Post by RayAdillO on May 7, 2009 18:00:45 GMT -5
I just realized how complex it is to classify and categorize Philippine veterans of WW2 because of political, historic, and financial issues.
The big question is: FROM WHICH COUNTRY AND GOVERNMENT DOES WHAT VETERAN ACTUALLY BELONG TO.....THE PHILIPPINES OR THE U.S.?
The Philippines is unique in that it is perhaps the only U.S. possession allowed independence after 1946, but in all practical terms was still part of the United States during the entire course of WW2.
In local U.S. terms of every American minority group, the WW2 veterans which represent their ethnicity generally satisfy the following requirments:
1) That they were U.S. citizens or immigrants.
2) That they were directly recruited into any of the service branches of the U.S. armed forces.
If that were the case, only the members of the 1st and 2nd Filipino-American infantry regiments of the U.S. Army as whole unit formations would have qualified, plus a few other individual Filipino-Americans in the Army Air Corps, the Marines, the thousands more in the U.S. Navy and so on.
Then there are those who were mostly "U.S. nationals" (not even full citizens), not recruited in the mainland but directly from Philippines:
a) The Philippine Scouts
b) The Philippine Constabulary
c) The Philippine Army
And then there are those who had been Bataan veterans who later joined guerrillas, and those veterans who were simply civilians who joined recognized guerilla units.
The Philippine Scout veterans are relatively lucky because they were U.S. Army regulars, The U.S Army took care of its own. The survivng vets of this unit rightfully enjoy the full benefits of any American veteran, BUT STILL SUFFER FROM NOT GETTING THE FULL COMBAT RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE.
And what of the Phiippine Army, the Constabulary, and authentic guerilla veterans? Well the few surviving veterans of these formations recently were allowed a token "pay-off" given almost grudgingly, and as much as I hate it, mainly championed by leftists at the cost of portraying these veterans as almost like a violation of "human rights" issue.
It seems that instead of recognizing their valiant and loyal service to America at the time of their youth, it seems that politicians will respond more readily to their "victimization" and poverty in the twilight years of their extreme old age.
The big question is: FROM WHICH COUNTRY AND GOVERNMENT DOES WHAT VETERAN ACTUALLY BELONG TO.....THE PHILIPPINES OR THE U.S.?
The Philippines is unique in that it is perhaps the only U.S. possession allowed independence after 1946, but in all practical terms was still part of the United States during the entire course of WW2.
In local U.S. terms of every American minority group, the WW2 veterans which represent their ethnicity generally satisfy the following requirments:
1) That they were U.S. citizens or immigrants.
2) That they were directly recruited into any of the service branches of the U.S. armed forces.
If that were the case, only the members of the 1st and 2nd Filipino-American infantry regiments of the U.S. Army as whole unit formations would have qualified, plus a few other individual Filipino-Americans in the Army Air Corps, the Marines, the thousands more in the U.S. Navy and so on.
Then there are those who were mostly "U.S. nationals" (not even full citizens), not recruited in the mainland but directly from Philippines:
a) The Philippine Scouts
b) The Philippine Constabulary
c) The Philippine Army
And then there are those who had been Bataan veterans who later joined guerrillas, and those veterans who were simply civilians who joined recognized guerilla units.
The Philippine Scout veterans are relatively lucky because they were U.S. Army regulars, The U.S Army took care of its own. The survivng vets of this unit rightfully enjoy the full benefits of any American veteran, BUT STILL SUFFER FROM NOT GETTING THE FULL COMBAT RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE.
And what of the Phiippine Army, the Constabulary, and authentic guerilla veterans? Well the few surviving veterans of these formations recently were allowed a token "pay-off" given almost grudgingly, and as much as I hate it, mainly championed by leftists at the cost of portraying these veterans as almost like a violation of "human rights" issue.
It seems that instead of recognizing their valiant and loyal service to America at the time of their youth, it seems that politicians will respond more readily to their "victimization" and poverty in the twilight years of their extreme old age.
