US congressional gold medal OK’d for Pinoy vets

WASHINGTON – Filipino World War II veterans are to be awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, America’s highest civilian honor, for helping US forces liberate the Philippines, an American possession from 1898 to 1946.

A bill to award the prestigious medal to the veterans in recognition of their brave and courageous service was passed by the Senate in July and approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. It will become law as soon as it is signed by President Barack Obama, who steps down from office on Jan. 20.

The award will collectively honor the 260,000 Filipinos who responded to President Franklin Roosevelt’s call to fight under the US flag against Japanese forces in World War II. Over 500,000 Filipinos died during the war.

There are believed to be less than 15,000 Filipino veterans living in the Philippines and the United States and most of them are in their 80s and 90s and in poor health.

Only one gold medal of appropriate design will be awarded collectively to the Filipino veterans of World War II and this will be exhibited in the Smithsonian museum in Washington.

Bronze replicas will be made available by the US Mint for sale to the general public.

Previous winners of the Congressional Gold Medal include the Navajo code talkers, members of the Doolittle Tokyo raiders, the Tuskegee airmen and the Women Air Force Service Pilots of WWII (WASPs).

Voice vote 

The Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015 was passed through voice vote by the House less than 30 minutes after it was introduced by Rep. Bill Huizenga.

A nephew of a Filipino World War II veteran, Marlon Pecson, reacted with, “Thank God, Filipino veterans are finally honored for their sacrifices.” His uncle is Eleuterio Pecson of the Philippine USAFFE Infantry Division, who died in 1995.

The Philippine embassy in Washington also lauded the passage of the bill.

“We welcome this good news and extend our appreciation to all the advocates and supporters of the bill at the US House of Representatives and the Senate. Our veterans’ sacrifice is one of the greatest stories of heroism, courage and strength that our two countries have ever seen. From ordinary civilians to defenders of free nations, these men and women deserve our deepest respect and gratitude,” said Minister Patrick Chuasoto, chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Philippine embassy, in a statement.

“We also recognize the contributions of the Philippine consulates general and Filipino communities across the United States, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) and the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FILVETREP) for the success of this joint campaign. We look forward to the final step of President Obama’s signing this bill into law,” Chuasoto added.