Mare Island turns back time – Times Herald Online

There’s nobody who knows more about Mare Island during World War II than those that had a hand in its day-to-day operations. This year, Mare Island’s Founders Day will celebrate those people’s lived experiences through historical reenactments.

Over the past four years, the Founder’s Day celebration, put on by the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation (MIHPF), has taken many forms. On Sept. 14, organizers for the event will take aspects from two previous popular events, their quarterly self-guided tours and their bus tours, and adapt them into a reenactment walking tour.

The celebration, which honors the founding of Mare Island on Sept. 18, 1854, will feature live re-enactors trained and researched in the history of the island specifically during World War II.

The tour and subsequent celebration is three hours long, with three important reenactment stops along the way. Visitors will stop at 116 and meet Wendy the Welder, who will discuss the important role of women on the Island as welders. They will also learn about the process of building ships from ship builders and at Dry Dock 1, they will hear the survivor’s tale of a sailor on USS Indianapolis.

Mare Island Reenactors practice for this year’s Founder’s Day celebration on Mare Island. (Courtesy of Interpreting History 5-1(c3) acting troupe)

Most of the actors are from the organization, Interpreting History, which adds to the experience, says MIHPF Board President Kent Fortner. “There’s just a whole other level of insight into what was happening at the island at the end of World War II, and I think it’s entertaining for the audience,” he says.

Having re-enactors tell the history of the island has been a longtime goal of Fortner, tracing back to his college days in Williamsburg, Va.

“This has sort of been in my blood since college, to a certain extent, so to run into the acting troupe and to be able to do this, I know how powerful and impactful this can be in teaching and sharing history,” he said.

The only re-enactor not with Interpreting History is Mel Orpilla, a longtime friend of Fortner, with a personal story to tell.

“My father worked at Mare Island until World War II,” says Orpilla. During World War II, his father joined the Navy but could not move past the position of steward because of his race, says Orpilla. After the war, he returned to work at Mare Island. “That’s a pretty typical story of a lot of Filipinos who worked at Mare Island,” he says.

From Left to Right: Shelly Monstone, Aurie Bradley, Kaz Fox and Michelle Atno-Hall portraying welders on Mare Island. (Courtesy of Interpreting History 5-1(c3) acting troupe)

Orpilla is not an actor, but when Fortner reached out to see if he would participate in the reenactment, he knew it could be an important opportunity to share the history of his family and the Filipino legacy on Mare Island.

“The Filipino contribution to Mare Island is one of the least talked about aspects of the island that had this massive impact, not just on the island, but on World War II,” says Fortner.

Orpilla has a family history on the island, but he also has dedicated time to researching and writing about the Filipino-American experience. He says he feels prepared to step into his father’s shoes for the reenactment.

That’s right, Orpilla is not only portraying a laborer on Mare Island during the war, but will be speaking to visitors as his own father, Nazario Orpilla. “I’m going to wear a jumpsuit and a hard hat and hopefully an ID card that has my dad’s name and picture on it,” says Orpilla.

Nazario Orpilla died in 2007 at the age of 101. Mel Orpilla says he knew his father well. “It’s going to be an easy stretch for me to embody him in this reenactment,” says Mel Orpilla, who hopes to honor his father’s legacy and the legacy of all Filipino workers on the Island during World War II.

“There’s so much pride there, that Mel’s got, in the Filipino experience and his family’s experience,” says Fortner. “I don’t think there’s anybody better in the world to tell this story than Mel.”

Limited in capacities, the Founders Day celebration will be smaller this year. In total, there are 150 tickets available for the event — about half of which have already been sold.

After the tour, which requires participants to walk about a quarter of a mile, visitors can meet once again with the re-enactors and take photos. Tickets will not be available the day of the event. Learn more and purchase tickets at mihpf.org