Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:01 | As a young man in the post war Philippines, Salvador Sarmiento wanted desperately to join the US Navy so he could send money home to his family. He had just about given up when a chance encounter got him past the crowd and into the system. His first stop? The spud locker.
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Salvador Sarmiento fled with his family to the mountains when Japanese forces defeated the Americans and occupied the country. They managed to get by without much trouble until the tide of the war turned and survivors of a sunken Japanese ship showed up.
He was only a boy when he convinced two other boys to sneak into the Japanese airfield and steal two bombs. It was the Philippine occupation and Salvador Sarmiento briefly became number one on their wanted list. He needed the bombs, not for sabotage or resistance, but for something personal.
After serving as a steward on several ships, including an oiler in the frigid winds of the Korean coast, Salvador Sarmiento felt blessed to move into the disbursement office. He had his family with him during shore duty in Subic Bay and Long Beach.
He never went to basic training but he knew how to march from ROTC. It hardly mattered for Salvador Sarmiento because all Filipino sailors in the US Navy were stewards and cooks. After making his peace with seasickness by signing on to kitchen duty, he was there at the Bikini atomic test.
