WWII vets in Philippines still without benefits
Gaudencio Sotio injured his left leg fighting to expel the Japanese military from the Philippines during World War II. Though Filipino, he was fighting under the command of the United States, which had colonized his homeland in the early 1900s.
Last February, the U.S. said it would pay a lump sum — $9,000 or $15,000 — to veterans like Sotio in lieu of pensions it had promised Filipino soldiers during the war but reneged on paying.
Since then, more than 11,000 surviving veterans now in their 80s and 90s received this much delayed monetary recognition of their service and sacrifice. But thousands of others are still waiting to receive their money as the federal government wades through a backlog of applications....
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Last February, the U.S. said it would pay a lump sum — $9,000 or $15,000 — to veterans like Sotio in lieu of pensions it had promised Filipino soldiers during the war but reneged on paying.
Since then, more than 11,000 surviving veterans now in their 80s and 90s received this much delayed monetary recognition of their service and sacrifice. But thousands of others are still waiting to receive their money as the federal government wades through a backlog of applications....
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