PCGNY.net | News Release

New York Consulate, Fil-Am veterans groups present movie documentary to honor veterans

PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL - NEWS RELEASE
12 December 2005

One of a few surviving pictures of Filipino soldiers
during WWII (Photo courtesy of National Archives and
Records Administration).

New York, NEW YORK --- On Sunday, 11 December 2005, the Philippine Consulate General in New York, Philippine American Veterans Organization, Inc (PAVO), Philippine-American Veterans Auxiliary, Inc. (PAVOA), and Sons, Daughters and Orphans of Philippine American Veterans, Inc (SDO-PAV) jointly presented a movie documentary entitled, “An Untold Triumph,” on the never-been-told story of 7,000 men of the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments of the US Army who fought in World War II.

Directed by Noel Izon, the movie documentary showed how, on January 2, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order allowing Filipinos to join the US Army and form a volunteer all-Filipino unit. Those who joined later formed General MacArthur’s “secret weapon” that helped him make good on his promise to return to the Philippines and liberate the country from Japanese occupation. In spite of the fact that they endured a bleak, racist prewar climate and were not even considered U.S. citizens, the Filipino soldiers proved to be skilled fighters and trustworthy allies to the American forces. They were an indispensable force in liberating the Philippines from Japan and, ultimately, in America’s winning the war in the Pacific.

Lou Diamond Phillips, a Filipino-American actor whose filmography includes Young Guns I and II, The Three Kings, and La Bamba, narrated the movie documentary. In 2002, the movie won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

The two (2) screenings on Sunday were free of charge and attracted Filipino and American audiences from the tri-state area. Fil-Am veterans now living in New Jersey were also present together with their spouses. In a simple tribute, Consul General Cecilia Rebong honored the veterans with Certificates of Recognition for their valiant deeds and for their meritorious work in working for veterans’ benefits and privileges. The Consul General also gave out posthumous recognition certificates. In her message, the Consul General noted that the work of the Philippine government and veterans groups to achieve parity of health and pension privileges with other WWII veterans would be more effective if the Fil-Am community presented a united front in the lobby efforts.