#filipino wwii vet

[nightcoremoon]

“James Hetfield is a racist because he has the iron cross on his guitar”

oh you mean the iron cross that ALL harley davidson bikers (of which he is one) use? the iron cross that was awarded to american wwii vets? that iron cross? okay.

“James Hetfield is a racist because Axl Rose allegedly said James called Ice T a n*gger”

oh you mean the axl rose that released the song one in a million whose lyrics include n*gger inspired by john lennon’s “woman is the n*gger of the world” that he in a later interview revealed was because he wanted to insult a specific group of black people who treated him poorly? that axl rose? really? okay.

“James Hetfield is a racist because he was in a photo with some guy who GASP wore a confederate flag shirt”

Oh you mean Kerry King? from Slayer??? okay.

“James Hetfield is a racist because his band is full of old white guys”

oh you mean the band comprised of the danish guy, the filipino guy, and the half mexican half native guy? that band? really? are you absolutely sure about that??? okay.

“I’m only saying that James Hetfield is a racist because I’m an attention whore profiting off of Metallica trending because of stranger things and I don’t actually care about fighting against white supremacy and in fact made a mockery out of racism and the people who fight it but I don’t care because I got my time in the limelight”

now THAT I can believe

god I despise problematic dave culture. annoying dumb bitch probably listens to taylor swift. or BOTDF. do one on led zeppelin next

[joshualunacreations]

(Please don’t repost or edit my work. Reblogs are always appreciated. Support my work here: https://www.patreon.com/joshualuna)

History has shown Filipinx are valued for our labor, not our voices. But the only thing more consistent than our exploitation and oppression is our resilience in the face of it. #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth

There are many horror stories about Filipinx being mistreated. Whether working in our home countries or as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), we're treated as a servant class no matter where we are—suffering long hours, low wages and benefits, and intentionally dehumanizing treatment.

For example, in 2019, a Filipina maid in Saudi Arabia was tied to a tree as "punishment" by her employers. An animator in the Philippines was fired for demanding a full-time salary for his full-time work. Filipina nurses who tried to quit an abusive New York nursing home got stuck in indentured servitude. Out of 66 US allies in WWII, only Filipino vets were denied payment and benefits that the US promised. Call center employees working as outsourced low-wage labor for US corps who've earned promotions and higher pay are given unrealistic quotas to get them fired. The list goes on.

I even experienced this myself in May, when I lost my publisher of 10+ years for—ironically—talking about the racism and oppression Filipinx and other Asians face. They were happy to publish my stories centering non-Filipinx, but not when I decided to center myself and other Fil-Ams.

In my industry (comics), the exploitation of Filipinx is a well-kept secret. In a recently released video by DC Comics—which was meant to highlight Filipinx creators—they inadvertently admit to hiring Filipinx only to circumvent paying striking American creators better wages.

But Filipinx don't stay silent, we fight back. From legendary Lapu-Lapu, Gabriela Silang, and the Katipunan—who resisted Spanish colonization and fought for independence—to Fil-Am labor leader Larry Itliong, Filipinx have a long tradition of organizing protests and revolutions.

Yet when we do speak up, our contributions can still be erased—sometimes by other POC. Itliong spearheaded a highly effective labor movement in the 30s and 40s when he organized the Delano grape strike and unionized laborers, but his work is often credited solely to César Chávez. A search for Itliong's name will result in articles and books that always acknowledge his collaboration with Chávez. But if you search for Chávez’s name, Itliong is rarely mentioned. This erasure hurts even more so because the whole movement was about solidarity between Mexican-Americans and Fil-Ams.

What this means is Filipinx are seen as exploitable labor by pretty much everyone: whites, other POC, even our own. That's why a major part of the Philippines' economy relies on remittances from OFWs sending their earnings home—one of the country's biggest exports is people.

So on this last day of #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth, let's all commit to fighting racial and class injustice, uplifting Fil-Am and Filipinx voices, and recognizing Filipinx contributions all year-round.

If you enjoy my comics, please pledge to Patreon or donate to Paypal. I recently lost my publisher for trying to publish these strips, so your support keeps me going until I can find a new publisher/lit agent.

https://twitter.com/Joshua_Luna/status/1134522555744866304

https://www.patreon.com/joshualuna

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/JoshuaLunaComics

[forcommunities]

Honoring @fanhs_national trustee emeritus #wwiiveteran #domingolosbaños (RIP). 💗#FANHSpa’s blessed by his #Philly visit @constitutionctr for @jamuseum’s #fightingfordemocracy exhibit, StAugustineChurch, @thisisfisdu in 2011. We thank you for all your work and inspiration. 🙏💐💕 https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/03/15/hawaii-news/domingo-los-banos-advocate-for-filipino-wwii-vets-dies/ (at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvITZJnhq2V/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13m39d9fp4ppr

[mixedfeelingsproject]

Aika

Where are you from? United States, South Carolina in particular.

How would you describe your race/ethnicity? half-Japanese, half-African American

Do you identify with one particular aspect of your ethnicity more than another? Have you ever felt pressure to choose between parts of your identity? In all honesty, I think that I identify more with my Japanese side, partly because I spent so much time with my mother growing up, as well as it being an embrace to otherness in an otherwise racially homogenous South. I also have a very hard to pronounce (at least for a lot of Americans) Japanese name, which I feel made my being "part-something-else" obvious. My mother never pressured me to choose, but I noticed she always filled out "Black" for me on any form, even when there are multiracial/choose all that apply options. My father pressured me into filling out my race simply as "Black" at the DMV when I first went, and I felt uncomfortable the rest of the day (like I had lied, even though I technically hadn't). On the form for the school I ended up going to, there was only one option for race, and I ended up choosing Asian. If there had been a way to show I was biracial, I would have gladly chose it.

Did your parents encounter any difficulties from being in an interracial relationship? Quite a few. One in the beginning was definitely the language barrier. According to my dad's side of the family, my mom had really bad English when she came to the States after marrying my dad (he was stationed in Okinawa when they met). Her English is a lot better now, but the cultural barrier is still there. My mom is still a Japanese citizen, so she is still has a very strong affinity for her country, and she and my dad often butt heads, him being an American military vet. Wars, especially WWII are touchy subjects in my house.

How has your mixed background impacted your sense of identity and belonging? I grew up mostly around black people (my dad's family) and I always felt like I was different. I never felt like I belonged. In elementary school, there were only a few other mixed kids, and most were mixed with white and black. I was always called "Chinese" by other kids, which really bothered me. I was also bullied as well, which led to me being ostracized up until high school. It wasn't until I got to high school in the same town that I met others like me. I live near a military base, so many of my new friends also had American dads and Asian moms. After getting to high school, I ended up hanging out with mostly other half-Asian kids, as well as some white and black kids. I felt very comfortable with the group of friends that I had made, but the comfort was short lived. I changed schools after sophomore year, to a very prestigious school that prided itself on its "diversity". Here, I ended up hanging out with mostly Asians, and I think that most of my peers at school see me as Asian because I'm very open about my Japanese side. The closest person I've met similar to me is my roommate, who is a quarter Japanese and 3/4 black.

Have you been asked questions like "What are you?" or "Where are you from?" by strangers? If so, how do you typically respond? I used to get asked all the time, but not so much anymore. I usually say I'm half-Japanese and half-Black, but I usually say just half-Japanese.

Have you experienced people making comments about you based on your appearance? I used to get called "Chinese" as an insult in elementary school, and my race was usually used as an insult when I was bullied by others.

Have you ever been mistaken for another ethnicity? Since there are virtually no other Japanese people where I live, I always get mistaken for half-Korean or half-Filipino (which is pretty common in my area in terms of half-Asians).

Have you ever felt the need to change your behavior due to how you believe others will perceive you? In what way? No, I haven't. I've always been a nonconformist.

What positive benefits have you experienced by being mixed? I'm able to participate in two cultures that are radically different, which is amazing.

Have you changed the way you identify yourself over the years? Verbally, I haven't, but on paper, yes. Now that I have to fill out my own paperwork, I've taken to only putting Asian on forms that only allow one race/ethnicity. I do this because even though I may not look completely Asian, I feel I culturally identify most with that side of me.

Are you proud to be mixed? Yes

[diaryofanangryasianguy]

04/08/17

Major General Tony Taguba sounds off on caregiving, Filipino WWII vets recognition

AFTER 35 illustrious years serving in the United States Army, Major General Antonio “Tony” Taguba has dedicated his life to two crucial missions: stressing the importance of family caregiving and assuring Filipino World War II Veterans receive the recognition they deserve.

As a veteran of the U.S. Army and the son of a Filipino WWII guerilla fighter who escaped the Bataan Death March, Taguba holds dearly to him the recognition of the efforts of Filipino WWII veterans, about 15,000 of whom are still alive today.

Filipino WWII veterans were one of the seven minority veterans who fought in the war with about 260,000 Filipinos lending their efforts to fight for the Allied Forces. However, they were “the last to have been disenfranchised, disassociated and denied recognition,” Taguba noted.

[itsfinancethings]

November 10, 2019 at 12:00PM

Veterans Day falls every Nov. 11 in the United States, and in recent years the White House has made it a month-long tribute to veterans by declaring November National Veterans and Military Families Month, honoring those who fight for the nation as well as the family members who support them.

And yet, it can sometimes be difficult for veterans to talk to their families about the sacrifices they’ve made. For some, it takes decades to open up; other veterans never really talk about what they saw. But that doesn’t mean their families don’t want to know. In fact, family members and descendants of American veterans — even many generations later — are often eager to learn more about the experiences their relatives may not have spoken about during their lives.

The question, then, is how.

The answer might at first seem easy. Free of charge, people can request military files through the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. But what they get back can sometimes be hard to decipher, or incomplete.

Social media has helped families make the research easier. People can sign up for webinars to learn how to begin a search at the National Archives or to research veterans of a specific conflict, like Korea. Sites for crowd-sourcing headstone information like FindAGrave.com and BillionGraves help people figure out where veterans are buried. The website Fold3 is searchable by war. And if families know the unit in which their ancestor served, some military units keep detailed histories.

Popular genealogy websites like Ancestry.com and MyHeritage have vast newspaper collections that date back to the Revolutionary War era, so users can search for obituaries and announcements about births, engagements, marriages and awards. On Ancestry.com, military records are also free to search until Nov. 17.

But because the research can be time consuming, some people hire research assistants and genealogists. And since May of 2018, there’s been another resource available particularly for those seeking World War II records, as the National WWII Museum in New Orleans has been helping families fill in those gaps.

One person helped by the service is John Harkness, 79, who lives in Starkville, Miss. Harkness didn’t grow up with many relatives around, but he had “Uncle Jimmy” — Jim Stover, who served in the Pacific during World War II. Harkness remembers many things about his Uncle Jimmy: he was a “linoleum layer, liquor drinker, bar fighter, deer hunter, fisherman” and a wonderful uncle who gave the best Christmas gifts. Harkness credits Stover with encouraging him to take a break from studying and get outside. “He made me a more well-rounded person,” he says.

He remembers being awestruck by seeing his Uncle Jimmy in his sailor uniform, and among his prized possessions passed down from Stover’s time in the Navy were a grass skirt and a bayonet. Stover told him about the good things about serving in the Pacific — singing the praises of the Filipino women he met and recounting how he helped build airfields — but, “as many vets do, he didn’t talk much about the sad aspects of the war,” Harkness says.

So, when Stover died in 2011, Harkness was left with questions. “I wish I could remember more of what he told me,” he remembers thinking.

Harkness didn’t even know where exactly Stover served in the Pacific or what he actually did during the war, or even anything about his life growing up in California before the war. But he happened to pass the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, and wondered if its staff could help him.

As it turns out, he wasn’t the first to have that idea. Well before the program was quietly launched last year, people had been contacting the museum for research help. Staff historians and researchers responded to individual inquiries as they came in, but there wasn’t a formal process for researching veterans’ lives for surviving family members. However, the oral-history program the museum ran, interviewing veterans about their experiences, was naturally slowing down as the number of living WWII veterans decreased, says Rob Citino, Senior Historian at the National WWII Museum. That situation meant a window was open for something new.

Now, for $99 (plus tax) the museum will request a veteran’s file and mail it to the customer. For another $300 (plus tax), they’ll write up a biography of the veteran’s military service. For about $2,500, the staff will produce a professionally bound book with a longer biography, including details on how the veteran enlisted, his or her time in basic and specialized training, deployment and a history of the unit and battle or campaigns the veteran would have participated in — plus maps, images and charts if available.

The WWII museum can pull records from the National Personnel Records Center from before 1957; after 1957, the research becomes trickier because of privacy laws, so only a veteran or next-of-kin can get these records from the NPRC. On top of that, in 1973, a fire destroyed millions of records at the National Personnel Records Center, destroying about 80% of Army records and 75% of Air Force records. (The burnt files aren’t a hopeless case, however. For example, reconstructing 240 pages of burned files led to the discovery of a long-lost story about a Medal of Honor recipient, as the New York Times has reported.)

Perhaps most importantly, the professionals who do that research can decode the acronyms and jargon in the military records, and write up a summary of the person in layperson’s terms. And the researchers have the entire National WWII Museum’s collection and archives at its disposal, and they’ll include any relevant oral history interviews, photos and other files.

Harkness says that at his age, he couldn’t read the blurry ink in the files, so he enlisted the museum to help. The resulting report informed him that Stover enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve at the age of 26 and worked as a Seabee from 1943 to 1946. “When asked the reason for his enlistment, his answer was simple: patriotic,” the museum’s report said.

“Seabees are incredibly valuable to the entire effort,” says Dan Olmsted, a research historian at the museum. “They are the naval construction battalion. The build airfields and sanitation facilities to create an infrastructure on these islands once you’ve taken them.”

The report mentioned that during the summer of 1944, Stover worked on building the Torokina Airfield on Bougainville, the largest of the Solomon Islands, where he would have had to endure frequent Japanese attacks. Reading that section jogged Harkness’s memory, and he remembered his uncle did say something about attacks and dead bodies. He was even more proud when he read that the legendary Pacific commander Admiral Halsey commended his uncle’s unit for its “resourcefulness, tireless ingenuity, cooperation, and indomitable fighting spirit…that will everywhere be an inspiration.” The report also confirmed that Stover was sent to the Philippines in July 1945, just a month before the U.S. dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It also shed light on his uncle’s life before the war, noting that Stover ran track in school and liked photography.

Learning more about Stover “only increased my affection and respect for him what he went through,” says Harkness.

But he’s not done yet: His father-in-law served in World War II too, as an Army surgeon, and Harkness is eager to find out more about him next.

[tuesdayblogworld]

Trump administration cutting perk for Haitian families and Filipino vets waiting for green cards

Trump administration cutting perk for Haitian families and Filipino vets waiting for green cards

The Trump administration is cracking down on an immigration perk for … The programs allow for families of Haitian immigrants and WWII veterans from …

from Google Alert – immigration https://ift.tt/2Kk09eV via IFTTT

[tonyfox52]

RT CNN "After nearly 75 years, Filipino WWII vets were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a Capitol Hill … https://t.co/U7qgSpHIHn"

RT CNN “After nearly 75 years, Filipino WWII vets were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a Capitol Hill … https://t.co/U7qgSpHIHn”

RT CNN "After nearly 75 years, Filipino WWII vets were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a Capitol Hill … https://t.co/U7qgSpHIHn"

— Tony De Vos (@milou1st) October 26, 2017

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js from Twitter https://twitter.com/milou1st

[whytehousetv]

Filipino WWII Vets Awarded Congressional Medal Filipino veterans of World War II have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, 75 years after they joined with the United States to defeat Japan.

[our-umair-mehry-stuff]

After nearly 75 years, Filipino veterans of World War II were finally recognized for their military service and sacrifice on Wednesday as they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony on Capitol Hill.

from CNN.com - RSS Channel - HP Hero http://ift.tt/2yQg1By

[teddywinslow414-blog]

US honors Filipino WWII vets 75 years later http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/25/politics/congressional-gold-medal-filipino-wwii-vets/index.html CNN.com - RSS Channel - HP Hero | Mario Millions

[iuradionetwork]

US honors Filipino WWII vets 75 years later

Latest Update via CNN: http://dlvr.it/PxZDGP via @IURadioNetwork

[akkadiantimes-blog]

Filipino WWII Vets Awarded Congressional Medal

Filipino WWII Vets Awarded Congressional Medal http://akkadiantimes.com/2017/10/filipino-wwii-vets-awarded-congressional-medal/ Filipino veterans of World War II have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, 75

[rippleinsite-blog]

In The APL Song, apl.de.ap describes his experience returning to the Philippines after spending ten years abroad.  APL alternates between Filipino and English when describing his experience leaving his country of birth at the age of ten and reflects on what it means for him to be back in the Philippines.  The Black Eyed Peas switch between video footage shot in sepia and black and white, which gives the video a historic and nostalgic feeling.  APL describes growing up poor and feeling appreciative that God and his community looked after each other by utilizing their surroundings.  APL sings, “The way we put it down utilizing what is around/Like land for farming, river for fishing/Everyone helpin’ each other whenever they can/We makin’ it happen, from nothin’ to somethin’/That’s how we be survivin’ back in my homeland”.  APL subverts the American Dream narrative and individualism from his song Bebot, by defining success as having communal support and working to meet his basic needs instead of pursuing economic prosperity.  APL, also depicts individualism as perpetuating loneliness.  Although APL does not sing about gender or sexuality, he addresses masculinity and politics through images of Filipino World War II veterans.  The video depicts an elderly Filipino WWII veteran as he reflects on his experience coming home from WWII and protests by Filipino American soldiers outside of the White House.  These military veterans were demanding payment for their service to the U.S.  During the second world war, the Philippines was a colony of the United States, and the U.S. promised to compensate Filipinos and Filipino Americans who fought for the U.S. in the form of U.S. citizenship, payment, and other benefits.  Despite this promise, after the war the U.S. refused to pay Filipino vets.  In 1946, President Truman signed the Rescission Act, reversing the promises made to Filipino soldiers by the United States.  Despite their protests, Filipino veterans were denied payment and recognition for their service.  In 2009, Congress passed the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Act of 2009, which was supposed to compensate Filipino Americans (who were citizens at the time of the war) $15,000 and Filipino veterans $9,000.  Despite the progress of the FVECA only 18,000 people have been recognized and deemed eligible for payment despite the more than 250,000 Filipinos who served.  I see the protests by Filipino veterans as a gendered protests because masculinity is harnessed in war.  By protesting for equal pay for equal work, Filipino veterans engage in feminist discourse of equity, however their quest for equality stems from race inequality instead of gender inequality.  

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/thousands-filipino-american-wwii-vets-make-appeals-over-equity-pay-n460151

[tonyfox52]

RT CNN "After nearly 75 years, Filipino WWII vets were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a Capitol Hill … https://t.co/U7qgSpHIHn"

RT CNN “After nearly 75 years, Filipino WWII vets were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a Capitol Hill … https://t.co/U7qgSpHIHn”

RT CNN "After nearly 75 years, Filipino WWII vets were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal during a Capitol Hill … https://t.co/U7qgSpHIHn"

— Tony De Vos (@milou1st) October 26, 2017

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js from Twitter https://twitter.com/milou1st