Ramon Regalado passes at 100
Stars & Stripes reports the sad news that Ramon Regalado, a Philippine Scout and survivor of the Bataan Death March has passed at the tender of 100 years.
Regalado was born in 1917 in the Philippines. He was a machine gun operator with the Philippine Scouts under U.S. Army Forces when troops were forced to surrender in 1942 to the Japanese after a grueling three-month battle.
The prisoners were forced to march some 65 miles (105 kilometer) to a camp. Many died during the Bataan Death March, killed by Japanese soldiers or simply unable to make the trek. The majority of the troops were Filipino.
Regalado survived and slipped away with two others — all of them sick with malaria. They encountered a farmer who cared for them, but only Regalado lived.
Afterward, he joined a guerrilla resistance movement against the Japanese and later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work as a civilian for the U.S. military.
According to East Bay Times, Regalado joined the US military after the war and continued serving in the Navy and at the VA, including service in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
The elder Regalado — an eclectic man, a voracious reader who followed politics closely — took part in the first Bataan Legacy Historical Society event held at Cal State East Bay in Hayward in April 2012, and became a prominent spokesman for Filipino WWII veterans.
Cecilia Gaerlan, executive director of the Berkeley-based Bataan Legacy Historical Society, said Regalado was a humble man, and an eloquent one. “He embodied the values of the greatest generation — duty to country, honor and love for freedom,” she said.
Category: We Remember
Fair winds and following seas, Mr. Regalado.
Ditto
May God bless you and your family during this very sad time. You have earned your time in heaven, you already served your time in hell!
A hero worthy of honor.
salamat, sir. Pahulay ang among pagbantay.
One of our former VA Hospice Residents was a veteran of the Bataan Death March. He would show me some of the scars that he received from being tortured. Wow! Our local newspaper wrote an interesting article about him.
I know I sound like a broken record but…. Become a VA Volunteer. It will change you forever.
R.I.P. Sir, you’ve earned your place in History and Valhalla.
What. A. Legend.
Rest in Peace, sir.
Rest easy now Trooper. Your work here is done.
Mission accomplished.
What a bad ass. He deserves the rest.
How about full veteran status for all surviving Philippino Scouts ?
Anybody that served in the Philippine scouts should already be a considered a veteren. The scouts were part of the Philippine Division a unit of the U.S. Army. I have the highest respect for the Philippinos and if I am wrong they should get that status.