Ea-Er
Bonifacio Ebanez * Filipino Inf Regt
Desiderio Ebreo
Alfonso Echavarre Pvt Troop E 26th Cavalry PS
Florencio Echaluce ST2c Navy Casualty 3/1/1942 from Libag Albay
Candido Edrozo born Philippines; Army Sgt. Co H 45th
Inf Regt; KIA; Distinguished Service Cross ( for 2/12/1942; posthumous)
Francis Eharis * Filipino Inf Regt
John Eharis * Filipino Inf Regt
Paulino Ejaype OST1c Navy Casualty 12/15/1942 USS Shark; from 31 C. Mapa St Iloilo
Esteban Elgario Officer’s Chief Cook Navy Casualty from Nabua Camarines Sur
Jose Eliares # PS
Eligio Elias Pvt Troop C 26th Cavalry PS
Avelino Elido born 1922 Philippines
Juan Elizalde guerilla; from family of the wealthy Elizaldes of Manila
Feliciano Elvina POW; Casualty died Navy Officer’s Steward 3c from 1219 Leveriza Malate Manila; (formerly survivor
of USS Squalus SS-192 on 5/23/1939 Navy Matt 1c)
Benjamin "Ben" Valdez Embry # Pvt Troop C 26th Cavalry PS; Death March, POW was born on October 5, 1924 in Paniqui,
Tarlac, Philippines, the second son of Valentina Valdez and 2nd Lt. Thomas Embry. His father was a US Army veteran of Spanish-American
and Philippine-American wars. On February 21, 1941 when he was 16 years & 4 ½ months old, Benjamin enlisted in the 26th
Cavalry Troop C PS thru the complicity of the U.S. military recruiter in the the absence of his parent’s consent (and
knowledge) simply because he wanted to ride a horse with the cavalry, don cool military uniforms, wristwatch and boots with
a gun etc. Well, Benjamin got what he prayed for-King (#5250) was his horse’s name and more… like, play soldier
with real men in a real (Duh!) war. His military enlistment record was appropriately noted in the following manner:" Civil
Occupation-Actor (Motion picture actor) or Director, Motion Picture (Motion picture director) or Entertainer". His date of
birth was also appropriately altered- October 7, 1920. Child labor law was conveniently suspended by the recruiter, not only
for Benjamin’s sake, but also for other recruits. Benjamin’s term of enlistment is one year of military service.
Now, what to do when you find yourself in the midst of a real war? Well, play the role of a soldier, of course, like they
do in the movies and more. When the Japanese landed in the Philippines, Pvt. Benjamin Embry was sent to the Cagayan Valley
on a military mission with five other (older?) soldiers. Benjamin’s recollection of their names… Figeroa, Maliklik
or Maliksi, Laksima? However, the group got lost on the way to Isabela and so they decided to look for their comrades in a
place like Bataan. Now, talk about someone who would be in the wrong place at the wrong time! But then again, this is my father,
whose intrepidity or ability to get in to unusual circumstances is rather legendary amongst his peers. Additionally, like
most of his generation, Benjamin has an unshakable faith in the United States military might and power. The defeat of the
U.S. colonial Philippine government, the Death March, the Japanese Occupation are not in the horizon. Gen MacArthur’s
proclamation that "Help is on the way from the United States. Thousands of troops and hundreds of planes are being dispatched,
etc." is biblical truth to Pilipinos and Americans soldiers alike. Anyways, on Jan 2, 1942 Benjamin arrived in Bataan by boat
and joined PS 26th Cavalry Troop B. Benjamin’s recollection of this event-Captain Cunningham dying in Bataan; 1st Sgt
Brower, Charlie Patton, William, a large black soldier, etc.. The rest, like they say is history and hell and hell and pure
hell. Two hundred fifty 26th Cavalry horses and forty eight pack mules went down in military saga and lore as slaughtered
and eaten by the Pilipino and American soldiers during the late period of starvation, after all other methods of food forages
had been exhausted in Bataan. In the Philippines the realities of a war, more brutal and devastating than in any other place
in the world, begin to unfold. Miraculously, Benjamin, albeit in a weakened condition, survived the horrors of the Siege of
Bataan and the Bataan Death March when he was just seventeen and a half years old. On April 9, 1942, Benjamin was also miraculously
kept at the Camp O’Donnel Prisoners of War Concentration Camp instead of being sent to the more horrifying hellholes
in Cabanatuan or University of Santo Tomas, after convincing the Japanese that he is of Spanish and not of American descent.
On July 29, 1942 he was paroled, ill with malaria and bronchitis, after his Spanish mestiza mother vouched to the Japanese
that Benjamin is of Spanish and not of American descent. The Spanish, the colonial ruler of the Philippines before the United
States, were favored by the Japanese, simply because of the old adage that "your enemy is my friend"
On October 20, 1944 Gen MacArthur did return as he had promised to the Pilipinos, the loyalty and devotion of most of his
soldiers undiminished. The Philippines subsequently was liberated from the Japanese military rule and occupation. Until he
was honorably discharge from U.S. military service on February 28, 1945, Benjamin served with Co D 2nd MP Battalion PS in
Buenlag, Calasiao, Pangasinan. Thomas Embry died on September 18, 1948, his death hastened by difficulties suffered during
the war. The Embrys are grateful to the residents of Paniqui for not revealing Thomas hiding place to the Japanese military,
although the war impoverished townspeople could significantly profit financially from giving such information.
What about Benjamin’s post war life and career? No, he did not become a movie actor or director, but he became an
amateur boxer, Paniqui police officer, and security chief at the sugar mills & plantation of the Estrella-Cojuangcos (first
cousins of Ponciano Estrella Del Valle, his father-in-law). He also went with his young family and tended his in-laws homestead
abaca (Manila hemp) & fruit plantation in Kidapawan, Cotobato for three years. Significantly, Benjamin from two marriages
and two relationships became the father of four boys and twelve girls, an event probably more turbulent than his experiences
as a Death March and POW survivor combined.
Additional Notes: Benjamin was called "mestisong bangus" (Caucasian half-breed) by the 26th Cavalry personnel Source: Captain
Menandro Parazo to Maria Elizabeth Del Valle Embry 5/30/2004 phone conversation)
View Benjamin Embry’s genealogical history @
http://paniqui_embry.tripod.com
Joseph Valdez Embry born 5/4/1929 Paniqui Tarlac; "New Scouts"; enlisted 8/1946; served in the Medical Dept of Mercy
Hospital Okinawa until 3/1949; re-enlisted in the Army during the Korean War, but was not sent to the War theatre; retired
after 28 years of military service; younger brother of Benjamin http://paniqui_embry.tripod.com
Patricio Emi # Major Cavite & Mindoro guerrilla
Arsenio Emperial Pfc Troop C 26th Cavalry PS, was also w/ Troop A (wife Avelina died 8/29/1933 was buried @ Ft. Stotsenburg
Philippines
Victor Encarnado Coxswain Navy Casualty 12/10/1941 from Bacoor Cavite
Ireneo Basas Encina Pfc born 8/25/1927 Tanauan Leyte; died 4/14/2005 Panorama City California; enlisted 7/31/1946 "New
Scouts" MP Philippines & Guam discharged 4/29/1949 8149th Service Unit
Manuel P. Enriquez Maj
Nicholas Enriquez Alamo Scouts
Manuel Enriquiez Cpt guerrilla, took over after Lt. Col Nakar was captured & executed
Pedro Enriquez MM2c Navy Casualty 12/10/1941 from 39 J Ocampo Bacoor Cavite
Elpidio A. Encio born 9/2/1925; died 10/30/2005 Kahuku Hawaii; member WW2 FilAm Vet Hawaiian Chapter; Am Legion Post
10850 Honolulu ; Service officer VFW; SS# issued California
Romy Entac born 1919 Philippines; 57th Inf (PS) G Co Machine Gun Platoon; Death March survivor; Award: Purple Heart
Pedro Entera Mess Attendant Navy Casualty; from Cebu
Alfredo Erece * Filipino Inf Regt
Julio "Jay" Ereneta,
born 1/2/1902 in Iloilo, Philippines; at age 17 signed on as pantry boy aboard the Danish ship Selandia for a trip w/ Philippine
Gov. General Francis B. Harrison; arr Ellis Island on 2/2/1919; enlisted 2/18/1919 in the Navy; served in the USS Eider
(Minesweeper #17) in the WW1 North Sea minefields. He went to Navy Radio School and became an Aviation Squadrons air crewman
during WW11 & a Chief Warrant Officer in 1943; Solomon Island Campaign (1942-1944); Philippine Visayan Liberation
(1945). A flyweight boxer in Naval Boxing competitions, he retired in 1949. He had a remarkable trend-setting career path
and when he died 4/15/2005 @ 103 yrs old in San Diego, California he had outlive his contemporaries. buried Mount Hope
Cemetery San Diego; Awards: WW1 Victory Medal, WW1 75th Anniversary Medal. (plenty of online photos; I’ve listed some
weblinks here notes by M.E.Embry
Sources: http://filipinosgone2ellis-island.tripod.com
http://www.filipinohome.com/03_09_01ereneta.html by Nestor Palugod Enriquez, Pilipino online historian
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/29/local/me-ereneta29
http://www.search.com/images?q=survivor+china
(website has several photos)
http://www.ussutah.org/2004_reunion.htm
http://www.webshots.com/explains/news/warrant-officer.html
http://news.webshots.com/photo/1163024234054062406WIPsWU
Source: http://www.soledadmemorial.com/web/pages/plaque_locator.php?wall=1&ln=e
also honored @ Mount Soledad Memorial La Jolla California located @ wall E Facing East Row 2 Plaque 50
Theopilo Ermetano * Filipino Inf Regt
Miguel Erne Pvt Troop E 26th Cavalry PS