Filipina-American WWII Veterana Lourdes Castro is honored as being a pioneer and more

Lourdes M. Evangelista-Castro
July 23, 1926 – December 3, 2011


Lourdes Castro, a rare and great hero, lived an extraordinary life. She was a pioneering “veterana” of World War II, and a quiet warrior as well as a civil rights activist. She was a successful entrepreneur, devoted wife, and matriarch of the Castro clan.

Servant leader and military service

During WWII, Lourdes Castro was a member of the recognized guerrilla forces, a member of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and served in the Medical Corps. She volunteered as medical staff to help wounded American soldiers and also worked as a courier for the US soldiers.
Two valiant acts attributed to this young 18 year old soldier were: (1) her role in the liberation of the POWs in the Los Baños, Laguna concentration camp and (2) going “beyond the call of duty” by risking “limb and life” as she went into the battlefield, pulling wounded soldiers to safety and treating the wounded as a first responder.

This is how Lourdes Castro got inducted as a member of the US Army during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines, World War II. She was one of only two female Filipino WWII US veterans.
Mrs. Castro was a member of the American Legion Northside Post 858 based in San Jose, CA. She was one of the charter members who started the veterans’ organization, where most of the members are WWII Filipino veterans who had fought with the United States Armed Forces of the Far East.
Her volunteer work included being an advocate who pushed US Congress to pass laws that would recognize the services of Filipino soldiers and guerrilla fighters during WWII.  Mrs. Castro also advocated for Congress to pass laws that would provide equitable services and compensation for their military services.  These laws were to be part of the “Equity for Filipino Veterans of WWII.”
Lourdes’ dream came true, together with thousands of Filipino WWII veterans in the US and the Philippines, when the United States Congress passed the bill that gave these “Forgotten Heroes” their due recognition: “Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Act” (FVEC) into law (PL 111-5 Title X Sec. 1002) in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, February 2009.

Honoring Lourdes Castro

Lourdes Castro is a true unsung hero who risked not only her life but her family’s lives as well when, as a guerrilla fighter, she aided in fulfilling crucial needs of the US military forces and later, as a member of the Medical Corps, was eventually given official US military status during WWII in the Philippines.

Not only was Mrs. Castro a hero in the largest conflict  in American history, she also served the United States as an advocate for veterans’ civil rights, especially Filipino WWII’s “Forgotten Heroes” or “veteranos.”  She was unique, selfless, caring and courageous as a “Modern Day Hero” at the age of 85.

Read the full story here at Inquirer.....