The strong ties between the Filipino community and Mare Island Naval Shipyard, dating to the brief Spanish-America War in 1898 and the Philippine-American War that lasted from 1899 to 1903, will be commemorated in a new exhibit to be unveiled Feb. 2 at the Mare Island Museum.

Those ties between Filipinos and the shipyard were not formed overnight. Filipino leaders who helped the United States defeat Spain wanted full independence and resented U.S. acquisition of their country for $20 million. That led to the Philippine-American War, in which more than 4,000 American soldiers and about 20,000 Filipino fighters died. Estimates of Filipino civilians who were killed or died due to disease or hunger during the war ranged from 250,000 to 1 million.

The Vallejo chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation collaborated on the upcoming Feb. 2 exhibit, which shows how the 1898 war with Spain and its bloody but little-remembered sequel left Filipinos without the independence they had sought. But they had American “national” status that enabled them to immigrate to America without visas.

Many Filipinos who immigrated here in the early 1900s didn’t have to struggle with a language barrier. They had taken English classes at public schools in their homeland, courses that were part of a U.S. effort to create a showcase of American-style democracy in Asia. The Philippines, finally granted independence in 1946, became one of the most Americanized societies in Asia.

Some Filipinos arriving in California were government-sponsored scholars. Others found jobs in canneries or on farms in the Central Valley, or hired out for domestic work in San Francisco. And some were drawn to Vallejo and the prospect of working on Mare Island in jobs that offered good pay, regular shifts and benefits, according to Mel Orpilla, president of the Vallejo chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society.

Filipinos also were able to join the Navy, although at first their only option was to enlist as stewards and mess attendants. That changed in 1919 at Mare Island with the commissioning of the destroyer USS Jose Rizal, named after a Filipino patriot executed by Spain in 1896. The destroyer was manned by about 100 Filipino enlisted sailors, trained at Mare Island to handle all shipboard work under direction of non-Filipino officers. That was a first in U.S. Navy history. The Rizal operated throughout the Pacific until it was decommissioned at Mare Island in 1931 and scrapped.

Despite their rapid assimilation into American culture, many discriminatory barriers remained for Filipinos. During the Great Depression, in 1934, Congress limited Filipino immigrants, perceived as a social problem and economic threat, to just 50 people a year. Other laws sought to prevent Filipinos from marrying whites, although Orpilla, in his 2005 ”Filipinos in Vallejo” book, says interracial marriages were common here. His book also includes a photo of a Filipino Brownie troop formed because the little girls couldn’t join a “white” Brownie troop.

Many Filipinos who tried to get jobs in defense plants at the start of World War II were denied employment at first. But that changed in mid-1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued his famous Executive Order 8802, banning discrimination in defense industry hiring based on race, creed, color or national origin. By 1942, there were about 1,500 Filipinos employed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

With the start of World War II, Filipinos from Vallejo enlisted in the military in large numbers. Some who joined the Army were assigned to Filipino infantry battalions and sent to the Philippines to pave the way for Gen. Douglas McArthur’s return there. Most of those who enlisted in the Navy didn’t get the opportunity that Filipino sailors assigned to the USS Rizal had until 1931. Instead of being trained for a wide range of jobs, they were relegated to steward assignments.

At the end of the war, Congress approved the 1946 Rescission Act that denied benefits to Filipinos who served in the Philippine Commonwealth Army under the U.S. military. But Congress also passed the War Brides Act, which gave Filipinos who served in the U.S. military the opportunity to go back to the Philippines, bring home brides and raise “baby boomer” children. Over the years, Vallejo’s Asian population has grown to about 30,000, or about a fourth of all the city’s residents. Filipinos are the largest segment of that Asian population, totaling about 25,000.

“Families, businesses, community organizations and churches began to build the foundation of the Filipino community as we know it today,” Orpilla says. “These Baby Boomers would grow up to become the first ones in their families to graduate from college, become professionals and even follow their parents’ footsteps by enlisting in the U.S. military or getting a job at Mare Island.”

“The relationship between Mare Island and the Philippines dates back to 1898 and directly led to the employment of thousands of Filipinos until its closing in 1996,” Orpilla says. “Filipinos who worked at Mare Island contributed to the operations on Mare Island and subsequently helped shape the Filipino community in Vallejo. It is a rich history that we are proud to share.”

— Vallejo and other Solano County communities are treasure troves of early-day California history. The “Solano Chronicles” column, running every other Sunday, highlights various aspects of that history. My source references are available upon request. If you have local stories or photos to share, email me at genoans@hotmail.com. You can also send any material care of the Times-Herald, 420 Virginia St.; or the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, 734 Marin St., Vallejo 94590.