A memorial dedicated to comfort women unveiled in S.F.

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A controversial memorial dedicated to the women abused by the Japanese military in WWII was unveiled in S.F.

ASAM NEWS

A WOMAN forced into a brothel during WWII by the Japanese Imperial Army embraced a new statue to spread her story and that of as many as 410,000 other comfort women.
Lee Yongsoo, 89, attended a ceremony Friday unveiling the comfort women statue in San Francisco, the first in a major U.S. city, according to VOA.

“We all share the same humanity,” she told a crowd of about 500, reported SF Gate. “This is an issue for everyone. This is about a sincere apology from the government of Japan.”

The statue was approved by the Board of Supervisors and organized by members of the Chinese, Korean and Filipino communities.

More than 1,000 angry emails were received by the sculptor of the project, Steven Whyte, demanding that he stop. Similar statues in other US cities have also drawn controversy.

A spokesperson for the Japanese consulate in San Francisco said the memorials “perpetuate and fixate on certain one-sided interpretations, without presenting credible evidence.”

The statue by Whyte depicts a Chinese, Korean and Filipina holding hands atop a pedestal. On the ground is a grandmother sculpture awaiting justice. watches them from below.

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America remembers Bataan's 75th anniversary

MY-RIGHT-EYE-PHOTO

Hundreds of marchers in White Sands, New Mexico trekked 26 miles (the Bataan Death March was 65 miles) last month to remember the thousands of American and Filipino POW's who were part of the infamous Bataan Death March. The Bataan Memorial Death March is a challenging march through the high desert terrain of the White Sands Missile Range. The memorial march is conducted in honor of the heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II, sacrificing their freedom, health, and, in many cases, their very lives.

  World War II's Battle of Bataan in the Philippines may be recorded as a defeat for the U.S. Armed Forces of the
Far East, but it was a victory for the human spirit. Thousands of POW's died in the one of WWII's greatest atrocities - the Bataan Death March.

THIS COMING WEEKEND, April 8 and 9, will be the 75th anniversary of the Fall of Bataan. Ceremonies will be held in the Philippines and across the United States to remember one of the darkest events of WWII.

“It is particularly significant this year because very few people actually know the story of Bataan and being the 75th anniversary, there are very few survivors left to tell the story. This could be one of the last times that the community can honor these men and recognize their bravery,” says Lyn Rolf III, director of programs at the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

“It was perhaps the second most consequential event of World War II after Pearl Harbor, but even the people in the Philippines do not know the history of the Bataan. It is so important to educate people about Bataan and to honor those who survived,” says Robert Hansen, a member of the board of directors of the Bataan Legacy Historical Society and the grandson of a Bataan survivor.

In San Francisco, the Bataan Legacy Historical Society is partnering with the Presideo Trust, the National Park Service, and a host of other organizations to mark the somber occasion, to remember the men and women who sacrificed their lives, survived the brutalities of war and the few who still are alive from that battle where Filipino and American soldiers fought against the Japanese Imperial Army in the first major land battle of World War II that involved U.S. forces.

Click here for the program. Please note that you must RSVP to attend the indoor ceremonies. (See flyer for information.)

Legendary jazz musician Joe Bataan will be the guest of honor in Organgeburg, New York.

At the commemoration, Bataan told lohud.com he'll be singing a solo rendition of the Lord’s Prayer and will be part of the performance of the national anthem.

He said he'll be thinking of his father, Pio Nitollano, who came to the United States in the 1930s but never had an opportunity to return to the Philippines.

"I got a strange feeling that this is going to make me cry, because it will make me remember my father and what he went through," Bataan said. "He never got to go back."

OTHER OBSERVANCES (Some events may already have been held.):

• Los Angeles, California
• Asheville, North Carolina
• Orangeburg, New York
• Las Cruces, New Mexico
• Pittsburg, California

(Add to this list by emailing a link to an event at dioknoed@gmail.com.)

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Legacy of the "Battling Bastards of Bataan"

The plaque honoring my father, along with similar plaques for the other survivors of Bataan, hang in a San Francisco Bay Area Filipino-American social hall.

LAST NIGHT, April 8, one of my grandnieces lit a candle in memory of my father and about 80 other survivors of the Bataan Death March who had decided to make this California community their piece of the American Dream.

Twenty years ago, there would have been a score of survivors honored. Today, there are none. But their memory lives on in little ceremonies across the United States.

Three generations after the events of World War II, young Filipino Americans are being reminded about their great grandparents. My grandniece never met my father, but she is connected to him as part of the long story of immigration.

Thousands of American and Filipinos POWs died during the Bataan Death March.

The Filipino/American soldiers made up what is often called the second wave of Filipino immigration to the United States. 

While the First Wave, farmworkers and students of the 1920s are slowly finding their way into the history books especially in ethnic studies in various colleges; and the Third Wave, those who came as a result of the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, are being addressed by contemporary social programs and affirmative action policies; the historic role of the Second Wave is being forgotten as the soldiers grow older and pass away.

Outgunned and without any air support, the U.S. forces fought for months longer than anyone expected. The reinforcements and supplies, including food, that were expected never arrived. They were abandoned by the strategists back in the U.S. The poem below became their rallying cry: 

"No Mama, no Papa, no Uncle Sam; We're the Battling Bastards of Bataan."

The battles of Bataan and Corregidor, which fell a month later, resulted in the surrender of 75,000 to 80,000 American and Filipino soldiers on April 9, 1942. It was the largest surrender of U.S. military personnel in history. The U.S. force that surrendered was made up of over 65,000 Filipinos and 12,000 American non-Filipinos.

The prolonged battle delayed the Japanese war machine and forced them to rethink their strategy. It gave the allies time to regroup and reinforce defenses in Malaysia and Australia.

The infamous Bataan Death March that followed the surrender saw thousands of the malnourished, wounded and disease ridden troops perish during the forced march of 40 miles in the tropical heat with little food and water.

They may not have met their great grandfathers
but the young girls are aware of the debt they
owe them. 

But what is little noted in the history books is the critical role the Filipinos who survived and were part of US units such as the Philippine Scouts when they immigrated to the United States.

Once here, they wanted a piece of the American Dream. Most importantly, they were able to bring their families with them. Their children went to U.S. schools and their wives entered the work force.  Despite housing discrimination laws and  practices that prevented them from buying in certain neighborhoods or communities, they helped established  stable Filipino/American middle-class.

Prior to WWII, Filipinos in America was largely a bachelor society. The general image of Filipinos in the U.S. was as farmworkers, servants, waiters, domestic help and primarily male. Racist laws limited the immigration of Filipino women, prevented Filipinos and other Asians from buying homes and marrying people of other races in order to start families.

The Filipino image underwent a massive change with the post-WWII immigration of Filipino American soldiers and sailors. The survivors of Bataan and Corregidor were joined by the 1st and 2nd Filipino regiments of the U.S. Army made up of Filipino volunteers who were already in the U.S. Because of the role Filipinos played in the war as U.S. allies, Filipinos became allies, heroes, saviors and comrades-in-arms. In short, it was difficult to not see them as human beings.

Helping change the perception of Filipinos were the thousands of U.S. military personnel who fought along side the Filipinos who proved themselves in battle, whose loyalty was unquestionable and whose belief in America and democracy could not be denied. 

It is fitting and important that the accomplishments and sacrifices of the Bataan and Corregidor survivors, most of whom have passed away, are still remembered and honored by their children's children's children, their living legacy.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't miss out on additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective be following @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Filipino veterans: A shameful anniversary for the U.S. Congress

Library of Congress

Filipino World War II veterans are still fighting for their rights. 

SEVENTY YEARS ago today (Feb. 18) the U.S. Congress committed an act of betrayal. 

President Truman signed the Rescission Act, which took away the rights and benefits of thousands of Filipinos who fought for the United States during World War II. The few remaining Filipino veterans who are still alive - many walking with canes or in heir wheelchairs - are still fighting this battle against injustice.

At the start of the war against the Japanese, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order incorporating the Philippine Commonwealth Army into the United States Armed Forces of the Far East under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

With that order came the promise that the Filipinos who joined the USAAFE would be eligible to receive the same benefits as the servicemen in the regular U.S. military.

Thousands heeded the call. They fought alongside their American comrades-in-arms against overwhelming odds, under-supplied and ill-equipped, they fought until U.S. forces surrendered in Bataan and Corridor.

RELATED: More details about the Rescission Act

Even after the surrender, thousands still fought as guerrillas, hiding in the jungles, raiding, spying and harassing the Japanese forces so much that the Imperial Army had to expend their energy fighting the U.S-backed units, delaying the Japanese invasion of Australia. It gave the Australians time to beef up their  defenses and the U.S. to bring reinforcements and supplies to their Australian allies.

In 1946, a budget-conscious Congress more concerned about financing the grand Marshall Plan and rebuilding Japan, their former enemy, appropriated a piddling $200 million to the Philippine Army. Contained in that appropriation bill was a rider: the infamous Recession Act, that overturned President Franklin's promise.

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At first, President Truman vetoed the bill because of that provision but when it came back to him, he reluctantly approved the bill on Feb. 20, 1946 saying (emphasis is mine):

“In approving H.R. 5158, I wish to take exception to a legislative rider attached to the transfer of a $200,000,000 item for the pay of the Army of the Philippines. The effect of this rider is to bar Philippine Army veterans from all benefits under the G.I. Bill of Rights with the exception of disability and death benefits which are made payable on the basis of one peso for every dollar of eligible benefits. I realize, however, that certain practical difficulties exist in applying the G.I. Bill of Rights to the Philippines. 

"However, the passage and approval of this legislation do not release the United States from its moral obligation to provide for the heroic Philippine veterans who sacrificed so much for the common cause during the war. 

"Philippine Army veterans are nationals of the United States and will continue in that status until July 4, 1946. They fought, as American nationals, under the American flag, and under the direction of our military leaders. They fought with gallantry and courage under most difficult conditions during the recent conflict. Their officers were commissioned by us. Their official organization, the Army of the Philippine Commonwealth, was taken into the Armed forces of the United States by executive order of the President of the United States on July 26, 1941. That order has never been revoked or amended.

"I consider it a moral obligation of the United States to look after the welfare of Philippine Army veterans.”

Filipino/American groups threw their support behind the veterans' cause. and were later joined by other Asian/American legal and civil rights organizations. Through the years, sympathetic congressmen tried to correct this injustice.  

There have been some piecemeal victories: Citizenship was granted to some, but only for a limited group; benefits reinstated for some, but not all; Philippine Scouts were recognized but not the units that fought as guerillas or under Filipino commanders.   Most of the 250,000 veterans that would have qualified have died. However, there are still a few thousand waiting for their heroic deeds to be recognized, still fighting for the respect and justice they deserve. 

The least that can be done is for Congress to overturn the Rescission Act and fulfill the promise made when America needed the Filipinos most.

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