After its defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain conceded its 333-year rule of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. During World War II they were a commonwealth of the US.
Due to tensions with Japan escalating in the Pacific, in 1941 President Roosevelt called into service of the United States all organized Filipino military forces that included Scouts, the Commonwealth Army, the Constabulary, Recognized Guerrilla Units, the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Battalion and 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. In all, over 260,000 proud Filipino soldiers served honorably as part of the Allied Forces in the Pacific in World War II.
But despite their service, these veterans, who were U.S. nationals, were disqualified from receiving the same rights, benefits, and privileges as others who served under the U.S. Armed Forces, because of a post war payment by the U.S. to the Philippines of two hundred million dollars. As a result, Congress passed the Rescission Act of 1946. Of the 66 countries allied with the United States during the war, only Filipinos were denied military benefits.
70 years overdue, Congress passed the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 14, 2016, awarding the US Congressional Medal of Honor to Filipino World War II veterans.
The Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project is a nonpartisan, community based, all volunteer national initiative whose mission is to obtain national recognition of Filipino and American WWII soldiers across the United States and the Philippines for their wartime service.
For more information please visit and support www.filvetsrecognition.org a 501c(3) non-profit.