A commonwealth with the promise of independence, soldiers fighting and training alongside Americans for the United States but denied naturalization and rights, Filipinos found themselves in a unique circumstance. Even after the US pulled out of the Philippines, the resistance against Japanese occupation continued, extending to the trained, the regular citizens, and the women seeking to contribute their part beyond traditional roles. These groups played a crucial role in the regaining of the Philippines. Sadly, an independent Philippines did not come warmly with the promised benefits of military service after the war.
Since the Philippine-American War from 1899-1902, the Philippines was a US commonwealth, and Filipinos had the unique status as "US nationals." This allowed them to come and go without restriction, however they were not considered citizens and were denied naturalization rights. Therefore there was frequent migration, and Filipinos came seeking economic opportunities. Most had jobs as domestic servants and agricultural workers, forbidden to intermarry.
Due to American administration and colonial education in the Philippines, Filipino immigrants were introduced to American political culture even before coming to the US, and they felt an identification with the US absent with other Asian immigrants. They cared about the American values of democracy and freedom and wished them for their own home country.
In 1934 the Tydings-McDuffie Act, also known as the Philippine Independence Act, was passed. It established the process for the Philippines to become an independent country over a ten-year transition period. The act allowed the US to maintain military forces in the Philippines and to call all military forces of the Philippines into US military service, as well as the ability to negotiate matters relating to US naval reservations and fueling stations on the Islands. The act also restricted immigration and travel to and from the Philippines.
Hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Japan invaded the Philippines. US military bases were already established in the Philippines, as well as the Philippine Commonwealth Army, whose expansion had been financed by the US military. Later in 1941, the War Department created the US Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). It called all organized military forces in the Philippines to fight for the US, commanded under General Douglas MacArthur. The USAFFE worked with Americans and Filipinos, and the War in the Philippines lasted two years.
Many of the military items and machinery requested by General MacArthur were not received, and as a result the USAFFE had shortages and limited equipment. Soldiers used old equipment and rifles against the modern artillery and machine guns of the Japanese. Many Filipino units went into battle without ever having fired their weapons or using their artillery. Furthermore, low education levels and different dialects and languages made coordination, training, and communication doubly difficult. Enlisted soldiers spoke various dialects, officers spoke the main dialect, Tagalog, and American officers spoke English. This greatly slowed training and relaying of information, in addition to logistical challenges already present.
The Bataan Death March
After the failed Battle of Bataan in April 1942, almost 80,000 Filipino and American soldiers surrendered, the largest surrender in American and Filipino history. These soldiers then marched over sixty miles north, experiencing severe physical abuse and torture. There were 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino deaths compared to 500 to 600 American deaths during the march, killed in a war fought for themselves and others. The March served as a precursor to the brutal treatment of the Philippine citizens later on.
Though not involved in the Bataan Death March, Platoon Leader Felipe Fernandez often mused on his small role in the war. He received a Silver Star medal after the Battle of Tayug in 1941, and later he wondered:
"What if the Japanese were able to break through my line, would there be a successful withdrawal of the entire USAFFE at the bridge in Layac junction? Would there be a Bataan campaign which upset the Japanese timetable in their conquest giving the United States ample time to prepare for an all out war? Would there be a Bataan Death March? Would there be a prison camp at O’Donell where my father-in-law died?"
After the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor in 1942, General MacArthur relocated to Australia, and his iconic vow “I came out of Bataan and I shall return” brought hope to the Philippine People and inspired resistance, regardless of whether or not they believed he would come back.
Filipinos were described as having "both guts and intelligence, plus the type of national spirit that makes him a most dangerous antagonist for the Jap" (Nov. 1944, Ceylon Review). Though they were not citizens, they fought fiercely and with pride for a country that had colonized them and promised independence and veterans benefits. They fought for the possibility of a bright future separate from Japanese or American rule.
First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments
Soldiers such as Private Perfecto Porcalla, a Filipino from the Armored Replacement Training Center and a taxi driver in Washington DC before the war, joined one of two all-Filipino units, the First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments. Both regiments quickly swelled with workers of the coastal orchards, fields, canneries, and colleges, and they fought in the Pacific. Like Mexican-Americans, many soldiers came into contact with the American color line for the first time during service. In the color binary, they, too, were considered white.
Guerrillas
In addition to official regiments and armies at the start of the war, there were over 260,000 Filipino guerrillas who resisted the Japanese occupation of the Philippine Islands after the US left. The Philippine Scouts and Guerrilla Forces did not wait for the Americans to return, but fought in outrage of the torture, capture, and maltreatment of Filipino citizens and lack of civil liberties. The Guerrilla forces were made up of army veterans and ordinary citizens, such as farmers and teachers.
Severo Guerrero, who was a college student in the Philippines when war broke out, served as a guerrilla under Japanese occupation. He detailed the intense food shortages, the POW camp at Santo Tomas, and the constant stress of the Japanese.
"During World War II, when the Japanese were there we were always under stress. We couldn’t understand what they were saying, but eventually as I learned Japanese I understood what they said, but we were always under stress that they would come and they would shoot us." - Severo Guerrero
Female Guerrillas
Though Filipino culture was historically conservative and patriarchal for women, the threat and imposition of Japanese occupation did not allow for the traditional standards of gender. The war provided an opportunity for Filipinas to serve their country and progress women's rights and gender equality.
It is estimated that ten percent of the resistance was female. Filipina guerrillas proved they were fully capable of many roles: soldiers, activists, journalists, doctors, spies, and leaders, all under the threat of rape and bodily harm from the Japanese army. By establishing guerrilla networks throughout the islands, they were an essential aspect of the fighting and reconnaissance missions that allowed the Allies an opportunity to retake the Philippines.
Yay Panlilio was a Filipina-Irish-American journalist who helped lead an army of guerrillas with Major Marcos v. Agustin. She organized reports, letters, decision-making, and took care of the sick and wounded. In her autobiography The Crucible, she tells of how women were regarded as second-class citizens with suspicion and dislike, but also how they were courageous and devoted to the cause.
Josefa Capistrano and other women organized the Women's Auxiliary Service (WAS) in 1943. It served to ensure that guerrilla fighters in Mindanao had food and shelter. The WAS administered first aid and treated the wounded, and members learned how to use firearms, self-defense, and reconnaissance.
“We believe that we owe allegiance to America...We want no independence by treachery. Our independence will come to us in the benevolent manner consistent with the way America treated us for more than two-score years, or we will get it in due time, on the field of battle if we still want it that badly, without the help of an aggressor who transgressed us and calls us brother and no whips us to arms against those who would help us and punish him.” - The Marking Guerrillas’ Creed
However, in 1946 Congress passed the Rescission Acts, which removed Filipinos' veteran status and retroactively voided the benefits, pensions, and US citizenship promised to veterans and their families.
While members of the Old Philippine Scouts were able to receive full veterans benefits, those in the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines, Recognized Guerrilla Forces, and New Philippine Scouts were not eligible. Many Filipino WWII veterans remained unacknowledged and without benefits. They had courageously fought and died alongside American soldiers, and yet not until recently did they receive acknowledgement from the US government.
In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided lump-sum payments of $15,000 to surviving Filipino veterans who were American citizens and $9,000 to non-citizens. Unfortunately, even this was faulty, as the lists required for compensation were incomplete. Many aging veterans lived in poverty, unable to pay health bills and living expenses if their families did not support them.
Though they are proud of their service, Filipino veterans and their families continue to fight for recognition and benefits today in light of their sacrifice decades ago.
Sources
- Felipe Fernandez, "After 67 Years I Still Wonder," Filipinos WWII US Military Service, 8 October 2009, http://filipinos-ww2usmilitaryservice.tripod.com/id57.html
- Severo Guerrero, Oral History, Veterans History Project, 2001, http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.10813.
- Armored News, 4 October 1943, http://www.servicenewspapers.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/Armored_News_Vol_4_No_3_October_4_1943.
- Christopher Klein, "Filipino Americans Fought With U.S. in WWII, Then Had to Fight for Veterans Benefits," History, 12 November 2019, https://www.history.com/news/filipino-americans-veterans-day.
- "Women Warriors of the Philippines – WWII Heroines Helped Liberate Their Country," War History Online, 25 June 2018, https://www.warhistoryonline.com/guest-bloggers/women-warriors-philippines-wwii.html
- "Filipino Infantry Regiment in the US Army 1943," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imq6XDzjSIo.
- Corinne Strandjord, “Filipino Resistance to Anti-Miscegenation Laws in Washington State,” Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium, University of Washington, 2009, https://depts.washington.edu/depress/filipino_anti_miscegenation.shtml.
- Ceylon Review, 4 November 1944, http://www.servicenewspapers.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/LBY_E_J_005544_5_19.
- Alex Fabros, "A Short History of the 1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments of the U.S. Army in World War II," Military Museum, 8 February 2016, http://www.militarymuseum.org/Filipino.html.
- Faye Cura, "Women and War," Filipinas Heritage Library, 2 February 2019, https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/women-and-war-filipinas-heritage-library/ZwKyk5CtcXJIJw?hl=en.
- Yay Panlilio, "The Marking Guerrilla's Creed." The Crucible: An Autobiography by Colonel Yay, Filipina American Guerrilla. Rutgers University Press, 2010.
Credits:
Created with an image by John Edmund Dela Torre - "Dreamy Shore"