Holiday excludes Pilipino sacrifices

Vang is a third-year Asian American studies student.

By Anouh Vang
Daily Bruin Contributor

When I was young, I was never sure on which day Veteran’s
Day was on, only that it would mean a three-day weekend. The days
were spent playing street football among the orange-red leaves or
lying around in plaid pajamas, drowning in the cool of fall and
trying to get to the next level of Super Mario Bros.

Naively, this was once what I believed Veterans’ Day to
be. As a child, Veterans’ Day allowed me to open up my tiny
treasure chest of freedom. For one day I was free from school and
able to do whatever I chose.

I’ve come to acknowledge that this infinitesimal freedom
was only made possible by the sacrifice of thousands upon thousands
of lives.

We cannot have Veterans’ Day without war. We cannot have
war without blood and sacrifice. Veterans’ Day is the least
the U.S. government could do to honor these heroes.

Veterans’ Day is about recognizing the sacrifices
strangers made so that we can freely attend UCLA, spend Saturdays
watching a football game, or waste the day away watching the
traffic go by.

If this sounds like self-righteous rhetoric, it’s because
it is. When I began my course on Asian American social movements, I
thought Veterans’ Day was justified.

Truth is, Veterans’ Day is violated by an injustice. It is
a shame when we allow the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of
Pilipino veterans to be rendered obsolete.

On July 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an
executive order that drafted the Philippine forces into the command
of General Douglas MacArthur. Roosevelt and MacArthur promised the
Pilipino soldiers the same benefits granted to American
soldiers.

Upon returning to the Philippines during the latter stages of
World War II, MacArthur said at Leyte Landing, “People of the
Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of almighty God, our
forces stand again on Philippine soil ““ soil consecrated in
the blood of our two peoples.”

For every one American soldier who died fighting under the red,
white and blue, dozens of Pilipinos died, fighting under the same
flag. This is the “blood” of which General MacArthur
spoke.

The Rescission Act of 1946, which denies equal benefits to
Pilipino veterans, erases history, disregarding the thousands of
fallen Pilipino soldiers who fought valiantly under the American
flag and slapping the survivors in the face. This is a blatant case
of discrimination and injustice. The Pilipino veterans have
exhausted 50 years of their lives in an effort to repeal the
Rescission Act.

My father is a veteran of the CIA sponsored secret war in Laos.
When I see the Pilipino veterans living in decrepit rooms with
three or four other fellow veterans, I see my father. I see him
living his final days alone and distraught. Though broken, these
veterans continue to struggle for justice and equity.

Why do they fight? They fight not for benefits alone, but for
the preservation of Veterans’ Day. They fight so that we are
able to open our little treasure chests of freedom.

Tragically, the Pilipino veterans are dying at a dramatic rate.
The surviving veterans spend all their strength and time on letter
writing drives, rallies, demonstrations and hunger strikes. The
passion for justice that these veterans exhibit is a lesson in
itself.

This campaign is a current issue pending legislation, in which
support through awareness and involvement is immensely critical to
any influence in Congress. Thus, student involvement is
essential.

By becoming involved in this campaign, I’ve learned that
Veterans Day is about history.

The surviving Pilipino veterans represent a point in history
that should be addressed. These heroes are history, and today we
must face this injustice.

To see these veterans speak of the pain they endure due to this
injustice echoes the cries of civil rights leaders, Japanese
American internees, Rosewood victims, and so forth. In the latter
stages of their lives, the Pilipino veterans’ campaign has
evolved into our campaign to ensure that injustice doesn’t
continue to repeat itself.