Recognizing Filipino WWII veterans’ service

This year marks another momentous exercise in our democracy as millions of Americans prepare to cast their ballots for the next leader of our great nation.

As we eagerly observe and await the results of this outpouring of freedom and liberty, it is important for our nation to recall the sacrifices of all those who have made it possible for the United States and the rest of the free world to exercise the democratic rights we all enjoy today.

Included among those heroes were nearly a half-million brave men who answered the call made by their commander in chief over 60 years ago, calling them to fight under the banner and flag of our U.S. armed forces, in defense of freedom in the Far East.

Those dedicated veterans, now regrettably forgotten by the country they proudly served, are the Filipino veterans of World War II.

In 1941, while the Philippines was still a U.S. territory and its people considered U.S. nationals, more than 200,000 members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army were mobilized into the service of the U.S. armed forces in the Far East under a military order issued by President Franklin Roosevelt. They readily joined American forces in fighting tyranny in such hallowed grounds as the Bataan Death March and Corregidor. Several hundred thousand more joined the guerilla units under American officers in fighting the Japanese.

Millions of Americans today owe their lives to the sacrifices made by these Filipino veterans, whose efforts sustained the Allied cause, eventually leading to victory for the defenders of democracy.

Following the end of World War II, President Harry Truman declared that it was a moral obligation of our nation to look after the welfare of the Filipino veterans. However, the United States Congress, in the 1946 Rescission Act, stripped away their rights to benefits as U.S. veterans, despite the support of Gen. Omar Bradley, the U.S. administrator for Veterans Affairs, who stated “the service of the Filipino Commonwealth Army in the U.S. armed forces during WWII has met the statutory definition of a U.S. veteran.”

In the following 60 years, only some 18,000 of those dedicated Filipino veterans have survived, still patiently awaiting recognition from the nation whose flag they proudly served.

Significantly, there are some 6,000 American veterans currently living in the Philippines who continue to receive their full veterans’ entitlements from our government, many of whom were comrades-in-arms with the WWII Filipino veterans who, ironically, are not legally classified in the same category as our American veterans, despite having fought together under the same flag and command.

Gratefully, there are some friends of the Filipino veterans in the Congress who have taken up the Filipinos’ cause, and who are considering legislation to correct this inequity.

 Both the Veterans’ Affairs committees in the House and Senate have each reported out bills providing the Filipino veterans their due recognition and benefits.

Nevertheless, there are still some in the Congress opposing passage of this legislation and who continue to separate U.S. veterans from Filipino veterans because they no longer consider them citizens or residents of our nation, despite the fact that race, nationality and domicile did not divide our heroes 60 years ago and should not divide them today.

Our rapidly aging Filipino veterans courageously fought as U.S. nationals in World War II, and regrettably, soon there will be none left. It is now long overdue for our Congress to redress this historic inequity in the full spirit of fairness and justice, which has made our nation the leading democracy in the world.

Former Rep. Gilman (R-N.Y.) is CEO of The Gilman Group, which lobbies on behalf of the Filipino veterans’ cause. He was chairman of the House International Relations Committee and an Air Force veteran in World War II.