Filipino WWII Veterans Seek Pensions From U.S. Government

SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 14: Sixto Gagni, 79, at his home April 14, 2005 in San Francisco. He fought the Japanese during WW II as a guerilla soldier. He was among the Filipino soldiers who were granted citizenship through naturalization in the early 90s by virtue of his status as a WW II veteran. However, he is not eligible for pension so he lives off $735 on Supplemental Security Income (SSI). To save money on rent, he shares a converted one bedroom apartment in the heart of the Tenderloin with three others, two of whom are Filipino WW2 veterans. He and other Filipino WW2 veterans are claiming full veterans benefits promised in President Roosevelt's Presidential Decree at the beginning for the war but later reneged by the US Congress in 1946. He is alone in the United States and with only his SSI as a means of income he lacks the funds to petition his wife for citizenship. Like most Filipino WW2 veterans, he is old and sickly. He recently recovered from a stroke and is left with $1000 ambulance bill, not covered by Medicare, which he is unable to pay. (Photo by Marvi Lacar/Getty Images)