price they bravely chose to pay for freedom.
Happily, the story of the “bolomen” did not end there. After the publication of the book in the first quarter of 2003, friends and circumstances led to a chance meeting with a remarkable man whose story has to be told together with the Bolomen of Ilocos. Simeon Dumlao’s account of his life from the day he received the very first report of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as a radio operator for Mackay Radio in Manila (now Globe Telecom) to his subsequent journey to Ilocos and his inevitable recruitment into the guerrilla movement adds a new dimension to the story.
In this and revised and expanded edition of Bolomen, Dumlao’s words bring to life the common Filipino’s uncertainty during the opening days of the war. The long trek he made from Manila to Ilocos becomes a travelogue -- a series of snapshots of the conditions many Filipinos had to face, a montage of civilian life in time of war. Just as important are the additions made to the chapters “Stingray” and “ Roque” – additional information, anecdotes, clarifications and corrections sent by readers of the first edition.
Another unavoidable addition is Pedro Albano’s recollections, translated and annotated by his son Alfonso, a professor of the Department of Physics at the Bryn Mawr College, PA, USA. An assistant fiscal of the province before and during the war, Albano’s narrative in the state of affairs in war-time Ilocos add more depth and flavor to the stories previously highlighted in the first edition. Of special interest too is the addition of two paintings of the USS Stingray, commissioned by one of her crewmen, Bobby Lee Shirley, and kindly lent for reproduction and inclusion in this new edition. For their interest and support, I will be ever grateful.
Finally, let me end on a personal note – one of irrepressible pride. Among the Bolomen of Ilocos was my father, Antonio “Silver” Guillermo. Hailed as a hero by many and vilified by others, he was nevertheless a model of the Ilocano freedom fighter – men and women who knowingly risked life and limb for the sake of his and his family’s freedom. It is to Silver and to others such as he, who willingly shook their fists against an invader’s sword, that the book “Bolomen” was written for. Herein, told in their own words, are their stories.
We must never forget. |
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