Joe Rosenthal Chapter Speaker Series: Bataan Legacy, June 2
Do not miss the Joe Rosenthal Chapter Speaker Series at 12:00 Pacific time on June 2, with Cecilia I. Gaerlan, Founder and Executive Director of Bataan Legacy Historical Society.
Cecilia founded the organization to address the lack of information about the role of the Filipinos during World War II in the Philippines, and to seek justice for Filipino veterans of the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East whose veterans’ benefits were rescinded by Congress in 1946.
The Philippines was a huge and crucial theater of war, but is rarely talked about when discussing WWII. Cecilia is determined to change that. She worked successfully with the California Department of Education to include WWII in the Philippines in California’s Grade 11 U.S. History Curriculum.
Like many of us, her interest in WWII was inspired by her father: Luis Gaerlan, Jr., was a Filipino WWII veteran of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Army and a survivor of the infamous Bataan Death March.
In addition to her tireless work at Bataan Legacy, Cecilia is a Director of our Fellowship of the Lens Educational Foundation. She is also an author, playwright and a documentary filmmaker. She is a tireless advocate for veterans and for educating younger generations on the significance of history shaping our lives today and in the future.
She will share a lot of information with us, and you can learn more at BataanLegacy.org.