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Recognizing a Filipino Hero during Filipino American Heritage Month

Jan 12

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October marks the celebration of Filipino American Heritage month and there has been no shortage of Filipinos to acknowledge for their efforts and achievements. It wasn’t long ago though that very few Filipinos were recognized for the contributions made to society, let alone to American culture. 


Telesforo Dela Cruz Trinidad, an American national of Filipino descent, holds the distinction of being the first and only Filipino in the U.S.Navy to receive a Medal of Honor, in accordance with General Order Number 142 signed by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels on April 1, 1915. How a poor boy from the province of Aklan in the Philippines was able to receive the highest honor bestowed upon a member of the U.S. Armed Forces is a story of perseverance ad great inspiration. 


Telesforo Trinidad was born on November 25, 1890, in New Washington, Aklan Province, Panay, Philippines. He was the youngest of three children and his father died while he was only nine months old. As an 11-year-old boy, “Poro” made his way to Manila, where he worked as a house boy. At 15 years old, he found a job delivering lunch boxes to laborers working at the Cavite Naval Shipyard at Sangley Point. He became acquainted with the owner of a ferry boat, who took him under his wing and taught him how to operate his boat, which made regular trips between Cavite and Manila. 


He enlisted in the U.S. Navy 1908 when he was barely eighteen. His first assignment was on board the USS Mindoro, which was deployed in the waters of Mindanao and Jolo. Between 1911 and 1912 he was deployed on the USS Wompatuck (YT-27), which was stationed at Olongapo Naval Station Subic Bay. Although he was only in his early twenties, he acted as spokesman for the Filipino sailors aboard the ship. While stationed in Subic Bay, he showed his prowess as an amateur boxer when he did practice bouts with famous Filipino boxers Francisco Villarruel Guiledo, better known as “Pancho Villa,” and Gaudencio “Olongapo Kid” Cabanela. 


He reached the shores of San Francisco during his next assignment on board the USS South Dakota (ACR-9) around 1912. His next assignment would change his life forever. He was transferred to the USS San Diego (ACR-6) on November 16, 1914. After the USS San Diego’s participation during the opening of the Panama California exposition on January 1, 1915,  in San Francisco, the ship made its way to the Gulf of Baja California as part of the naval patrol established to protect U.S. interests and citizens in México. On January 21, 1915, Captain Alexander McCully, Jr. decided to conduct a four-hour, full-speed and endurance trial to determine if the cruiser could still maintain its officially-rated flank speed. At the end of the trial, an obstructed tube of one of the ship's boilers gave way, creating an eventual chain reaction of other boilers, killing nine men and injuring several others.


At the time of the explosion, Trinidad was driven out of Fire Room No. 2 by the force of the blast, but returned and picked up R.E. Daly, Fireman Second Class, whom he saw to be injured and proceeded to bring him out. While passing into Fire Room No.4, Trinidad was just in time to catch the explosion in No. 3 Fire Room but without consideration for his own safety, and badly burned in the face, he passed Daly on and then assisted in rescuing another injured man from No. 3 Fire Room. 


For his actions, Telesforo Trinidad was presented the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at Naval Station Cavite, Philippines, on July 10, 1915. Trinidad continued his service in the US Navy until May, 1926, when he was transferred from active duty to the fleet reserve. He retired on June 1, 1939, in his home city of Imus, Cavite, in the Philippines. Telesforo Trinidad died on May 8, 1968. 


His legacy of bravery and selflessness would continue 54 years later, when Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, announced on May 19, 2022, a future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer would be named USS Telesforo Trinidad.

The naming of a U.S. Navy warship after Trinidad will be a historic first for the U.S. Navy to honor the legacy of its only Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) enlisted sailor of Filipino descent and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. Sailors of Filipino descent represent the largest percentage of foreign-born recruits in the U.S. Navy. The naming of a ship after Trinidad will validate the long history of service by generations of Filipinos in the U.S. Navy since 1901 as well as the Navy’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.


The USS Telesforo Trinidad Campaign (USSTTC) was founded during the fall of 2020 by COL  Nonie C. Cabana, USAF-Ret, who currently serves as its Executive Director. It is chaired by CAPT Ronald Ravelo, USN (Ret), the first Filipino American to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. USSTTC garnered massive support across the country led by veterans’ and civic organizations, local, state,and national legislators and grass roots support from many individuals. 


Cabana commented, “Filipinos and Filipino Americans have waited over 107 years to see this watershed moment happen. We realize that building grassroots and ground swelling supports the key to sustain momentum in convincing Honorable Secretary Del Toro to make this seminal decision as part of our Nation’s history.”


Ravelo also added, “naming a ship after Trinidad sends a strong message that America embraces diversity, equity and inclusion. The old and new generations of Americans of Filipino Descent who served and continue to serve our military would keep their heads raised knowing their contributions are embodied through the USS Telesforo Trinidad.”




Credits: Fidencio "Fido" Pampo

Jan 12

4 min read

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