In the beginning...

I was born in Bugallon, Santiago, Isabela. My place of birth was now known as the town of Ramon, Isabela.

I never saw my father, Ignacio Tolentino Cristobal. I was only nine months old when he died during the 2nd World War. He was a soldier with the United States Army Forces of the Far East (USAFFE) and was killed in Isabela.

My only remembrance of my father was a sole picture of him which I found among the papers of my mother when she passed away.