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Five months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a military order calling into the service of the United States the organized military forces of the Philippines. At the time, the Philippines was a commonwealth of the United States.

Today, Americans of all ages remember Pearl Harbor and D-Day in Europe as events that triggered our nation’s involvement in World War II. We rightly commemorate the sacrifices of the brave men and women who fought for our freedom in the years that followed. Much less is known or remembered, however, of the more than 260,000 Filipino soldiers who fought the Japanese Imperial Forces from 1941 to 1946. That has to change.

Today, about 17,000 of these war veterans — now in their 80s and 90s — are still living in the United States and the Philippines. Most have not been recognized for their service, or received the benefits they earned. After 34 years of active duty military service to the United States, I have taken up their cause in Washington, D.C. This seems a fitting way to honor the many Filipinos veterans who fought for our freedom more than half a century ago.

This is an especially poignant time to take up their cause. Feb. 18 marked the 70th anniversary of the passage of the Rescission Act of 1946, which revoked veterans status for Filipino soldiers who fought in World War II. As a result of this action, Filipino veterans were denied recognition for their service and sacrifice and stripped of the benefits they were promised.

That’s why we organized the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, a nonpartisan, national initiative dedicated to educating the public about the Filipino soldiers’ contributions on behalf of the United States. Its mission is to obtain national recognition and benefits for Filipino and Filipino-American soldiers for their wartime service.

While the exact number of Filipino war veterans living in Hawaii today is uncertain, the issue of recognition is important to many island residents.

While the exact number of Filipino war veterans living in Hawaii today is uncertain, the issue of recognition is important to many island residents. In 2015, I was honored to partner with Sen. Mazie Hirono and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in a briefing on this issue at the Oahu Veterans Center that was well attended by Filipino veterans, their families and community leaders.

Sen. Hirono and Rep. Gabbard are to be commended for championing the cause in Congress. Last summer they co-sponsored with Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Joe Heck, both of Nevada, the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015.

The valor and sacrifice that led to victory against the Japanese Imperial military forces, liberation of the Philippines and protection of the United States were impressive achievements worthy of the Congressional Gold Medal. About 60,000 Filipinos were killed in action, thousands were wounded, and hundreds more were missing in action.

In an age when veterans of other minority groups have been recognized by Congress — including the Tuskegee Airmen, Japanese American Nisei Soldiers, Navajo Code Talkers and Puerto Rican soldiers of the 65th infantry Regiment — it’s time for our country to do right by the Filipino veterans who fought under the American flag and remained steadfast in their loyalty to the United States.

I encourage my fellow Americans to visit the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project to learn more about this little-known chapter in our history. We believe that raising public awareness will be the first step toward granting Filipino war veterans the recognition and benefits they are entitled to.