Helped liberate Philippines from Japanese occupation in 1945
32nd US ARMY DIVISION
This site is dedicated to the men who served in the US Army infantry 32nd Division during World War II in The Philippines, who marched up the Villa Verde Trail to capture The Japanese commander, General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
Rubin Stout, one of these brave soldiers, stayed in The Philippines for some of the post-war mop up efforts and he never forgot the Philippine people and especially the children of which he grew so fond.
He returned to The Philippines in 1987 with a plaque to replace the old one scavenged after severe flooding. A new monument was erected in the town of San Nicolas, bgy Sta. Maria, Pangasinan, just over a mile from the Villa Verde trailhead, where remnants of the old monument are left there as the marker.
In 2007 Rubin donated some money to provide food to help some poor and deserving families struggling in Philippines, and we were dedicating our new home in San Fernando City, La Union, and wanted to also make offerings of some kind, so we combined resources with Rubin and also the generous donations from a friend, who aided in every way.
Our goal was to find families in need, without substance abuse or gambling issues and where we could give to help children, also, and some 20 scholarships were awarded. Several wheelchairs were given to very deserving individuals, and several hundred bags of food to needy were distributed during the previous three years.
We began by locating some people living in more rural farm areas, and sharing the story of the liberation of Philippines by US Army and showed photos of Rubin Stout in uniform with children.
These people were very moved that someone was thinking of them and especially someone they never met knows their struggles, and was thoughtful enough to make a small donation to help.
I NEVER felt so inadequate or somewhat like a fraud as when one of the young boys THANKED ME! He said "Thank You for helping us!" A young boy thanking ME for a small gesture, but it is food--it is life, I suppose but the meager basics that nobody should ever have to wonder about. Certainly NO child today should have to thank anyone for the basics of life! I felt hollow when I said my polite You're Welcome! And I just can't reconcile this because I believe that no child should go to bed hungry. Sometimes reality doesn't play fair! I see their tiny bodies, and notice their very thin arms, and realize that they have missed too many meals! But I still do not know why. Is such poverty in these third-world countries necessary?
Rubin is frustrated: "If the US had done just one-tenth for The philippines as we did for Japan, they would not have such crushing poverty by now."
We can only do a little, but we will never stop giving and sharing Rubin's story, and that of his comrades, with the new generation; a trade to learn a little history for some nourishment--we must be getting the better part of this deal!
John Merchantand Annie Liz Merchant
San Diego, CA----San Fernando LU
We would like to expand our work and contribute more to the people of The Philippines in general and the Red Arrow projects, specifically so we embark upon a project to recover a Spanish galleon first from a site in Valenzuela, just North of Manila. Interested investors in such a project can learn more by visiting my associate's site at Yamashitatreasures.com; Spanish galleon project. Merchant Explorations. This is an exciting venture, and I hope that we can engender even more interest in the history of this region, while helping more and more people in need. Blessings to all.
Crippled due to back injury while helping a friend replace a roof.
The new plaque to replace the one scavenged after flooding
During mop-up after wwII Rubin became very attached to the people of Philippines
This was later destroyed by the overflowing Cabalisian River, and original plaque lost to scavengers
In 2009 Rubin visited Vermont and his dear friends there. Relaxing in a local restaurant, near New York border.
Alex Lujan's medals
