Rudy E. Valdez
My father was born on October 29, 1910 in the province of Pangasinan. He was the eldest of eleven children. He was forced to leave home at sixteen because his family could no longer support him. He decided to come to America in the 1920s to find his fortune.
He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. After the war ended, he was a steward on the U.S. Army transport ship named the General Haan. The General Haan ferried soldiers and their families to bases within the Pacific theater or back to the United States. It was during the summer of 1947, that my father received the letter from my mother wanting to be pen pals.