美国国家公共电台 NPR My Grandfather, A Killer

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Sometimes, families harbor the deepest of secrets. WEEKEND EDITION producer Denise Guerra recently uncovered a murder mystery among her relatives she'd never known about. And in pursuing her investigation¹, she'd learned about her family's long and complicated history with the United States. Here's Denise.

DENISE GUERRA, BYLINE³: One day a few years ago, I was driving through downtown Los Angeles with my dad, Manolo Guerra. He points to a building and says...

MANOLO GUERRA: Did you know that my dad killed somebody in that place?

D GUERRA: I almost missed the moment. I remember my response. Wait, what? It shocked me. I'd heard stories of my grandfather, Vicente Guerra. We called him Lolo, which means grandfather in Tagalog, a language of the Philippines. But I'd never even heard anything about Lolo coming to America, much less that he killed someone.

M GUERRA: I remember that time you don't believe me.

D GUERRA: This is the immigrant story I knew. My father came here from the Philippines in the 1980s to give his family a better life. It was the quintessential American dream, or so I thought. All my father knew was that Lolo had been in a fight with some locals in Los Angeles.

M GUERRA: According to my dad, he was going in a restaurant. He was eating. He went inside the restroom, and two guys slit⁴ his neck.

D GUERRA: He survived, but Lolo never let it go. Two years later, he's cruising out with his friends and he sees the men who tried to murder him.

M GUERRA: And right then and there, my dad said, stop. I'm going to shoot them. And he has a driver, one of his friends. He said, don't stop the engine. When you hear a shot, just go, and I will run, and I will try to catch you, but don't make it too fast.

D GUERRA: Lolo was caught and sent to prison. That was it. That was the story.

M GUERRA: I said, if you don't believe me, why don't you do some research?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

D GUERRA: It was a lot to take in. I wanted evidence, so I went looking through old newspapers, went through state and national archives, and there I found his mug shot. He was a handsome man, 24 years old in a suit with slick black hair. The charge - second-degree murder. His sentence - five years to life in prison. I found another clue, a newspaper headline - "Oriental Killed, One Shot, In Love Feud⁵." There was Lolo's name and the name of the man he killed, a Filipino named Joseph Retotar. And that love feud, it was over an American woman. Who was she? Her name could be in a case file. On a muggy⁶ day, I went to the Los Angeles County Hall of Records looking for it. But when the archivist took the microfilm out of its box, it fell apart.

I kept looking. I wanted to understand what Lolo faced when he came to America in the 1930s. I found history books about young Filipino men at that time. I tried to imagine them stepping foot off steamships⁷ into a new world.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

D GUERRA: America offered poor men like Lolo an opportunity to start over, and it was easy to immigrate⁸.

M GUERRA: During that time, the Philippines are still part of the United States.

D GUERRA: They were field hands and domestic workers. Lolo's occupation in his prison records listed him as a houseboy. It was a job with long hours and low pay for rich families. These men were known as America's little brown brothers.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

D GUERRA: But when work was over, these men took on a new persona. If you look at a photograph of Filipinos in the 1930s, you would notice the fedoras, pressed suits and shiny, wingtip shoes. It was a chance to feel respectable and to impress the women working at the local dance halls.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEN CENTS A DANCE")

RUTH ETTING: (Singing) All that you need is a ticket. Come on, big boy, 10 cents a dance.

D GUERRA: I traced a popular dance hall where Filipinos hung out in downtown Los Angeles. One was near city hall where the murder took place. It's what happened there that would set the course of Lolo's life. After, Lolo was sent to San Quentin.

M GUERRA: He stayed, I think, about seven years.

D GUERRA: There's a handwritten note in the prison records. It's hard to read, but it says repat paroled May 5, 1939. Repat could be a reference to the government's attempt to repatriate⁹ Filipinos back to the islands. White workers were angry that they were taking jobs, so politicians responded. It was also convenient timing¹⁰ according to my dad's cousin, my tita Letty Francisco. The U.S. offered Lolo parole but on one condition.

LETTY FRANCISCO: They were asked, the prisoners, the Filipinos, who want to go home but they have to join the army then because we lacked soldiers then.

D GUERRA: In 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and invaded the Philippines. Lolo by then had returned to his childhood home, Ibaan. There, he became a second lieutenant¹¹ in the guerrilla army that was fighting alongside the U.S.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) These are guerrillas. Don't let the clothes fool you. Men like these kept the war going in the Philippines.

D GUERRA: Lolo even got a nickname. Instead of Vincente Guerra, they called him Vicente Bakal.

FRANCISCO: Bakal is iron.

D GUERRA: Yeah, iron. Lolo was tough as steel. My dad said Lolo bragged¹² about killing¹³ the Japanese invaders¹⁴.

M GUERRA: He cannot remember how many Japanese they killed, but there is one story here that is very vivid.

D GUERRA: Lolo was in charge of tracking and killing Filipino traitors¹⁵ who leaked secrets to the Japanese. One time, they were tasked with killing a woman. They couldn't use a gun because it would make a sound, so they used the piece of wood.

M GUERRA: They kept hitting her and hitting her. She won't die. She's still breathing. So what they did is they just dig a hole. But when they put her there, she's still alive. That's why he said, you know, after that, I asked my boss, transfer me to something. I really cannot take it.

D GUERRA: When I think back on the story, it makes me angry, the fact that he killed a woman so brutally¹⁶, even in the service of his country. But the more I research Lolo, I can't help but see that America seemed to encourage the worst in him. What if he never left the Philippines in the first place? He would never have committed the murder and sent to prison or fought in the war. And then there was Ted² Lewin. He was an American who built some of the biggest casinos in Manila. After the war, Dad said Lewin hired Lolo as his enforcer.

M GUERRA: When they found out something in the casino that you are cheating, they will beat the hell out of them.

D GUERRA: Lolo became a top boss at Lewin's casino. He was feared and respected and eventually owned his own businesses, taxis and distilleries. And this success gave my dad the opportunity to go to college in the Philippines. After graduating, Dad tried to build a business, but he went into debt, and he owed people money. They came after him. He found his only way out was in America. And it would come full circle. Dad actually got his citizenship¹⁷ with the help of Lolo's war service. From there, he started from scratch in the U.S., hustled¹⁸ and worked hard. He got a job in manufacturing and built my family a middle-class life. He's retired¹⁹ now. He never went back to the Philippines, even for Lolo's funeral.

M GUERRA: When I die, I already bought our family plot because most people, when they die, they go home, but this is my home.

D GUERRA: When I think about Lolo's story, the murder, the war, his thuggery, my biggest question is whether he was a monster. Despite Lolo's violence, Dad believes he was a good guy. I'm not so sure, but the blood he shed is part of my family story. It's part of America's. Denise Guerra, NPR News.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And you can check out more of this wonderful story, along with family photos, at npr.org.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 slit   

n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂

参考例句：

• The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
• He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

5 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

6 muggy   

adj.闷热的；adv.（天气）闷热而潮湿地；n.（天气）闷热而潮湿

参考例句：

• We may expect muggy weather when the rainy season begins.雨季开始时，我们预料有闷热的天气。
• It was muggy and overcast.天气闷热潮湿，而且天色阴沉。

7 steamships   

n.汽船，大轮船( steamship的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Berths on steamships can be booked a long while in advance. 轮船上的床位可以提前多日预订。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The sailing ships were superseded by the steamships. 帆船已被汽船所取代。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 immigrate   

v.（从外国）移来，移居入境

参考例句：

• 10,000 people are expected to immigrate in the next two years.接下来的两年里预计有10，000人会移民至此。
• Only few plants can immigrate to the island.只有很少的植物能够移植到这座岛上。

9 repatriate   

v.遣返；返回；n.被遣返回国者

参考例句：

• The government safely repatriates victims.政府安全遣返了受害者。
• In this part,you need to formulate in detail repatriate the plan.在这一部分，你需要制定详细的归国计划。

10 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

11 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

12 bragged   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He bragged to his friends about the crime. 他向朋友炫耀他的罪行。
• Mary bragged that she could run faster than Jack. 玛丽夸口说她比杰克跑得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

15 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

16 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

17 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

18 hustled   

催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
• The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。

19 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。