1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army
Castner Village (Schofield Barracks)
Philippine Commonwealth Army
U.S.A.F.F.E
Guerrillas & New Philippine Scouts
HAWAII'S FILIPINO VETERANS
Captain Stanley Maghanoy Sabihon
From July through December 1944 Captain Stanley M. Sabihon commanded his nine-man B-17 crew in 51 missions over Europe, tallying 280 combat hours. Because of Sabihon's ability to safely bring his plane and crew back following these missions, one nine-man crew (#4381) dubbed Sabihon as "the best pilot in the business." Sabihon flew the B-17 "Aloha Mae," so named after his wife, Mamie Pablin, of Brodie II pineapple plantation camp (Wahiawa, Oahu).
Born on March 10, 1918, in Siguijor on the island of Siquijor (Philippines), Stanley Sabihon was raised on Bohol (Philippines) and in Haleiwa (Oahu, Hawaii). He attended Kawaialoa Primary School, Andrew E. Cox Intermediate School, Waialua High School and Saint Louis College (now Saint Louis School, class of 1939).
Sabihon was the first naturalized citizen from the Philippines to achieve an officer's rank in the U.S. Army Air Corps and the first Filipino pilot of a B-17 during WWII. He received two Distinguished Flying Cross awards, two Battle Stars, two Presidental Unit Citations and an air medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters.
After WWII Sabihon returned to Hawaii and started a "non-scheduled" airline called Rainbow Lines (incorporated as Sabihon Aviation, LTD). Within three years, however, the company was forced to close due to pressure -- governmental and public relations -- promoted by competing "scheduled" airlines.
Still an Army Air Force reserve officer, Sabihon returned to service during the Korean War as an aircraft commander with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS). He flew twenty-eight missions during the Korean War while stationed at Hickam Air Force Base (Honolulu). Sabihon died on September 14, 1981, in San Diego, California.
Biography Hope of Survival: The Sabihon Story by G. Pz. Petilos.
eFIL makes these materials on Capt. Stanley M. Sabihon available online through the generous assistance of the Sabihon family (Winona, Darrell, Gylene, Alison and Christine) and biographer G. Pz. Petilos.
301st Bombardment Group website: The 301st Bombardment Group Heavy was comprised of 4 bomb squadrons: the 32nd, 352nd, 353rd and 419th. Website honors the memory of the men who experienced World War II as members of the 301st Bombardment Group. Sabihon was assigned to the 352nd squadron.
The views and opinions contained in each oral history are solely those of the interviewee and interviewer and not necessarily those of eFIL, FAHSOH, FilCom, OMSS, HCH or the University of Hawaii.
eFIL Note: Materials on Stanley Sabihon are currently being processed. Additional materials and metadata on materials currently-made available will be forthcoming.
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