Reflections: Covering Life

Description

About the Author + + +Bert Guiang hails from Tampo, Botolan, Zambales, Philippines. He was a freshman at the Philippine Normal College in the Manila when his grandfather Papo Ake (Dalmacio Guiang) saw the U S Navy recruiting advertisement in the Manila Times. He just turned 18 when he was inducted into the US Navy at Sangley Point in Cavite City. He first saw services as a black shoe sailor on a Destroyer and a Patrol Gunboat and later on switched to a Seabee Rating, the Construction Arm of the United States Navy. He retired as an Engineering Aide Chief Petty Officer. In addition to the two warships, he was also stationed in Puerto Rico, Virginia Beach, VA, Keflavik, Iceland, Sigonella, Sicily and Rota, Spain. One of the highlights of his career was when he became a staff member at the Civil Engineer Corps Officers School at Port Hueneme, California where he had plenty of spare times and used it to finish his academic studies and earned his Bachelors Degree from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale and wrote his first article "Architecture - the least appreciated of all the Arts" as a school project which was published in the Navy Civil Engineer Magazine. This jump-started his love of writing. Since then he had written articles published in a local Filipino-American newspaper in Oxnard, California. His love for writing has never waned ever since. + + + Acknowledgement + + +I wish to acknowledge the former and retired editor of the U S Navy Civil Engineer Magazine (1982), Leslie for his foresight and belief that a novice Enlisted writer (albeit an undergraduate then) should have a chance to be recognized by a navy-wide readership in a magazine whose writers have Masters and Doctorate Degrees and Commissioned Officers of the United States Navy. Also, to the Editors of the Filipino-American grassroots newspaper the Kapitbahay of Oxnard, California and the current Owners and Moderators of the Zambales Forum II of yahoo groups. Lastly to Print On Demand (POD) Publisher Tatay Jobo Elizes for believing that the articles are better compiled into a book and eternally listed and never goes out of prints and therefore always available online.