An Open Letter to His Excellency George W. Bush

                         President of the United States of America

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President Bush:

Please allow me to greet your Excellency, with the utmost respect and warmest regards a private citizen could ever pay her Commander-in-Chief on a Veterans’ Day celebration.  Sir, I would also like to wish you and Mrs. Laura Bush well in your coming retirement. When both of you are finally away from the hustle and bustle of the political arena, probably you could look at all of us from a distance and reflect that the problems we will be facing will be similarly the very same problems that you had encountered as the chief executive of this nation and most importantly the solutions to these problems will also be similar to the solutions that you had courageously applied during your governance. Although, many people always find it too easy to assign blames, but in the end it would be difficult to honestly deny the fact that you did your very best to hold the ship steady and met all the challenges that came your way courageously without malice. Personally, I have nothing, but pity for anyone who could not accept the humanity in all of us.

Sir, I would also like to take this opportunity to advocate for a cause that I hold so dearly in my heart. As a 9^th generation American and a woman of Filipino ancestry I feel very deeply wounded about the injustice that the United States government had inflicted on the Filipino World War 11 U.S. veterans in denying their United States Armed Forces military services and sacrifices as being equal to the military of other nationalities.

Additionally, I feel saddened since I am also a descendant and mother of so many veterans who had served in many of United States wars and military conflicts from the Revolutionary war to the ongoing Iraq military conflict. As a matter of fact my father and his brother, are Death March, POW survivor and new Philippine Scout during WW11, enlisting in the U.S. Army when they were only sixteen and seventeen years old.  I feel the need to tell you all these, so you may understand the depth of my feelings in advocating for the welfare and benefits of these most honorable soldiers we fondly call the Filvets or the Filipino veterans of WW11. Sir, allow me, also to disclose that I do not and have no desire to belong to any political parties, veterans advocacy, lobby groups and professional organizations, nor do I have any political, financial or other agendas, but simply to advance the welfare of the Filvets.

My plea to you has nothing to do with money, but rather a prayer for a Presidential issuance of the United States apology for the unequal treatment rendered to one of the most outstanding racial group of U.S. military personnel that ever served in this country. Undeniably, the historic wrong could never be fully remedied, since many Filipino veterans had gone to their graves unrecognized fully for their military services, however, today we remain fortunate to have with us still some who are not only living, but also hoping that someone would rectify this historic wrong.

Sir, such a national apology will not be without precedence since the United States had issued such apology to people and even to events after we had come to terms with the reality of the historical wrongs committed by our nation to others. As we evolve from our past to what we are today we continually demonstrate our will and desire to render justice to all. Since we had done this on several occasions, I believe that the time had come to do this again for the sake of our fast aging and dying Filvets.

Sir, it would not be unconventional for you to issue an apology, since it will just be a continuity of the legacy that you and your father had espoused in both of your administrations when the Filvets immigration and health benefits bills became laws. Although, limited in scope and did not address the problem in its entirety, yet, undeniably they opened the doors that let the Filipino veterans to immigrate to the United States and later to receive the health care and services that other WW11 veterans enjoy.

Sir, I believe, it would not be deemed as an obstructionist act on your part to issue the apology since many in the coming Democratic Party administration are supportive of the WW11 veterans in their congressional fight for equity. As a matter of fact, the staunch champions of the various equity legislations are Senators Akaka and Inouye and Representative Filner.

Sir, I believe that it will also not be deemed as running counter to the principles of your political party, since many in the Republican Party were able to cross the political divide and sponsored the cause of the Filvets, although more Republicans had opposed the Filvets fight for equity compared to the Democrats.

Although, many in my communities are hopeful that the chances of Filvets equity in the coming administration are positively in their favor, however, being a realist, who had lived long enough to observe the instability of the shifting sands in the political world, I personally believe that the Filvets have no assurance that their cause will be a priority to the incoming administration. This already happened when Speaker Pelosi buckled under the pressures of The American Legion, the Republican Party oppositionists, the Democratic Party Blue Dogs objectors and others that made her exclude in the House of Representatives, the Filvets provisions from S.1315, although this bill had passed with 96 aye votes and only one dissenting vote in the Senate.

I fully understand that all of the above are part of the political dynamics. What I am seeking from you in my petition for a presidential apology is a moral solution to the immorality of the 1946 Rescission Acts.

Let your presidential apology become the memory that our aging Filvets carry to their graves. Let your apology be the balm that will assuage the hurt of the families of the Filvets long departed from us. Let it be the sweet rewards for all those who had fought valiantly for their cause. Let your apology become one of the hallmarks of your compassionate leadership.

I would like to thank you for your kindness. I am praying and hoping for a favorable response to my plea.

Respectfully,

Maria Elizabeth Embry

Antioch California 94509

November 11, 2008

http://filipinos-ww2usveterans-4equity.tripod.com

pinay_492001@yahoo.com

Copy to:

Vice President Richard Cheney

Incoming Pres Barrack Obama

Incoming Vice President Joseph Biden

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Senator Daniel Akaka

Senator Daniel Inouye

Representative Bob Filner

Senator John McCain

Senator Hillary Clinton

Mr. Steve Robertson, The American Legion

The Democratic Party

The Republican Party

and others not listed in this letter

12/4/2008 5:21 P.M. California

http://www.whitehouse.gov/interactive/interact_1.html

Please enter your first name

Maria Elizabeth Embry

Please enter your location:

Antioch California

XXXXXXXXXX

[ No Subject ]

Monday, January 5, 2009 8:45 PM

From:

"comments@whitehouse.gov" <comments@whitehouse.gov>

To:

maria.embry@sbcglobal.net

On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence.
We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions.
Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House cannot respond to every message.
Thank you again for taking the time to write.

No Subject ]

Monday, January 5, 2009 8:51 PM

From:

"vice_president@whitehouse.gov" <vice_president@whitehouse.gov>

To:

pinay_492001@yahoo.com

Thank you for e-mailing Vice President Cheney.  Your comments,
suggestions and concerns are important to him.  Unfortunately,
because of the large volume of e-mail received, the Vice
President cannot personally respond to each message.  However,
members of the Vice President's staff consider and report
citizen ideas and concerns.  Please visit the White House web
site for the most up-to-date information on Presidential
initiatives, current events, and topics of interest to you.

Thank you again for taking the time to write.

    mantecarepublicans@yahoo.com  Re: Open Letter to Pres Bush 9:10 AM 29KB

Read     vice_president@whitehouse.gov  Open Letter to President Bush Mon, 1/5/09 22KB

Read     comments@whitehouse.gov  Open Letter to President Bush Mon, 1/5/09 21KB

Filipino WW2 U.S. Veterans fight 4 Equity

Friday, November 28, 2008 9:08 AM

From:

"m e" <pinay_492001@yahoo.com>

To:

BZ2@att.net

 larrys@vawatchdog.org  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush Sun, 12/14/08 27KB

Read     jcarroll8@bloomberg.net  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush Fri, 12/12/08 28KB

Read     jembry@coxnews.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush Thu, 12/11/08 27KB

Read     2100010150.4375.5@houseenews.net  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush Thu, 12/11/08 23KB

Read     howieseverino@gmail.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush Wed, 12/10/08 25KB

Sent 12/8/2008 lpitts@miamiherald.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 11:52 AM 56KB

Sent 12/7/2008Read     info@philippinenews.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Sun, 12/7/08 28KB

RE: An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush

Friday, December 5, 2008 10:14 AM

From:

"maria.embry@sbcglobal.net" <maria.embry@sbcglobal.net>

To:

"Governor Charlie Crist" <Charlie.Crist@eog.myflorida.com>

Re: Congressman Jo Bonner - CVC Opens its Doors

Friday, December 5, 2008 10:54 AM

From:

"m e" <pinay_492001@yahoo.com>

To:

"Wall, Nancy" <Nancy.Wall@mail.house.gov>

Sent 12/6/2008

    info.phil-am@philippinenewstoday.ca  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 5:08 AM 24KB

Read     info@asianjournal.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 5:06 AM 24KB

Read     info@somcan.org  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 5:05 AM 24KB

Read     manilamail@sbcglobal.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 5:01 AM 24KB

Read     angpanahon@aol.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 5:00 AM 24KB

Read     letters@washpost.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:57 AM 24KB

Read     navarrette@uniontrib.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:55 AM 24KB

Read     gemma601@yahoo.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:54 AM 24KB

Read     sam_zega@warner.senate.gov  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:50 AM 24KB

Read     adam_barker@mccain.senate.gov  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:50 AM 24KB

Read     eric_zulkosky@dole.senate.gov  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:49 AM 24KB

Read     mindi_walker@vettaff.senate.gov  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:47 AM 24KB

Read     us.filvets@verizon.net  An Open Letter to His President George W. Bush Fri,

     rodel150@aol.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 10:05 AM 24KB

Read     Filexpress@aol.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 9:39 AM 24KB

Read     valabelgas@aol.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 9:36 AM 24KB

Read     nonymendoza@filamimage.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 9:35 AM 24KB

Read     mel19661@orpilla.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:55 AM 24KB

Read     laguatanlaw@gmail.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:51 AM 24KB

Read     robert@greenlining.org  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:46 AM 24KB

Read     johnnypecayo@yahoo.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 11:42 AM 26KB

Read     cjfilam@earthlink.net  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:56 PM 25KB

Read     production@pinoytodayus.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:55 PM 25KB

Read     bulletin@mb.com.ph  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:54 PM 25KB

Read     emmeinc@hawaii.rr.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:53 PM 25KB

Read     newyork@pcgny.net  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:53 PM 25KB

Read     jvarcenas@hotmail.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:52 PM 25KB

Read     alfred.gabot@yahoo.com.ph  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:51 PM 25KB

Read     Cristpast@aol.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:30 PM 97KB

Read     jjunban@philstar.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:02 PM 25KB

Read     rizalist@gmail.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:02 PM 25KB

Read     emil@amok.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:01 PM 25KB

Read     forumadmin@ufs.ph  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:01 PM 25KB

Read     webmaster@ufs.ph  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:00 PM 25KB

Read     mabuhaynews25@yahoo.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 11:59 AM 25KB

Read     gregmacabenta@hotmail.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 11:57 AM 25KB

Read     filamlibrary@sbcglobal.net  An Open Letter to Pres Bush George W. Bush 4:24 PM 77KB

Read     cbenipayo@hotmail.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 2:10 PM 24KB

Read     sanfranciscopcg2004@yahoo.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 1:33 PM 25KB

Read     SanFranciscoPC@aol.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 1:32 PM 25KB

Read     losangelespcg@earthlink.net  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 1:29 PM 25KB

Read     info@somcan.org  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 1:17 PM 25KB

Sent 12/4 2008

    letters@usatoday.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:05 PM 23KB

Read     kerry@salon.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 5:51 PM 23KB

Read     letters@worldnetdaily.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 10:47 AM 23KB

Read     mtalev@mcclatchydc.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Wed, 12/3/08 22KB

Read     rschoof@mcclatchydc.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Wed, 12/3/08 22KB

Read     dlightman@mcclatchydc.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Wed, 12/3/08 22KB

Read     rrankin@mcclatchydc.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Wed, 12/3/08 22KB

Read     rschoof@mcclatchydc.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Wed, 12/3/08 22KB

Read     badcock@mcclatchydc.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Wed, 12/3/08 22KB

Read     mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Wed, 12/3/08 22KB

12/3/08 13KB

Read     RNCommunications@gop.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Wed, 12/3/08 22KB

Read     davidbroder@washpost.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Tue, 12/2/08 24KB

12/4/2008 5:21 P.M. California

http://www.whitehouse.gov/interactive/interact_1.html

Please enter your first name

Maria Elizabeth Embry

Please enter your location:

Antioch California

A PLEA FOR UNITED STATES APOLOGY

An Open Letter to His Excellency George W. Bush

12/4/2008 Contact NewsMax Thank you, your e-mail has been sent

12/3/2008NPRYour email has been sent.

·                                  

Sent 12/3/2008 Contact Bobby Jindal Thank you for your e-mail. Rest assured that you will receive a response from my office in a timely fashion, and that I take your concerns very seriously. If you have submitted a question or concern which requires the assistance of a state agency, your email will be shared with the appropriate agency, and you will receive a response from that agency soon. Thank you again for contacting me, and please continue to keep me informed of your views on matters of importance. Please do not hesitate to contact my office in the future on matters of concern to you.

Very Truly Yours,

Bobby Jindal
Governor of Louisiana

Thank you for your thoughts and comments

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 4:58 PM

From:

"Info Services Temp" <info@rnchq.org>

To:

"m e" <pinay_492001@yahoo.com>

Thank you for contacting the Republican National Committee. We certainly
appreciated your email, and will include your thoughts in our report to
the Chairman. Please do not hesitate to contact us in the future with
any of your thoughts, opinions or observations.
Office of Constituent Services
Republican National Committee
12/3 DAV Feedback Page
Please send your questions and comments to DAV by email using this form.
All fields marked with a * are required and must be filled in or selected.
Your message was sent properly, thank you.12/3/2008

info@gop.com

Automatic response to your email

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 5:03 PM

From:

"Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp" <Jeff.Kottkamp@eog.myflorida.com>

Add sender to Contacts

To:

maria.embry@sbcglobal.net

I have received your recent email and appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.  Unfortunately, due to the volume of correspondence my office receives, it is not always possible to provide a personal response. Rest assured, my office will thoroughly review your email and you will be contacted regarding any required follow-up as appropriate. Please feel free to share your thoughts on other issues that are important to you. 

To receive weekly news updates via e-mail, you may subscribe to the Governor’s electronic newsletter at: http://www.flgov.com/nftc_signup

Thank you for contacting my office.

Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp

    ciontvl@aol.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:01 PM 22KB

Read     chris.schaefer@bataandiary.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:00 PM 22KB

Read     psu@mccain08hq.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:57 PM 22KB

Read     adam_barker@mccain.senate.gov  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:56 PM 22KB

Read     info@philippine-scouts.org  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:34 PM 22KB

Sent 11/26/2008

Read     washingtonpost.com  An Open Letter to President George W. Bush 12:38 PM 26KB

Read     us.filvets@verizon.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 10:13 AM 22KB

e-mail sent Apology Pres. Bush  11/25/2008

Read     manilamail@sbcglobal.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 2:01 PM 20KB

    press@naffaa.org  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush Tue, 11/25/08 21KB

Re:Veteran Issues/Concerns

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 11:41 AM

From:

"governor@gov.ca.gov" <governor@gov.ca.gov>

To:

Thank you for your email to Governor Schwarzenegger.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:48 AM

From:

"vice_president@whitehouse.gov" <vice_president@whitehouse.gov>

To:

pinay_492001@yahoo.com

Thank you for e-mailing Vice President Cheney

Saturday, November 15, 2008 4:55 PM

From:

"comments@whitehouse.gov" <comments@whitehouse.gov>

To:

pinay_492001@yahoo.com

On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence.

We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions

An Open Letter to President George W. Bush

Saturday, November 15, 2008 4:55 PM

From:

"m e" <pinay_492001@yahoo.com>

To:

comments@whitehouse.gov

Congratulations & WW2 Filvets Petition

Monday, November 17, 2008 1:41 PM

From:

"m e" <pinay_492001@yahoo.com>

To:

sd10@mailr.sen.state.oh.us

Automatic reply from info@philippine-scouts.org

Thursday, November 27, 2008 6:33 PM

From:

"automated reply" <do-not-reply-info@philippine-scouts.org>

To:

"m e" <pinay_492001@yahoo.com>

Thank you for your message. We will respond as soon as possible.

Philippine Scouts Heritage Society
http://www.philippine-scouts.org

12/3/2008

woody@veteransforpeace.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:17 PM 22KB

Read     woody@veteransforpeace.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:16 PM 22KB

Read     chrissie@veteransforpeace.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:15 PM 22KB

Read     betsy@veteransforpeace.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:15 PM 22KB

Read     gabriela@veteransforpeace.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:13 PM 22KB

Read     virginia@veteransforpeace.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:12 PM 22KB

Read     vfped@veteransforpeace.net  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 7:11 PM 22KB

Read     magazine@vfw.org  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:59 PM 23KB

Read     dcullinan@vfw.org  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:57 PM 23KB

Read     cwells@vfw.org  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:55 PM 23KB

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Read     info@gop.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:50 PM 23KB

Read     headquarters@gophawaii.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 6:44 PM 23KB

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Read     Chairman@gop.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:58 PM 23KB

Read     Sharon.Schultze@mail.house.gov  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:42 PM 22KB

Read     jeb.bush@myflorida.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:24 PM 22KB

Read     Jeff.Kottkamp@MyFlorida.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:19 PM 24KB

Read     Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com  An Open Letter to Pres. George W. Bush 4:16 PM 23KB