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                                             Hispanic America USA, Inc.
                                                        a Non-Profit Organization providing an overview of
                     Contributions of Hispanics &  Spanish Speaking America - World and United States History
                                                               Copyright © 1996-97 all rights reserved

                                                                        

WWII Filipino Veterans

by Mr. Ladia

Mr Ladia requests that anyone wishing to contact him send him a FAX at (310) 699-1112.

(The following is the text of his article as printed in "The Stars and Stripes".)

Some 50 years after the infamous "rider" in the Recission Act of 1946, President Clinton became the first president of the United States to issue a proclamation honoring Filipino veterans for their valiant military service in the U.S. armed forces during WWII. Considering, however, that it was the "rider" that dishonored and deprived them of their right benefits or privileges as veterans, could the stirring words of the presidential proclamation restore their dignity and honor? Our answer is no.

What then is the proclamation for? It is consuel de bobo - consolation of a fool.

No wonder The Stars and Stripes in its editorial dated 28 Oct., 1996, made this comment: "The president's proclamation echos the sentiments of every American veteran of the Philippines with whom we have spoken over the years, but how can we praise them for their services to this country, while turning our backs on their needs as aging veterans who fought for America during the greatest war the world has ever known?"

The 104th Congress did not act on our equity bills (H.R. 1136 and S. 55), which would meet "our needs as aging veterans who fought for America during the greatest war the world has ever known," but approved separate resolutions "to recognize and honor Filipino World War II veterans for their defense of democratic ideals and their important contribution to the outcome of World War II."

Can these resolutions meet our needs as aging veterans, none of whom "in 15 years...will be left alive?" Again, our answer is no.

The Filipino Veterans' case is not a political issue. Rather, it is the keeping of a promise by none other than President Roosevelt himself, who called these aging veterans, when they were in the prime of life, to fight America's war against Japan.

We still remember President Bush's statement in 1989, during President Aquino's state visit, when he said, "Great nation's, like great men, must keep their word. When America says something, America means it. Whether it is a treaty or agreement, or a vow made on marble steps."

The promise is long overdue, but America is dilly-dallying with congressional resolutions and a proclamation that cannot meet our needs as aging veterans.

It is a matter of honor and integrity that America must maintain her good name as the bastion of freedom and integrity before the eyes of the world! And it is also a question of fairness because, if the United States granted rights, benefits or privileges to the 116,000 aliens who fought with us during the war, why deny the same rights, benefits or privileges to the Filipinos who were American nationals before the war, during the war and several months after the war?

Also, the Filipinos were still fighting the War for America when the GI Bill of Rights was passed in 1944 by the U.S. Congress; and yet, the "rider" in the Recission Act of 1946 excluded them from rights, benefits or privileges thereof which are for all veterans irrespective of their race, color, or nationality.

On the other hand, there are positive effects of the presidential proclamation and congressional resolutions. First, they have aroused national attention and awareness that America has an obligation to these aging veterans.

Second, they have corrected the wrong impression of many Americans, including some legislators, that Filipinos' participation in the war was only in defense of their island nation, not in the furtherance of the all-out effort to defeat Japan.

The text of the proclamation is clear enough:

"During the dark days of World War II, nearly 100,000 soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army provided a ray of hope in the Pacific as they fought along side of the United States and Allied forces for four long years to defend and reclaim the Philippine Islands from Japanese aggression. Thousands more Filipinos joined the U.S. Armed Forces immediately after the war and served occupational duty throughout the Pacific Theater.

"For their extraordinary sacrifices in defense of democracy and liberty, we owe them our undying gratitude. Their guerrilla activities slowed down the Japanese takeover of the Western Pacific region and allowed U.S. forces the time needed to build and prepare for the Allied counterattack on Japan. Filipino troops fought side-by-side with U.S. forces to secure their island nation as the strategic base from which the final effort to defeat Japan was launched."

Third, they have corrected, once and for all, the other wrong impression among many Americans, including some legislators, that these aging veterans were not veterans of the U.S. Army.

No, sir. We were called into the service of the United States armed forces by President Roosevelt on 26 July, 1941; and we were released by his successor, President Truman, on 30 June, 1946.

We are veterans of the U.S. Army and we should be treated as such, but the 79th Congress did not treat us so. With the presidential proclamation and congressional resolution, the reasoning of that Congress which inserted the "rider" in the Recission Act of 1946 becomes patently wrong.

The 79th Congress justified the "rider" by saying that, "while the Commonwealth Army served in the U.S. Armed Forces, they are not a part thereof: and so, their military service is deemed not active service in the military and naval forces of the United States and they are not entitled to rights, benefits, or privileges under any law of the United States, except for those who died or were disabled."

This kind of reasoning made me look at this "rider" as the picture of a man who goes to a restaurant, orders food, eats and then tells the waiter, "I did not eat and I refuse to pay."

Any way you look at it, that is swindling, and the "rider" is "The Greatest Swindle of the Century."

Fourth, they have aroused the attention of The Stars and Stripes to say, "We urge the new Congress and the administration - whether Democrat or Republican - to look seriously into this injustice when the 105th Congress convenes."

After the proclamation, the newspaper's editorial said in effect that the Filipinos veterans' case is not a political issue, and it should concern all legislators irrespective of their party affiliation. It also said in effect that the president should certify the Filipino veterans equity legislation to the Congress and that Congress should make it a priority.

For all this, we can nevertheless look at the president's proclamation as a significant step toward achieving our goal to have the Filipino veterans equity legislation soon passed by the U.S. Congress, and for the president of the United States to approve the same.

In the meantime, we are monitoring senators and representatives who have understood our plight and are sympathetic to our cause to reintroduce our legislation in the 105th Congress. We are even confident that the president will certify it to congress and that the latter will make it a priority.