19 February 2016 - Major General Richard J. Hayes, Jr., State Adjutant General and Director of the Illinois Department of Military Affairs, yesterday met with Consul General Generoso D.G. Calonge upon the latter’s invitation at the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago.
The two officials recalled the deep and lasting ties between the Philippines and the State of Illinois, formed and proven in the crucible of World War II. They took special note of the little known sacrifice and heroism of Illinois National Guardsmen, particularly the young men from Maywood, Illinois, who were one of the first Americans that saw ground combat in 1941 as members of Company B of the 192nd Tank Battalion. Together with Filipinos who were conscripted into the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East, they fought gallantly under the same U.S. flag in defense of Bataan and Corregidor Island.
They further discussed the pending Congressional Gold Medal Act, which seeks to address the lacuna of formal recognition by the U.S. government of the Filipino veterans of WWII as well as American commanders and soldiers who fought in the Philippine theater. They agreed that more can be done to shine a brighter light on this very significant aspect of Philippines-U.S. relations.
Consul General Calonge apprised General Hayes of the status of Philippines-U.S. defense and security cooperation, particularly the developments on the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), and developments in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea issue. He also provided General Hayes with a copy of the report on the Law of the Sea Roundtable held at the Consulate in December focusing on the pending arbitration case between the Philippines and China.
Consul General Calonge and General Hayes agreed to seek possible ways of renewing the historic links between the Philippines and the State of Illinois in the areas of defense, security and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Consul General Calonge expressed hope that given the strong Filipino presence in Illinois, aside from other positive factors, the Illinois National Guard can open a new front of cooperation with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in Bataan in particular, under the State Partnership Program. END