Filipino Veterans

In World War II, President Roosevelt called upon the Filipinos to join with America in the fight against the Japanese. In exchange, they were promised the same benefits and pay as other American veterans. Over 200,000 Filipinos, my great grandfather included, heeded that call, choosing to risk their lives in order to preserve the freedom and democracy that our country was founded upon. At the end of the day, over half of those men would ultimately lose their lives.

The war ended in 1945, but in 1946, Congress passed and President Truman signed the Rescission Act, which stripped the Filipino veterans of all the pay and benefits that President Roosevelt had promised them in exchange for their service. For over six decades, these men have been fighting for justice. In that span of time, the majority have passed away. Today only 15,000 are alive out of over 200,000 that served.

I am glad to say, but do so with a heavy heart, that the stimulus package President Obama signed into law includes an amendment that includes $198M rewarding Filipino veterans for their service. Each veteran living in the United States gets $15,000 and the ones living in the Philippines get $9,000. It’s a small amount and long overdue, but something is better than nothing.

Critics of this amendment say that it has nothing to do with stimulating the economy. I agree with that point. But to me, this is more than that; this is about honor. Especially in America where service to one’s country is one of the highest callings, you can’t ask someone to risk their lives for a country that is not even their own and give them nothing in return. I wouldn’t even borrow a dollar from someone and not pay them back!

I say this not because I’m Filipino myself or because I’m the great grandson of one of those forgotten veterans, but because it’s what decent human beings should do. Critics say this should be a separate bill from the stimulus package. It probably should be. But for over six decades, Congress has refused to do the right thing. So if including it in the stimulus was the only avenue to get it passed, so be it.