Mr. DONOHUE. He said there was $22,500,000 allocated for that purpose.

Mr. MAGSAYSAY. The enabling act, I think, appropriates $22,000,000 for construction.

Mr. PATTERSON (committee staff). That is Public Law 865 of the Eightieth Congress, which contains an authorization for $22,500,000. By Public Law 266, Eightieth-first Congress, $9,400,000 has been appropriated.

Mr. BATES. How many guerrillas do you estimate there are who do not come under the provisions of the present law?

Mr. MAGSAYSAY. About 1,500 who are disabled in combat.

Mr. BATES. I thought that was the figure you gave that will require hospitalization; but that is the total, all included?

Mr. MAGSAYSAY. No; not over about 2,000.

Mr. DONOHUE. Do I understand there were but 2,000 Filipinos engaged in guerrilla warfare?

Mr. MAGSAYSAY. More than that, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. DONOHUE. How many would you say?

Mr. MAGSAYSAY. You are asking for those who have not been recognized?

Mr. DONOHUE. No; your estimate of the number of Filipinos who were engaged in guerrilla warfare with our forces during the past

war.

Mr. MAGSAYSAY. My estimate is more or less the same number as those recognized. The recognized number is 250,000-a little more than 250,000.

Mr. BATES. In the report I notice it is estimated that there are around 330,000 veterans of the Philippine Army.

Mr. MAGSAYSAY. That includes the Philippine Army.

Mr. DONOHUE. Do you desire to comment on the educational feature of these two bills?

Mr. MAGSAYSAY. I would keep quiet; I would prefer not to make any comment, Mr. Chairman. I know you are confronted with heavy expenditures and the Herculean effort you are making to meet important problems of the United States Government, and I desire to leave this matter to the good judgment of the committee, although I am for the inclusion of this benefit if it will not kill the whole bill and I also agree, of course, with the recommendation of Congressman Kearney as far as educational benefits for the Philippine soldiers. Mr. DONOHUE. Thank you very much.

We will next hear from Congressman Van Zandt.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES E. VAN ZANDT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA

Mr. VAN ZANDT. Mr. Chairman, I am James E. Van Zandt, representing the Twenty-second District of Pennsylvania.

I want to appear before the committee this morning in support of this group of bills which would provide burial benefits and education and training benefits to those persons who served under the organized military forces of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in World War II.

Some months ago it was my privilege to appear before this committee in support of legislation that has since been enacted into law,

which provides certain benefits to those who served in the military forces of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. At that time I made a statement, and I would like to repeat that statement this morning, since I feel it covers the situation at this time. I said at that time:

Madam Chairman and members of the committee, this legislation has my support and especially title III which concerns hospitalization.

Probably no Member of Congress enjoys more knowledge of the benefactors of this bill than I, mainly because of the fact it was my privilege to serve and work with them during World War II in the Central and Southwest Pacific.

As many of you know, my command was a group of LST's, with whom I participated in the majority of the invasions necessary to retake the many islands making up the Philippine group. It was during this period of service that I learned to know the Philippine soldier and the circumstances under which he was serving.

For a few moments I would like to go back to the time when President Roosevelt addressed himself to the Philippine people, via radio, urging them to hold fast, and so forth. At that time, he assured those who were physically able and willing to participate in military action, to do so, and in due time they would be recognized as members of our armed forces.

Now, a statement of President Roosevelt was inserted in the record at that time, and I will insert that in the record at this time as a part of my remarks, if I have your permission.

Mr. DONOHUE. Unless there is objection, that permission is granted. (The statement above referred to is as follows:)

Under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the United States and by section 2 (a) (12) of the Philippine Independence Act of March 24, 1934, * * * I hereby call and order into the service of the armed forces of the United States for the period of the existing emergency * * * all of the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. * * * This order shall take effect with relation to all units and personnel of the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.-President Roosevelt, July 26, 1941.

* * * Our forces in the Philippines, which include the brave people of the Commonwealth, are taking punishment but are defending themselves vigorously. -President Roosevelt, December 9, 1941.

News of your gallant struggle against the Japanese aggression has elicited the profound admiration of every American. * * * The people of the United States never forget what the people of the Philippine Islands are doing this day and will do in the days to come. I give to the people of the Philippine Islands my solemn pledge that their freedom will be redeemed and their independence established and protected. The entire resources, in men and in material, of the United States stand behind that pledge.—President Roosevelt, December 28, 1941. ** * It was bitter for us not to be able to land a million men and a thousand ships in the Philippine Islands. But this adds only to our determination to see to it that the Stars and Stripes will fly again over Wake and Guam; and that the brave people of the Philippines will be rid of Japanese imperialism, and will live in freedom, security, and independence.-President Roosevelt, January 5, 1942.

I told General Wainright that the gallant struggle of his comrades in the Philippines had inspired every soldier, sailor, and marine and all workers in our shipyards and munitions plants. I said that he and his devoted followers had become the living symbol of our war aims and the guaranty of our victory. * * * We have never forgotten the courage of our men at Bataan and Corregidor. Their example inspired every American in the stren days at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Salerno, and Normandy. And in every campaign-on battle front or home front-we remember those men, and the memory spurs us to greater effort.President Roosevelt, May 5, 1942.

*

* *

* * Both nations and peoples had kept faith with each other during all these years. Confidence in each other's good faith was firmly established-and it was cemented into place during the bitter months of ordeal which followed the treachery of Japan. * The brave people of the Philippines-their army and their civilians-stood shoulder to shoulder with the Americans in the fight against overwhelming odds-resolute to shed their blood in defense of their liberty.-President Roosevelt, November 15, 1942.

The story of the fighting on Bataan and Corregidor-and indeed everywhere in the Philippines-will be remembered so long as men continue to respect bravery, and devotion, and determination. When the Filipino people resisted the Japanese invaders with their very lives, they gave final proof that here was a nation fit to be respected as the equal to any on earth, not in size or wealth, but in the stout heart and national dignity which are the true measures of a people. * * * You will soon be redeemed from the Japanese yoke and you will be assisted in the full repair of the ravages caused by the * * I call upon you, the heroic people of the Philippines, to stand firm in your faith-to stand firm against the false promises of the Japanese, just as your fighting men and our fighting men stood firm together against their barbaric attacks. * * * The United States and the Philippines have learned the principles of honest cooperation, of mutual respect, in peace and in war. For those principles we have fought-by those principles we shall live.-President Roosevelt, August 13, 1943.

war.

*

On this tenth anniversary of the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, I take the opportunity of conveying again a message of friendship and good will to the people of the Philippines. American-Filipino friendship has had a long history. The bill for Philippine independence which I signed just 10 years ago was a manifestation of that friendship. It is a source of deep gratification to me to be able to say to the brave people, who are now bearing the yoke of Japanese domination, that, the return of freedom to their islands draws closer with each allied victory. The Philippine Government temporarily residing here possesses all the attributes of an independent nation. America will fulfill its pledge.President Roosevelt, March 24, 1944.

The sufferings, humiliation, and mental tortue that you have endured since the barbarous, unprovoked, and teacherous attack upon the Philippines nearly three long years ago have aroused in the hearts of the American people a righteous anger, a stern determination to punish the guilty, and a fixed resolve to restore peace and order and decency to an outraged world. * * * Our plans for the dignity and freedom of the people of the Philippines have been ruthlesslybut only temporarily-brushed aside by Japanese acts of exploitation and enslavement. When the Japanese invaders have been driven out, the Philippines will take their place as a free and independent member of the family of nations. On this occasion of the return of General MacArthur to Philippine soil with our airmen, our soldiers, and our sailors, we renew our pledge. We and our Philippine brothers in arms-with the help of Almighty God-will drive out the invader; we will destroy his power to wage war again, and we will restore a world of dignity and freedom-a world of confidence and honesty and peace.-President Roosevelt, October 20, 1944.

Mr. VAN ZANDT (reading):

Then, I too recall a statement of the commander in chief of the American forces in the Southwest Pacific, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who on the radio urged the Filipinos and especially the Philippine Scouts and members of the Philippine National Army and others who were physically able to do so, to resist the Japanese forces with the understanding they would be recognized as members of the armed forces of the United States.

When invading the Philippine Islands, many times, numerous Philippine soldiers were on board my flagship. Frankly, I looked upon them as members of our armed forces and treated them accordingly. Many of these Filipinos were sent ashore under the cover of darkness for the purpose of bringing back to our forces information as to enemy installations and numbers. In other words, at the risk of their lives, they spied on the enemy to furnish our forces with information on which we built plans for the successful invasions of Leyte and Linguyen Gulfs, Subic Bay, Patangas, Legaspi, Mindanao, Palawan, Panay, Cebu, and numerous others. I repeat again it was my opinion these Filipino boys were part of our armed forces and it is for that reason I feel that they are entitled to the benefits prescribed by this bill.

That is the bill we enacted in 1948 as well as the bills we have before us now.

Upon the conclusion of the war in the Pacific theater my group of LST's were assigned the job of transporting many of these Filipino boys from shallow water harbors of southern Philippine Islands to the deep-water harbor of Leyte Gulf and Manila Bay. Upon arrival in these deep-water harbors the Filipinos were transferred to nearby hospitals for treatment.

May I say I will never forget as long as I live the sights I saw in bringing these boys back, especially to Manila. They were all infected with malaria and beri-beri, and some had wounds that were partially healed. Gangrene had set in, frankly it was a terrible sight. We, of course, delivered them to the hospitals in the Manila area.

On several occasions I took time to visit these so-called hospitals only to find they were nothing more than canvas huts damp from the constant rain and in many respects filthy-making them unfit for a wounded or injured soldier to receive treatment. I remember the long rows of cots and the Filipinos occupying them. Many were suffering from TB, some had legs and arms off, eyes out, many had bodies torn from shrapnel, and numerous with shattered minds. The sight was simply awful and I confess it made me sick in the stomach.

A doctor was asked about medical instruments and medicine. What he showed me was obsolete and most inadequate to fill the requirements of the several thousand men awaiting treatment. The Filipino doctors and nurses were on the job but had little or no equipment to work with.

In general, what I saw convinced me that my country, sooner or later, would have to assume the responsibility of taking care of these men who served in our armed forces.

In October 1946 on my return to the Philippine Islands once again I visited these hospitals only to find the conditions had improved in many ways but still the conditions were very bad. Most of the Filipino boys with legs and arms off were still patients, many of the TB boys had died, but the mental patients had increased in number. The same old story of shortage of medicine and equipment was given me by the doctors and nurses. In a few words, here I found a group of veterans of our armed forces suffering from wounds and disease without proper medical care being furnished by the Government of the United States.

When conferring with commanding general of USAFFE, information was furnished to the effect that the several million Filipinos claiming service with our armed forces were being screened and at that moment the number had been reduced to about 250,000. Of course, since that was October 1946, I imagine today by further screening the number has been reduced greatly. Of the number who are actually veterans of our armed services, the 3,000 patients to benefit from this bill are a small percentage and the least we can and must do is to give them real honest-to-goodness hospitalization.

Following that I was asked several questions by members of the committee, but I think it is unnecessary for me to repeat my answers to those questions at this time. I simply want to reaffirm everything I said back in 1948 and in doing so support this legislation.

In my opinion, based on my experience and associations with these Filipino soldiers, they were part of our military forces, therefore it is the responsibility of the Government of the United States to treat them as veterans and, if possible, the same as we treat our own veterans of World War II.

So I am heartily in accord with the legislation and want to give my support to it at this time.

That is all I have to say.

Mr. DONOHUE. If there are no questions, thank you very much. We will now hear from the former Ambassador to the Philippines, Mr. Emmet O'Neal.

STATEMENT OF HON. EMMET O'NEAL, FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Mr. O'NEAL. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I will try to be very brief. I would like to state, first, that Mr. Magsaysay, who testified here and has come from the Philippines to testify, is a colonel of the guerillas not only with a very distinguished and wellrecognized service as an army officer but also as a member of the

House of Representatives of the Philippines. He is a congressman of the Philippines. I thought that statement should be made.

It is somewhat confusing as to the different types of Philippine soldiers, and I thought it might be of some interest to the committee, who have not gone into that, to know what these types are. I have a little separation here which rather explains it, I think. The first class would be veterans who served in the armed forces of the United States under direct enlistments, and then, to amplify a little bit, benefits have been given to them that have not been given to other types of Filipino soldiers. Then there is a second section of Philippine Scouts. They were recruited under authority of Public Law 190 of the Seventy-ninth Congress. We are not dealing with that group. The group this bill deals with is the third class, or veterans of the Commonwealth Army ordered into the armed forces of the United States pursuant to a military order of the President of the United States dated July 26, 1941, and recognized guerillas are members of that group. That is the group about which we are speaking. It has probably received more benefits and has been better recognized.

By legislation which has been passed by Congress, this third group of veterans of the Commonwealth Army have been recognized as soldiers of the American Army. They were ordered into service, much as our State militias came into the service, and became as much a part of the Federal Army as any other group, in my opinion. They were subject to orders from American Army officers; they were required to go where those orders directed. They had no choice in the matter, and at least we can say there is not the slightest distinction, as far as the obligation is concerned, between those men and other veterans of the American Army.

Those men have not been accorded some of the benefits afforded to other veterans of the American Army. One of those is the funeral flag and burial expense, which varies from 150 to 100 pesos in these bills. As you know, the peso is pegged to the dollar at about a 2 to 1 ratio; so it would be around $75 or $50, according to whichever bill you are considering.

(After a statement off the record:)

Mr. O'NEAL. Practically every man mentioned in this group would be benefited, and his family would be given the flag from the remains of the man who has borne arms under the American flag. I rather glory in the fact that they are seeking to have their last remains wrappd in the American flag, although they are citizens of a foreign country. I think it is a compliment to the administration of the Philippines while Americans were in control of it, and I think it is a fine gesture that the Philippine family of the dead Filipino want his remains to be carried away in a casket draped with the American flag, and I cannot see why there should be the slighest hesitation of providing that.

I also think it is extremely obligatory upon this country that the soldier, many of them dying as a result of their wounds, who was certainly a veteran, should have part of the funeral expenses-and this would only be part-paid for by the American Government. I cannot see why, when our veterans are helped-and, frankly, more substantially than what the Filipinos would receive, probably because the Filipino funeral would not be so expensive as the American funeral. may be they should not also be helped. And naturally it is not all of their expense. And I am highly in favor of the provisions of the