Filipino Hunger Striker in Hospital
A Filipino veteran hospitalized after a two-week hunger strike to protest the failure of the U.S. government to honor benefits promises made during World War II vowed Sunday to continue his protest, but perhaps in another form.
Angel de la Cruz, 72, was being treated for dehydration and exhaustion at Good Samaritan Hospital after being taken there from the protest site at MacArthur Park on Saturday night.
As he sipped soup, de la Cruz said he was considering abandoning the hunger strike and going to Washington to testify for a bill that would rescind a congressional decision 50 years ago not to pay the benefits promised by President Franklin Roosevelt.
An estimated 70,000 Filipino veterans, fighting for the U.S. at a time when the Philippines was under American control, remain alive and would qualify for the benefits if they are restored.
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