Screening of 'A Long March'
Filipino-American World War II Veterans and their Fight for Redress
by Benjamine Mo, Volunteer Writer for the Center on Asian Americans and the Law
On February 21, the Center on Asian Americans and the Law hosted a screening and panel discussion of A Long March, a documentary about Filipino-American World War II veterans’ efforts to reclaim U.S. war-service benefits the United States promised to them but retracted under the Rescission Act of 1946. Senior Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provided opening remarks. The panel discussion, moderated by Professor Thomas Lee, Leitner Family Professor of International Law, featured TS (Tammy) Botkin, Director of A Long March, and Captain Florencio J. Yuzon, Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy.
Grounded in primary sources from the National Archives and interviews with surviving veterans and their descendants, the film presents a compelling historical narrative of the American empire at war and its aftermath. The centerpiece of the story is the sacrifice endured by Filipino veterans who fought under the American banner during WWII and the U.S. Congress reneging on promises of recognition and benefits through the Rescission Act of 1946. With their benefits revoked, the dwindling number of surviving Filipino-American veterans and their descendants continue the fight for benefits and U.S. national recognition of their extraordinary contributions to the war effort.
In explaining her motivations for writing, producing, and directing the film, Tammy Botkin asked: "Do we want to go back and look at the past—and rectify any of it?" Or will we, as a nation, forget the past and move forward self-righteously as if we can do, and have done, no wrong? Botkin seeks to spotlightexpl the historical betrayal and inspire Americans today to action to remedy past wrongs before all the veterans have died.
U.S. Navy Captain Yuzon poignantly reflected on his own experiences as a Filipino-American naval officer and lawyer over 25 years of service spent aboard naval warships (eight deployments) and at the White House and the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He reflected upon the fact that Filipino-Americans were restricted for decades to U.S. naval service as or kitchen specialists. And he recounted his own firsthand experience with how perceptions of inferiority directed to service members of Filipino descent has endured long after those restrictions were lifted. The moral obligation of our nation, he expressed, is clear: "A person who serves and gets out is a veteran. They’re entitled to the benefits."
Our evening together underscored the unrelenting spirit and patriotic pride with which Filipino-American WWII veterans and their descendants continue the fight for their rights and recognition as true American heroes.
