HONOLULU, Hawaii — Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars attend a memorial ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
The ceremony commemorated the 68th Philippine national holiday “Araw ng Kagitingan” or “Day of Valor,” and honoured Filipino-American service members during World War II. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Hight/Released)
After the war, many Filipino soldiers were expecting to receive the same benefits as their American counterparts as promised by the US. After all, they had fought — and suffered — side-by-side with the Americans against the Japanese.
Unfortunately, President Harry Truman signed into law the infamous Rescission Act of 1946 which denied all benefits to Filipino veterans due to a reason by Congress that the US had already provided $200 million in aid to the Philippines. In effect, the Filipinos were designated as “second-class veterans” by the very same country they fought for. Sadly, many have already died waiting for that promise to materialise.