A monument feauturing statues of three Filipino-American U.S. Navy sailors was dedicated at Subic Bay, Philippines, on Jan. 14, 2026. (Funtastic Subic Bay/Facebook)
Statues of three Filipino-American U.S. Navy sailors have been dedicated at the site of a former American naval base in the Philippines.
The Filipino Shipmate Monument, unveiled Wednesday, honors tens of thousands of Filipino-American men and women who have served in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard between 1901 and the present, retired sailor Noel Vizcocho told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.
“These statues embody the collective contributions of Filipino sailors, their sacrifices made far from home, their unwavering loyalty to the United States armed forces and their gallantry in the face of adversity,” Doce Salazar, chairman of the 1,000-strong veterans’ group that funded the statues, said at the ceremony, according to a report by Vizcocho.
The largest of the three painted statues, which stands eight feet tall, is modeled on Medal of Honor recipient Telesforo Trinidad, said Vizcocho, who is secretary of the group that paid for the monument — the United States Sailors Alliance of the Philippines.
A monument feauturing statues of three Filipino-American U.S. Navy sailors was dedicated at Subic Bay, Philippines, on Jan. 14, 2026. (Funtastic Subic Bay/Facebook)
The enlisted sailor’s bravery aboard the USS San Diego during a disaster at sea earned Trinidad the nation’s highest military honor, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command.
On Jan. 21, 1915, while on patrol in the Gulf of California, the armored cruiser conducted a four-hour, full-speed and endurance trial. As the trial ended, an obstructed tube of one of the ship’s boilers gave way, creating a chain reaction of explosions that killed nine men and injured several others, according to the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Va.
Trinidad’s actions during the disaster as a fireman second class were reported by the Navy’s magazine, Our Navy, in its May 1915 issue, republished by the museum.
“At the time of the explosion, Trinidad was driven out of fireroom No. 2 by the force of the blast, but at once returned and picked up R.E. Daly, Fireman Second Class, whom he saw to be injured and proceeded to bring him out,” the magazine reported.
“While passing into Fireroom No. 4, Trinidad was just in time to catch the explosion in No. 3 Fireroom but without consideration for his own safety, although badly burned about the face, he passed Daly on and then assisted in rescuing another injured man from No. 3 Fireroom.”
Veterans, government officials, community leaders and families gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new monument, which stands inside the Subic Freeport Zone, Vizcocho wrote in a report of the unveiling.
The monument is a testament to the deep ties between America and the Philippines and underscores that both are maritime nations, tied together by mutual love of, and respect for, the sea, said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Ryan Newmeyer, of the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group Philippines, at the dedication.
“We can never overlook the significant contributions Filipinos and Filipino Americans make each day in our maritime services,” he said, according to a copy of his speech provided Friday by the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
