Last Tuesday evening. Dr. Max Callao, Member of the FilAm Board of Directors had an extensive phone conversation with General Antonio Takuba (US Army, Retired).  He was very concerned about getting support for the Filipino Veterans Equity Act (HR 760 and S 57) which will come up for a vote when Congress reconvenes on September 4.  Like many of us, Dr. Callao thought that this bill passed years ago.  We were wrong.

As you know,  Filipino soldiers served honorably during World War II under an Executive Order by President Roosevelt and under this order they were entitled to full veteran benefits.  Unfortunately, Congress withheld these benefits by enacting the Rescission Act of 1946.  Out of the 472,000 soldiers listed by the US Army at the end of WWII only 22,000 remain today.  About 15,000 live in the Philippines and 7,000 live in the U.S.  Most of them are in their 80’s.

General Takuba feels that it time to right this wrong.  We agree.  He is encouraging us to act individually or collectively as an organization to ask our congressional delegation to support this bill in the House and the Senate.

If you agree please send a letter or email to Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. Time is of the essence.  They will probably vote on the bills during the second week of September.  You can obtain their local and DC addresses at: 

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/lso/legislativedelegation.htm

.

For your convenience, go to Forms and Documents Section of this website to see a sample letter that you can use to help format your own letter.  If you have a personal story or experience that you can share don't hesitate to include it in your letter.   If you know others that might want to support this bill please encourage them to do so.

Thank you so much for your help.