Veteran’s Day is supposed to be a day of remembrance
dedicated to those who have served our country, a day to honor
those who have fought, bled and died for the United States. Some of
those heroes, however, are being ignored. They’ve been
humiliated by the U.S. government, denied veteran status, and
excluded from veteran medical benefits for decades.
In 1941, President Roosevelt drafted about 200,000 Pilipino
soldiers into the American military services. These soldiers fought
against the Japanese in World War II under U.S. command. According
to Al Garcia from People’s Community Organization for Reform
and Empowerment, if you count both regular soldiers and irregulars
(i.e. guerrillas), the total number of men who fought is closer to
400,000.
And they died, too, by the tens of thousands ““ more than
half were killed in combat.
In exchange for forced induction into the American armed forces,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the Pilipino soldiers U.S.
citizenship and full GI benefits.
But in 1946, the U.S. Congress passed a law, the Rescission Act,
that reneged on FDR’s promise. This law targeted Pilipino
soldiers and made them the only group of foreign-soldier veterans
(out of 66 countries) the United States refused to recognize. They
were stripped of veteran status, benefits, and were not even
granted citizenship until 1990.
Time is running out for these men ““ only about 30,000 are
still alive. But they are much more than just numbers.
My grandfather is among these veterans. He was a participant of
the infamous Bataan Death March. In April 1942, after the largest
surrender ever of an American army on the Bataan peninsula, the
Japanese captured 70,000 prisoners, both American and Pilipino.
Some fled, but most were forced to march more than 60 miles through
an unforgiving tropical climate to POW Camp O’Donnell. The
march gets its name from the 5,000 to 11,000 men who died along the
way.
My grandfather walked that long, hot road, guarded by a Japanese
soldier. One day, they passed a sugar cane field. Somehow, even
though neither spoke the other’s language, my grandfather
convinced the Japanese soldier to let him pick some sugar cane to
eat. The Japanese soldier liked my grandfather because he reminded
him of his own son, who also served in the Japanese military. How
they managed to communicate is beyond me. Maybe the Japanese man
simply realized that they were two regular people stuck in the
middle of a senseless situation.
I am sickened to think that, according to our government and
despite having fought for his country, a man such as my grandfather
is not “entitled” to be honored on Veteran’s Day.
The approaching holiday only pours salt in the wound.
This problem is not some far-off and abstract government issue
““ it is right here in California, alive and breathing. It is
sometimes difficult to put a face on the victims of the U.S.
government’s actions because they are often a world away, in
places like Iraq, Vietnam or Afghanistan, outside of most
Americans’ understanding. But Colonel Pedro Crisostomo, my
mother’s father, lives in Fremont, Calif., and you can go and
meet him if you want.
He doesn’t get treatment at the Veterans Affairs
hospitals. He is not recognized by the government for heroically
serving in two American wars (he fought in Korea as well). But he
walked the Death March so that I might someday go to college. He
walked the Death March to ensure that all of us could live free. It
is a terrible shame that I now have to write this column so his
service will not go unnoticed.
I suppose that this is a bit dramatic, and maybe unnecessary.
Any decent person, when presented with these painful facts cannot
feel anything but sympathy and support for these shortchanged men
““ the issue makes its own case without any help from me. But
the problem is, no one knows about their struggle. And that is why
I’m writing this column ““ so that more people are aware
of this gross and revolting injustice.
It is my hope that increased awareness will lead to increased
support for S. 1213, the Pilipino Veterans Benefits Act, that will
grant these veterans some (though not all) of the benefits they
were promised. It is about time the government owned up to its
shameful treatment of these men and made amends.
As you celebrate this Veteran’s Day, remember these
forgotten soldiers by writing a letter to your congressman,
supporting the Act. Call KCET and ask them to air the PBS
documentary, “Second Class Veterans” again. Director
Rick Rocamora filmed the lives of some the Pilipino veterans who
reside in San Francisco.
Do not let another year pass without recognizing all of our
American heroes.
Raimundo is a fifth-year political science and economics
student. E-mail him at araimundo@media.ucla.edu.