Washington, D.C. -- “On July 26, 1941, as our nation made preparations for the possibility of war with the Empire of Japan, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an Executive Order calling the Philippine Commonwealth Army into the service of the Armed Forces of the United States,” Congressman Neil Abercrombie told the U.S. House of Representatives today.  “And a solemn promise was made to more than 250,000 Philippine soldiers: ‘fight with us and you will earn the same benefits as your U.S. comrades in arms.’ Shamefully, that vow was not kept.  Today, there are less than 20,000 of those brave Filipino WWII veterans still alive.”

Abercrombie and other leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus urged the House today to consider Senate Bill 1315, which passed 96 to 1 in the Senate in April, and includes a provision expanding eligibility of benefits for Filipino veterans.

The Commonwealth Army fought with the United States Army Forces-Far East throughout World War II under the American flag and under the direction of U.S. military leaders.  In October 1945, Congress authorized recruiting 50,000 “new” Philippine Scouts. At the time of recruitment, the United States government promised that all members that responded to the call to arms would be treated as U.S. veterans with full benefits.
 
“Legislation to restore promised benefits has been repeatedly introduced since 1992,” said Abercrombie. “No other group of veterans has been systematically denied these benefits.  It’s time to end six decades of broken promises.”

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