Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
The history of Filipino World War II veterans is a story that needs to be told, says retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who chairs the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, a national initiative to raise awareness of their service.
“We don’t want it to be forgotten. People died serving their country and they need to be remembered,” he said.
A one-hour television program to air at 7 p.m. today on K5 spotlights the contributions and sacrifices of Filipino WWII soldiers along with their battle for recognition after a 1946 federal law stripped away benefits promised to them at the start of the war.
Move Me Hawaii, a community education and fundraising project of the Beta Beta Gamma Foundation, partnered with the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, or FilVetREP, on “Faces of Courage: Untold Stories of World War II Filipino Veterans.”
It features veterans residing in Hawaii who share stories about the war and the injustices they experienced after the Rescission Act took away the benefits they were due for their service.
“This is a blatant act of discrimination and injustice,” said Taguba, son of a Philippine Scout. “All they want is to be recognized and respected for what they did for their country.”
Earlier this year, the FilVetREP assembled a team of attorneys, academic historians, professors and others to repeal the law.
“They say it’s going to be hard,” Taguba said. “It’s harder when your honor and respect is taken away from you. It is as if you did not exist. These heroes, these courageous men and women existed and we want America to know that.”
Many of the veterans have since died, and those living in Hawaii and elsewhere are in their 90s.
Taguba had lobbied for Filipino WWII veterans to be honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor awarded by Congress. In 2016, President Barack Obama signed a measure into law collectively honoring the veterans with the medal.
Among the honored were those who served in the U.S. Army between July 26, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946, under the command of the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, the Philippine Commonwealth Army, Philippine Scouts, Philippine Constabulary, Recognized Guerrilla unit, New Philippine Scouts, 1st Filipino Regiment, 2nd Filipino Regiment, 2nd Filipino Infantry Battalion (Separate) and 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.
Taguba said repealing the Rescission Act is going to take a similar, national effort.
An 18-minute, award-winning documentary, “Duty to Country,” created by FilVetREP, is incorporated into “Faces of Courage” to provide historical context. The program is supplemented with veteran interviews and comments from civil rights activist Amy Agbayani, Taguba and others, who explain what is happening with veterans today.
Agbayani, retired assistant vice chancellor for student diversity and director of the Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said it’s important for people to understand what happened during the war. “Some people don’t even know what we’re talking about,” she said.
More than 260,000 Filipino and Filipino American soldiers responded to the call of duty under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to defend the U.S. and the Philippines during the war. Some 300 from Hawaii from the 1st and 2nd Filipino regiments also were sent to the Philippines.
Cheryl Kakazu Park, chairwoman of Move Me Hawaii, said the project partnered with FilVetREP to promote the history of the Filipino WWII veterans. She said she hopes the program will not only expose the general public to the history of Filipino veterans but that it can be incorporated into school curricula.
“The FilVetREP organization is continuing to seek the repeal of the Rescission Act ’cause it’s still in the books and it still remains a slap in the face to the Filipino veterans who fought and died during World War II and helped to save the Pacific and the world’s democracies,” Park said.
In 2019, Move Me Hawaii held events showcasing the film, “And Then They Came for Us,” on the history of the internment of Japanese Americans during the war.
Taguba said there are plans in the works to launch an online educational project that includes oral histories and lesson plans on the history of Filipino WWII veterans to help preserve their legacy.
REMEMBERING FILIPINO VETERANS
>> “Faces of Courage: Untold Stories of World War II Filipino Veterans,” will air at 7 p.m. today on K5, with rebroadcasts at 6 p.m. Saturday on KGMB and 4 p.m. Nov. 20 on KHNL.
>> Move Me Hawaii, a community and education project of the Beta Beta Gamma Foundation, is raising funds to support the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project’s mission to educate the public about the history and contributions of Filipino WWII veterans. To donate, visit MoveMeHawaii.org.
81
