Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
September 25, 2008
Pg. 19
By Bernard Becker
Manuel B. Braga may have been just a high school student when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941. But like hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, he fought under the American flag, eventually descending into the jungle with his friends and joining a group of guerrilla fighters that harassed the Japanese during the last years of World War II.
The guerrillas originally “thought we were just kids,” said Mr. Braga, who now lives with his wife near San Diego. “They thought we would be their problem. But anywhere they went, we followed.”
Mr. Braga took part in [FONT=Times New Roman, Times]ambushes[/FONT] while trying to steal supplies. Foraging for food, he was shot in the legs [FONT=Times New Roman, Times]and[/FONT] unable to walk for a year. “Anywhere they went they carried me,” he said. “We had no medicine, no hospital, no nothing.”
Some 250,000 Filipinos took up arms against the Japanese with their American counterparts, as regular soldiers or guerrillas in resistance units. Many suffered through the 60-mile Bataan Death March in 1942 or teamed with Army Rangers to free more than 500 prisoners of war from the Cabanatuan Prison Camp.
Having been placed under United States command, the Filipino veterans expected to receive the same benefits and pensions as American soldiers. But shortly after the war ended the government granted benefits only to those veterans in a small Army group known as the “Old” Philippine Scouts.
Now, the government is moving toward fuller compensation for Filipinos like Mr. Braga, who at 81 is among the youngest surviving veterans. On Tuesday, the House by a wide margin passed a bill that would give 18,000 surviving Filipino veterans a lump sum payment. Those who are American citizens would receive $15,000, with noncitizens receiving $9,000.
This year, the Senate passed legislation that would give monthly pensions to Filipino veterans, with those in the Philippines receiving a reduced rate.
With just days remaining before Congress goes into recess, the chambers are working to approve final legislation.
Opponents of increased benefits, like Representative Steve Buyer, Republican of Indiana and the ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, do not believe that the benefits for Filipino veterans is a high priority, especially with the numbers of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Buyer also does not believe that any promise was broken to the Filipino veterans, a spokesman for Mr. Buyer’s committee said.
Neither bill is quite as expansive as many of the veterans and their supporters would like, but both would aid Filipino veterans in this country who have been depending upon government benefits like Social Security and Medicare.
Julian Nicolas, 82, who took part in the raid at Cabanatuan, worked for over two decades after immigrating to the United States in 1979, retiring from his position as an office assistant at the University of Washington Medical Center in 2005. Despite receiving Social Security and a state pension, he said he struggles to get by on about $2,400 a month, without a veteran’s pension, and lives with his widowed daughter-in-law.
“There are just so many bills,” said Mr. Nicolas, whose wife died in July.
Still, most veterans and their supporters would prefer the monthly payments approved by the Senate.
“After the lump sum, we’d be forgotten about,” Mr. Nicolas said.
Mr. Braga, who collects around $750 a month in Supplemental Security Income, as does his wife, said he would earn more money under the Senate plan, with its monthly pension, than the one-time payment approved by the House.
“If I live another five years, I’ll lose thousands of dollars,” he said.
Representative Bob Filner, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced the House bill, but admits it is far from perfect.
“It’s not the best thing, and it’s not the most equitable,” said Mr. Filner, who has been introducing legislation to aid Filipino veterans for years. “But it was something we could get done.”
He added, “I suspect a majority of those living will get more money this way. So there’s some virtue to this approach.”
Mr. Braga also acknowledged that he and his fellow veterans are running out of time, noting that he started lobbying for increased benefits in 1969, with around 20 fellow Filipinos. “Only two of us are still living” he said.
“This might be the best we can do,” he added.
September 25, 2008
Pg. 19
By Bernard Becker
Manuel B. Braga may have been just a high school student when the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941. But like hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, he fought under the American flag, eventually descending into the jungle with his friends and joining a group of guerrilla fighters that harassed the Japanese during the last years of World War II.
The guerrillas originally “thought we were just kids,” said Mr. Braga, who now lives with his wife near San Diego. “They thought we would be their problem. But anywhere they went, we followed.”
Mr. Braga took part in [FONT=Times New Roman, Times]ambushes[/FONT] while trying to steal supplies. Foraging for food, he was shot in the legs [FONT=Times New Roman, Times]and[/FONT] unable to walk for a year. “Anywhere they went they carried me,” he said. “We had no medicine, no hospital, no nothing.”
Some 250,000 Filipinos took up arms against the Japanese with their American counterparts, as regular soldiers or guerrillas in resistance units. Many suffered through the 60-mile Bataan Death March in 1942 or teamed with Army Rangers to free more than 500 prisoners of war from the Cabanatuan Prison Camp.
Having been placed under United States command, the Filipino veterans expected to receive the same benefits and pensions as American soldiers. But shortly after the war ended the government granted benefits only to those veterans in a small Army group known as the “Old” Philippine Scouts.
Now, the government is moving toward fuller compensation for Filipinos like Mr. Braga, who at 81 is among the youngest surviving veterans. On Tuesday, the House by a wide margin passed a bill that would give 18,000 surviving Filipino veterans a lump sum payment. Those who are American citizens would receive $15,000, with noncitizens receiving $9,000.
This year, the Senate passed legislation that would give monthly pensions to Filipino veterans, with those in the Philippines receiving a reduced rate.
With just days remaining before Congress goes into recess, the chambers are working to approve final legislation.
Opponents of increased benefits, like Representative Steve Buyer, Republican of Indiana and the ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, do not believe that the benefits for Filipino veterans is a high priority, especially with the numbers of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Buyer also does not believe that any promise was broken to the Filipino veterans, a spokesman for Mr. Buyer’s committee said.
Neither bill is quite as expansive as many of the veterans and their supporters would like, but both would aid Filipino veterans in this country who have been depending upon government benefits like Social Security and Medicare.
Julian Nicolas, 82, who took part in the raid at Cabanatuan, worked for over two decades after immigrating to the United States in 1979, retiring from his position as an office assistant at the University of Washington Medical Center in 2005. Despite receiving Social Security and a state pension, he said he struggles to get by on about $2,400 a month, without a veteran’s pension, and lives with his widowed daughter-in-law.
“There are just so many bills,” said Mr. Nicolas, whose wife died in July.
Still, most veterans and their supporters would prefer the monthly payments approved by the Senate.
“After the lump sum, we’d be forgotten about,” Mr. Nicolas said.
Mr. Braga, who collects around $750 a month in Supplemental Security Income, as does his wife, said he would earn more money under the Senate plan, with its monthly pension, than the one-time payment approved by the House.
“If I live another five years, I’ll lose thousands of dollars,” he said.
Representative Bob Filner, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced the House bill, but admits it is far from perfect.
“It’s not the best thing, and it’s not the most equitable,” said Mr. Filner, who has been introducing legislation to aid Filipino veterans for years. “But it was something we could get done.”
He added, “I suspect a majority of those living will get more money this way. So there’s some virtue to this approach.”
Mr. Braga also acknowledged that he and his fellow veterans are running out of time, noting that he started lobbying for increased benefits in 1969, with around 20 fellow Filipinos. “Only two of us are still living” he said.
“This might be the best we can do,” he added.