Amended in Assembly June 10, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Joint ResolutionNo. 37


Introduced by Assembly Member Bonta

April 21, 2016


Assembly Joint Resolution No. 37—Relative to Filipino veterans.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 37, as amended, Bonta. Filipino veterans.

This measure would request that the Congress of the United Statesbegin delete award the Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino veterans of World War II in recognition of their loyal and selfless duty to the Philippines and to the United States.end deletebegin insert pass H.R. 2737 and Sen. 1555.end insert

Fiscal committee: no.

P1    1WHEREAS, The Legislature has always properly recognized
2the service and sacrifice of all veterans and, in August 2011, passed
3Assembly Bill 199 to encourage the inclusion of the role of
4Filipinos during World War II in the social sciences curriculum
5for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, in California; and

6WHEREAS, On July 26, 1941, the United States Army Forces
7in the Far East (USAFFE) was created by a military order by the
8United States War Department and signed by President Franklin
9D. Roosevelt, which federalized all military units in the United
10States Commonwealth of the Philippines into the service of the
11United States Army under the command of General Douglas
12MacArthur; and

13WHEREAS, On December 8, 1941, just six hours after the
14bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Philippines was invaded by Japan.
P2    1On December 24, 1941, in accordance with War Plan Orange 3
2(WPO3), the USAFFE made a strategic retreat to the Bataan
3Peninsula which guarded the entrance of Manila Bay. Filipino
4soldiers of the USAFFE made up seven-eighths of the main line
5of resistance in the Battle of Bataan. Despite the lack of training
6and equipment and fighting without any air support, the Filipino
7and American soldiers of the USAFFE fought with great distinction
8and inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese Army in the Battle of
9Abucay, Battle of the Points, and Battle of the Pockets in January
10and February 1942. Because of the Europe First Policy, the
11USAFFE troops were unable to receive necessary reinforcement,
12which led to massive disease and starvation. However, they
13performed a delaying action that disrupted the timetable of the
14Japanese Army of 52 days, defending the Bataanbegin delete peninsulaend delete
15begin insert Peninsulaend insert for 99 days; and

16WHEREAS, On April 9, 1942, General Edward P. King, Jr.,
17Commanding General of the Luzon Forces, was forced to surrender
1875,000 USAFFE troops consisting of 63,000 Filipino and 12,000
19American soldiers,begin delete mostlyend deletebegin insert mostend insert suffering from disease and
20starvation. Those soldiers were forced to march some 60 miles to
21their prison camp at Camp O’Donnell in searing heat with barely
22any provisions for food, water, shelter, or medicine. Those who
23could no longer go on were beaten, bayoneted, shot, and some
24even beheaded by their captors. Approximately 10,000 Filipino
25and 750 American soldiers died along the way in what became
26known as the Bataan Death March. Once inside Camp O’Donnell,
27another 20,000 Filipino and 1,600 American soldiers died. On
28May 6, 1942, Lt. General Jonathan Wainwright, Commanding
29General of the United States Forces in the Philippines, surrendered
30Corregidor and the rest of the Philippines to General Masaharu
31Homma of the Japanese Army; and

32WHEREAS, From 1942 until 1945, Filipinos made up a majority
33of the Guerrilla groups which laid the groundwork for the eventual
34liberation of the Philippines which startedbegin delete onend deletebegin insert inend insert October 1944 with
35the Leyte Landing and the Battle of Leyte Gulf and ended on
36September 3, 1945, with the surrender of General Tomoyuki
37Yamashita of the Japanese Army to the Allied Forces; and

38WHEREAS, The Philippine nation suffered heavy casualties
39from December 8, 1941, until September 3, 1945. Beginning in
401944, a systematic extermination of civilians (Zonas) and prisoners
P3    1of war took place all over the Philippines. During the Battle of
2Manila between February and March 1945, approximately 100,000
3civilians perished in Manila, many by massacres. By the end of
4the war, approximately 1,000,000 civilians had perished in the
5Philippines and Manila, once called the Pearl of the Orient, became
6the second most devastated city during World War II after Warsaw,
7Poland; and

8WHEREAS, The men and women of the Philippines and United
9States performed an invaluable service in defense of the United
10States andbegin insert theend insert Philippines from July 26, 1941, to December 31,
111946. In the Philippines it consisted of the Philippine Scouts (part
12of the Philippine Department), the Philippine Commonwealth
13Army, Recognized Guerrillas, and the New Philippine Scouts. In
14the United States, the First Filipino Infantry Regiment, 2nd Filipino
15Infantry Battalion (Separate), and First Reconnaissance Battalion
16were activated between July and October 1942, in California; and

17WHEREAS, In February and May 1946, a great injustice was
18inflicted on the Filipino soldiers with the passage of the First and
19Second Surplus Rescission Acts, which deemed the service of the
20organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth
21of the Philippines including organized guerrilla forces, while such
22forces were in the service of the United States Armed Forces
23pursuant to the military order of the President dated July 26, 1941,
24as not to have been active military, naval, or air service for the
25purposes of any law of the United States conferring rights,
26privileges, or benefits upon any person by reason of the service of
27such person or the service of any other person in the United States
28Armed Forces; now,begin delete thereforeend deletebegin insert therefore,end insert be it

29Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
30California, jointly,
That thebegin delete Californiaend delete Legislature requests that
31the Congress of the United Statesbegin delete award the Congressional Gold
32Medal to Filipino veterans of World War II in recognition of their
33loyal and selfless duty to the Philippines and to the United States;end delete

34begin insert pass H.R. 2737 and Sen. 1555 in recognition of the loyal and
35selfless duty of Filipino veterans of World War II to the Philippines
36and to the United States;end insert
and be it further

37Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
38of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
39States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
40Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
P4    1from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
2author for appropriate distribution.



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