Filipino Forum

U.S.-Built Ship for Philippine Navy Commissioned Here

Filipino War Hero Receives Ship for Philippine Gov't.

The first of two American-built ships for the Philippine Navy was commissioned here March 7 in an inspiring ceremony at Pier 91.

Named R.P.S. ZAMBALES, after President Magsaysay's home province, the ship was received for the Philippine Government by Capt. Ramon Alcaraz, a much-decorated war-hero and chief of staff of the Philippine Navy.

Friendship Since Dewey

"This is a demonstration of the friendship which exists between the American people and the Filipino people, a friendship which started when Commodore Dewey destroyed the Spanish Fleet in Manila Bay," commented Rear Admiral A. M. Bledsoe, USN Commandant of the Thirteenth Naval District, during his speech at the commissioning ceremony.

When the Stars and Stripes were lowered and the Flag of the Republic of the Philippines was raised up the flagstaff of the R.P.S. ZAMBALES, followed by the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner and the Philippine National Anthem, the scene was reminiscent of the historic time on July 4, 1946 when the Independence of the Philippines was proclaimed in Manila.

At least seventy persons, with a good number from the Filipino colony in Seattle, witnessed the rain-swept ceremony.

Gratitude to America

"This occasion once more
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A GIFT TO THE CAPTAIN-Capt. Ramon Alcaraz (left), Philippine Navy chief of staff receives a gift from Mrs. Arthur Dunn, chairwoman of the Seattle Hospitality Committee for Visiting Navies, at a cocktail party following the commissioning of the R.P.S. ZAMBALES March 7 at the Officers Club, Pier 91. The gift is a set of books. Capt. Alcaraz is feeling nervous, from the way he looks and Mrs. Dunn is certainly happy to welcome the visiting war hero of the Philippines.
—Photo by Elefanio

GUESTS AND HOSTS—Capt. Ramon Alcaraz and Lt. Commander Godiardo G. Nonato of the Philippine Navy pose with U.S. Naval officers and members of the Seattle Hospitality Committee for Visiting Navies during the cocktail party following the commissioning of the R.P.S. ZAMBALES at the Officers Club, Pier 91, March 7. In the picture, reading from left: Rear Admiral A. M. Bledsoe, commandant of the 13th Naval District; Mrs. W. N. Moray Girling, chairwoman of the entertainment committee of the Hospitality Committee; Capt. Ramon Alcaraz, chief of staff of the Philippine Navy; Mrs. Arthur Dunn, chairwoman of the Seattle Hospitality Committee for Visiting Navies; Lt. Commander Godiardo G. Nonato, who commands the R. P.S. ZAMBALES; Lt. Commander S. Jaworski, U.S. Naval Station; Victorio Acosta Velasco, member of the Seattle Hospitality Committee for Visiting Navies and editor-publisher of the Filipino Forum.
—Photo by Elefanio

War Hero
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attests to the strength of the friendship between the Americans and the Filipinos. I would like to express our deepest gratitude to the American people for their continued interest in our welfare and their sympathetic understanding,

Capt. Ramon Alcaraz said in his remarks in receiving the ship for his government.

Lt. Commander Godiardo G. Nonato, who will command the ZAMBALES, and his crew of four other officers and 46 enlisted men, stood at attention on Pier 91 as the Naval Station Band played the United States and the Philippine national anthems during the ceremony. Beside them was an honor guard of U.S. Marines.

Besides Lieutenant Commander Nonato, the other officers of the R.P.S. ZAMBALES are Lieut. Cecilio M. Asuncion, executive officer; Lieut. Jose Marcelo, deck and mine-sweeping officer; Lieut (jg.) Nemesio Mabini, engineering officer; and Lieut. (jg.) Antonio Dominguez, supply and mess officer.

Others in the program were Commander Douglas Chamberlain, Naval Station executive officer, and the Rev. Father J. J. Murphy, O.M.I., of the Seattle Catholic Seamen's Club, who gave the invocation.

The R.P.S. ZAMBALES, a coastal minesweeper, is the first of two vessels to be transferred to the Republic of the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. It has an over-all length of 144 feet, has a 27-foot beam, an 8 1/2-foot draft, a wooden hull, and normal displacement of 340 tons. The present complement is five officers and forty-six enlisted men.

The other ship to be given to the Philippines will be commissioned here on April 23rd.

Following the commissioning, a cocktail party was held at the Officers' Club. It was attended by officers of the U.S. Navy, civic leaders and prominent members of the Filipino community. Vice Consul and Mrs. I. R. Cabalit and some of his staff personnel were also present.

At the cocktail party, Capt. Alcaraz was presented with a book by Mrs. Arthur Dunn, chairwoman of the Seattle Hospitality Committee for visiting Navies.