to Americans was disproportionately high: approximately 5,000–10,000 Filipino and 600–650 American prisoners of war died on the Bataan Death March. Calugas remained a prisoner at Camp O'Donnell until January 1943, when he was released to work for the Japanese. Post POW release His release placed him as a laborer in a Japanese rice mill, and while assigned there he secretly joined a guerrilla unit, #227 Old Bronco. As an officer of the guerrilla unit, he participated in the attack on the Japanese garrison at Karangalan. His unit fought in the continued campaign against the Japanese, which eventually led to the liberation of the Philippines. After the liberation of the Philippines in 1945, he finally received the Medal of Honor for which he had been approved at the beginning of the war. The Medal was presented to him by General of the Army General George Marshall. Calugas subsequently accepted a direct commission in the United States Army, and was later assigned to the 44th Infantry Regiment, which was assigned with the occupation of Okinawa. After the unit was disbanded in 1947, he was assigned to the Ryuku Command, on the Ryukyu Islands in the South China Sea, where he remained until 1953. He was later assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington. Citizenship Although he had been born in a U.S. territory, and had fought in the United States' Army, Calugas technically was not a citizen. Following the Spanish–American War in 1898, Philippine residents were classified as U.S. nationals. The 1934 Tydings–McDuffie Act, or Philippine Independence Act, reclassified Filipinos as aliens, and set a quota of 50 immigrants per year to the United States, with the exception of those who joined the U.S. Navy, but not the U.S. Army. While serving in Okinawa, Calugas completed the process of becoming a naturalized United States citizen. Retirement and post military life Calugas eventually retired from the army with the rank of Captain and in 1957 he moved to Tacoma, Washington with his family. After retiring from the army he earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Puget Sound in 1961 and worked for the Boeing Corporation. In addition to furthering his education and starting a new career, he was involved in several veterans groups within the Seattle and Tacoma area. He died in Tacoma on January 18, 1998, at age 90, and is buried at Mountain View Memorial Park in Tacoma, Washington.