Roberto Magat was born on September 9, 1930 in the Philippians. He and his family lived in the central part of
the country. He was the youngest out of seven children, including two brothers and four sisters. He, and his brothers
and sisters went to school like other children would.
Roberto Magat was a young child when the war started in his country. He didn’t lead a normal childhood because
he always had to be extremely careful. His family life during the war was difficult. One time when the Japanese raided his neighborhood, the males were put in concentration
camps. He was not included because he was too young. His father was taken though, and spent two months there because he was suspected of being a member of the
resistance movement, even though he wasn’t.
There always had to be a safe place to hide, whether it was in the basement or in another place, because when the Japanese raided neighborhoods, they would go right into
homes. The Japanese would sometimes make you bow to them. If you didn’t they would slap you. Near his town a plane was shot down, which Roberto Magat remembers.
He personally helped win the war because he would give messages to the Allies about the Japanese, which was extremely dangerous and courageous. During the war he, and
his siblings continued their studies. Roberto Magat was 14 when the war ended. After the war his family helped clean up the destruction. He also immigrated to the
United States. He fought in the Vietnam War.
Roberto Magat was a brave young child, but when he was growing up he had to deal with many problems around him. Roberto Magat believes talking to people who lived
during World War II is a great learning experience. He also believed that the war was meaningless. Today, younger generations often forget the sacrifices that people made
just to make this world a better, and safer place.