Amended in Assembly August 19, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 20

Introduced by Senator Yee

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Bonta)

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta, Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, and Yamada)

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March 4, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 20—Relative to Leyte Landing Commemoration Day.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 20, as amended, Yee. Leyte Landing Commemoration Day.

This measure would designate October 20, 2013, and each 20th day of October thereafter, as Leyte Landing Commemoration Day in recognition of the significance of the Leyte landing in liberating the Philippines from Japanese occupation, helping to establish the independence of the Philippines, and fostering closer ties between the Philippines and the United States.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Leyte Gulf Landing on October 20, 1944, led
by General Douglas MacArthur that commenced on the eastern
Philippine island of Leyte is remembered as the liberation of the
Philippines during World War II; and

WHEREAS, After General MacArthur had been evacuated from
the Philippines in March 1942, all of its islands fell under the
Japanese occupation from mid-1942 until mid-1944, which was
harsh, accompanied by atrocities, and with large numbers of
Filipinos pressed into slave labor; and

WHEREAS, When General Douglas MacArthur was ordered
to leave he had already established a strong rapport with the
Filipino people and the guerillas; he vowed, “I shall return” to
liberate them and the fulfillment of his promise is the reason that
General MacArthur was declared a hero; and

WHEREAS, During the war the efforts of Filipino and American
defenders during the Battle of Bataan were widely covered by the
press, as were the actions of the 100th Infantry and the 442nd
Infantry, including the 1951 film “Go for Broke!” portraying their
endeavors; and

WHEREAS, By contrast, the activities of the Filipino Infantry
Regiment and its sister units were largely unpublicized and it was
not until the documentaries “Unsung Heroes” and “An Untold
Triumph” that any significant visual media covered the history of
the regiment; and

WHEREAS, During the American reconquest of the Philippines,
the Filipino guerrillas began to strike openly against Japanese
forces, carried out reconnaissance activities ahead of the advancing
regular troops, and took their places in battle beside the advancing
American divisions; and

WHEREAS, One of the outcomes of the Leyte liberation was
the arrival of GI war brides coming home from the Philippines
after World War II to the United States, thus enlarging the growth
of a new generation of first and second generation Filipino
American-born offspring in the United States, a new milestone in
the population growth of Filipinos in the United States; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That October 20, 2013, and each 20th day of
October hereafter, is hereby designated and commemorated as
Leyte Landing Commemoration Day; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.