With fervor burning …
Victory at last for Filipino WWII veterans!
Victory at last for Filipino WWII veterans!
By Gus Mercado
With one bold and historic stroke of his pen, President Barack Obama corrected many decades of neglect and
humiliation for our dying Filipino WWII veterans. The multi-billion dollar economic stimulus bill to revive the ailing
U.S. economy includes a lump-sum $198 million appropriation for 18,000 surviving Filipino heroes of WWII in the
U.S. and in the Philippines, out of more than 200,000 Filipino soldiers who were conscripted to serve in the war,
most of whom have already died.
The approval of the bill by both houses of Congress and its eventual signing into law are historic in many
respects. It is the first major legislation signed by the first minority U.S. president; it was appropriately signed on
February 16th, Presidents’ Day; and for the first time after 60 years of delays and neglect, the U.S. government
officially recognized the services and sacrifices of our aging veterans in defense of the American flag and the
Filipino people during the dark days of the second World War. It is also the 63rd anniversary of the infamous 1946
Rescission Act that originally deprived our veterans of their rightful benefits and stripped them of their status as
U.S. veterans.
A brief historical perspective
During WWII, President Roosevelt called over 200,000 Filipino soldiers into service under the U.S. Armed
Forces of the Far East (USAFFE). Many more volunteered. Women and children joined the underground guerilla
With one bold and historic stroke of his pen, President Barack Obama corrected many decades of neglect and
humiliation for our dying Filipino WWII veterans. The multi-billion dollar economic stimulus bill to revive the ailing
U.S. economy includes a lump-sum $198 million appropriation for 18,000 surviving Filipino heroes of WWII in the
U.S. and in the Philippines, out of more than 200,000 Filipino soldiers who were conscripted to serve in the war,
most of whom have already died.
The approval of the bill by both houses of Congress and its eventual signing into law are historic in many
respects. It is the first major legislation signed by the first minority U.S. president; it was appropriately signed on
February 16th, Presidents’ Day; and for the first time after 60 years of delays and neglect, the U.S. government
officially recognized the services and sacrifices of our aging veterans in defense of the American flag and the
Filipino people during the dark days of the second World War. It is also the 63rd anniversary of the infamous 1946
Rescission Act that originally deprived our veterans of their rightful benefits and stripped them of their status as
U.S. veterans.
A brief historical perspective
During WWII, President Roosevelt called over 200,000 Filipino soldiers into service under the U.S. Armed
Forces of the Far East (USAFFE). Many more volunteered. Women and children joined the underground guerilla
movement. The entire Filipino nation made the war a living hell for the occupying
Japanese forces. When Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered the combined American and
Filipino forces to stand strong and defend the Philippines at all costs, that’s exactly
what they did. According to military historians, if the gallant defenders of Bataan and
Corregidor did not hold on for so long while the Allied forces were regrouping in
Australia, the war might have had a different outcome. The freedoms that we now enjoy
and sometimes take for granted, might have been lost in the Pacific battlefields if not for
the unusual bravery of the Filipinos. When it was all over, more than one million Filipino
lives had been lost in the brutal war. Thousands died in the infamous Bataan death
march.
On February 18, 1946, Congress passed a Rescission Act that revoked these
soldiers’ status as U.S. veterans. Of the Filipino soldiers originally called to serve, only
18,000 are alive today. This bill recognizes these veterans’ military service as U.S.
veterans, and additionally provides one-time payments of $15,000 to Filipino American
veterans residing in the U.S. or in the Philippines, and $9,000 to veterans who are
Philippine citizens. It also contains a provision for spouses and protects eligibility for
benefits currently received by veterans.
Although the bill does not provide the full equity that we have been campaigning for
and the one-time monetary payment to the veterans seems small, especially to the
leaders of the veterans who have spent all their meager resources marching in
Washington, D.C. to get the lawmakers’ attention, the bill is, nevertheless, a significant
victory for them and a huge moral boost to their cause. The much-awaited
compensation, albeit small, could not have come at a more opportune time for many of
them whose battle-weary bodies are in the final twilight of their lives. Every day, seven
of them pass away without having seen the benefits of this victory.
The curse of Sisyphus has been broken
n our past columns, we likened the valiant struggle of the Filipino veterans and the
indefatigable Fil-Am community leaders supporting them year-in-and-year-out to the
curse of Sisyphus, the mythological Greek character who was cursed to push a huge
boulder up the hill only to have the bog stone roll back down as he neared the top. At
the start of each Congress, the unrelenting veterans and their community lobbyists —
NaFFAA/NAFVE and the ACFV being the most prominent — would work very hard to
knock on the legislators’ doors, send letters and faxes to our respective senators and
congressmen, begging them for support. Every year, we would convince a growing list
of legislators to support the Veterans Equity Bill but the numbers were never enough,
Japanese forces. When Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered the combined American and
Filipino forces to stand strong and defend the Philippines at all costs, that’s exactly
what they did. According to military historians, if the gallant defenders of Bataan and
Corregidor did not hold on for so long while the Allied forces were regrouping in
Australia, the war might have had a different outcome. The freedoms that we now enjoy
and sometimes take for granted, might have been lost in the Pacific battlefields if not for
the unusual bravery of the Filipinos. When it was all over, more than one million Filipino
lives had been lost in the brutal war. Thousands died in the infamous Bataan death
march.
On February 18, 1946, Congress passed a Rescission Act that revoked these
soldiers’ status as U.S. veterans. Of the Filipino soldiers originally called to serve, only
18,000 are alive today. This bill recognizes these veterans’ military service as U.S.
veterans, and additionally provides one-time payments of $15,000 to Filipino American
veterans residing in the U.S. or in the Philippines, and $9,000 to veterans who are
Philippine citizens. It also contains a provision for spouses and protects eligibility for
benefits currently received by veterans.
Although the bill does not provide the full equity that we have been campaigning for
and the one-time monetary payment to the veterans seems small, especially to the
leaders of the veterans who have spent all their meager resources marching in
Washington, D.C. to get the lawmakers’ attention, the bill is, nevertheless, a significant
victory for them and a huge moral boost to their cause. The much-awaited
compensation, albeit small, could not have come at a more opportune time for many of
them whose battle-weary bodies are in the final twilight of their lives. Every day, seven
of them pass away without having seen the benefits of this victory.
The curse of Sisyphus has been broken
n our past columns, we likened the valiant struggle of the Filipino veterans and the
indefatigable Fil-Am community leaders supporting them year-in-and-year-out to the
curse of Sisyphus, the mythological Greek character who was cursed to push a huge
boulder up the hill only to have the bog stone roll back down as he neared the top. At
the start of each Congress, the unrelenting veterans and their community lobbyists —
NaFFAA/NAFVE and the ACFV being the most prominent — would work very hard to
knock on the legislators’ doors, send letters and faxes to our respective senators and
congressmen, begging them for support. Every year, we would convince a growing list
of legislators to support the Veterans Equity Bill but the numbers were never enough,
| Gus Mercado |
Veterans Rally at Dallas Morning News and Dallas City Hall
organized by Gus Mercado
organized by Gus Mercado
A march of veterans in Manila
Pelosi’s support was critical, as well as Rep. Mika Honda, and the House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner. Here in North Texas, we can
point to the strong support provided by House Appropriations Committee Chair Chet Edwards, with whom we made personal representations.
Without the support of about a dozen veterans’ advocacy groups in the country, the veterans could not have done the lobbying and mass education efforts
by themselves. Most prominent among these advocacy groups are NaFFAA/NAFVE (National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity) and the ACFV (American
Coalition of Filipino Veterans) under Eric Lachica, who was unrelenting in his public information campaigns.
The National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA) placed the Filipino Veterans equity on top of its community empowerment agenda
at the 1998 founding conference in Washington D.C. and have been carrying the veterans banner ever since. NaFFAA founder Alex Esclamado traveled to
all parts of the country, mobilizing grassroots support for the veterans’ equity bill. After Esclamado retired, his efforts were carried on by his successors
Loida Nicolas Lewis, Alma Kern and the incumbent NaFFAA national chairman Greg Macabenta. Philippine Ambassadors to the U.S., notably Ambassador
Willie Gaa and Military Attache General Del Lorenzana, have also provided significant support over the years.
At the local level, a significant segment of the Fil-Am community leadership in North, South and Central Texas have been taking the lead of
NaFFAA/NAFVE and the ACFV in mobilizing local support and lobbying their U.S. congressmen for their votes every time the equity bill was brought up in
Congress. When a caravan of about 200 Bataan veterans passed through Dallas en route to the biggest Filipino veterans march in Washington DC,
several dozen Fil-Am leaders took off from work, hosted the veterans and marched with them in front of the Dallas Morning News and the City Hall (see
photo on page 10).
Beware of politicians and fixers
At a teleconference recently of the NaFFAA/NAFVE (National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity), we discussed a plan to initiate an implementation
support mechanism to make sure that the veterans are informed of the proper procedure to avail themselves of the benefits from the bill and to get their
funds directly without paying unscrupulous “fixers” which reportedly are now rampant in the Philippines. We also plan to initiate measures to make sure
that politicians do not use the hard-earned victory of our veterans for personal or political gain. There are already unconfirmed reports that Malacanang
media is ascribing credit for the veterans’ victory to incumbent president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. This writer feels that President Arroyo is justified in
leading a national celebration on behalf of the veterans. We also believe that the Philippine president provided the official imprimatur to all our lobbying
efforts and most likely sent personal appeals to the leaders of Congress. Having said that, for Malacanang media to tell the Filipino people that the
veterans owe their victory to the Philippine president, at the exclusion of the Fil-Am foot soldiers who tirelessly walked the halls of Congress and spent
many days and nights calling and faxing their senators and congressmen, is plain wrong. No one should make political capital of our veterans.
Regardless of many more implementation issues that will come up, let us all savor this victory and feel really good for the veterans of “the most noble of
American wars” – WWII – whose untold sacrifices and devotion to their cause has finally seen the light of day. Be grateful for their bravery. Honor their
spirit and their dedication that paved the way for us so that we may enjoy our good fortunes and freedoms in this our adopted land. For it was their blood
and tears that gave us safe passage into this country.
About the Author:
Gus Mercado is an award-winning writer and civic leader from Lantana, Texas. He is Regional Chair Emeritus of the National Federation of Filipino-
American Associations and Regional Chair of the Sons and Daughters of World War II Veterans. He has been actively involved in the national movement to
lobby for the Filipino WWII veterans and other Filipino-American issues for 25 years. A three-time “U.S. Jaycee of the Year,” Mercado is a retired
executive of Caltex Petroleum and Sprint International and is currently CEO of Datalogix, a thriving high-tech company that employs hundreds of Filipino
engineers. Reactions to this article may be sent to: gusmercado@verizon.net
point to the strong support provided by House Appropriations Committee Chair Chet Edwards, with whom we made personal representations.
Without the support of about a dozen veterans’ advocacy groups in the country, the veterans could not have done the lobbying and mass education efforts
by themselves. Most prominent among these advocacy groups are NaFFAA/NAFVE (National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity) and the ACFV (American
Coalition of Filipino Veterans) under Eric Lachica, who was unrelenting in his public information campaigns.
The National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA) placed the Filipino Veterans equity on top of its community empowerment agenda
at the 1998 founding conference in Washington D.C. and have been carrying the veterans banner ever since. NaFFAA founder Alex Esclamado traveled to
all parts of the country, mobilizing grassroots support for the veterans’ equity bill. After Esclamado retired, his efforts were carried on by his successors
Loida Nicolas Lewis, Alma Kern and the incumbent NaFFAA national chairman Greg Macabenta. Philippine Ambassadors to the U.S., notably Ambassador
Willie Gaa and Military Attache General Del Lorenzana, have also provided significant support over the years.
At the local level, a significant segment of the Fil-Am community leadership in North, South and Central Texas have been taking the lead of
NaFFAA/NAFVE and the ACFV in mobilizing local support and lobbying their U.S. congressmen for their votes every time the equity bill was brought up in
Congress. When a caravan of about 200 Bataan veterans passed through Dallas en route to the biggest Filipino veterans march in Washington DC,
several dozen Fil-Am leaders took off from work, hosted the veterans and marched with them in front of the Dallas Morning News and the City Hall (see
photo on page 10).
Beware of politicians and fixers
At a teleconference recently of the NaFFAA/NAFVE (National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity), we discussed a plan to initiate an implementation
support mechanism to make sure that the veterans are informed of the proper procedure to avail themselves of the benefits from the bill and to get their
funds directly without paying unscrupulous “fixers” which reportedly are now rampant in the Philippines. We also plan to initiate measures to make sure
that politicians do not use the hard-earned victory of our veterans for personal or political gain. There are already unconfirmed reports that Malacanang
media is ascribing credit for the veterans’ victory to incumbent president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. This writer feels that President Arroyo is justified in
leading a national celebration on behalf of the veterans. We also believe that the Philippine president provided the official imprimatur to all our lobbying
efforts and most likely sent personal appeals to the leaders of Congress. Having said that, for Malacanang media to tell the Filipino people that the
veterans owe their victory to the Philippine president, at the exclusion of the Fil-Am foot soldiers who tirelessly walked the halls of Congress and spent
many days and nights calling and faxing their senators and congressmen, is plain wrong. No one should make political capital of our veterans.
Regardless of many more implementation issues that will come up, let us all savor this victory and feel really good for the veterans of “the most noble of
American wars” – WWII – whose untold sacrifices and devotion to their cause has finally seen the light of day. Be grateful for their bravery. Honor their
spirit and their dedication that paved the way for us so that we may enjoy our good fortunes and freedoms in this our adopted land. For it was their blood
and tears that gave us safe passage into this country.
About the Author:
Gus Mercado is an award-winning writer and civic leader from Lantana, Texas. He is Regional Chair Emeritus of the National Federation of Filipino-
American Associations and Regional Chair of the Sons and Daughters of World War II Veterans. He has been actively involved in the national movement to
lobby for the Filipino WWII veterans and other Filipino-American issues for 25 years. A three-time “U.S. Jaycee of the Year,” Mercado is a retired
executive of Caltex Petroleum and Sprint International and is currently CEO of Datalogix, a thriving high-tech company that employs hundreds of Filipino
engineers. Reactions to this article may be sent to: gusmercado@verizon.net
| Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) with former Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa, General Del Lorenzana from the Philippine Embassy and Filipino WWII Veterans at the World War II Memorial, Washington, DC. --Photo by Eric Lachica. |
and the personal support from the incumbent presidents was half-hearted lip service
at best. Due to the failure of the vast majority of Fil-Ams to do their share, our untiring
yearly campaigns would always end in a disappointing defeat. But we never gave up.
Sisyphus kept pushing, pushing and pushing and finally, the curse has been broken.
Sisyphus can now rest his weary body, and the Filipino veterans can finally heave a
big sigh of relief.
Give credit where it is due: The Real Heroes
After a long-fought victory of this magnitude, it is common among Filipinos who
never lifted a finger and never sent a single letter to their congressmen, to come out of
the woodworks to claim credit, reminiscent of the balimbings of the first People Power
revolution of 1986. Every well-meaning Filipino, regardless of where they are and
what contributions they made personally to the veterans’ cause, should join in the
celebration of this historic victory. But it is also fitting and proper to give credit where
it is really due.
The real heroes behind this victory are of course the veterans themselves, who
never gave up in their quest for equity and justice. Next to be thanked, are our
steadfast supporters in Congress led by Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye who bravely
defended his action of inserting the veterans’ allocation in the controversial Economic
Stimulus bill against many detractors. Also instrumental in the passage of the bill and
support of the veterans were Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee Chair Daniel Akaka among others. In the House, Speaker Nancy
at best. Due to the failure of the vast majority of Fil-Ams to do their share, our untiring
yearly campaigns would always end in a disappointing defeat. But we never gave up.
Sisyphus kept pushing, pushing and pushing and finally, the curse has been broken.
Sisyphus can now rest his weary body, and the Filipino veterans can finally heave a
big sigh of relief.
Give credit where it is due: The Real Heroes
After a long-fought victory of this magnitude, it is common among Filipinos who
never lifted a finger and never sent a single letter to their congressmen, to come out of
the woodworks to claim credit, reminiscent of the balimbings of the first People Power
revolution of 1986. Every well-meaning Filipino, regardless of where they are and
what contributions they made personally to the veterans’ cause, should join in the
celebration of this historic victory. But it is also fitting and proper to give credit where
it is really due.
The real heroes behind this victory are of course the veterans themselves, who
never gave up in their quest for equity and justice. Next to be thanked, are our
steadfast supporters in Congress led by Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye who bravely
defended his action of inserting the veterans’ allocation in the controversial Economic
Stimulus bill against many detractors. Also instrumental in the passage of the bill and
support of the veterans were Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee Chair Daniel Akaka among others. In the House, Speaker Nancy
