My Early Years
By Zack Chavez I am trying to recollect my childhood days as far back as I can. I remember being in an air raid shelter somewhere around Manila. It must have been when the American forces had just started liberating the Philippines from the Japanese before the end of WWII. Bombs were falling and exploding around us. My mother wanted me very close to her while she was saying the rosary with other women in the shelter. I was too young to be scared. I can’t remember how long we stayed in the shelter. The next thing I remember was when there was no more bombing and I was playing with other kids in the streets of Manila. Occasionally, military jeeps would pass by loaded with GI’s and we would attempt to chase them yelling “victory Joe, victory Joe”, our arms raised with the ‘V’ finger sign for victory. They would toss Hershey’s chocolate bars at us. It must have been a fun experience because I can still remember it. ...