Juny Pilapil La Putt, Bsce, MAsce, Ms, Pe
Email: junylaputt@yahoo.com
Address: P.O. Box 3645, Honolulu, Hawaii 96811
Home Phone: Home: (808) 537-9291
Cellphone: (808) 330-4240
Birthday: November 17
Juny Pilapil La Putt, Bsce, MAsce, Ms, Pe
Email: junylaputt@yahoo.com
Address: P.O. Box 3645, Honolulu, Hawaii 96811
Home Phone: Home: (808) 537-9291
Cellphone: (808) 330-4240
Birthday: November 17
The very first time I became a military brat was probably sometime in 1948 when my father was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Philippine Army and based in Camp Floridablanca, Pampanga, where we joined him. He first had his military training there as a newly commissioned officer and was later assigned to a unit that trained 20-year old trainees. At that time there were only 5 children in our family: Wilma, Norma, Hedy, Jane, and myself who was the oldest among the siblings. In the years that followed, Warner, Baxter, Bathsheba, Larry, and Phil were born. There were 10 siblings in our family - five boys and 5 girls. Coming to think of it now, I was really amazed how my parents were able to support a big family as ours. I think I was just 9 years old then, in Grade 3, and enrolled at the Post Elementary School inside the camp. Before we moved to Camp Floridablanca, we were residents of Cebu City where my sisters and I were born. My father at that time was the property custodian of the Abellana High School until he obtained his army commission which he earned by joining the ROTC while taking up his law studies at the University of the Visayas in Cebu City.
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| The Siblings | Wilma | Hedy | Jane |
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| Baxter | Larry | Phil | Juny |
The Philippine Army at that time shared the use of Camp Floridablanca with the Philippine Air Force. I remembered that there was an airfield there for their mustang fighter planes. This was where we resided for more than a year. I still remember a river near the camp where I would often go for a swim with my friends ... and also with the farm carabaos that wallowed in the river. In fact, it was in that river where I first learned how to swim. Also nearby the MOQs (Married Officers Quarters) where we lived were some farms that grew "sinkamas" and "kasoy" which we would often gather for ourselves before going to an open air theater inside the camp. Lucky for us kids that the civilian farmers did not live in their farms and had to go home before dark to the nearby town of Floridablanca.
It was also in Floridablanca when my father had me circumsized at the Station Hospital. I was still in the 3rd grade at that time and could not forget how much I suffered for over a week until the wound started to heal. I remembered having to report back to the hospital a number of times just to have the dressing of the wound replaced. The worst part of it, however, came about a few hours right after the circumcision when the anesthesia (a drug administered for surgical purposes that induces partial or total loss of sensation) dissipated. I just am glad that I had to undergo this medical procedure just but once in my lifetime. Some of those who used to live in Camp Floridablanca with us were the following families: Muego, Manabat, Calma, Santos, Cajelo, Altea, Calvo, and a number of others whom I have already forgotten. And when the Philippine Army was relocated to Fort McKinley, all the military dependents like us subsequently moved to the Fort.
It was sometime in 1949 when we first moved into Fort William McKinley which was then in the province of Rizal (I believe the Fort is now under the territorial jurisdiction of the City of Makati). The MOQs along MacArthur Avenue in Fort McKinley at that time had sawali walls with large windows that were screened, a concrete floor slab, and a roof made of G.I. sheets. The MOQ we occupied was just behind the grandstand where the old parade ground was located. Our quarters only had two bedrooms but was spacious and quite comfortable and just adequate for our family. If I am not mistaken, these MOQs were earlier occupied by the dependents of the U.S. Army unit which occupied the Fort before the Philippine Army moved in. There were acacia trees that lined the whole length of MacArthur Avenue which really provided a lot of shade and beautiful greenery. It was in November of 1949 that my younger brother Warner was born and the following year my other brother Baxter was also born. Warner and Baxter were still toddlers when we started our lives inside the Fort.
Fort William McKinley was no doubt a beautiful community and so much better than the hot and barren landscape of Camp Floridablanca. Within the Fort was a large theater, post office, hospital, Catholic chapel, gymnasium, an officer's clubhouse which had a swimming pool and a beautiful view of the towns of Pateros and Buting below, the Post Elementary School, and a concessionaire area with tailor shops, a bowling alley, grocery, a restaurant, a canteen, and a barber shop. And most of all, there was adequate housing provided for the military dependents. There were a lot of fruit trees inside the Fort and I think I have climbed all those trees when I was a young boy. There were also two water towers and these I have climbed up as well. There was so much vegetation inside the Fort at that time such that there were even wild monkeys yet, aside from the large lizards that lived in the big acacia trees along MacArthur Avenue.
During the first few months of our stay at the Fort, there was as yet no elementary school for us to go to. Some of us were initially enrolled at the Makati Elementary School and had to be transported there by an army school bus which was a 6x6 truck that had a wooden ladder at the back for the children to climb up inside the bus. There was even an MP (Military Policeman) who rode the bus with us. Not only did he provide security for us but also saw to it that we behaved properly while inside the school bus. The children of the field grade officers were luckier since they were sent to exclusive private schools in Manila. My father was only a Lieutenant at that time and could only afford to send us to a public school where there was no tuition and other school fees to pay. Also, we didn't have to spend for school uniforms which were required in the private schools. I guess we were just lucky during those days since the educational standard of the public school was still at its best. I was a product of the public school throughout my elementary school days and never felt that what I learned was inferior or not comparable to what students were taught in private schools.
It was only some months later that a two-story building was finally designated as the Post Elementary School. It was there that I continued on with my 4th grade, until completing my 6th grade sometime in 1951. We were, in fact, the very first graduates of the Post Elementary School of Fort McKinley. And I still do remember some of my classmates such as: Ronald Muego, Solita and Mila Pia, Adorable and Myrna Manabat, Flora Abadesco, Federico Rimando, Romeo Rosel, Renelia Fernandez, Eduardo Delfin, Marinela Sanchez, Isidro De Los Santos, and Eulogia Quitoriano who was our Grade Six valedictorian. My teachers at that time were Miss Cabansag and Mr. Munoz. I remember very much Mr. Munoz since it was him who taught us carpentry and gardening, aside from the other core subjects we took under him. He was a strict disciplinarian and very dedicated to his students.
We left Fort McKinley sometime in the summer of 1951 just after completing my 6th grade. My father was reassigned to Camp Lapu-Lapu in Cebu City. There he was designated to manage the Post Commissary and a few months later he was sent to Iloilo City to become the ROTC commandant of 3 colleges there. My sister Batsheba was born in June 1952 when we were in Cebu City. I continued with my studies as a high school freshman at the High School Department of the Colegio de San Agustin (now University of San Agustin). The three years I spent in Iloilo came out to be a fruitful one. There I learned to speak "Illongo" and develop an appetite for "batchoy" and "pancit molo" which are two of the most popular native cuisines of the province. It was also during my freshman year of high school that I learned how to use the typewriter. Typing was our vocational subject and this has helped me a lot when I started preparing high school book reports and term papers in college and also later in using a computer keyboard. Realizing how important it is to know how to use a typewritter or a computer keyboard, I had all my children take typing lessons during their summer breaks.
In the summer of 1954 when I had just completed my 3rd year of high school, my father was again reasigned back to Cebu City. It was in Cebu City that I started my senior year of high school at the High School Department of the University of San Carlos. In December of 1954 my brother Larry was born. Sometime in the middle of the year, my father was again sent to Tacloban City and became the ROTC Commandant of the different colleges in the city. The whole family once again relocated there and I continued with my 4th year of high school at Saint Paul's College in Tacloban City where I finally graduated in 1955. It was during my senior year that I began to take girls seriously such that I finally had my first girlfriend when I was in Tacloban. It was probably just a crush or puppy love that came about but somehow I experienced some tender feelings and a strong desire to be with her at all times. Our sweet relationship lasted for only less than a year since our family had to relocate once again. It was a sad moment for both of us when I bade goodbye for I knew that I would never get to see her again.
In the summer of 1955 my father was recalled back to Cebu City and then sent to Bacolod City where he once again became the ROTC Commandant of 3 colleges. I started my first year of college at the University of Negros Occidental where I took civil engineering. When I was about to start my 2nd year, we moved back to Manila where my father was stationed at Fort McKinley sometime in 1952. He was initially with one of the Battalion Combat Teams that were put up to deal with the HUK insurgency at that time. He later joined the 14th Battalion Combat Team which was preparing to be deployed to Korea during the Korean crises. However, my mother did not want him to go to war and my father requested instead to be reassigned to the Philippine Army School Command where he served the remaining years of his army career until retiring in 1961 as a Major ... a decision I know my father regretted. Phil, the youngest in our family, was born in December of 1958 when we were still living inside the Fort.
During the first few months of our stay in Manila, we first rented a house in Makati since there was no available MOQ at Fort McKinley when we arrived. I continued with my engineering course at the Mapua Institute of Technology where I graduated in 1961 and subsequently passed the board exams a few months after graduation. The MOQ which we occupied along MacArthur Avenue was somewhere near the Cavalry Unit and right behind us was a water tank which I have climbed up numerous times. The old MOQs which were made of sawali walls had already been demolished and replaced with quarters made of concrete hollow blocks. Our neighbors were the families of Bulfa, Cajelo, Jocson, San Miguel, and others. For a little over a year, I was able to work as a draftsman at the office of the Post Engineer in Fort McKinley. When I was employed, I had just graduated from college and was waiting for the results of my civil engineer board examination. As a casual employee I was only paid a daily rate of P5.10 which was not really much. It was at this job that I learned how to make cost estimates for engineering projects as well as in supervising our carpenters, masons, electricians, and laborers. The experience I acquired helped me a lot when I later became the Post Engineer at Camp Evangelista and also at Fort Del Pilar.
While I was pursuing my civil engineering degree at Mapua, I also enrolled in the ROTC Advanced Course. It was a tough schedule on my part trying to become an engineer and at the same type preparing myself for a possible military career. Three times a week, I would be at the Intramuros campus by 6:30 am for my ROTC classes and then proceed to the Doroteo Jose campus for my afternoon and evening academic classes. There was no time to change clothes that I would attend classes still dressed up in my ROTC officer uniform, complete with my sword and combat boots, plus my slide rule, books and notebooks. And every Sunday morning I would go back to Intramuros for the regular drill day and handling of cadets who took their required basic ROTC course. I was a Battalion Commander when I was in my senior year of the ROTC Advanced Course and held the rank of cadet colonel. Somehow, my ROTC training and my studies as a civil engineer proved to be very useful. I later became an officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and was involved in various military engineering work. I was prepared for the job and quite confident in performing my duties and responsibilities.
Upon graduation from college and turning 21 years of age, I applied for a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers of the Philippine Army. In January of 1962, I was called to active duty and sent to Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao where I was assigned to the 6th Engineer Combat Battalion. This was the year that I finally left Fort McKinley and also my very first time to be separated from my parents. I was finally on my own. I stayed for about a year in Mindanao, became the Post Engineer of Camp Evangelista, and was also involved in some road and building construction projects of the Corps of Engineers in different parts of Mindanao. I was subsequently sent to attend the Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort McKinley.
When I was about to complete my course, the Army Chief of Engineers directed me to report to his office where I was asked if I was willing to be assigned to the Philippine Military Academy. Two days earlier when I was told to see the Chief of Engineers, I really didn't know why the most ranking officer of the Philippine Army Corps of Engineers wanted to see me. I even thought I had committed something wrong that I was not only worried and nervous, but also hesitant to see him. I only felt so relieved and at ease upon learning why he wanted to see me. The Philippine Military Academy at that time was looking for young officers with a bachelor's degree in engineering, had field experience, taken the Engineer Officer Basic Course, and have also passed the board examinations. The qualified officer was to serve as a military instructor at the Academy. I learned that the Corps did an extensive search for a qualified officer and that I was the first choice since I fitted well into requirements given by the Philippine Military Academy. I readily accepted the offer, hurriedly flew back to Cagayan de Oro to pick up my belongings, and reported to the Academy in the summer of 1963. This was the start of my 18 years of assignment as a faculty member of the Academy.
As I entered the portals of the Academy and started my role as a member of the faculty, I recalled that just four years ago I once wanted to enter the Academy as a cadet. I was at that time a 19-year old college student. I did take the tough written entrance examinations in 1958, passed it, and went all the way to V. Luna Medical Center for my physical examination and the official tailor also took measurements for my cadet uniforms and headgear. I was all set and ready to join the Class of 1962, however, the military doctors found me a little underweight and short by a quarter of an inch to qualify for the minimum height requirement. On learning of my physical disqualification, I was devastated, heart broken, and felt that my dreams were shattered. When I finally joined the Academy as a faculty member, I realized that the Lord Almighty indeed has his own strange ways in deciding our fate and the course of our lives ... apparently, he didn't want me to enter the Academy as a cadet as I have wanted earlier, but he wanted me instead to undertake a higher and more responsible role of teaching and training cadets.
I met Nena during my assignment at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). She was then a staff nurse at the Baguio General Hospital. We met in one of the social functions held at the PMA Officers Clubhouse. After going steady for about two years, we were married in 1965 on Valentine's Day. We had a military wedding at the chapel of St. Michael in Fort Bonifacio and our wedding reception was held at the old Officer's Clubhouse where I used to spend a lot of time swimming when I was still a young boy. Since both of us were from Baguio, we decided to have our honeymoon in Legazpi City where we saw the world famous Mayon Volcano. I still vividly remember the day when I went to Lingayen (Pangasinan) to ask her parents and grandparents for Nena's hand in marriage. The only person who accompanied me was my first sergeant who acted not only as my driver and interpreter (Nena's grandparents only speak the Pangasinan dialect) but also as my guardian. It is customary in the Philippines to have your own parents accompany you when going thru this type of ritual. Luckily, they did not ask why my parents were not around.
We have 5 children that we adore and are extremely proud of - Tess, Al, Mike, Dolly, and Jenny. Tess, our eldest, was born about a year after Nena and I were married. All our kids were born in Baguio, except for Dolly who was born in Pasig (a suburb of Metro Manila) when I was taking my Photogrammetry, Geodesy and Cartography course at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. All or adult children now live in the United States: Tess and her family reside in Honolulu, Al and his wife are in Las Vegas and so with Mike and his family. Dolly and her family live in Brentwood (California) while our youngest, Jenny, is also in Las Vegas.
It just dawned on me that Nena and I have been married for a little over 42 years and in about 8 years from now we will be celebrating our golden wedding anniversary. I'm trying to recall if it was I who asked Nena to marry me ... or was it the other way around? However, if you will ask Nena, there is no doubt that she will tell you that it was I who asked her to marry me. And she will also tell you that I have already grown old and that my memory has started to fade away ... such that I could no longer remember what I did in the past. Whatever the correct answer is, it really doesn't matter. I have no regrets about our getting married. Nena has always been by my side in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility. I may not be the perfect husband, but she has taken me as I am. I am lucky to have a beautiful wife who stuck it out with me ...and who also prepares a really good breakfast for me each morning.
It was during my assignment at PMA that I took time to join the 1st Philippine Civic Action Group-Vietnam (1st PHILCAG-V) and was sent to South Vietnam in 1966. Nena and Tess remained in Baguio during the time I was in Vietnam and lived in our quarters at Camp Allen. Our oldest, Tess, was only six months old when I left. I came home twice each year for my R&R (Rest and Recreation) and my daughter did not recognize me anymore and it would take days before she would allow me to hold and cuddle her. I spent two years in Vietnam during the war and upon our return to the Philippines in 1968, I was reassigned back to the Philippine Military Academy where I continued with my teaching with the Department of Engineering Sciences. My stint in South Vietnam was quite an experience and it was my very first time to be sent abroad. It was also during this part of my military career that I earned a number of military awards, medals, ribbons, and commendations which somehow helped me later get easily my promotion to the rank of Captain and two years later to the next rank of Major. Our two-year stint in South Vietnam was well publicised by the Philippine media that it even prompted my father to send me a letter telling me how proud he was to read about my achievements and the different awards I received. I was probably one of the few well-decorated Lieutenants in the Armed Forces of the Philippines at that time.
During my assignment at PMA I was selected as a Fulbright Scholar and sent to the Ohio State University (OSU) where I pursued my graduate degree in Geodetic Science with a major in Cartography (map making) in 1975 up to 1977. I held the rank of Major when I left for my studies and while I was still with OSU, I was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel without even appearing before the AFP Promotion Board. My graduate studies in the United States coupled with my extensive experience with the Corps of Engineers and also my teaching stint at PMA somehow caught the attention of the former president of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers that I was nominated by him and subsequently chosen as one of the 10 Outstanding Civil Engineers in the Philippines in 1986.
After completing my graduate studies at OSU, I returned to PMA and resumed teaching there. I also taught part time at the University of Baguio. I stayed for about 3 years at PMA before being transferred to the National Cartography Authority (now called the NAMRIA) which was then under the Office of the Philippine President. There I was designated Deputy Executive Director for Operations. The Authority was tasked to update and prepare accurate maps of the Philippines using photogrammetry and remote sensing. I stayed for less than a year with this agency since there was nothing much that was happening during my assignment there. We didn't have the needed modern mapping equipment as yet and we were very much understaffed.
In 1983 I decided to retire from the military service with the rank of Full Colonel and returned to Baguio City to rejoin my family. It was an optional retirement on my part, having only served a little over 21 years with the Army Corps of Engineers. I joined the University of Baguio on a full time basis and became the head of the Surveying Department and the Computer Center which I set up and established for the university. In 1985, I was again awarded another Fulbright Grant and sent to the University of Maine at Orono as a Visiting Professor and Researcher. It was there that I gathered material for 5 textbooks which I authored and published upon my return to the Philippines. These textbooks in Surveying (Elementary & Higher) and Computer Science are now published and distributed by National Bookstores in all its branches in the Philippines. Most of the books I wrote have and continue to be used as prescribed textbooks in engineering schools and colleges in the Philippines.
It was in March of 1987 when Nena and I decided to immigrate to the United States. At that time I already had an approved Professional Visa which I applied for earlier in 1969. Our children were already getting older and we wanted to provide them better opportunities in life. We felt that it would be best to relocate to the United States ... a decision we never regretted. We originally thought of relocating to Ohio or the New England States (Maine, Connecticut, or Massachusetts) but decided instead to select Hawaii. It has been 20 years now since we came to Hawaii where I initially worked for the City and County of Honolulu as a Building Official. I was responsible for approving building permits for different types of engineering projects and constructions within the island of Oahu. I also first taught engineering subjects for two semesters at the Honolulu Community College. Elementary surveying was one of the subjects I taught and my book was the prescribed textbook for my students.
During the early years of our stay in Honolulu, I worked hard to obtain my license as a Professional Engineer and was lucky enough to get it without having to take the State Board Examinations. I also found time to organize the Filipino-American League of Engineers and Architects (FALEA) in 1993 and became its first elected president. I was later nominated in 1999 to head the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies (HCES) which is the umbrella organization of the different engineering organizations and societies in the State of Hawaii and which has over 2,000 professional engineers affiliated with it. The HCES was established in 1965 and it took 34 years to have a Filipino engineer finally elected as Chairman of the Council. After serving my term as HCES Chair, Manny Lanuevo, another Filipino who served earlier as my Vice Chair, was also elected as HCES Chairman and since that time no other engineer of Filipino ancestry had a chance to hold this position. It was because of my strong commitment and service to the engineering profession that FALEA awarded me later the Outstanding Civil Engineer Award.
Although I was already in the United States, my continued support and affiliation with the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association was well noticed that in 1999 I was nominated and then selected for the prestigious Cavalier Award with 13 other recipients who were similarly selected for their outstanding contributions in different fields of endeavor. The awards were given to us at Fort Del Pilar in Baguio City. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was at that time the Vice President of the Philippines, was present during the awarding ceremony. A parade and review was given in our honor by the Cadet Corps.
I subsequently retired from the City and County of Honolulu in July of 2005, after having worked for a total of 38 years (21 years in the Army and 17 years with the City). I felt that this was enough work for a lifetime. Most of my long term goals and objectives in life have already been accomplished. Four of our five kids are already married and now on their own. Nena and I have already done a lot of traveling and now, the only thing left is to pay off the mortgage on our home in Ewa Beach, as well as the mortgage on our apartment in Honolulu and our condo in Las Vegas. Although I still do have some wishful thoughts about winning the Megabucks Jackpot in Las Vegas. During each visit to Las Vegas, I always make it a point to try out my luck. So far, I have only contributed to the income of Las Vegas. However, I will continue to cross my fingers and hope that one day I just might hit the jackpot and get a chance to give a million dollars each to my 5 children and 7 grandchildren.
The year 2006 was a sad year for our family. It was in July when my sister Jane passed away due to a stroke. She was only 58 years of age and her birthday was only two months away when she died. She left behind a husband and 5 kids. I was already a resident of Honolulu at the time of her death and had to fly back to Manila to attend her funeral. Earlier in 1995, my father also passed away in December. He died of a heart attack. He was a little over 80 years old and 3 months shy from his 81st birthday. I was in Manila a few months earlier when he was still confined at the V. Luna Medical Center and had to fly back to attend his funeral. My brother Warner also left us in November of 1985. He died in his sleep and he was only 37 years old. He left behind a wife and 4 kids. I was still with the Philippine Military Academy at that time when he died. My father, my younger brother Warner, and and my sister Jane are buried at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina in our family plot. Also buried there are my niece Shelei L. Isabelo, my nephew Rene L. Mangalindan, and my brother-in-law Renato Mangalindan who is the husband of my sister Wilma.
Nena has continued with her employment with the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children where she is one of the staff nurses. I think she plans to retire in about two years from now. She seems to be enjoying her job and most of all, the good pay that goes with it. She only works 3 times a week but her shift is at night which starts from 7:00 pm up to 7:00 am the following day. It is during her work at night that I end up being alone at home which somehow allows me to spend more time going online. With Nena still working, I have a new designated task as "BMW" which simply means: "Bring Mama to Work" ... a job I perform each evening when she goes to the hospital. Luckily, it is only a 3-minute drive from our apartment to her place of work.
Since retirement, I have been doing a lot of traveling which is now some kind of a passion that developed in me ... and have also been busy with my hobbies ... photography, website development, and administering the 5 mailing list which I have created. Proudly I often boast that I have hundreds of cyberspace friends from all over the world. I have also been spending most of my free time with my 7 grandchildren whenever I get a chance to visit them. My daughter Tess has also designated me as the official baby sitter for her two young girls (Elle who is now 8 years old and Gianne who is 7) that they are with me whenever they are not in school. I don't get paid to baby sit and I even have to spend extra for the lunch and snacks of the two girls who somehow always want to go to McDonald's, Taco Bell, or some other fast food restaurants in town. I guess the only consolation I get are a lot of hugs and kisses from my granddaughters who I refer to as my "bundles of joy." I am beginning to approach the twilight years of my life and all that I have in mind of doing now is just to enjoy life and be with my family. I will continue to pray that the Lord grant me more years to live my life to the fullest and that I be able to remain healthy and still see and relate with the children of my children's children.
Portrayed below are some of our family photographs as well as photographs that were taken during the different trips and tours Nena and I did in the Philippines, in Europe, the east Caribbean, and some cities we visited in the U.S. mainland.
[ Click on any of the "thumbnail images" below to view the photograph in a larger size format ]
junylaputt@yahoo.com
