Marcelo Eleazar Padilla

Marcelo Eleazar Padilla was born 5 September 1929. He was the third of eleven children. In the Philippines, he farmed the land that belonged to his family for many years. They grew vegetables, had many chickens and other animals that fed and sustained this growing family.

Then in 1943 the country was invaded by the Japanese and Marcelo and his family survived the occupation by continuing to farm and provide produce but now to their Japanese overlords. Little did Marcelo know, but his brothers enlisted in the resistance against the Japanese and they would sneak out, night after night to harass their Asian enemies. This went on until the Americans liberated the islands. By then, Marcelo was a teenager and ready to explore this brand new world.

He migrated to Guam to search for new beginnings. He worked as a houseboy and still yearned to make a difference. A friend from his barrio, convinced him to join the United States Army. "Compadre," he said, "you'll have a good life and lots of women!" At least that's what I always heard from my father. The problem with joining then, was Marcelo was too young and too thin. So, he lied about his age, claiming he was two years older and put rocks in his underwear to meet the minimum weight requirement. He never had to do that again. The US Army put weight on him!

When he was stationed in Oahu in 1957, he decided that he needed to settle down and marry the girl that his family has chosen for him back in the Philippines. So, he requested and received thirty days of leave to fly back home, marry and bring his bride back to start a family. He figured that thirty days was enough time to do all that was needed. However, God had other plans.

The first week of his thirty days of leave, he waited a few days before he was able to take the "free" military flight. But then, he got bumped from the flight because someone else with higher eligibility needed that seat. So, he waited again, and the next week he finally got on another flight. As the plane taxied and rose into the air, he thanked his lucky stars because he was on his way to meet his bride and start a new life. Again, fate intervened as the plane turned around and went back to Hawaii. Engine trouble! By then, he was running out of time and decided that there wasn't enough time left so he went back dejectedly to his barracks. Where, another friend told him, "Compadre! Why do you want to go back to the P.I.? There are plenty of beautiful Filipinas on Hawaii! Let me introduce you to one!" And that is how he met my mother! Cristina Fajardo. They married in June of 1958 and soon started their family. He served as a supervisor in the shipyard following his retirement from the US Army.

They stayed married for over thirty years and had three children - Florencia (Joel Wannebo), children Christopher and Michael; Lorna (Gualberto Salvatin), children Joy and Jessica; and Wanda (Alan Magaway), children Paxton and Crista. Marcelo and his family moved and traveled with the US Army. From Germany, to Virginia, and Kansas and California. And even an unaccompanied move to Korea. Marcelo deployed to Vietnam for two tours. He served honorably winning a Bronze Star with Valor, Purple Heart and other citations for his bravery. Marcelo sent many photos home to his family and rarely talked about the war until he was older and then opened up his stories to his sons-in-law. Eventually, we learned a little of what the war took from him and the friends he had lost.

In January 1990, Marcelo lost Cristina to a brain aneurism. She collapsed in his arms while dancing, an activity that they loved. It was a hard time for my father and he was so lost without Cristina. Then he met the woman who would become his second love. Delores Macaspac. She was his anchor and he experienced love again. In 1991, he married Dolly and became a father for the fourth time to Dolly's daughter, Joanna (children Alexander, Josiah, and Janissa). Marcelo and Dolly soon became world travelers. Going back to the Philippines to visit the family he had left so many years ago and then to Europe and other countries (Spain, Italy, Australia and Okinawa, Japan). They lived and loved all over the world. Marcelo was lucky to experience love twice and he and Dolly stayed married until his death.

He has been blessed with many grandchildren and his family has grown over the 92 years of his life. So many lives have been touched by this wonderful man and so many others have been influenced by his stories and his joy of life. He always said to never retire. What he meant was to always live life and don't stay home. Go out, get healthy, live! And, that's what I aim to do and what I hope we all continue to do to honor him.