From Bataan to Capitol Hill, a Long Fight for U.S. Benefits

Alfredo Diaz, 86, was back in the Capitol last month, one of a dwindling group of Filipino World War II veterans lobbying yet again for U.S. government benefits they say were promised more than 60 years ago.

In 1941, five months before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all organized military forces in the Philippines, then a U.S. territory, into U.S. military service. As a 25-year-old, Diaz responded to Roosevelt’s call, joining one of those units, the Commonwealth Army, and fighting with U.S. forces and under U.S. command in the legendary battle of Bataan.

The Filipino troops took part in some of the most fabled action in the Pacific, including the siege of Corregidor and the infamous Bataan “Death March.” It was understood, these veterans say, that having fought as part of the U.S. military, they would be provided with U.S. military benefits once the war ended.

But in 1946, five months after Japan surrendered, Congress passed legislation saying that the wartime service of most of the Filipinos “shall not be deemed to be or to have been service in the military

Since then, the Filipino fighters have fought another battle -- for full recognition as U.S. military veterans. Their long struggle finally may be paying off.

Legislation that would provide added benefits to the former soldiers is gaining momentum in Congress, the result of President Bush’s efforts to maintain strong ties with the Philippines, an important ally in the war on terrorism, and a post-Iraq war sentiment among many on Capitol Hill to show support for the troops.

Of the estimated 200,000 Filipinos who fought with the U.S. military in World War II, only one small group -- the “old scouts,” who were full-fledged members of U.S. Army units -- received full veterans’ benefits. Members of other units, including even those who are now U.S. citizens, got far less.

Eric Lachica, executive director of the Washington-based American Coalition for Filipino Veterans, noted with bitter irony that his father, a Filipino veteran who died in 2002, was buried at Riverside National Cemetery -- but when he was alive, he could not get care at a Veterans Affairs hospital for any illness or injury unrelated to his military service.

Some Filipino veterans do not even have the right to be buried in VA cemeteries. In some cases, their families cannot even get a government-provided American flag for the funeral.

The legislation backed by Bush would expand the benefits given to Filipino veterans who are legal residents of the United States, many living in California. It would make the veterans, who number about 8,000, eligible for the same VA health-care benefits that U.S. veterans receive. It would give all the veterans and their survivors full payment for service-connected disabilities; currently, some get only half the rate paid to U.S. veterans. And it would make the veterans eligible for burial in VA cemeteries and their families eligible for VA burial benefits.

Anthony J. Principi, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, also has pledged to provide $500,000 for the third consecutive year to support a Philippines-operated veterans’ clinic in Quezon City. An estimated 21,000 Filipino World War II veterans live in the Philippines.

After languishing for years, the legislation received a significant boost when Bush emphasized his support for it during a recent White House visit by the Philippines’ president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

With a coalition of Democratic and Republican lawmakers also behind the measure, it cleared a key House committee last month and could reach the House floor this month. The measure will come before a Senate panel this week.

Although the legislation does not include everything the veterans have sought, they and their supporters describe it as a significant step forward.

“I am optimistic that this year, after so many years of frustration, we will finally be able to do the right thing,” said Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), who first worked on the issue as a congressional aide in 1975.

Over the years, the veterans have staged demonstrations to call attention to their plight, including chaining themselves to a statue of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, their former commander, in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park in 1997.

The veterans have walked the halls of Congress recounting war stories, as Diaz, a Jersey City, N.J., resident, did during his recent visit to the Capitol -- one of the half-dozen or so he has made since 1996. “Thousands and thousands of young Filipinos ... swore allegiance to the American flag before U.S. Army officers,” said Diaz, who wore several of his U.S. military medals, their ribbons fraying with age.

The measure has gained urgency, its supporters say, because most of the surviving veterans are in their 80s.

“I think there was a real sense that if we’re ever going to right this injustice, we’d better do it fast,” Case said.

Ramon Alcaraz, 88, a former Philippine navy commodore who lives in Orange County, said the issue is no longer just about money, but about “the honor of being recognized as a U.S. vet, a loyal soldier who served the American flag.”

Some veterans and their supporters say that Congress should go further and provide to the Filipino veterans the full menu of benefits available to U.S. veterans.

“The Filipino veterans deserve nothing less than full recognition,” said Lourdes Santos Tancinco, board chairman of the Veterans Equity Center in San Francisco. “This is a diminishing population, and you never realize how it feels for an 80- or 90-year-old Filipino World War II survivor to be struggling to claim full recognition as a U.S. veteran.”

The veterans prefer an “equity” bill by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) that would provide a more comprehensive package of benefits, including pensions for disabled and low-income veterans.

Inouye’s measure is likely to be more difficult to pass because of its cost: as much as $100 million in the first year, according to one estimate, though supporters put the figure at closer to $40 million. The administration also has been cool to the idea of providing pensions. The measure moving through Congress would cost the government about $19 million next year.

Cesar P. Patulot, son of a deceased Filipino World War II veteran and chairman and chief executive of the Los Angeles-based FilAmVets Foundation, called the bill moving through Congress “piecemeal legislation just to appease the surviving veterans.” He is seeking to organize Filipino Americans around the country to put pressure on Congress and the White House to provide full benefits.

The veterans, he said, were “truly American soldiers.”

Boosting prospects for the measure’s passage this year, the Bush-backed legislation has been introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

The legislation enjoys broad support in the House. Among its sponsors are conservative Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-San Diego), who has called Congress’ failure to act to remedy the veterans’ plight a “stain on our national character,” and liberal Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego), who was arrested in 1997 after chaining himself to the White House fence in a demonstration to call attention to the issue.

Another turning point in the veterans’ struggle came in early 2001, when Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), a supporter of the legislation, replaced Rep. Bob Stump (R-Ariz.) as chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Stump had been cool to the legislation, noting during a 1988 hearing: “While Filipino forces certainly aided the U.S. war effort, in the end they fought for their own soon-to-be independent Philippine nation.”

But Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs health subcommittee and a leading supporter of the legislation, said: “The participation of the Filipino forces delayed and disrupted the initial Japanese effort to control the western Pacific and was vital to giving the U.S. time to prepare the forces necessary to defeat Japan.”

Case said the legislation is benefiting from the growing political influence of Filipino Americans, as evidenced by the 58 lawmakers who have joined the recently formed U.S.-Philippines Caucus in Congress.

Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-Va.) added: “It’s about time we fulfilled the promise we made many years ago.”