Reply #122: Filipino Veterans of World War II and Rescission Act of 1946

[Brewman_Jax]

From the article: "I, ____, do solemnly swear...that I will bear true faith and allegiance...to the United States of America...that I will serve them honestly and faithfully...against all their enemies whomsoever...and I will obey the orders...of the President of the United States...And the orders of the officers appointed over me...according to the rules and Articles of War."

With this pledge, approximately 250,000 Filipino men joined the U.S. Armed Forces in the months before and the days just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. For the next several years, they would share the fate of their American counterparts on the battlefield, in prisoner of war camps, and throughout the countryside as part of the guerrilla resistance. Accordingly, Washington promised them the same health and pension benefits as their American brothers. Even after the war, in October of 1945, Gen. Omar Bradley, then Administrator of the Veterans Administration, reaffirmed that they were to be treated like any other American veterans.

But on February 18, 1946, the Congress passed and President Truman signed Public Law 70-301, known as the Rescission Act of 1946. It said that the service of Filipinos "shall not be deemed to be or to have been service in the military or national forces of the United States or any component thereof or any law of the United States conferring rights, privileges or benefits."

This is an absolute travesty! To use the Filipino soldiers to fight for the US, and then deny them benefits and rewards is another glaring example of the US racial caste system. The fact that President Truman would do this and it not bother his conscience nor draw a general outcry of foul shows how little people of color are regarded by the majority population group. It's obvious that behavior or service doesn't matter, appearance does.






http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100939326
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/sfeature/bataan_filipino.html