Filipino Veterans' movement
The Filipino Veterans' movement centers around the struggle for recognition and benefits for Filipino soldiers who served in the U.S. military during World War II. Initially promised full veterans' benefits and citizenship by the U.S. government, these commitments were rescinded in 1946, leaving many Filipino veterans without the support they were assured. This led to growing discontent among veterans and their families, prompting organized demonstrations in the late 1990s to advocate for the passage of the Filipino Veterans’ Equity Bill. Despite some legislative efforts, including a one-time payment under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 and various bills to secure citizenship, many veterans expressed dissatisfaction with the outcomes. The formation of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP) in 2013 aimed to address the historical injustices faced by these veterans through research and education. In 2017, some recognition was achieved when the first Filipino veterans received the Congressional Gold Medal. However, ongoing challenges remain, as bills introduced over the years have yet to fully resolve the veterans' quest for equitable treatment and acknowledgment.
On this Page
Filipino Veterans' movement
In 1941, after the beginning of World War II, United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order to bring draftees and volunteers in the Philippines, then under US rule, into the US Army. The order promised full veterans’ benefits to all Filipinos who served. In 1942, the US Congress promised American citizenship to all Filipino soldiers who wanted to apply after the war. However, in 1946, when the war was over, the US Congress voted to deny both veterans’ benefits and citizenship to Filipino veterans of the US military.
In 1997, Congress began to consider a Filipino veterans’ equity bill. Of the 240,000 Filipinos who served in the US military, 70,000 were still alive and about half of the survivors were living in the United States. These former soldiers organized demonstrations in cities around the United States, especially Los Angeles and Washington, DC, during 1997 and 1998 to urge passage of the equity bill.
In 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, all Filipino veterans of World War II were offered a one-time payment of $15,000 for US citizens and $9000 for noncitizens. Many Filipino veterans were dissatisfied with this gesture, and there were enough complaints of claims being unfairly rejected that the US government formed a committee to look into these problems and work for greater transparency in the process. A bill called the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, assuring citizenship for any Filipino citizen who has completed an enlistment in the US armed forces, has been introduced multiple times by members of both parties since 1993, but has died in committee on every occasion.
Bibliography
España-Maram, Linda. Creating Masculinity in Los Angeles's Little Manila: Working-Class Filipinos and Popular Culture, 1920s–1950s. New York: Columbia UP, 2006. Print.
"Filipino World War II Veterans." White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
Lutz, Amy C. "Race-Ethnicity and Immigration Status in the US Military." Life Course Perspectives on Military Service. Ed. Janet M. Wilmoth and Andrew S. London. New York: Routledge, 2013. 68–96. Print.
Nakano, Satoshi. "Nation, Nationalism, and Citizenship in the Filipino World War II Veterans' Equity Movement, 1945–1999." Hitotsubashi Journal of Social Studies 32 (2000): 33–53. Print.
Zhao, Xiaojian, and Edward J. W. Park, eds. Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013. Print.