Steve and Marcia Kwiecinski - History advocates; American retirees living on Corregidor

Leaving a life they have known for years and selling virtually everything they own, Steve and Marcia Kwiecinski moved to the island of Corregidor from the United States to answer a calling. 

Steve’s father served in the Philippines during the Second World War and endured 39 months of suffering as a POW.

“I struggle mightily to be like him,” Steve said.  “But considering what he went through, I’m pretty sure that I could not have survived the treatment that he received for 39 months from the Japanese.”

“He once said that he would not take a million dollars to relive one of those 1200+ days of torture, beating, starvation, and humiliation. I think I would have given up, although I’d like to think that somehow I’d make it.”

Today, he and Marcia embark on a mission to uplift the situation of thousands of Filipino and American WWII veterans, and preserve the rich history of the island and other historical landmarks in the country.  The couple maintains a blog to document their experience and tell their story, which has been gradually gathering a following since its inception. 

This month of October, they celebrate their first year living on “The Rock”.  Read on and know more about Steve and Marcia Kwiecinski, married for 36 years, and the life they are leading as retirees with a greater purpose.

Want to subscribe to their newsletter?  You can send a request to steveontherock or marciaontherock(at)gmail(dot)com.

Jay-R Patron:  Will you give us a brief background of your professional experience?
 
Steve: My college degrees are in physics and English. I initially used these to obtain a job as a technical writer for a major computer company. Over time, I left writing to become a computer programmer. All together, I worked in the computer industry from 1977 to 2008, for a total of 31 years.
 
Marcia: For the first 25 years following our marriage in 1973, I was full-time wife and Mom, with an occasional part-time job.  In 1998 I received my degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant, and worked in that capacity until we retired to the Philippines.
 
Jay-R Patron:  What do you do currently?
 
Steve: I am in the final stages of editing a book that is a combination of my father’s war experiences and my travels to the Philippines to get to know him better after his death. It will be called, We Managed to Survive. For the second and third week of October, I will be the host for 15 Americans who will be remembering the 65th anniversary of the return of MacArthur to the Philippines. We will visit the historic sites in Manila, Corregidor and Bataan, the prison camps known as O’Donnell and Cabanatuan, then travel to Lingayen Gulf and Baguio. Of course, we will finish up in Leyte where MacArthur stepped ashore.
 
On a normal day we will get out and either take a walk or explore in the jungle. When it rains, we read. We also write a weekly newsletter letting people know what is going on here or wherever we happen to be. When the need arises, I will give tours of the island. We also try to answer all of our emails, despite very slow internet on the island.
 
Marcia: As retirees, we do not have paying jobs.  In addition to Steve’s answer, I see my role here as editing support for him, helping to ready the book for publication.  I also care for our home, doing our cooking, cleaning, and laundry.
 
Jay-R Patron:  What was the impetus of your moving to Corregidor?
 
Steve: I wanted to honor my father and his fellow soldiers, both American and Filipino, who fought and in some cases died to preserve their freedoms from the Japanese aggressors.
 
Marcia: Steve!  Having known Steve’s father, it has become very important to me that this group of veterans and POWs be honored and remembered.  The proposal to move to Corregidor came at a very opportune time, when Steve was in recovery from a traumatic brain injury.  We realized that the stresses from trying to return to his full-time job were too much for him, but we were not in a position to retire in the US.  The invitation from CFI (Corregidor Foundation Inc.) gave us the chance to retire, for Steve to indulge his passion for Corregidor, and to focus on helping the foundation preserve the island as a WW II memorial.
 
Jay-R Patron:  It has been almost a year since you moved to “The Rock”. How has the last 12 months been?
 
Steve: Before this, we were both employed full time, so we have had to adjust to retirement, which is a lot slower paced. We are learning to live in a culture that is quite different from our own, which means that I especially will inadvertently do or say something that makes perfect sense to me but is offensive to Filipinos.
 
I am a type-A personality, meaning among other things that when I see something that, in my opinion, needs to be done, I want to see it done now. Filipinos for the most part take a much simpler and slower approach to things. For example, take the term “Filipino time.” I have run into a number of businessmen (and women) who have spent time abroad. They often say upon returning that this “Filipino time” approach drives them nuts. So imagine how it is for me, who always lived by a strict clock.
 
We are getting used being in conversations where we have to accept the fact that we are not going to understand everything that is being said. Most people on the island are much more comfortable speaking Tagalog, Ilonggo, or Ilocano than they are English. We are picking up some Tagalog but at our age, it’s not our ambition to be fluent. We would like to be able to understand conversations better than we currently can, but also know we’ll never get the grammar down perfectly no matter how long we are here. However, we are seeing that the locals who spend a lot of time with us are improving their English, which we feel can only help them in the long run.
 
We quickly got accustomed to the staples of fish and rice that are even more commonly eaten than hamburgers and French fries back home, plus foods such as adobo, tinola, and pancit.
 
Marcia: It has been an interesting year, setting up a new home after selling virtually everything we owned in the states.  We tried to guess what things we might want that would be unavailable here, and we had to laugh at some of our wrong guesses.  The biggest difficulty for me is finding allergen-free laundry and body care products.  Living on a small island is very different than living in the Midwestern US, or in Manila.  We order food and fuel from Bataan, paying the two banceros who make daily trips across the bay.  Sometimes we ride with one of them, and then take a bus to Balanga to shop at a pharmacy, hardware store, market, or supermarket.
 
We are quite adaptable, willing and happy to live simply.  I have enjoyed learning cooking ideas from the Filipinos on the island.  Many of them are surprised that I know how to cook, thinking that all Americans are so rich that such work is only done by hired helpers.  We have tried to explain that the cost of living in the US is much higher than here, and our wages that sound like a fortune to a Filipino were quickly ‘gobbled up’ by mortgage, utilities, groceries, transportation costs, etc.  The reality is that we lived simply there as well.
 
Jay-R Patron:  What is a normal day on the island to you like? Are there any dull moments?
 
Steve: During rainy season, it is easy to get bored if you don’t have a good book to read or puzzles to work. I have lots of videos that I watch on my computer, especially at night, since I need a lot of light to read and that’s easier than trying to read in bed. We do not have a radio or TV, do not see a newspaper, and only occasionally go to a news site on the internet. We heard a rumor that a black man was elected President of the United States last year – just kidding – but really, we are almost entirely out of touch with the “real world” as far as news goes.
 
We choose not to be bored.
 
Marcia: We usually are out of bed by 6 A.M., waking to the songs of various birds and sometimes monkey chatter.  We straighten up the house and our dirty kitchen area, I start laundry some mornings, and we have a light breakfast.  Some mornings we walk from our Middleside house up the hill and around the Topside road loop back to our house, a 45-minute outing.  Other days we may just relax, as Steve described.  We usually access the internet early in the day to download our email, and use an off-line system to answer the mail.  We may go online again to send replies, or just wait until the next morning.
 
Since returning to the island, after spending July and August in the US, we have begun intensive work on Steve’s book.  Almost every day includes several hours of editing, revising, and rearranging.  We can usually sit outside, in our wonderful dirty kitchen area, and work on our laptops there.  If it’s too rainy, especially with wind, we are forced indoors, which is not as enjoyable for us.
 
Jay-R Patron:  Will you tell us about your most memorable experience in Corregidor thus far?
 
Steve: There are so many. However, one that really stands out is our first encounter with a typhoon. It can really rain here. More often than not, where we are from in the northern United States, if you are wet, you are cold. Here, that usually doesn’t happen except when we take showers on cooler days, since we have no way to warm our shower water. But here it can be raining and we can take a walk and stay warm, which I find a real nice change.
 
Marcia: My most memorable moment was in October, the day we first saw the house CFI made available for us.  We had directed the renovation of the house from Michigan, after discussing it with foundation staff the previous April, but we did not actually see the work being done.  Walls were moved, flooring and ceiling replaced, the bathroom (CR) totally redone, and all was painted.  I was so happy, almost speechless, to see how beautifully it turned out. 
 
Jay-R Patron:  How different is life in the island compared to the United States or other places that you have lived in?
 
Steve: Very different. As I have already stated, the culture is especially different. The food we got used to right away, but I doubt that we will ever get used to the traffic in Manila or seeing the places where the poorest people live.
 
Marcia: One of the biggest differences is the tropical weather.  We both grew up in Minnesota, and lived in Michigan for about 30 years.  There is no snow on Corregidor, and we do NOT miss it!
 
Jay-R Patron:  How was childhood to you like?
 
Steve: My father and mother were two of the sanest, nicest, people that you would ever meet. I grew up in what I like to call a “Leave it to Beaver” family. That was a TV show where the father went to work and the mother stayed home and was the maid, laundry woman, and cook all in one. Everything that my parents did was for us kids, and they sacrificed a lot of us. For example, they somehow managed to pay to send me to a private Catholic boarding school where I received a top-notch high school education.
 
Marcia: I grew up as the 9th child in a family with 12 children, with parents who lived their Catholic faith daily.  My father owned a plumbing company, and worked hard to build a reputation as a good, honest, reliable businessman.  Mom and Dad taught us kids to value hard work, too.  I always had someone to play with, and we also had horses we could ride frequently.  We all helped around the house, and worked to harvest hay for our horses as well as extra to sell.  Education was very important in our home, and we had many books to read.
 
Jay-R Patron:  What has been your most memorable childhood experience?
 
Steve: All of the times that my father took me fishing or baseball games, or just played catch with me in the yard.
 
Marcia: When I was 6 years old, my sister who was one year younger died.  She had suffered problems since birth, but it was still devastating to my parents.  Seeing their grief had a big impact on me.
 
Jay-R Patron:  How important is family to you?
 
Steve: Very important, of course, but we take a different approach than a lot of “close” families. Because Marcia and I both went to boarding school at age 14, I feel that we grew up to be more independent than otherwise. So we tried to instill independence in our children, letting them know that although we loved them, they were each their own person and that one day they would have to “fly on their own.” I think this enabled us to make the move that we did, since our children are not dependent on us.
 
Marcia: I miss living close to our adult children and our grandchildren, as well as my brothers and sisters.  As Steve said, we both attended boarding schools for high school, although I had a sister a grade ahead of me, so she and I were together three of those years.  It is wonderful when we can all be together, and we use email now to stay in touch as best we can.
 
Jay-R Patron:  (To Steve) What is the most important lesson that you have learned from your father?
 
Steve: My father was a man of faith, and the most honest of men. I struggle mightily to be like him. But considering what he went through, I’m pretty sure that I could not have survived the treatment that he received for 39 months from the Japanese. He once said that he would not take a million dollars to relive one of those 1200+ days of torture, beating, starvation, and humiliation. I think I would have given up, although I’d like to think that somehow I’d make it.
 
Jay-R Patron:  How about faith?  Where do you place faith in everything that you do? What role does it play in your life?
 
Steve: We both grew up in ardent Catholic families. My father had the faith of the Pope, but he was also a very private person about his faith. I am a believer, but I know that I have a long way to go to live the life that God would like me to live. Like my father I am pretty private about my faith, but will discuss it if questioned.
 
Marcia: Faith is like breath to me, permeating everything I do, everything I am.  I cannot describe it as a part of my life, it IS my life.  All of the rest comes from that essence.  Many people talk about the moment they came to know God, or Jesus.  I cannot remember NOT knowing God.
 
Jay-R Patron:  What significance do you see in what you do, in protecting the rich history of Corregidor and telling the world about the island?
 
Steve: Our hope is that, now that the veterans are dying, the next generation will still remember the sacrifices they made and pay them the respect they deserve. Corregidor (and Bataan, of course) represent some of the biggest sacrifices that any soldier has been called to make. They had little food, and ammunition that was so old most of it was worthless. They had promises from a government that did not intend to keep them. Yet they held out long enough that Japan was not able to take Australia.  If they had, it would probably have meant the Japan would have won the war in the Pacific. America quite likely would have sued for peace in hopes of getting its POWs back, and then fought Hitler in Europe, which was its main objective all along. Not enough is made of this in most history books, by the way, but MacArthur certainly believed it.
 
Marcia: I am a firm believer in the adage, “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.”  It scares me how few pay attention to those who are arming themselves today, waiting for the moment when they can attack those who no longer have the will to resist.  The stories of these unexceptional men who showed highly exceptional courage, valor, and determination must not be forgotten.  Are there any like them today?
 
Jay-R Patron:  What other places in the Philippines have you been to?
 
Steve and Marcia: We have spent some time in Metro Manila, especially Makati. We are now quite familiar with Bataan, Subic Bay, the old Clark Air Force Base, and the prison camps in Capas, Tarlac, and Cabanatuan.
 
Jay-R Patron:  How would you compare Corregidor to other places in the country?
 
Steve: Quiet and peaceful compared to Manila. Quite similar as far as the standard of living for most people in the provinces.
 
Marcia: I would add “clean and unpolluted” to Steve’s answer.  Its status as a war memorial makes it very different, too, in that there are no permanent residents on the island, no property ownership.
 
Jay-R Patron:  What has been your most challenging experience and how did you overcome it?
 
Steve: Learning to keep my mouth shut, which Marcia probably thinks I have yet to overcome.
 
Marcia: I would say learning to listen to what is said, and what is not said; in other words, being more sensitive to nuance and body language.  I agree with Steve that this is easier for me, maybe in part from my large-family childhood.
 
Jay-R Patron:  What would you consider as your greatest achievement so far?
 
Steve: We have made many people aware of Corregidor through our newsletter/blog. Quite a few are promising to come and see us here some day, and we look forward to each visitor.
 
Marcia: We were influential in adding the house sites of General MacArthur, President Quezon, and High Commissioner Sayre to the places tourists see when they are here.  They had been covered by jungle growth, and are cleared now.
 
Jay-R Patron:  If there was one message that you would like to give to our readers, what would that message be?
 
Steve: If it was not for the sacrifices of the men who fought so gallantly here in the Philippines, either you would be speaking Japanese or you never would have been born. Don’t get me wrong, I do not have bad feelings towards today’s Japanese, a few of whom have come to be good friends over the past several years since we started coming here. But the pre-war Japanese aggression, first against China, and then against the United States for instigating an embargo against them for those actions, was wrong. Their treatment of our prisoners was inhumane. Unfortunately many Japanese are completely in the dark about this to this day, since their school textbooks do not tell the story of WWII. Also, the American POWs such as my father have never received an official apology from the Japanese government nor been compensated for the slave labor they were forced to perform. This is unprecedented and unconscionable.
 
Marcia: On a more personal note, “Follow your dreams.”  Many of our friends and family thought we were a bit crazy – they may be right – to leave our home and jobs, and move halfway around the world like this.  We saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do something that was important, something that needed to be done, something we were in a position to do.
 
Jay-R Patron:  What plans do you have in the next 12 months, next five years?
 
Steve and Marcia: To keep doing what we’re doing. We hope to continue to live here and spread the word 10 months a year, spending each July and August, which are the rainiest months here, in the United States with our families.