Veterans Day

The Metro Manila PCRVs were invited to the Ambassador’s Veterans Day Ceremony at the American Cemetery. In some countries, PCVs are invited to the Ambassador’s place for July 4 or for Thanksgiving; in Morocco we were pretty much told to stay away from Embassy people, so it was nice to get an opportunity like this here.

This was my third time at the American Cemetery, a beautiful and peaceful place. I was looking at the maps and saw a man in a wheelchair with an “Airborne” hat. I thanked him for fighting for us and asked him about himself. He said he helped to fight to gain the land on which we were standing now, and that he moved to the Philippines 25 years ago. He said he’s been to the cemetery many times – when he was lonely he would visit his friends here. He would like to be buried here, but right now the protocol doesn’t allow it – he had to have died in the war. It turns out that I was talking with the minister who gave the invocation for the ceremony! I also thanked fellow PCRV Bill, who had served in Vietnam (and hasn’t talked much about it other than to say it was a long year).

The ceremony itself was touching. Sousa marches while people were getting seated. Presentation of colors and the anthems of the Philippines and the U.S. The head of the VA here (the VA’s only foreign office) was the emcee, and we marked the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month with a moment of silence. There was the invocation and then a welcome, including recognition of all of the veteran’s groups present (I got a bit choked up at the Bataan and Corregidor ones). Then Ambassador Kristie Kenney spoke, followed by keynote speaker/former president Fidel Ramos. He got a laugh when he said that it’s said that the most honorable way to die is in battle, but that it’s also okay to die of old age after doing your civic duties, such as paying your taxes on time and voting in the next election. Then the he and the Ambassador did a ceremonial wreath laying (actually they just paused in front of wreaths), and the ceremony closed with “Taps,” which was extremely moving in that setting. All in all very special.

Some interesting things going on at work, too. USAID came back to us and said they would like to fund the relief toilet build. Habitat was past the relief stage and looking for funds for repair and resettlement, so I reluctantly thought it was time to move on, but then an assessment indicated the need for more toilets in Northern Luzon. So I’ve been working on the response to USAID; if we get funds from them it would be big. I was then asked to put together a proposal for water systems in Mindanao. The EU funded 1000 houses as part of a “Peace Build.” Muslims and Christians build together and then live in every other house. The EU grant didn’t cover all of the costs though, so Habitat is looking for a donor to fund the water systems. There are three separate proposals written in three different styles and my job is to put them together into one proposal. I’m really glad to be working on this, especially when I read in the Times that Muslim rebels beheaded someone the other day. We need the Peace Build! I’ve posted a link to the Peace Build web site for those who want to learn more. And for the next two days, I’ll be hosting some visitors from Habitat for Humanity International, taking them to Calauan, FTI (one of the communities in Metro Manila), and an evacuation center that had the toilet build (I haven’t been to that one yet). I guess I have heard the spiel enough that they trust me to give it now!

Another thing that has been taking some time is coordinating the PCV Habitat build, rescheduled due to Ondoy and now set for next Monday through Thursday. We may have as many an eleven people, not all of them every day – PCVs, PCRVs, and a friend. The logistics and arrangements have been time-consuming but I am glad to have organized this event! I don’t know how much time I will have to write, though. Julie and I are going to Mindoro this coming weekend. Then I’ll be hosting the PCVs coming from the south from Sunday through Thursday. Friday night I leave on an overnight bus, and I’ll be gone through November 30! I had been planning to go up to the rice terraces for Thanksgiving since I heard about it when I first got here; decided to take the whole week as vacation and see UNESCO World Heritage site Vigan and other places in Northern Luzon as well. Monday, November 30 is a holiday, so I can have one extra day of travel. When I do have a chance to write, I will have a lot to write about and lots of pictures to post!