Waging a battle for benefits Filipino-American WWII vets say U.S. owes

  them

  Jonathan T. Lovitt

  06/18/1997

  USA Today

  FINAL

  Page 02A

  (Copyright 1997)

  LOS ANGELES -- He was a teen-age guerrilla fighting alongside U.S. soldiers

  under Gen. Douglas MacArthur to drive Japanese invaders from his native

  Philippines.

  But Dalmacio Austria, now 72, finds himself in another battle, a quieter, in part

  symbolic one, for benefits that the U.S. government promised during World War

  II.

  Since Saturday he has sat peacefully in a semicircle of lawn chairs with nine

  other Filipino veterans chained to their former commander's statue in MacArthur

  Park.

  They plan to continue their protest, and for some a hunger strike, until Congress

  grants full benefits, under the GI Bill of Rights, to an estimated 70,000 surviving

  Filipino veterans.

  The bill guarantees assistance in education, home purchasing, job training and

  medical treatment. Nearly 8 million WWII veterans received education under the

  bill.

  Filipino troops were promised full benefits when they enlisted in the U.S.

  military. But in 1946, Congress broke that promise when it passed the Rescission

  Act, which gave benefits only to wounded Filipinos or the families of those who

  died in action.

  ``Mac (MacArthur) was our savior back then. He promised to come back and he

  did. His spirit is here with us today,'' Austria said. ``We fought bravely then. We

  risked everything. And now we have to show the government we mean

  business.''

  ``I'm getting pretty hungry,'' said Angel de la Cruz, 72, draped in the Stars and

  Stripes and a crisscross of chains. ``And I won't eat a bite until we get what's

  coming to us.''

  Dozens of other Filipino veterans joined the vigil but are not chained. They sit in

  chairs in a drained pond below MacArthur's statue.

  Some have wives with them. Most wear veterans caps and hold signs.

  They sip geriatric-nutritional beverages by the case and shade themselves from

  the blazing sun with umbrellas. Nights are spent in the same chairs, but they

  trade the umbrellas for pillows and blankets.

  Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., said the protest should help get the attention of

  Congress. Filner is co-author of the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, which would

  reinstate benefits.

  The bill, introduced in February, is stuck in committee. The main stumbling

  block is the cost: between $700 million and $1 billion.

  ``Those are the maximum figures. I'm sure we could do the honorable thing for a

  whole lot less,'' Filner said in a telephone interview from his Washington office.

  Esperanza Ladia, whose husband, Francisco, 70, is among the chained hunger

  strikers, is worried about his health. ``He's stubborn, but I don't want him to hurt

  himself.''

  Filner agrees.

  ``They should probably eat. They've drawn a lot of attention to their plight, but

  the bill still has to go through the regular process. I don't want any of these men

  starving to death just to get what they deserve.''

  PHOTO, B/W, Bob Riha Jr., USA TODAY