Here is the background of what was promised, when it was promised and who promised it. I cut the article up so please read it in its entirety:
Veterans of the Philippine armed services believe that either President Roosevelt or General MacArthur promised them full U.S. veterans’ benefits. However, we will hear today testimony from the Army historians and the Congressional Research Service who are unable to locate any documentation of such promises…….
………. Much is also made of the presumption that since the Philippines was a territory of the United States at the beginning of World War II, these veterans of the Philippine armed services must have been serving under the U.S. flag and deserve full U.S. veterans’ benefits.
I don’t know how this can be exactly true when the GI Bill, under the veterans’ benefits, was not even established until the 1950′s.
In 1934, the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines was established in preparation for Philippine independence. The Philippine Independence Act of 1934 also gave the President of the United States the authority to call the Philippine National Army into service under U.S. command, but that is not the same as serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Soldiers of many World War II allied armies served under U.S. command but do not receive any benefit from the VA.
While Filipino forces fought bravely and certainly aided the U.S. in the war effort, in the end they fought for their own and soon to be independent Philippine nation.
It is also worth noting that since the end of World War II, Congress has enacted nearly 20 public laws affecting benefits for veterans of the Philippine armed forces, but had made no major change in the benefit structure now in place. The courts have upheld that basic benefit structure on at least two occasions.
However, Congress has passed provisions over the years to address the differences between economic conditions and living standards in the United States and in the Philippines.
Okay, so that is some background presented in 1998, fast forward to 2007:
The Filipino veterans’ provisions in HR 760 are similar to a plan passed by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. If signed into law, it would provide full veterans’ status to World War II era Filipino soldiers and even their survivors. This would include pay for service related disabilities, survivor pay for service-connected deaths, as well as pensions and death benefits.
Those who are living in the Philippines, and are not U.S. citizens, would receive $6,000 to $8,400. Low-income widows would receive $3,600.
I have witnessed some contentious hearings in my years in public service. VA Committee Chairman Bob Filner, D-Calif., was determined to pass the Filipino Veterans Equity Act. When the exchanges between the chairman and ranking member (and former chairman) Steve Buyer, R-Ind., became too heated, Filner ordered a recess to plot strategy with the Democratic majority. The measure passed on a straight party-line vote and Filner refused to recognize any additional Republican amendments.
Providing veterans’ benefits to Filipino service members is only half of the issue.
Perhaps more egregious is how the Democrats offset the cost of the new benefits. Because of House PAYGO rules, any new entitlement spending (such as the Filipino Veterans Equity Act) must be funded by either a corresponding cut in existing spending or matching revenue gains.
In this case, the Democrats on the Veterans Committee voted to save nearly $1 billion by eliminating a $2,200 special monthly payment to veterans who are less than 100 percent disabled, but 60 percent or greater disabled.
But, but, the Dems say they support the troops…. Too bad they aren’t saying that they just aren’t supporting the American ones.
1, FAO, you said it. Maybe the Democrats ought to be deported enmasse to Luzon.
This is not a comment on the merit of the legislation but a bit of background. The Philippines were a Commonwealth of the United States (similar to the current status of Puerto Rico) during World War II. The Philippine Army was under American command, so Filipinos may be considered to have been fighting for “our” country.
These people fought and died under the American flag over there.
They deserve our gratitude and full benefits that other soldiers would receive.
3,4, The Filipinos were mainly fighting to liberate their own land from the Japanese, whom they still hate to this day. Other than “mess boys” on Navy ships, I’m not aware of any Filipino units serving other than in the Philippines themselves.
So where is Michelle “Himmler” Malkin’s conservative comment on this? Normally it looks like her evaluations are “written-in-stone” truth to you, Pam…
6, why do we need Michelle’s comments when we have Josef Goebbles Roggenbuck’s comments.
Why don’t you ask her.
The facts are that the Filipino soldiers were NOT members of the US military. No more than the Flemish Professor I had in college was when, as a released POW and in violation of the terms of his release by the Nazis, he acted as a guide and interpreter for the US Army in Europe following the D-Day invasion. Had he been captured, he’d have been shot. His uniform had no insignia because he was not a US soldier. Filipinos may now become members of the US military, but they were not such in WWII. Seeing as they were NOT members of the US military, they are not US Veterans. Don’t you remember the flap a couple of years ago about the Filipino woman who was denied membership in the Gold Star mothers organization because the bylaws required US citizenship?
BTW that professor had an interesting perspective on World War II history. He taught a class on WWII from the German Perspective. It was a 3 hour, one night a week class. One class was totalling devoted to watching the movie “Das Boot” in the original German with English subtitles.
Come to think of it, my Russian language professor had some good stories about her activities during WWII. She was studying in Vienna and coerced into working as the secretary for the commandant of a Stalag because she could speak 7 languages and could talk to all of the POWs. For those who lack the historical background data ( or have never seen “Hogan’s Heroes” reruns on TV) German POW camps during WWII were called Stalags.
I had some interesting professors in college, I only wish I had been able to sit down and get more information from them. One claimed to have been a communist until he realized that communism just doesn’t work. I always found that comment funny for some reason.
9, FAO, at my High School, our German teacher was an escapee from East Germany. He had nothing good to say about East Germans, Russians, and their supporters (Useful Idiots) in the West.