[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 15, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING FILIPINO AND FILIPINO-AMERICAN WORLD WAR II VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 15, 2012

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to give recognition to the 
stalwart Filipino and Filipino-American veterans who fought alongside 
U.S. troops in the Battles of Bataan and Corregidor following the 
Japanese invasion of the Philippines in December 1941. By Executive 
Order, the Filipino soldiers' service entitled them to U.S. veterans' 
health benefits, pensions, and money for college. But when the war 
ended, the VA benefits promised to the Filipino soldiers were rescinded 
by Congress' passage of the Recession Act of 1946.
  I also rise to honor those prisoners of war forced into the Bataan 
Death March, a harrowing episode of dreadful suffering and immense 
casualties. The heroic resistance of these fighters engaged the 
Japanese Imperial Army for four months, preventing Japanese occupation 
of Australia.
  On February 4, 2011, at Dr. Jose Rizal Park in Seattle, Washington, I 
joined the Association of Bataan and Corregidor Survivors and their 
families and friends for the unveiling of two bronze memorial plaques 
honoring the Filipino and Filipino-American veterans. These permanent 
reminders of their extraordinary bravery and sacrifice will always 
speak of the strength of the Filipino and American spirit.
  I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 210, the Filipino Veterans Fairness 
Act of 2011. This measure deems certain service performed before July 
1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Philippines and the 
Philippine Scouts, active military service eligible for veterans' 
benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
  Filipino World War II veterans, who fought so courageously alongside 
U.S. troops during critical engagements of World War II, have waited 
far too long--almost 65 years--to receive what they were promised by 
our government. Most have now passed on.
  Mr. Speaker, our debt to the surviving veterans and their families is 
long overdue. We must fulfill our obligation to them now.

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