Delfina Cataluna
I first came to Camp Roxas on July 30, 1953, after graduation. I was 20 years old. On July 29, the telegram to me reached our town and I was told to proceed to Iloilo to be processed. This was my opportunity to go. It’s not like now, you have so many papers to fill in. But me, I don’t have anything with me. Only my recommendation from the director of nursing from the school I graduated.
We were seven women at the hospital at Camp Roxas. The oldest one is Miss (Maria) Carreon. Miss Carreon is our mother. We call her “Mumsie.” The second one is Anita Gumabong. She is not staying here anymore. She is in the States. And Luisa. When I came, she was the head nurse. The surgical nurse is Carmen Santeno. And then you (Pilar Malilay) are the ward nurse, and I am the ward nurse also. There was a medical technologist and the pharmacist is Daisy Santos. I forgot about the name of our technician.
Our doctor is Dr. Sintos and Dr. DaRocca. And there is our chief nurse later on. Milla Palaciod, she came from the Philippines. The other one is Viola Abugaa. She is a Muslim. She came from Mindanao and graduated from Zamboanga.
We call it the Camp Roxas Station and the bed capacity is 60 patients. Our shifts are 7 to 3, 3 to 11 and 11 to 7. We walk from the nurses quarters to the mess hall a few kilometers away. As soon as we came out of the gate, those men came out to eat their lunch also. They were so happy, riding in their own car. And they used to tease us. They shout at us, and we don’t like to be shouted at. So we gather all the gravel and throw it at them while they are driving their top-down car.
We used to go watch the softball team, the basketball team. We cheer with all those men in the camp who are participating in the softball and basketball. There is the “muse of the night,” where they choose the lady among us who is going to represent them in their team. You sit down with them, and be with them for some moral support that they will win!
I had three years service in Camp Roxas and then went to the Government of Guam. I have great thanks to Camp Roxas. Because even though you are not a professional, I think it has helped a lot. Especially for us Filipinos, either Tagalog or Visayan, because of the earning that we had, as compared to if you are employed in the Philippines. We sent our brothers and sisters to school. Those parents employed here also sent all their children to school and are professionals now.
I call Guam as my second home. Because I stayed here for 53 years. I live now in Iloilo, in my hometown in Cuartero, Capiz. I am thankful to be in Camp Roxas Station 18, working with other people coming from the Philippines. And I am also thankful to the people of Guam.
The Chamorros are very good people. They are so kind and loving, and they will teach you to pray in their own language! Like the old people in the Guam Memorial Hospital, I learned their prayers! And they like me! Because when the Angelus rings, they will call me and I will pray with them. I say also the rosary.
That is the plan of God for us. I always think of it. Be thankful to the Lord. I am now ochenta y tres, 83 on Oct. 27.
--- Excerpted from 5/28/2009 video interview with Delfina Cataluna & Pilar Malilay at residence of Delfina Cataluna, Tamuning, Guam, by Bernie Provido Schumann and Burt Sardoma Jr. with the assistance of Josephine M.Garrido. Transcribed September - October 2009 by Andrew M. White
Front row: Mrs. Santos (pharmacist), Ms. Agoba-aa (nurse), Maria "Mumsie" Carreron, Ms. Canlas (nurse), Delfina Cataluna (nurse), Ms. Centeno (nurse), Pilar Poblacion (nurse), Lourdes Delfin. Back row: Dr. Hintogaya (dentist), Dr. William Daroca (MD), Dr. Snook Zapanta (dentist), Dr. Jose Sintos (MD) - From the private collection of Pilar & Jovito Malilay (used with permission)
From: Trinita Saldana
Date: Wednesday, June 8, 2011, 6:51 PM
Hi Bernie:
Congratulations. The Lord has truly blessed you. I wanted to inform you (not sure if you had heard) that my dad, your Uncle Fred Cataluna, passed away, May 16, 2011. My sister Desiree and brother Happy went to my mom's province of Cuartero, Capiz, to bury him.
I know how close our parents when we their kids were growing up and how they bonded because my Dad and your parents were from Iloilo.
Please continue to carry on your work. It's refreshing to see our parents hometown, and their memories live on through your film.
My mom will be back on Guam sometime late June or early August to visit. I know she'd love to see your mom.
Regards,
Beng
