Post History

Post History

Paul P. Busek Post 11447 (Subic Bay, Philippines; chartered 9/13/92) James Correll James Correll

VFW Post 11447 in Barrio Barretto, Olongapo, District VII, is named after Paul P. Busek -- (1905-90), a U.S Navy veteran who served his country honorably from 1922 to 1936 and again from 1939 to 1946. Busek was a merchant seaman between his Navy tours, and again after he retired in 1946.

He tried to join the Navy again when the Korean War broke out in 1950 but was rejected for being “too old.” Busek was born in Austria on November 11, 1905, the youngest of three sons. His parents immigrated to the U.S. when Busek was just two years old, settling in Everett, Washington. Everett today is one of the U.S. Navy’s newest and most modern port facilities, homeport to many ships of the Northwest fleet. But when Busek’s family arrived there in 1907 it was a small fishing village. Busek joined the U.S. Navy in 1922, at the age of 17. He served as a cook aboard several ships in the Pacific, along the way making his first port visit to the Philippines in 1923. Busek said later he never forgot the strong impression of that initial visit, and always felt it was love at first sight. He could not have known a fate was being shaped for him that included close ties to the Philippines that would last throughout his life, and beyond. Busek left the Navy in 1936, after 14 years of service. He then worked mostly as a merchant seaman for the next three years. But when clouds of war with Japan began darkening, he rejoined the Navy in 1939. During the Second World War he spent most of his time in the South Pacific, finally retiring in 1946 as a Chief Commissaryman, with 21 years of honorable service.

Busek was married three times; he had a son and daughter by his first two wives. His longest marriage was his second, to a Filipina named Catherine. It lasted from 1951 until Catherine died in the early 1980s. Busek lived in the U.S. during those years, returning to the Philippines after his wife died. In December 1987, at the age of 82, he married a third and last time, to Elsa Escarsa. Elsa survived her husband, and to this day is still warmly embraced by the American community in the Olongapo area. Until his late 70s, Busek remained busy with his hobbies and in community activities. Besides being an avid reader, he was a skilled amateur geologist, often seen roaming the hills around Subic Bay, searching for and finding jade, quartz, and other stones. He also became a talented lapidary, carving and finishing stones into delicate works of art he gave to friends. Although just a hobby, his lapidary creations were not baubles: they were art objects still treasured for their beauty.

Busek was a legendary figure among the Navy people who visited Subic: Americans and Filipinos alike greatly respected him for his involvement in community activities. There were no VFW Posts while he lived in the area but he was a member of the CPO Association, American Legion, and Fleet Reserve Association; he was also founder and first president of the Olongapo City Chapter of the Retired Uniform Military Personnel Association (RUMPA). In 1985, Busek was bestowed with honorary Filipino citizenship for his social contributions and his love for the Philippines.

Busek died on October 20, 1990, at the VA Hospital in Manila, just one month short of his 85th birthday. He is interred at Clark Cemetery in Angeles City. A good man who served his country and the Filipino community well, Paul P. Busek lives on in spirit in the name of VFW Post 11447, Subic Bay, Philippines.

Complied by Tom Elliott Yokohama Post 9467 For more information, please visit https://vfwpacific.org website. Complete history of VFW Post 11447 is located @ Post11447.pdf.