The Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015 passed the US Congress after the House of Representatives approved it on November 30th. The bill unanimously passed the Senate earlier this year on July 13, and is now one step closer to becoming a law, pending President Barack Obama’s signature.
Bataan Legacy Historical Society has organized the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Philippines at the War Memorial Veterans Building in San Francisco with Keynote Speaker Phil Gioia, Vietnam War Veteran and Director of the WWII Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C.
The 17-person delegation that trooped to Sacramento recently to press for the inclusion of the role of Filipino soldiers in World War II in California’s school curriculum hoped to get good news. They were somewhat disappointed. The delegation led by the Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS) included Filipino American Arts Exposition President and FWN100 Keeper of the Flame Al Perez; Ruth Asmundson (Global FWN100 '14); BLHS board members Major (Retired) Rick Villarina (Air Force) and Robert Hansen; former Lowell High School Dean Ray Cordoba; retired Judge Betty Bucat and Consul Reginald Bernabe, among others.
The Filipina victims of sexual slavery were not acknowledged during Emperor Akihito's visit to the Philippines last week. Filipina comfort women have been demanding recognition and justice from the Japanese government for the sexual exploitation and violence they suffered at the hands of Japanese soliders during WWII. There are about 70 Filipina comfort women still living, many of whom are over 80 years old. Their resolve and fight for justice remains unwavering after 60 years of struggle. News story from The New York Times.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution calling for a memorial to "comfort women" abused by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
Introduced by Supervisor Eric Mar (D1), the resolution is aimed at honoring some “200,000 women who were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery the Imperial Japanese Army during its colonial and wartime occupation” of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War.
News story from TheInquirer.net
In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Bataan Legacy Historical Society, Memorare Manila 1945, the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco & the San Francisco Public Library present World War II in the Philippines: The Legacy of Two Nations, An Exhibition & Conference. The four-month exhibition will open on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 10:30 AM at the San Francisco Main Public Library (Third Floor) located at 100 Larkin St., San Francisco, CA. The Conference will take place on Saturday, October 24th, 2015 at 10AM at the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Main Public Library. Both events are open to the public. Admissions is Free but Registration through Eventbrite (Bataan Legacy) is recommended for the Conference.
For further information, please visit bataanlegacy.org
Filipino-American World War II veterans who have been waiting for years to bring their family members to the U.S. will soon be able to do so through a new policy, the Obama administration announced on Wednesday.
News story courtesy of HuffPost Politics
