Justice still eludes WWII veterans

The war benefits US President Franklin D. Roosevelt pledged to Filipino soldiers who fought side by side with the Americans during World War II had proved to be very elusive for the longest time. Because that promise was rescinded by post-war President Harry S. Truman in the Rescission Act of 1946.

Nevertheless, pressure groups and politicians, like the late senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, took up the cudgels for the aging and infirm Filipino war veterans whose hopes in ever seeing the fulfillment of that promise all seemed lost. But hope was rekindled when US President Barack Obama signed the Filipino equity bill into law in 2009.

On hearing the news of the forthcoming “manna from heaven,” rejoicing and celebration filled the air. Living Filipino soldiers of WWII were ecstatic. Unfortunately, a good number of them, thousands in fact, like my father, were again left out in the cold.  For one reason or another, their claims were disallowed.  And all their hopes were torn to pieces once more, only this time they were just too decrepit to pick themselves up.  It was total surrender once more to the vagaries of life.

I took up my father’s “fight” when he fell ill. He eventually died at age 103. For an old man expecting justice to be served after what seemed like an eternity, the denial of his claim due to technicalities and stringent rules so lacking in compassion must have been too much to bear. It was another battle waged and another battle lost.

I considered it a temporary setback, though. Thus I set out to do the logical thing: write a letter stipulating the reasons why I disagreed with the US government’s decision. Emboldened by the testimonies of Lt. Col. Edwin P. Ramsey, commander of over 40,000 Philippine guerilla troops during World War II, shortly after the war, I dared to take on the behemoth that is the United States with all my heart and soul.

I felt I owed it to my father to carry on with his “battle,” no matter the cost.

Relatives and friends based here and abroad were enlisted to help. I turned to print media hoping to generate the much-needed support (“Dad fought in Bataan but got no recognition,” Front Page,  4/9/13).  I sent out several letters to the offices concerned. We exchanged communications, the ones from their end mostly very discouraging.

The last denial letter I received made me more determined than ever. A lawyer I talked to, however, opined that my father’s case, in the nature of a property claim, may have a good chance of winning if I bring it to US courts, BUT, whatever amount I would be able to collect might only be enough to pay for the lawyer’s fees. Talk of a pyrrhic victory.

After some time elapsed, news came out that the rules had been a bit relaxed. I wrote again, inquiring as to what I could do to follow up my father’s claim. I was not favored with a reply. I waited.

Lately, I read in a national newspaper that those whose claims were denied can file a notice of disagreement (NOD) with the proper office. My hopes soared once again. I continued to pursue my father’s claim. This time however, as previous experience had taught me, I first made inquiries verbally.

The person I talked to told me in no uncertain terms that what was stated in the papers did not apply to my father inasmuch as he is already dead; that only a surviving spouse can file the NOD, something that, she continued, is not transferrable to the children.  I countered that my father was still living when he filed his claim and that I was just doing a follow-through of what he had initiated.

But the lady was adamant.  All my arguments proved futile. Which made me stop and think: Considering my father’s age, logic follows that his spouse would more or less be of the same age as he was if not just a bit younger, and generally speaking, was not expected to be alive up to the present time. Why then exclude the children?

I sensed that our conversation was going nowhere. There and then, I knew that it was over for me. I quickly ran through my mind other options. Nothing came close even to having a fighting chance. Much as I hated to admit losing, conventional wisdom dictated that one should know when to call it quits.

The click on the other end of the telephone sounded like a death knell to me. With finality, it signaled the end of my six-year personal crusade in pursuit of my father’s “fight”—for a one-time pension from the United States government in recognition of his valor and sacrifices during WWII and in the Bataan Death March.

How do I “tell” my father now that I failed him? That all the time, effort and emotions that I have invested in that crusade were for naught? That our fight was all along a lost cause?

Defeat has many faces. Mine will be engraved forever on my father’s tombstone.

But I write this piece not only to honor my beloved departed father. I am writing this, too, for all his comrades-in-arms, brave and selfless freedom fighters, who are still living and whose claims have been denied as well:  Would that, in spite of your age, you will still find the resoluteness to fight with all your might for what rightfully belongs to you. You deserve it; above all, you’ve earned it. Who knows, you might be more fortunate than my late father?

Romana F. Gella, 69, waged a personal crusade on her father’s one-time war veteran US pension.