WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye today hailed Senate passage of legislation that provides approximately $166 million for a special pension for Filipino veterans who fought alongside U.S. forces during World War II. The pension, included in S.1315, the Veterans’ Benefits Enhancement Act, finally allows the United States to fulfill the commitment it made to Filipino soldiers who fought alongside U.S. soldiers, said Senator Inouye, a combat veteran of World War II who served in Europe with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team.  

In 1941, President Roosevelt issued a military order calling on the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines to serve with the United States Armed Forces in the Far East; the Philippine soldiers who served were entitled to full U.S. veterans’ benefits because of their service with U.S. forces, but in 1946 the U.S. Congress took away the very benefits to which the Filipino fighters were entitled.  

“Senate approval of the benefits for the surviving Filipino veterans is the first step in removing a more than 60-year-old stain on our national honor,” Senator Inouye said. “Senate approval was the right action to take, and it fulfills our long-held promise to our Filipino comrades in arms.”  

For nearly 20 years, Senator Inouye has fought to have the benefits for the Filipino veterans restored. In January of this year, he and U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska made an official trip to the Philippines, and one of their meetings was with Filipino veterans of World War II.  

“They are in their twilight years. If we were to delay in rectifying this injustice that was done to them, very few would receive the benefits to which they are entitled,” Senator Inouye said. “Among the Filipino vets we met, I was the youngster. And I’m 83 years old.”  

The Senate today voted 56 to 41 to reject a move to exclude Filipino veterans residing in the Philippines from benefitting from the Filipino veterans pension provision in the Veterans’ Benefits Enhancement Act. Later, it voted 96-1 to pass the Veterans’ Benefits Enhancement Act. The measure now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.  

“The Filipino veterans of World War II are heroes who served under our flag,” Senator Inouye said. “They should not be forgotten or ignored. Most of all, we, as a nation, should not turn our backs on them. They have sacrificed so much for us.”

 

 

- 30 -