Studer Community Institute

The Happy Couple

January 24, 2014
/ Leon Martin
/ community-dashboard

Meet Benjamin and Elena Perez. Benjamin: “During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II, I was 10 years old, and worked in the office of a Japanese colonel as a messenger boy. My salary was a pint of rice for my family. I never owned a pair shoes, but a civilian man named Tosako who worked in the office gave me a brand new pair of shoes. I was able to go to school but the Japanese were always present. They would make us tear out pages of out school books that had photos of American presidents. “Every day at noon, American planes would fly over and bomb the Japanese. The planes would twinkle in the sun like stars. During heavy bombings, we would go to bomb shelters. I would climb a mango tree in my yard and watch the dogfights between American and Japanese planes. Sometimes shrapnel from the dogfights would hit our house.” I understand you served in the U.S. Navy? “The Navy was my dream. I wanted to be a sailor so I could sail the seven seas. I joined the U.S. Navy in 1953, got married in 1961, and retired as a master chief.” Elena: “I met him when we were childhood neighbors. In 1953 when he joined the Navy, he began writing me. I wanted to write back, but we were so poor, I had no money to pay for postage. For six years he wrote me. After six years, he was stationed at Subic Bay (Philippines) closer to my home and he started chasing me. On one of his visits, he pulled a ring from his pocket and instead of proposing to me he said, ‘I’ve got to go.’ I asked what is this for? The only time I ever told him yes was when the minister asked me if I would take this man to be my husband.” What was your journey after you got married? “After we got married, the Navy brought us to the United States. For the first month, I was crying. My English was poor and we had no washing machine or television. He was out to sea for months and I had no family and was alone. I put all of my time into taking care of my children. My American neighbors offered to let me use their washing machine and watch their television.” Fifty-two years and four children later, they are still together. After his 20-year career in the Navy, they settled in Pensacola, where he began his second career with the U.S. Postal Service. He wanted me to make sure that I conveyed a message of heartfelt thanks to Tosako, (or his family), the man who was kind enough to give him a pair of shoes when he was a boy. I would like to personally thank them for enduring the hardships of their journey and the contributions these Americans have made to our country.

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The Happy Couple

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