Join Us - Under the American Sun: Camp Roxas Film Project

Join the Camp Roxas Film Project

Send your comments, information, scanned images or donations to Under the American Sun (Camp Roxas, Agat, Guam). Email to: camproxasguam@gmail.com or write to Bernie Provido Schumann, 177 B Mall St. A401, Tamuning, GU 96913. If you or a member of your family are former Camp Roxas residents or pioneer immigrant Filipino-American laborers on Guam, we especially would like to hear from you.

From: Mike Dodge

Date: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 7:16 PM

Congratulations on your project. I grew up in that era, arriving on Guam in 1948. My parents were “Stateside hire” U.S. Navy civil servants. I remember vividly the Filipinos contracted by the Navy, Army (later Air force) and BPM (Brown Pacific Maxon, now KBR) through Luzon Stevedore Company and Vinnel, to name a few.

Camp Asan was not a Filipino labor camp. It was the Bachelor Civil Service lodging camp for “Stateside hires.” That’s probably the reason Josephine Mallo-Garrido’s father lived there as she stated he was a “stateside” hired U.S. civil servant.

Also, I believe you will find that most of all Guam bases, Navy and Air Force, permanent structures were constructed by BPM, and their Camp Quezon Filipinos. Camp Roxas laborers worked directly for the Navy, operating, maintaining and upgrading the bases, a very large and labor intensive effort in itself.

This is my memory, going from grade school through high school, and listening to my parents discuss the good and the bad: Money sent home to the barrios by their workers. No salt on the Camp Roxas dining facility tables because Vinnel was cutting costs, which my father and his fellow “statesiders” got corrected. Hope I can contribute to your history data base. Please feel free to contact me at any time.

Regards,

Marvin (Mike) Dodge, Hagatna, Guam

From: Dennis Santo Tomas (via FaceBook)

Date: 11:54 pm June 28

I was very proud of the screen work accomplished to date by your team. The theme is perfect which tells the story through the eyes of Bernie's father. You must stick with this storyline when he first decided to work on Guam. It was a sacrifice but, like all kababayans who travel overseas, Mr. Provido's dream was to give a better life to his wife and children so they can carry on the same values and traditions his father taught him while they were young. . . Finally, you need to have the "closed caption" options for those who have a hard time hearing and want to know what is being said in the movie.

From: Dennis Santo Tomas (via FaceBook)

Date: 9:00am June 29

Excellent, excellent show yesterday. Thank you Bernie, Burt, JoAnn and Norman for teaming up to make this film a reality. The movie should tie back to the original theme of Mr. Provido providing a better life for his wife and kids in today's era. Since it was his dream to give his kids the best he could, it is important to show the audience the dream was accomplished. . .

From: Helene Alerta Anderson (via FaceBook)

Date: 10:31pm June 28

Great job! The whole "worms in the rice" controversy made it even more interesting!

From: Michael Sepidoza Campos

Date: Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 7:08 PM

I had the privilege of attending this afternoon's final showing of Under the American Sun. The stories were poignant, provocative, moving and necessarily relevant for our times. I agree that it is stories such as these—as much the constitution of the broader American (and yes, Filipino and Guam) narrative—that need to be raised, brought to light, re-told over and again. it's a narrative to which all of us are accountable, stories that we retell upon our bodies.

Thank you so much, daghang salamat, si yu'os ma'ase for illuminating these stories for all of us. As I left the film showing with my parents (who normally would never attend these kinds of events), I noticed both of them—particularly

my father (himself an expat from the 1980s)—quietly

thoughtful. In fact, Papa helped fill in some of the blanks

for me. (He had known some of the people featured in the

movie through his work in the oil industry on Cabras Island). We ended the afternoon by taking a drive down to Agat where Papa showed me the footprint of Camp Roxas today.

I am a student at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. As part of my research/work, I assist at the PANA institute, a center for the study of religious life among Asian/Pacific Islander communities in the United States (http://www.panainstitute.org/).

More recently—because of work undertaken by Chamoru activists—we have turned towards Guam and have participated in conversations concerning the increasing militarization on Guam. The Camp Roxas documentary not only constitutes an important part of Guam's broader narrative as an enclave for Filipino immigrants, but also as a unique embodiment of U.S. military policies at work in colonial settings. These are narratives that could have easily been missed. These stories resound profoundly with other communities who remain silent by virtue of historical anonymity. . . I am truly thankful for all that you have done.

peace,

mike

From: Joe J. Bongcayao

Date: 4:21pm July 1

(via FaceBook)

I just remembered my uncle used to live at Camp Roxas. I would say around '64 or '65. Then he bought a home in Maite. After that he started to bring his kids over. Also my other uncle. One was Eligio Bungcayao and the other was Fidel Bogawisan.

Name: Eligio M. Bungcayao

SSN: 586-01-7604

Last Residence: 96932 Agana, Guam

Born: 1 Dec 1920

Died: 26 Dec 2005

State (Year) SSN issued: Guam, American Samoa, Philippine, or Northern Mariana Islands (1956-1961)

Source Citation: Number: 586-01-7604;Issue State: Guam, American Samoa, Philippine, or Northern Mariana Islands;Issue Date: 1956-1961.

Source Information: Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009. Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.

From: Robert Underwood

Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 12:13 AM

Congratulations to you and your colleagues on the film. I know that it is a labor of love and it can seem pretty tedious. It can also be controversial because it is hard to narrow down the experiences of hundreds of people into a few themes.

I would like to make one recommendation. It is both a matter of sensitivity as well as historical fact.

Filipino laborers were brought in to Guam not to rebuild Guam from WWII destruction. They were brought in to build the new military facilities and bases that were deemed necessary as a result of the emerging Cold War. It may seem a minor point, but the reconstruction of Guam (from WWII damage) was always a minor part of the Navy's plans and most of the villages were actually built by the people themselves with land made available by the military. (This is how Dededo, Santa Rita, Sinajana, Barrigada and Yona villages were really created).

It is also inconsistent to say that Chamorros were too exhausted to work in the new construction. Filipinos had just lived through a brutal Japanese occupation themselves and they were equally exhausted. The number of workers needed simply exceeded the available labor force so they brought in workers from a friendly and available source. Some Chamorros would be sensitive to the way the film framed the arrival of the workers as if they were too weak or exhausted to do much themselves. I know that is not the intent, but it can be easily misconstrued.

Good work!

Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 5:57 PM

Subject: Research Inquiry and Meeting Request

Hafa Adai. My name is Alfred Flores (Familian Robot/Kabesa and Kulu) and I am a Chamorro/Korean PhD student in the Department of History at the University of California, Los Angeles.

I am emailing you today to request any type of assistance you can provide me in my dissertation research. My research examines the issues of labor, immigration, environment, and land in regards to the construction of Andersen Air Force Base and/or any other military installations in the post-World War II period.

I am also interested in examining the experiences of Asians and Pacific Islanders who came to Guam to work on these various construction projects in relation to the experiences of Chamorros living on the island. The time period for my research is from 1944-1980s.

In addition, I will be in Guam from July 30th to August 10th 2009 and would like to schedule a meeting with you or one of your representatives to discuss the possible sources of information such as documents/archives, photographs, or people for interview.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

PS. I eagerly anticipate the release of your documentary. I think it will bring to light another chapter of Guam history that has been marginalized.

Best Wishes,

Alfred Flores

From: Emily M. Lumagui

Date: Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 10:47 PM

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Emily M. Lumagui and I am one of the daughters of Eugenio N. Maestrecampo. As you may have concluded, he is one of the survivors of Camp Roxas. I would also like to give my condolences to your family regarding your father's passing away.

I saw the film last month at the Agana Shopping Center and I was moved to tears. My sister Nancy Maestrecampo will be sending in pics that my mom and dad have somehow stashed away without us knowing of its existence. Maybe you've already received them. I just wanted to personally congratulate you on a job well done and if I could help please let me know.

From: Mae Fe Muyco

Date: 6:59pm June 24 (via FaceBook)

Watching you on KUAM right now! You're doing a great job! I am so proud of your work and your dedication to Camp Roxas! Talk about PR for the film! Great job on the Interview on KUAM this evening . . .Thank you all for making this film. . . It's amazing knowing the history of Camp Roxas! I am so proud of everyone involved in this project.