Tomorrow, on November 11, people in the United States will celebrate Veterans Day. The In Custodia Legis bloggers team has previously written about the historic aspects of Veterans Day and about resources available at the Library of Congress, specifically the Veterans History Project.
The sacrifices made by United States veterans are recognized not only by a designation of a commemorative holiday celebrated every year throughout the country, but also by the establishment of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VA) which is responsible for the allocation of a variety of benefits to veterans.
The provision of benefits to foreign veterans, specifically veterans of the Philippine Army and Philippine Constabulary has been the subject of legislation, H.R.6897, passed by the United States House of Representatives in 2008. Although no further action was taken on this bill, in 2009 Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115 (2009), which created the Filipino Equity Compensation Fund and called for a one-time payment to World War II Filipino veterans.
A Law Library of Congress report by specialists of the Global Legal Research Directorate analyzes benefits granted by France and Israel to foreign veterans who served in their militaries. French and U.S. foreign veterans benefits appear to apply to veterans who served in these countries’ armies before the respective veteran’s country ceased to be colonized and gained independence. Israeli benefits, however, are extended to both veterans who fought for Israeli independence as well as to veterans who have volunteered throughout the years, including those participating in current programs for Israel Defense Forces foreign volunteers. In addition to general monetary benefits for qualified veterans, Israel currently offers other types of benefits to foreign volunteers who stay in the country after completion of their service.
For specific information on veterans benefits to non-citizens in France and in Israel we invite you to review our report, one of many other multinational and single country reports available on the Law Library’s website.