BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AJR 37|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 37
Author: Bonta (D), et al.
Amended: 6/27/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 6/27/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Filipino veterans
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution requests that the Congress of the
United States pass specified federal legislation pertaining to
Filipino veterans of World War II in recognition of their loyal
and selfless duty to the Philippines and to the United States.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1)The Legislature has always properly recognized the service and
sacrifice of all veterans and, in August 2011, passed Assembly
Bill 199 to encourage the inclusion of the role of Filipinos
during World War II in the social sciences curriculum for
grades 7 to 12, inclusive, in California.
2)On July 26, 1941, the United States Army Forces in the Far
East (USAFFE) was created by a military order by the United
States War Department and signed by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, which federalized all military units in the United
States Commonwealth of the Philippines into the service of the
United States Army under the command of General Douglas
AJR 37
Page 2
MacArthur.
3)On December 8, 1941, just six hours after the bombing of Pearl
Harbor, the Philippines was invaded by Japan. On December 24,
1941, in accordance with War Plan Orange 3, the USAFFE made a
strategic retreat to the Bataan Peninsula which guarded the
entrance of Manila Bay. Filipino soldiers of the USAFFE made
up seven-eighths of the main line of resistance in the Battle
of Bataan. Despite the lack of training and equipment and
fighting without any air support, the Filipino and American
soldiers of the USAFFE fought with great distinction and
inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese Army in the Battle of
Abucay, Battle of the Points, and Battle of the Pockets in
January and February 1942. Because of the Europe First Policy,
the USAFFE troops were unable to receive necessary
reinforcement, which led to massive disease and starvation.
However, they performed a delaying action that disrupted the
timetable of the Japanese Army of 52 days, defending the
Bataan Peninsula for 99 days.
4)On April 9, 1942, General Edward P. King, Jr., Commanding
General of the Luzon Forces, was forced to surrender 75,000
USAFFE troops consisting of 63,000 Filipino and 12,000
American soldiers, most suffering from disease and starvation.
Those soldiers were forced to march some 60 miles to their
prison camp at Camp O'Donnell in searing heat with barely any
provisions for food, water, shelter, or medicine. Those who
could no longer go on were beaten, bayoneted, shot, and some
even beheaded by their captors. Approximately 10,000 Filipino
and 750 American soldiers died along the way in what became
known as the Bataan Death March. Once inside Camp O'Donnell,
another 20,000 Filipino and 1,600 American soldiers died. On
May 6, 1942, Lt. General Jonathan Wainwright, Commanding
General of the United States Forces in the Philippines,
surrendered Corregidor and the rest of the Philippines to
General Masaharu Homma of the Japanese Army.
5)From 1942 until 1945, Filipinos made up a majority of the
Guerrilla groups which laid the groundwork for the eventual
AJR 37
Page 3
liberation of the Philippines which started in October 1944
with the Leyte Landing and the Battle of Leyte Gulf and ended
on September 3, 1945, with the surrender of General Tomoyuki
Yamashita of the Japanese Army to the Allied Forces.
6)The Philippine nation suffered heavy casualties from December
8, 1941, until September 3, 1945. Beginning in 1944, a
systematic extermination of civilians (Zonas) and prisoners of
war took place all over the Philippines. During the Battle of
Manila between February and March 1945, approximately 100,000
civilians perished in Manila, many by massacres. By the end of
the war, approximately 1,000,000 civilians had perished in the
Philippines and Manila, once called the Pearl of the Orient,
became the second most devastated city during World War II
after Warsaw, Poland.
7)The men and women of the Philippines and United States
performed an invaluable service in defense of the United
States and the Philippines from July 26, 1941, to December 31,
1946. In the Philippines it consisted of the Philippine Scouts
(part of the Philippine Department), the Philippine
Commonwealth Army, Recognized Guerrillas, and the New
Philippine Scouts. In the United States, the First Filipino
Infantry Regiment, 2nd Filipino Infantry Battalion (Separate),
and First Reconnaissance Battalion were activated between July
and October 1942, in California.
8)In February and May 1946, a great injustice was inflicted on
the Filipino soldiers with the passage of the First and Second
Surplus Rescission Acts, which deemed the service of the
organized military forces of the Government of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines including organized guerrilla
forces, while such forces were in the service of the United
States Armed Forces pursuant to the military order of the
President dated July 26, 1941, as not to have been active
military, naval, or air service for the purposes of any law of
the United States conferring rights, privileges, or benefits
upon any person by reason of the service of such person or the
service of any other person in the United States Armed Forces.
AJR 37
Page 4
This resolution resolves that the Legislature requests that the
Congress pass H.R. 2737 and S. 1555 in recognition of the loyal
and selfless duty of Filipino veterans of World War II to the
Philippines and the United States.
Background
The 114th Congress (2015-2016) has been considering two
identical measures - S. 1555 and H.R. 2737 - which authorizes
award of the Congressional Gold Medal to the Filipino Veterans
of World War II in recognition of their dedicated during World
War II.
According to the United States House of Representatives History,
Art, and Archives Web site:
Since the American Revolution, Congress has commissioned gold
medals as its highest expression of national appreciation for
distinguished achievements and contributions. Each medal
honors a particular individual, institution, or event.
Although the first recipients included citizens who
participated in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and
the Mexican War, Congress broadened the scope of the medal to
include actors, authors, entertainers, musicians, pioneers in
aeronautics and space, explorers, lifesavers, notables in
science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public
servants, and foreign recipients.
(http://history.house.gov/Institution/Gold-Medal/Gold-Medal-Rec
ipients/)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/26/16)
AJR 37
Page 5
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/26/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 6/27/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
McCarty, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood
NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins, Harper, Medina, Thurmond, Rendon
Prepared by: Wade Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503
8/3/16 19:14:35
**** END ****