My father, Amador Regidor, was only 17 when war shattered his youth. He survived the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, endured internment, and later enlisted in the Philippine Offshore Patrol under U.S. command. His service was honorable, his sacrifice undeniable.

After his naval service, he became a Mechanical Engineer, later earning a Master’s at the Illinois Institute of Technology and later designed and oversaw production of mobile howitzer and heavy-hydraulics for defense. On August 12, 2025, he was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, the collective honor for Filipino WWII veterans, recognizing his wartime service—even as benefits remain withheld.

And yet, despite medals and ceremonies, my father has been denied the very veterans’ benefits that would have helped in his final years. Now at 100 years old, recovering from strokes and mourning the loss of my mother, he is left without the support granted to others who served just days before him — excluded not for lack of service, but because of a line in the law.

This is not just my father’s story — it is the story of many forgotten veterans. We honor them with words and ceremonies, but without action, those honors ring hollow. I am asking for justice, not only for my father but for all veterans whose sacrifices must be matched by dignity in their final years.


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