[Partner] Keeping the legacy of Filipino World War II Veterans alive
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“All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory.”
Nobel Prize Author Viet Thanh Nguyen
Photo by Paul Tanedo
Washington, D.C.
October 10, 2025
The wounds of war leave deep scars that never fade in time. For the Filipino soldiers who struggled to survive the Bataan Death March in 1942, their resolve to fight under the American flag and their loyalty to the United States never wavered. But when it was all over, they were all forgotten by the very country they served – the United States of America. Theirs is a painful story of betrayal and a broken promise.
“As we celebrate Filipino American History Month, let us remember the courage and commitment of the more than 270,000 Filipino World War II veterans who gave their last full measure of devotion to a noble cause,” says FilVetREP Chairman Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret). “They did their duty to country with valor and dignity. But they had to fight yet again in another battlefield to regain their rightful place in history, an honor that was denied them with the passage of the 1946 Rescission Acts.”
The United States finally recognized their sacrifice and service on November 30, 2016, when Congress passed the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015. President Barack Obama signed Public Law 114-265 on December 14, 2016. On October 24, 2017, in a public ceremony attended by living veterans and their families, Congress presented the Congressional Gold Medal at Emancipation Hall in Capitol Hill.
“This historic moment, when they were honored with the highest civilian award, is one that we should also remember and celebrate on Filipino American History Month,” says FilVetREP Vice Chair Marie Blanco. “For championing their cause over the years, the late Sen. Daniel Inouye, the late Sen. Daniel Akaka, and Sen. Mazie Hirono deserve our utmost gratitude. We also thank our many community advocates and supporters who joined our national call to seek equity and justice for our veterans.”
FilVetREP’s Mission
FilVetREP, the national organization that led the effort to secure the Congressional Gold Medal legislation, marks the 10th anniversary of its official founding this year. On January 14, 2015, the State Corporation Commission of the Commonwealth of Virginia issued the Certificate of Incorporation of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project.
But even before its incorporation, FilVetREP had already laid the groundwork for a national campaign. In June 2014, Sen. Mazie Hirono introduced the Filipino World War II Veterans Congressional Gold Medal Act in the U.S. Senate.
In the next two years and six months, FilVetREP visited Senate and House offices in Capital Hill. Supporters from across the country wrote letters and petitions to their representatives. National organizations like the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) adopted resolutions endorsing the CGM legislation. And several individuals and groups from the grassroots helped raise funds for the campaign.
From October 2017 to date, FilVetREP has awarded 2,000 medals to Filipino and American veterans and their next-of-kin, holding 123 award ceremonies across the United States. A special ceremony is also held every year during the Bataan Memorial Death March in White Sands, New Mexico.
White House Interagency Work Group
The impetus that led veterans’ advocates and community activists to organize FILVETREP began with the 2012 White House Initiative on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders’ Interagency Working Group (IWG), which was tasked to review the Filipino Veterans of WWII benefits issue. In May 2013, a small group of advocates and activists decided to create a national campaign to promote the lifelong struggle of Filipino Veterans of WWII for their recognition and hard-earned benefits – two major objectives President Franklin Roosevelt promised in July 1941. The United States Congress, however, declined to provide them when they passed the Rescission Acts of 1946.
After two years of research, meetings, lobbying Congress, and organizing, the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project was born, with a sole mission of securing legislation that would fully recognize the wartime service of over 270,000 Filipino soldiers during the war in the Philippines, from 1941 – 1946. This was the impetus needed for Congress to restore the benefits due them.
“This national call to action on behalf of the Filipino veterans opened the aperture of America’s long forgotten history in a world war in the Philippines – a territory of the United States,” Taguba said.
Duty to Country
FilVetREP launched its second mission on November 6,2020. www.dutytocountry.org is an award-winning online, interactive education program. This project is the fulfillment of a promise made to the Filipino Veterans of WWII to tell their story of loyalty, patriotic duty, and solemn oath to serve under One Flag-- that of the United States of America. They served and sacrificed despite the betrayal of promise to care and compensate for them and their families after World War II.
“We finally created a lasting memorial in honor of the legacy of thousands of Filipinos and Filipino Americans whose uncommon valor and untold story will be remembered and revered for eternity. We will never leave them behind,” said Taguba.
Duty to Country – Under One Flag is complete with multiple education resources that include: A comprehensive online exhibition, detailed lesson plans, explainer activities, oral history interviews with veterans and advocates, highlight clips and animations crafted from the oral histories, and a graphic novel, “In the Shadow of Giants.” All components of the education program are fully accessible online, and FREE to teachers, students, and public at large.
There are now ten states teaching the curriculum, at 38 schools and community colleges, 31 teachers and 2,500 students. The states include Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington and Virginia.
FilVetREP’s Final Mission
The untold story of Filipino World War II veterans remains a dark chapter in U.S. history for as long as the 1946 Rescission Act remains in the books. This law has now existed for over 77 years. FilVetREP is seeking to persuade Congress to act and remediate this grievous and unjust law.
Among its proposals: a Presidential apology from the United States to the Filipino veterans and an acknowledgement of the Rescission Act’s fundamental injustice; a Memorial Fund to create a national education program to inform and educate the public about the history of Filipinos and Filipino Americans who fought under the U.S. flag; formally recognize and declare the Filipino and Filipino Americans soldiers who fought under the U.S. Army Forces of the Far East (USAFFE) from July 26, 1941, to Dec 31, 1946, as Veterans of the
U.S. Armed Forces; update the Reconstructed Guerrilla Roster created and managed by the U.S. Army directed under the U.S. Army Recognition of Philippines to include women guerrillas and nurses and others excluded by the U.S. Army; update the list of Filipino Veterans and Survivors Eligible Veterans Benefits managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for sufficiency, funding, current use, to include requests and denial purposes.
FilVetREP’s pledge
“Let us never forget that our veterans endured a lifetime of injustice and indignation inflicted by a shameful act of Congress. It was an ugly stain in this nation’s history,” Taguba said. “In marking FilVetREP’s ten years of advocacy, our pledge in FilVetREP is to not let the veterans be forgotten. We owe them an interminable debt of gratitude for safeguarding the opportunities of life we relish today, and in the future.
“Their story of citizenship and patriotism remains relevant. Their legacy, which we must keep alive, deserves to be enshrined in U.S. history.”
- Jon Melegrito
The Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP), is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, community-based, all-volunteer national initiative whose mission is to obtain national recognition of Filipino and American WW11 soldiers across the United States and the Philippines for their wartime service to the U.S. and the Philippines from July 26, 1941 to December 31, 1946. For more information about Filipino WWII veterans and how to get involved, visit our website at www.filvetrep.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
