| World War II Veterans of Filipino descent Veterans benefits denied By Paul Kusuda |
| World War II soldiers of Filipino descent earned, but have not received, their deserved status as U.S. veterans. Now, only about 10 percent of the 200,000 from the then Commonwealth of the Philippines who fought along with Americans remain. The others are gone. Each year, 20,000 dwindle in number. At one time, all were considered U.S. veterans and received full benefits. Then, in 1946, Congress stripped them of their status as veterans. A couple of years ago, I wrote an article in Asian Wisconzine about this situation when federal legislation was introduced to right this wrong. Now, I again call attention to the effort to correct this act of congressional misdirection. My hope is that a few readers will take action by contacting their three Congressional delegates; two senators and one representative. Ask them to support 2007 Senate Bill 57, sponsored by Senator Daniel K. Inouye from Hawaii, and 2007 House of Representatives Bill 760, sponsored by Representative Bob Filner from California. The bills, called the "Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007," are now in the Veterans' Affairs Committee in the Senate and in the House. According to the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL strongly supports S. 57 and HR. 760), the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity reported that Filipinos comprise the only national group singled out for denial of full veterans' status. I don't want to disagree; however, I believe that the Hmong who took part in Vietnam's Secret War also deserve the same status. The CIA will not acknowledge or release information that Hmong involvement resulted in thousands of deaths and other casualties among the Hmong who were actively involved along with American troops, not to mention the civilian losses. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said during his opening statement at the April 2007 hearing on S. 57: "The Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007 would honor the service of all Filipino veterans of World War II by formally recognizing the contributions of our Filipino brothers." He pointed out a "distinction in law between those Filipino veterans who served in the Old Philippine Scouts and those who served in the Filipino Commonwealth Army, the Recognized Guerilla forces, or the New Philippines Scouts." Only those who served in the Old Philippine Scouts are eligible veterans of U.S. military service. Thus, those who served in the other three groups are not officially recognized by the U.S. as true veterans. (Please note my earlier comment about the Hmong.) Of interest to me is that Senator Larry E. Craig from Idaho, former Chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and currently a ranking member of the committee, continues his commitment to help Filipino veterans. During the hearing, he said, "Your service is undeniable. Victory in the Pacific would not have been assured without that help." However, he said he would not support S. 57 -- which will give full veteran benefits to those who served in the Philippine Commonwealth Army or the New Philippine Scouts -- because while they fought against the common enemy, they also fought for their own homeland. He said that the Philippine government pays about $100 per month to its veterans who served in World War II; if the U.S. began paying them, the Philippine government would offset its monthly payments. Thus, if the ranking member of the committee opposes S. 57, passage will be hampered. So, voices need to be raised. Will yours? Will you write to your two Senators and your District Representative in Washington, D.C.? If not, telephone them and leave a message requesting their support. Call Senators Russ Feingol, (202) 224-5323; and Herb Kohl, (202) 224-5653. |
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