$198 million to go to Filapino vets

[Zkribbler]

In WW II, the U.S. made a deal with Filapinos that, if they'd fight along side us against the Japanese, those who did so would be given U.S. citizenship and army pensions. They did.

Then in 1946, Congress passed a law signed by Pres. Truman to strip them of their U.S. citizenship and deny them their pensions. For decades, they've been fighting to get these back.

Congress just voted money for their pensions, not monthly payments as original promised, but lump sums of, IIRC, $5,000 for those who have since become U.S. citizens and $3,000 for those who haven't.

Too great a debt, too little repaid, decades late. A bittersweet victory.


http://www.npr.org/templates/player/...02&m=101024286

[onodera]

I have never liked Truman.

[chequita guevara]

Wow, what an amazing FU to all those vets.

Of course, since the communists were one of those groups that fought along side the U.S., I can understand why the U.S. decided to shaft them.

[Aeson]

I never knew that about the promise and stripping them of it later... despicable on our part. $5k after 60 years is disgusting. $3k to those who never did get their US Citizenship back (meaning that the broken promise ****ed them twice over) is even more disgusting.

[Lancer]

A broken promise is a terrible thing. That said why the promise was made in the first place is beyond me. Being paid to free your own? Wtf is that?

Getting the damned politicos to stop being so eager to even promise to hand out taxpayer money is a trick itself.