A Gathering of Warriors
PerryScope
By Perry Diaz
December 15, 2006
Sixty one years after World War II ended, Filipino veterans of World War II joined community advocates in a
two-day planning conference last December 6-7 at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC. The
conference was hosted by the Philippine Embassy and the National Federation of Filipino-American
Associations (NaFFAA). The unprecedented and historic event -- attended by more than 60 leaders of
Filipino veteran groups and community advocates -- forged a coalition to pursue the passage of a Full
Equity Act in the coming 110th Congress. Indeed, there was an aura of optimism from the moment
Ambassador Willy Gaa and NaFFAA National President Alma Kern opened the conference and set the tone
for an ambitious -- but doable -- undertaking to wage a grassroots campaign for Full Equity for the Filipino
veterans.
While the Full Equity -- sometimes referred to as “All of Nothing” -- campaign has suffered a string of
setbacks in the U.S. Congress since 1993, this time around the new dynamics in the coming 110th
Congress are favorable for the Filipino veterans. Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, who has committed to
push for the Full Equity Bill was appointed to chair the Senate Veterans Committee in the 110th Congress;
and Congressman Bob Filner of San Diego, who co-authored the Equity Bill in the House in the previous
two sessions, was elected to chair the House Veterans Committee as well. In the previous Congresses,
the Equity Bill never got out of the Veterans Committees of both chambers. Senator Akaka and
Congressman Filner, in their speeches during the conference, assured the Filipino veterans that they will
do their best -- short of a promise -- to get the Equity Bills out of their committees and send them to their
respective chambers for final floor vote. If that would be the case, the bills would be expected to be up for a
floor vote in both chambers in the Spring or Summer at the latest.
The biggest challenge would be in getting the Equity Bill passed in both chambers of Congress. To secure
passage in the Senate, 51 votes are needed. In the House of Representatives, 219 votes are needed. And
this is where the battleground is going to be. The Filipino-American community has to be mobilized to lobby
the Senators and Congressmen in their home states. The key would be a grassroots campaign that
would involve Filipino-American constituents -- and their allies -- in lobbying their congressmen at the
district level. And this is where the newly formed group, the National Coalition for Filipino World War II
Veterans Equity, will be needed.
Education is also a key component of the Coalition’s goals and objectives. One of the reasons why the
Equity Bill failed in the past is the legislators’ lack of knowledge on what the Equity Bill is all about. There is
a great deal of misconception about the Filipino veterans of World War II. And it would not be surprising if a
large number of the members of Congress only have a vague idea of what the Filipino veterans had done
for the United States during World War II.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 65 years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the
enlistment of Filipinos into the U.S. Armed Forces. Approximately 250,000 Filipinos joined the United
States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. After
the fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942, 75,000 American and Filipino soldiers were forced to march 160
kilometers for one week to a Japanese prison camp. More than 10,000 Filipino and American soldiers
died during the “Death March.” During the Japanese occupation, the surviving Filipino soldiers waged a
guerilla war against the Japanese. They provided Gen. MacArthur -- who was ordered by President
Roosevelt to evacuate the Philippines after the fall of Bataan -- with vital military intelligence, information
which MacArthur claimed helped in saving the lives of tens of thousands of American soldiers in the Pacific
war theatre. It is no wonder that when Gen. MacArthur landed in Leyte to liberate the Philippines, there was
hardly any Japanese resistance -- thanks to the Filipino guerillas who have effectively disarmed the
Japanese. Compared to the Battle of Iwo Jima where the American forces had a casualty of almost a third
of the 100,000 marines (6,821 dead and more than 20,000 wounded), the liberation of the Philippines was
less traumatic.
The U.S. government promised the Filipino soldiers the same health and pension benefits as their
American counterparts. After the war, Gen. Omar Bradley, then Administrator of the Veterans
Administration, reaffirmed that the Filipinos will be treated like any other American veteran. However, on
February 18, 1946, the U.S. Congress passed and President Truman signed Public Law 70-301, known as
the Rescission Act of 1946. The Act stated that the service of Filipinos “shall not be deemed to be or to
have been service in the military or national forces of the United States or any component thereof or any law
of the United States conferring rights, privileges, or benefits.”
What the Filipino veterans have been fighting for in the past 60 years is the removal of the word “not,” thus,
giving them the recognition they truly and fairly deserve. Today, there are only 18,000 Philippine-based
veterans and 7,000 U.S.-based veterans left. Now in their 80’s and 90’s, they are dying at 10 a day. By
2008, there will only be a total of 12,000 left.
Some of those who are still alive today were survivors of the Bataan Death March. But instead of being
recognized for their valor in defending freedom, they are forced to march again -- a “Debt March” this time --
to get the recognition and benefits that is rightfully theirs. Now, in the twilight of their lives, many of them -- if
not all of them -- may not survive the “Debt March.”
On the last day of the “gathering of warriors,” the Filipino veterans together with some of the advocates
including yours truly, went to the U.S. Congress to pay a visit to Congressman Darrell Issa, a staunch
supporter and sponsor of H.R. 4574, the “Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2006.” As we approached the halls
of Congress, we noticed that all the American flags were raised at half mast. We wondered why? And
then we realized that it was Pearl Harbor Day. It must have been nostalgic for the aging Filipino veterans to
reminisce that day when they decided to put their lives on the line to defend freedom… and America. And it’
s ironic that 65 years after that “Day of Infamy,” the Filipinos who willingly -- and with patriotic fervor --
heeded the call of President Roosevelt have been forgotten and denied the gratitude due them. That debt
of gratitude must be repaid. That is the right thing to do.
(PerryDiaz@aol.com)
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