Anything Under the Sun
Guimarasnons in US Liberation Forces
Little known is the story of five adventurous fishermen from Nueva Valencia, Guimaras who had joined the US Liberation Forces in Australia and landed with Gen. McArthur in Leyte.
At the outbreak of World War II in 1941, an American pilot of the Lopez family in Iloilo, a certain Herndorn and his wife, a nurse, was in Iloilo City. Planning to escape the Philippines, he built a batil (sailboat without outriggers).
After finishing it, he hired Fermin Bungar and four companions of Nueva Valencia, Iloilo to sail them to Australia. These four were Crispin Sabobo, Roberto Galas, Ladislaw Gallopa and Nesio Romero.
On March 1942 with Nesio Romero as timonel (captain), they left Iloilo City and sailed passing Negros, Cebu, Camotes Island and Surigao. In Surigao, they took ten American sailors whose ship was sunk by the Japanese. These ten were a captain, a doctor and the rest were enlisted men.
In Surigao waters, they met a Japanese warship and they dressed themselves to look like natives while Herndorn and his wife hid inside the boat.
After several days of evading the Japanese at sea, they reached New Guinea where they replenished their provisions with milk and sugar from the natives by bartering them with some useful utensils.
When they reached Darwin, Australia, they were welcomed and they found out that Herndorn was an officer of the United States Air Force.
Fermin Bungar and his companions stayed in Australia and on July 22, 1942, they enlisted in the US Navy and later transferred to the First Filipino Infantry Regiment.
This regiment is a part of the United States Army consisting of Filipinos, mostly students who were studying in the United States at the outbreak of the war. One of them was Severino Ferraris of Sara, Iloilo who after the war became provincial board member of Iloilo.
This Filipino regiment saw action in New Guinea and in the Liberation of the Philippines. They were privileged to be with Gen. Douglas McArthur when he landed at Palo, Leyte.
After the war, Fermin Bungar retired as Technical Sergeant with many World War II medals. He is still living in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras. As to his companions, only Roberto Galas is still alive and is living as US citizen in the Unites States.